Michael — whose name is itself a battle-cry, the Hebrew question Mi ka’El, “Who is like God?” — is the greatest of the archangels in Jewish tradition: the celestial prince and warrior who commands the armies of heaven, guards the people of Israel, and stands as the chief adversary of the powers of evil. Where lesser angels carry messages or tend the spheres, Michael wields the sword.
Prince of Israel
In the Book of Daniel, Michael appears as “one of the chief princes,” the great heavenly guardian who contends on behalf of the Jewish people, and as “the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people.” He is the patron and protector of the nation of Israel, its advocate in the courts of heaven, doing battle against the angelic princes of the hostile nations. In this role Michael is less a herald than a defender — the captain who fights when the chosen people are threatened.
The War in Heaven
Later tradition crowns Michael as the commander of the loyal angels in the primordial war against the rebel host. It is Michael who leads the heavenly armies against the great dragon and his fallen angels, casting them down from heaven. He is the vanquisher of [semyaza] and the rebellious Watchers, the binder of demons, and the eternal opponent of the accuser. In the apocalyptic imagination he is the field-marshal of the final battle, the one who will rise up in the time of the end.
Weigher of Souls and Guardian of the Dead
Beyond the battlefield, Michael holds a tender office: he is a psychopomp and an intercessor, said to receive the souls of the faithful and to weigh them in the balance, pleading their cause before the divine judgment. Jewish legend makes him the angel who stayed Abraham’s hand, who buried Moses, and who ministers as the great high priest of the heavenly Temple. Fierce in war and merciful in judgment, Michael stands first among the archangels — the sword and the shield of heaven, forever asking of every pretender to divinity: who is like God?