Meṭaṭron
"Prince of the World" (              ), an archangel in charge of the government of the
world , who actually lifted Jerusalem up to heaven; whose name is found only in
Jewish literature. Elisha b. Abuyah, seeing this angel in the heavens, believed there
were "two powers" or divinities (Ḥag. 15a, above). When God wept over the
destruction of the Temple, Meṭaṭron fell on his face and said: "I will weep; but
weep not Thou." God answered and said: "If thou wilt not suffer Me to weep, I will
go whither thou canst not come, and there will I lament" (Lam. R., Introduction, §
24; comp. Jer. xiii. 17). Meṭaṭron bears the Tetragrammaton; for Ex. xxiii. 21
says, "My name is in him." Yet he may not be worshiped; for the same passage
says, "Exchange Me not for him" (dialogue between a heretic and a Babylonian
teacher, in Sanh. 38b, below; Targ. Yer. to Ex. xxiv. 1 has Michael instead of
Meṭaṭron).

Moses begs Meṭaṭron to intercede with God for him, that he may not die; but the
angel answers: "It is useless; for I heard the words behind the veil, 'Thy prayer will
not be answered'" (both editions of Tan., Wa'etḥanan, 6). When God sorrowed for
the death of Moses, Meṭaṭron fell down before Him and consoled Him (Grünhut,
"Liḳḳuṭim," v. 105a), and when Moses died, this angel with three others, "the
princes of wisdom," cared for him (Targ. Yer. to Deut. xxxiv. 6). The early
commentators with good reason identified the prince of the world (Ḥul. 60a; Zeb.
16b; Sanh. 94a) with Meṭaṭron (Joël, "Blicke in die Religionsgesch." i. 124 et
seq.). God instructs children in the Torah during the last quarter of the day;
Meṭaṭron, during the first three-quarters ('Ab. Zarah 3b). It was this angel who
caused Shamḥazai to say before the Flood, "God will destroy the world" (Yalḳ. i.,
§ 44). He is, moreover, Enoch, the great scribe (Targ. Yer. to Gen. v. 24; in Ḥag.
15a he is likewise represented as a scribe).

In Later Records.

These statements, found in the earlier sources, contain all the characteristic traits
ascribed to Meṭaṭron in the later mystical works. The latter call him the "prince
of the presence" (Jellinek, "B. H." ii., pp. xvi., 55 et seq., v. 171; "Responsen der
Gaonen," ed. Harkavy, No. 373, p. 372; comp. Isa. lxiii. 9), and "prince of the
ministering angels" (Jellinek, l.c. v. 172). He is the "mighty scribe" (ib. ii. 68), the
lord of all the heavenly hosts, of all treasures, and of secrets (ib. ii. 114, v. 174),
and bears the lesser divine name (ib. ii. 61, 114, 117; v. 175). The Zohar defines his
nature exactly by declaring that he is little lower than God (after Ps. viii. 6; Yalḳ.
Ḥadash, 7, No. 51; comp. especially Jellinek, l.c. v. 174). He is identical in all
respects with Enoch; the "Hekalot" (ib. v. 170-190), in which he is the chief
personage, is called also "The Book of Enoch" (comp. ib. ii., p. xvi. and vi. 58:
"Enoch whose name is Meṭaṭron").

Identical with Enoch.

In the Apocrypha likewise Enoch appears as the heavenly scribe (Book of Jubilees,
iv. 23; II Enoch liii. 2), although elsewhere he is called Michael (Ascensio Isaiæ, ix.
21), while, as noted above, Targ. Yer. to Ex. xxiv. 1 substitutes the name of
Michael for Meṭaṭron, which is found in the other sources. In the Hebrew writings
Meṭaṭron fills the rôle of Enoch in the Apocrypha in bearing witness to the sins of
mankind. Since both sources represent him as a youth, it may be assumed that the
first versions of the Hebrew mystical works, though they received their present form
in the geonic period, originated in antiquity, so that the conception of Meṭaṭron
must likewise date from an early period.

The views regarding the source of this conception differ widely. The name
"Meṭaṭron," which, as stated above, occurs only in Hebrew writings, is in itself
striking. The derivation from the Latin "metator" (="guide") is doubtless correct, for
Enoch also is represented as a guide in the apocryphal work which bears his name;
and the Hebrew Book of Enoch, in which, however, reference to Meṭaṭron is
constantly implied, says: "He is the most excellent of all the heavenly host, and the
guide [Meṭaṭron] to all the treasuries of my [God]" (B. H. ii. 117).

Views as to Origin.

Mysticism prefers obscurity, and intentionally chooses a foreign word instead of the
well-known name of Enoch. Kohut identifies Meṭaṭron with the Zoroastrian
Mithra; but probably only a few traits were borrowed from the latter. Sachs,
Grünbaum, Weinstein, and others think that Meṭaṭron is identical with Philo's
Logos; but L. Cohn, the eminent Philonist, contradicts this view. M. Friedländer, on
the other hand, takes Meṭaṭron to be, both in name and in nature, none other than
Horus, the "frontier guardian" and "surveyor of the frontier" of the early Gnostics.
These divergent views clearly indicate that Meṭaṭron combines various traits
derived from different systems of thought. Grunwald (in "Jahrb. für Jüdische
Gesch. und Literatur," 1901, pp. 127 et seq.) has yet another solution for the
problem of Meṭaṭron. The ancients had already noticed that the numerical value
of the letters in the word "Meṭaṭron" corresponded with those of the word
"Shaddai" (= 314), and "Meṭaṭron" is also said to mean "palace" ("metatrion"),
and to be connected with the divine name         ("place"), etc.

In medieval mysticism Meṭaṭron plays the same rôle as in antiquity and in the
period of the Geonim (passages in Schwab, s.v.), thus furnishing a further proof of
the tenacity and stability of mystic and superstitious conceptions.


Metraton by Rabbi Dr. Michael Samuel

Metatron, is regarded in the apocalyptic literature [Cf. Alphabet R.Akiba, as well
as the other Hekalot books ] as the supreme angel of the angelic realm. He is
sometimes referred to as the "the Prince of the Divine Countenance." and who is
sometimes referred to as the Shechinah. His primary mission is to provided
sustenance to humankind and the world [Cf. Rashi on Ex. 23:21 21. The numerical
value of Metatron is equal to that of Shaddai (the Almighty)]

During the first two centuries of the Common Era, Metatron took on a very special
position in the angelic hierarchy. The angelology of apocalyptic literature mentions
a group of angels who behold the face of their king and are called "Princes of the
Countenance" (Ethiopic Book of Enoch, ch. 40, et al.). Once Metatron's personality
takes a more definitive form in the literature, he is referred to simply as "the Prince
of the Countenance." Metatron is probably derived from the Latin Metator, meaning
guide, precursor, being regarded as the angel who went before the Israelites in the
wilderness.

The Talmud eyes were bestowed upon him, each brilliant as the sun. A magnificent
throne was erected for him beside the gates of the seventh celestial palace, and a
herald proclaimed throughout the heavens concerning him, who was henceforth to be
called Metatron in the celestial regions: " I have appointed My servant Metatron as
prince and chief over all the princes in My realm, with the exception only of the
eight august and exalted princes that bear My name. Whatever angel has a request
to prefer to Me, shall appear before Metatron, and what he will command at My
bidding, ye must observe and do, for the prince of wisdom and the prince of
understanding are at his service, and they will reveal unto him the sciences of the
celestials and the terrestrials, the knowledge of the present order of the world and
the knowledge of the future order of the world. Furthermore, I have made him the
guardian of the treasures of the palaces in the heaven Arabot, and of the treasures
of life that are in the highest heaven."

Talmud tells us that to some degree Matatron has moral freedom, and in fact was
once punished for having caused tanna Elisha b. Avuyah saw Metatron to go astray
after Gnosticism seated . This occurred when he once had a mystical vision where
he beheld what he thought "perhaps there are two powers," as though indicating
Metatron himself as a second deity. Metatron then received 60 blows with fiery
rods to demonstrate that Metatron was not a god, but an angel, and could be
punished (Hag. 15a; Sanh. 38b; and Av. Zar. 3b).

There are views that associate Metatron with Enoch, who "walked with God" (Gen.
5:22) and who ascended to heaven and was changed from a human being into an
angelin addition he also became the great scribe who recorded men's deeds. This
role was also already delegated to Enoch in the Book of Jubilees (4:23). One
apocalyptical tradition writes: When Enoch was transformed into Metatron, his
body was turned into celestial fire-his flesh became flame, his veins fire, his bones
glimmering coals, the light of his eyes heavenly brightness, his eyeballs torches of
fire, his hair a flaring blaze, all his limbs and organs burning sparks, and his frame a
consuming fire. To right of him sparkled flames of fire, to left of him burnt torches
of fire, and on all sides he was engirdled by storm and whirlwind, hurricane and
thundering.

Obviously Metatron was one strange character!!

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