The most significant appearance of Gabriel in the book of Daniel was in Daniel 9, and his most significant appearance in Luke 1 was to Mary in Luke 1:26–38. In the former passage he promised that the Anointed One would come, and in the latter passage he announced that the time of fulfillment had arrived. 

The biblical authors identify the angel Gabriel by name in only two books: the book of Daniel and the Gospel of Luke. Let’s consider these appearances and whether they have any relation to each other.

The Appearances

Gabriel is mentioned twice in Daniel and twice in Luke. Here are the spots:

• And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of the Ulai, and it called, “Gabriel, make this man understand the vision” (Dan. 8:16)
• While I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the first, came to me in swift flight at the time of the evening sacrifice (Dan. 9:21).
• And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news” (Luke 1:19).
• In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, to the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary (Luke 1:26–27).

When you look at these four places where Gabriel’s name appears, the two places in Daniel are back to back, and the two places in Luke are back to back as well. Daniel 8 and Daniel 9 are vision scenes where the future is made known to the prophet. The occurrences of Gabriel’s name in Luke are in 1:5–25 and 1:26–38, passages where the future is made known to a man named Zechariah and to a virgin named Mary.

To recap so far what we’ve noticed, Gabriel’s name appears in only two biblical books: Daniel and Luke. And in these two books, his name appears twice in them (Dan. 8:16; 9:21; Luke 1:19, 26). Furthermore, these two occurrences in each book occur in back-to-back passages (Dan. 8 and 9; Luke 1:5–25 and 1:26–38).

What Gabriel Makes Known

Read More