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Summary
- Michael is a Hebrew name, Mikha’el, meaning “Who is like God?”, a rhetorical question that expects the answer no one.
- The name occurs in fifteen verses; five are about the archangel (Daniel 10:13, 21; 12:1; Jude 9; Revelation 12:7).
- Nine or ten men in the Old Testament are also named Michael, among them a son of King Jehoshaphat (2 Chronicles 21:2).
- Jude 9 is the only verse that calls Michael an archangel, and the Bible does not describe his appearance.
- Catholics keep his feast on 29 September and the Orthodox on 8 November; Jehovah’s Witnesses identify him with Jesus, and Latter-day Saints with Adam.
- Michael was the most popular name for American boys every year from 1954 to 1998 except 1960.
Bibliography (Click to show)
- Behind the Name, “Michael,” “Michelle,” “Michaela” and “Mikael,” with United States popularity figures from Social Security Administration data. https://www.behindthename.com/name/michael
- Blue Letter Bible, Strong’s H4317 (Mikha’el) and G3413 (Michaēl), with the Brown-Driver-Briggs outline of the men named Michael. https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h4317/kjv/wlc/0-1/
- Origen, De Principiis 3.2.1, on the source of Jude 9, Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 4. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/04123.htm
- “Michael (archangel),” Wikipedia, on feast days and on Adventist, Latter-day Saint, Jewish and Islamic views. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_(archangel)
- “Prayer to Saint Michael,” Wikipedia, on the Leonine Prayers of 1886 and their suppression in 1964. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prayer_to_Saint_Michael
- Jehovah’s Witnesses, “Who Is Michael the Archangel?”, jw.org. https://www.jw.org/en/bible-teachings/questions/archangel-michael/
- Biblical Research Institute of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, “Is Michael another name for Jesus?” https://adventistbiblicalresearch.org/articles/is-michael-another-name-for-jesus
- Doctrine and Covenants 27:11, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/27?lang=eng
- Scripture quotations from the English Standard Version: Exodus 15:11; Micah 7:18; Daniel 10:5, 13, 21; 12:1; Jude 9; Revelation 12:7–9. References: Numbers 13:13; 1 Chronicles 5:13–14; 6:39–40; 7:3; 8:16; 12:20; 27:18; 2 Chronicles 21:2–4; Ezra 8:8; Joshua 5:13–15; Isaiah 6:2; Ezekiel 1:6; 1 Thessalonians 4:16; Qur’an 2:98.
