RAGUEL (Hebr. Ré'd'ēl = “friend of God”).—Name of several persons in the Old Testament.
1. Priest of Midian and father of Sephora, the wife of Moses (Ex. 2:18), Iethro (v.).
2. Relative of Tobiah, residing in Ecbatana, the capital of Media. On the journey from Nineveh to Rages, the archangel Raphael (v.) advises Tobiah to stop at this relative’s house in order to ask him for his daughter Sara’s hand in marriage (Tob. 6:10 ff.). After the wedding has been celebrated with great magnificence for fourteen days, R. gives his daughter to Tobiah together with half of his possessions (ibid. 10:16 ff.; Vulg. 10:10 ff.).
3. In the Septuagint, a son of Esau (Vulg. Rahuel), a Benjaminite (Vulg. Rahuel), and a member of the tribe of Gad (Vulg. Duel) are also called R. Angelo Penna