Introduction
Gabriel the angel is a messenger from God. The Bible records him appearing to three different people and he is mentioned by name only four times in Scripture; twice in Daniel and twice in Luke.
Meaning of Gabriel’s Name
It is interesting to note that Bible commentaries and Bible dictionaries come up with various meanings for Gabriel’s name. I never learned why there are so many different meanings for Gabriel’s name, but compiled the following list:
A mighty man1
Strong man of God2
Champion of God3
Hero of God4
God is my strength5
Man of God6
Man of God, or God is my strength. Compounded of Gaber, strength; and I-ei, my God.7
Daniel
The first time an angel is named in Scripture is in the book of Daniel. In chapter 8 of Daniel, Daniel was wanting to understand a vision when suddenly, a man stood before him. Verses 15 and 16 of chapter eight tell us,
“And it came about when I, Daniel, had seen the vision, that I sought to understand it; and behold, standing before me was one who looked like a man. And I heard the voice of a man between the banks of Ulai, and he called out and said, ‘Gabriel, give this man an understanding of the vision.’ ”
God helped Daniel understand the vision by using Gabriel the angel, who “looked like a man”. God speaks to Gabriel from between the banks of the canal, but does not appear physically to Daniel. We recognize this type of event as a theophany, which is a manifestation of God to humans.
God Speaking to an Angel
There are two points we can deduce. The voice over the water is God speaking to the ‘man’ Gabriel, the angel. We know it is God speaking, because God is the one able to command angels. Second, we know Gabriel is an angel, because he is named as an angel in other passages.
Bible commentators say:
“The eternal Son of God stood before the prophet in the appearance of a man, and directed the angel Gabriel to explain the vision.”8
“The voice seemed to come from the river…this was doubtless the voice of God.”9
“The voice was loud, audible, and commanding; even to an angel …and shows that the person that made this appearance, and spoke in this authoritative way, was the Lord, and head of angels, even of all principalities and power, at whose beck and command they are.”10
Second Appearance
We already saw the first appearance where Gabriel is named in Daniel 8. The other is in Daniel 9:21,
“While I was still speaking in prayer, then the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision previously, came to me in my extreme weariness about the time of the evening offering.
In this situation, Daniel is praying before God, confessing his own sins and the sins of his people Israel. He is pouring out his heart before God seeking forgiveness for not obeying God and listening to His voice. During Daniel’s prayer, he is visited by God’s messenger Gabriel. As before, Gabriel gives Daniel instruction and understanding.
Daniel’s Reaction
The first time Daniel met Gabriel, Daniel was frightened. (I checked a number of other translations and ten of them use the word ‘terrified’ instead of frightened. This may give a better sense of Daniel’s state of mind.) Daniel 8:17 says,
“So he [Gabriel] came near to where I was standing, and when he came I was frightened and fell on my face11; but he said to me, “Son of man, understand that the vision pertains to the time of the end.”
When Gabriel first appeared, he was at some distance from Daniel. Then Gabriel came near to Daniel verse 17 tells us. Daniel became frightened, but Gabriel calmly gave Daniel the information so that Daniel could “understand the vision.”
By contrast, when Daniel met Gabriel the second time, Daniel apparently became comfortable speaking with Gabriel. In Daniel 9:22, Daniel tells us that Gabriel,
“gave me instruction and talked with me, and said, ‘O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you insight with understanding.’ ”
I say that Daniel was comfortable speaking with Gabriel, because nothing is said about him being scared. In fact, Daniel says that Gabriel ‘talked with me.’ The first time Daniel was frightened, the second time -nothing. I suppose that it would take some time to get used to speaking with an angel. Maybe it was easier for Daniel because Gabriel looked like a man. Then again, by that time in his life, Daniel had a history of speaking to powerful men who could strike him down with just a word.
Third and Fourth Appearance
In the Gospel of Luke, Gabriel is recorded as coming to visit two different people at two different times -Zacharias, and Mary.
Zacharias
The third appearance of Gabriel occurs in Luke 1:5-20.12 Gabriel comes bringing a message to a priest named Zacharias while he is performing his priestly duties. He and his wife were advanced in years and had no children. We pick up the story of Zacharias from the first chapter of Luke, starting in verse 8,
“Now it came about, while he was performing his priestly service before God in the appointed order of his division, according to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And the whole multitude of the people were in prayer outside at the hour of the incense offering. And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. And Zacharias was troubled when he saw him, and fear gripped him. But the angel said to him, ‘Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give him the name John.’ ”
Gabriel goes on to explain that John will be forerunner to the Messiah and be filled with the Holy Spirit while still his mother’s womb. Zacharias had difficulty believing Gabriel’s message, perhaps because of the three incredible elements:
- In his old age, Zacharias will have a son and name him John.
- John will be filled with the Holy Spirit while still in the womb -an unheard of event!
- John will be the forerunner of the Christ -the one the whole Jewish nation had looked forward to for hundreds of years.
One also has to wonder if Zacharias recognized the angel Gabriel from reading the book of Daniel. That would send a shivers down your spine! It would have been about 533 years earlier that Gabriel appeared to Daniel.13
Picking up in verse eighteen, Zacharias responds,
“How shall I know this for certain? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” And the angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God; and I have been sent to speak to you, and to bring you this good news. And behold, you shall be silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which shall be fulfilled in their proper time.”14
Zacharias’ response to Gabriel and his message was one of fear and unbelief. I think if I was in Zacharias’ place I would wonder, “Oh no, what did I do?” Gabriel told Zacharias that he didn’t need to be afraid, but it didn’t seem to help him.
One additional point, Zacharias was in the temple burning incense, and couldn’t be seen from the outside. Also, he was not expecting to see anyone else inside and was surprised in addition to being frightened.
Mary
The fourth appearance of Gabriel noted in Scripture for us, is six months later, when he appeared to Mary. Luke recounts the event in chapter one, verses 26-56.15
“Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee, called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming in, he said to her, ‘Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you.’ But she was greatly troubled at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this might be. And the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God.’ ”
Gabriel tells Mary that she will give birth to a son, name Him Jesus, and that He will be the Messiah. Her son will take the throne of His father David, and His reign will have no end. Mary answers Gabriel, saying,
“How can this be, since I am a virgin?” And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy offspring shall be called the Son of God.”16
Like Zacharias, Mary was afraid, but Gabriel sensed Mary’s fear and told her she didn’t need to afraid. Unlike Zacharias, Mary accepted Gabriel’s word and responded with faith in God. In verse 38 of the passage Mary acknowledged she is under God’s authority by referring to herself as a slave of the Lord.17 She fully accepted the message from Gabriel saying, “Be it done to me according to your word.”
Conclusion
The three people that Gabriel appeared to were frightened, fear gripped them, or they were troubled. Even so, the passages identified them as righteous or that they had gained favor with God. The only way to gain favor with God is by faith. “But the righteous man shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:17)
Gabriel is seen in each passage bringing a message from God about future events. With Daniel, Gabriel gave explanation and understanding but the visions were still hard to understand. For Zacharias and Mary, the subject matter was very personal and easily grasped by them.
Appendix
God also uses other vehicles to bring His message to people. I describe these other methods in Revelation of God.
When angels appear to humans, one natural reaction is to worship. I write about who should be worshiped in the post, Worship.
1 John MacArthur Study series on Daniel. Daniel sees ‘one who looks like a man’, meaning ‘a mighty man’.
2 Holman Bible Dictionary
3 Easton’s Bible Dictionary
4 Fausset’s Bible Dictionary
5 Hitchcock’s Bible Names
6 Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible
7 Hawker’s Poor Man’s Concordance and Dictionary
8 Matthew Henry’s Commentary
9 Albert Barnes -Barnes’ Notes
10 Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
11 Emphasis added.
12 Only short portions of the passage are given to illustrate the point.
13 One Bible timeline puts Daniel 8 at 539 BC and Zacharias encounter with Gabriel at 6 BC.
14 Emphasis added.
15 Only short portions of the passage are given to illustrate the point.
16 Verses 34 & 35
17 The King James uses the word ‘handmaid’, but most translations use ‘servant, slave, or bondslave.’ The Greek word is Doulē, meaning a female slave, bonds-maid. Feminine of doulos; a female slave.