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Concept
Metatron
Summary
Metatron (Meṭāṭrōn), or Mattatron (Maṭṭaṭrōn), is an angel in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam mentioned three times in the Talmud, in a few brief passages in the Aggadah, and in mystical Kabbalistic texts within Rabbinic literature. The figure forms one of the traces for the presence of dualist proclivities in the otherwise monotheistic visions of both the Tanakh and later Christian doctrine. In the Jewish kabbalistic tradition, he is sometimes portrayed as serving as the celestial scribe. The name Metatron is not mentioned in the Torah or the Bible and how the name originated is a matter of debate. In Islamic tradition, he is also known as Mīṭaṭrūn (ميططرون), the angel of the veil.
In Jewish apocrypha and early Kabbalah, 'Metatron' is the name that Enoch received after his transformation into an angel.
Numerous etymologies have been proposed to account for the name Metatron, but there is no consensus, and its precise origin is unknown. Some scholars, such as Philip Alexander, believe that if the name Metatron originated in Hekhalot-Merkabah texts (such as 3 Enoch), then it may have been a magic word like Adiriron and Dapdapiron.
Hugo Odeberg, Adolf Jellinek and Marcus Jastrow suggest the name may have originated from either mattara (מטרא, keeper of the watch) or the verb memater (ממטר, 'to guard' or 'to protect'). An early derivation of this can be seen in Shimmusha Rabbah, where Enoch is clothed in light and is the guardian of the souls ascending to heaven. Odeberg also suggested that the name Metatron might have been adopted from the Old Persian name Mithra. Citing Wiesner, he drew up a number of parallels that appeared to link Mithra and Metatron based on their positions in heaven and duties.
Another hypothesis would derive Metatron from a combination of two Greek words, μετά (meta, meaning 'after') and θρóνος (thronos, meaning 'throne'), which, taken together, would suggest the idea of 'one who serves behind the throne' or 'one who occupies the throne next to the throne of glory'.
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