"A few years ago, when I started 'collecting' angels as a philological pastime, it never crossed my mind to work as their archivist, biographer, and ultimately as their lexicographer. Such an idea had never occurred to me - and I really couldn't have thought of it - until I gathered a satisfactory number of heavenly inhabitants, so as to make the compilation of a dictionary for them possible. At first, I thought that angels, the famous angels, could only be found in the Bible. Soon I learned that, on the contrary, the Bible was the last place where I should look for them. It is true that angels are mentioned quite often in both the Old and New Testaments, but they are not named, except for two or three cases. Essentially, all the famous angels in this collection have been gathered from sources outside the Scriptures.

From the books of the New Testament, although the Synoptic Gospels and the Letters of Paul were my favorites for years, the book of Revelation always exerted a special charm on me, mainly - I believe - because of its apocalyptic imagery and its references to angels. I often read the book. However, one day, as I was flipping through its pages, my eyes fell on verse 2 of chapter 8:

"And I saw the seven angels who
stood before God;
and they were given seven trumpets."

Who are these sacred beings standing before God? Has any biblical commentator identified them? Are they of the order of seraphim, cherubim, principalities, powers? And are they always the same seven who enjoy the privilege and superiority of close proximity to the throne of Glory?

And why seven? Were the seven planets their model? Or does the idea come from the well-known chapter of Ezekiel 9, 2-11, which gives the terrifying image of the six "men" and a seventh "clothed in linen," whom God called to Jerusalem to "slaughter without pity"? Provocative questions, which even inspire awe, and which I felt should not remain unanswered. Meanwhile, the search led me to many celestial currents. Over the years, it helped me unlock golden areas that I had no suspicion existed in Heaven or on Earth."

"Beautifully illustrated, it is a triumph of erudition."
(The New York Times)

"A wonderful read and a unique reference work."
(Isaac Bashevis Singer)