Folklore has long associated the season of spring with the heavenly angel Raphael. The connection is fitting given the meaning of his name: “God has healed” or “He who heals,” so it’s not surprising that Raphael should watch over the season of rebirth, the time when God gives the world new life.
Interestingly, there is no mention of an angel named Raphael in the Bible. Only two holy angels are named in Scripture—Gabriel (Luke 1:26) and Michael (Daniel 12:1). Although many associate the angel mentioned in John 5:4 as Raphael. It is also said that it was Raphael whom God sent to heal the wound in Jacob’s thigh that he received in his fight with the angel at Peniel.
You may know Raphael from his part in the story “Tobias and the Angel,” which is in the The Book of Tobit, found in what is considered Apocrypha, a book of scripture that is part of the Catholic and Orthodox biblical canon. In the story, Tobias’ father, Tobit, is blinded as punishment for breaking the law by honoring a fellow Jew with a proper burial.
Since Tobit can no longer support his family, he sends his son Tobias to retrieve money he once deposited in Media. In Media there is a young woman, Sarah, who has lost seven husbands, each one killed on their wedding night by a demon. Sarah and Tobit unknown to one another, pray for help. God sends the angel Raphael in disguise to help them both.
On the journey to Media, Tobias is attacked by a fish. Raphael instructs Tobias to kill the fish and keep certain parts of it for “useful medicines.”
After Tobias and Angel Raphael arrive safely in Media, they meet Sarah’s father. Raphael convinces Tobias to marry Sarah. On their wedding night, when the demon comes to kill Sarah’s new husband, Tobias uses the parts of the fish to drive it away.
Later, when Tobias returns home, he uses the rest of the fish to rub his father’s eyes. Tobit’s sight is restored. Raphael then reveals his true identity and returns to heaven. “As for me, when I came to you, it was not out of any favor on my part, but because it was God’s will,” he tells them. “So continue to thank him every day, and praise him with song.”
