Metatron is the greatest of all the angels in Jewish mysticism: the supreme archangel, the “Prince of the Divine Presence,” the heavenly scribe who records the deeds of the world, and the angel who was once the mortal patriarch Enoch, taken up to heaven and transfigured into the mightiest of celestial beings. He stands closest of all to the divine Throne, an angel almost beyond the angels.
The Angel Who Was a Man
Metatron’s most extraordinary aspect is his origin. In the mystical tradition, he was once a human being — the patriarch Enoch, who “walked with God and was not, for God took him” (Genesis). Enoch, for his perfect righteousness, was taken up bodily into heaven and there transfigured, his flesh turned to flame, his body grown to cosmic size, and he was made into Metatron, the supreme angel — the one being who rose from humanity to become the greatest of the celestial host. (His celestial twin, the prophet Elijah transfigured, became the angel [sandalphon].)
The Lesser YHWH and the Scribe
Metatron holds titles of staggering exaltation. He is called the “Prince of the Countenance” or “Prince of the Divine Presence” (Sar ha-Panim), the angel who stands before the very face of God; and, most strikingly, the “Lesser YHWH” — a title of such closeness to the divine that it caused theological controversy. He is the great heavenly scribe, who records all the deeds done in the world in the celestial books, and a teacher of the righteous dead in the heavenly academy. He governs the angelic hosts and the order of the heavens, second only to God.
The Prince of the Presence
In the Merkabah and Kabbalistic traditions, Metatron is a figure of immense importance — the link between the human and the divine, the angel who was a man, the scribe and the prince who stands at the summit of the created order before the Throne of Glory. His vast stature, his flaming form, his many eyes and wings, and his supreme rank made him the subject of profound mystical speculation. In Metatron, Jewish mysticism gave form to the highest of the angels and the hope of human transfiguration — the patriarch Enoch raised to become the supreme archangel, the heavenly scribe and Prince of the Divine Presence, the mightiest celestial being who stands closest of all to God.