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The angel Jophiel (Heb. יוֹפִיאֵל, "beauty of God", "divine beauty"), also called Iophiel, Iofiel, Jofiel, Yofiel, Youfiel, Zophiel (Tsophiel צֹפִיאֵל, "spy of God", "watchman of God") and Zuriel (Tsuriel צוּרִיאֵל, "my rock is God"), is the archangel of wisdom, understanding, and judgment. He is listed as one of the Seven Archangels in Pseudo-Dionysian teachings.
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In religious and magical lore
According to the pseudepigraphal Revelation of Moses, another name for Jophiel is Dina. Jophiel/Dina is described as an angel of the seventh heaven, a Cabalistic guardian of the Torah (and wisdom itself), who taught 70 languages to souls at the dawn of creation. The Zohar lists him as a Great Angel Chief in charge of 53 legions who superintend Torah-readings on the Sabbath. Jophiel is said to be a companion to the angel Metatron.
C.E. Clement, in his book 'Angels in Art,' names Jophiel as the teacher of Ham, Japheth, and Shem. Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa and Thomas Rudd likewise name Jophiel as the teacher of Shem.
Jophiel is an Archangel of the Kabbalah (though some systems put Raziel in his place) and in several listings including that of the early medieval theologian Pseudo-Dionysus. The Calendarium Naturale Magicum Perpetuum lists Jophiel as the angel of the Sephira Chokhmah, as do the Key of Solomon variant "The Veritable Clavicles of Solomon," and the Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses, both latter works derived from the Calendarium. Agrippa attributes Jophiel to Saturn, while Paracelsus assigns him to Jupiter. Rudd attributes the Zodiac to Jophiel along with the Sephira Binah instead of Zaphkiel. Athanasius Kircher names Jophiel as "Angelus pulchritudinis," angel of beauty. According to Robert Ambelain, Jophiel is in charge of the Cherubim, particularly the Shemhamphorasch angels Haziel, Aladiah, Lauviah, Hahaiah, Iezalel, Mehahel, Hariel, and Hakamiah.
In literature
Angels of Love and Light describes him as "the Archangel of Paradise and the Patron of Artists and Illumination. He teaches the outer consciousness the Power of Light within oneself. He is also described as "the Yellow Ray of Wisdom, Illumination, and Constancy", and lists his Archeia as Christine also says
John Milton, in his poem Paradise Lost, mentions that Zophiel is "of cherubim the swiftest wing" (Paradise Lost VI, 535).
Zophiel is the subject of a poem by Maria Gowen Brooks.
In Good Omens, the angel Aziraphale takes the role of Jophiel, guarding the Garden of Eden with Flaming Sword, although he gave the sword to Adam and Eve after they were expunged from Eden.