Sefer Raziel HaMalakh

Documented history: Sefer Raziel HaMalakh (Hebrew: "Book of Raziel the Angel") appears in medieval Jewish sources and is preserved primarily in Hebrew and Aramaic forms. Critical historians place the appearance of the compiled form in the medieval period, with citations beginning in the 13th century. A 13th‑century Latin translation, Liber Razielis Archangeli, produced under Alfonso X of Castile, testifies to the work's circulation beyond Hebrew contexts. Modern scholarship treats the extant book as a compilation assembled from multiple authors and strata; Ashkenazi pietistic/mystical circles are widely suggested as the cultural milieu for the book's development, and figures such as Eleazar of Worms and intermediary texts (e.g., Sefer Galei Razia) are named in critical literature as part of the process that produced the present compilation. Traditions and contents (as attested in the sources): In its traditional self‑presentation the text is said to have been revealed to Adam by the angel Raziel. The work is described in catalogue and secondary sources as a grimoire of Practical Kabbalah, meaning it contains material intended for practical or magical application within a kabbalistic framework; it is listed in some compilations among key practical/mystical kabbalistic texts alongside works such as Sefer Yetzirah and the Bahir. The supplied sources do not provide a detailed table of contents or enumerate specific ritual formulas, seals, or invocations; they characterize the book at a higher level as kabbalistic/magical in nature and as a layered medieval compilation. Legend vs. history: The legendary claim that the angel Raziel revealed the book to Adam is part of the text's traditional framing and later reception; critical historians record this as a traditional attribution rather than a historical fact. The historical record in the supplied sources supports a medieval compilation origin, with earlier magical motifs possibly incorporated but not a literal angelic authorship as a factual proposition. Curse history and dangers: The provided sources do not record specific curses, named dangers, or concrete supernatural effects tied to ownership or reading of Sefer Raziel HaMalakh beyond its traditional claim of angelic revelation. No explicit curse narratives or danger warnings are cited in the supplied materials.