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Gabriel (גבריאל, Standard Hebrew Gavriʾel, Tiberian Hebrew Gaḇrîʾel) appears first in the Book of Daniel in the Hebrew Bible. He is an archangel who serves as a messenger from God. The name Gabriel can mean "man of God", "God has shown himself mighty", or "Hero of God."

Gabriel is most frequently confused with Michael, the angel who holds a sword and guards the gates of Eden (later heaven) against Adam, Eve, and their descendants. Gabriel's horse is named Haizum.

1 In Jewish history and the Hebrew Bible

In the historical context of the destruction of Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem, and the subsequent Babylonian captivity of the Jewish Kingdom of Judah that followed, the important Jewish leader Daniel ponders the meanings of several visions he has experienced in exile, when Gabriel appears to him.

Gabriel is mentioned twice by name:

• "...And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, that I sought to understand it; and, behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man. And I heard the voice of a man between the banks of Ulai, who called, and said:' Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision.' So he came near where I stood; and when he came, I was terrified, and fell upon my face; but he said to me: 'Understand, son of man; for the vision belongs to the time of the end..." [1] (Daniel 8:15-17).

It is towards the end of the rule of BabyloniaBabylonia was an ancient state in Mesopotamia (in modern Iraq), combining the territories of Sumer and Akkad. Its capital was Babylon. The earliest mention of Babylon can be found in a tablet of the reign of Sargon of Akkad, dating back to the 23rd centur yet Gabriel is sent to elaborate and explain matters also relating to the "End of Days" (See Jewish eschatologyJewish eschatology is concerned with Mashiach (the Jewish Messiah) the continuation of the Davidic line, and Olam Haba ( Hebrew for "the world to come"; i. the afterlife). The Hebrew word Mashiach (or Moshiach means anointed one and refers to a mortal hum) such as when the kingdoms of PersiaPersia is the historical name for the state of Iran. The name was used in the West due to the ancient Greek name for Iran, Persis''. Persia is used to describe the nation of Iran, its people, or its ancient empire. The name Persia comes from a province in, GreeceGreece formally called the Hellenic Republic (in Greek: ) Hellenike Demokratia , is a country in the southeast of Europe on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula. It is bounded on land by Bulgaria, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Albania and RomeRome ( Italian and Latin Roma is the capital city of Italy, and of its Lazio region. It is located on the lower Tiber river, near the Mediterranean Sea, at 41°50'N, 12°15'E. The Vatican City State, a sovereign enclave within Rome, is the seat of the Roman will tumble from dominating the world.

• "...And while I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God; and while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, approached close to me about the time of the evening offering. And he made me understand, and talked with me, and said: 'Daniel, I have now come to make you skilful of understanding...Seventy weeks are decreed upon your people and upon your holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sin, and to forgive iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal vision and prophet, and to anoint the most holy place." [2] (Daniel 9:20-24)

Here is where Gabriel tells Daniel about the mysterious "Seventy weeks" (shavu-im shivim) that seem to indicate the end of the Babylonian captivity which lasted seventy years when Cyrus the GreatCyrus the Great figures in the Old Testament as the patron and deliverer of the Jews. He is mentioned twenty-three times by name and alluded to several times more, viz. 22 (twice), 3; Ezra i. 1 (twice), 2, 7, 8, iii. 3, 13, 14, 17, vi. 1, and 1 Esdras 2. allowed the return to ZionThis article deals with the historical and biblical Zion of Israel. For other uses of the term, see Zion (disambiguation Zion or Tzion "Height", Standard Hebrew iyyon Tiberian Hebrew iyyon Arabic uhyun originally was the specific name given to a Jebusite and the rebuilding of the Temple by the Jews in his empire.