ABSTRACT
Traditions identifying the principal angel with the Divine Name are far and wide, but everywhere there is an implication of a very real presence of God, even though it is not simply a metaphor, another way of speaking about God without actually speaking about him. The two earliest datable references to Metatron, apparently from the fourth century, both associate Metatron with the Divine Name. The Name is an aspect of God, at least, the aspect of God in relation to human beings. The notion that the Name Angel is not an independent being but an element of the single godhead helps to make sense of several mysterious qualities found in conjunction with this figure, including his enthroned position, and the common confusion of the angel with God. This places the principal angel in line with Philo's Logos as an emanation or articulation of God which is, to quote David Winston, 'the face of God turned toward creation'.
