In Kabbalistic cosmology, Zadkiel — Righteousness of God, from tzedek joined to El, also called Hesediel from chesed (loving-kindness) — rules the fourth sephirah Chesed opposite Gevurah (Severity), tempering strict judgment with mercy. The Zohar names Zadkiel among the princes before the throne; later astrological lore makes the angel regent of Jupiter and of Sagittarius, and some listings chief of the Dominions. Alternate spellings run to Sachiel, Zachariel, Zedekiel, Zadakiel, and Tzadkiel. Despite near-identical names, Zadkiel must not be collapsed into Zaphkiel — Saturn, Binah, chief of the Ophanim in various sources — an almost opposite profile whose conflation with Zadkiel follows from name similarity rather than shared textual origin. Jophiel appears in some sources on an adjacent Jupiterian assignment.
“Reference works state plainly that Zadkiel and Zaphkiel are sometimes equated and sometimes treated as separate beings, without resolution; the confusion is onomastic, not narrative.”
