The first letter, Samekh, is a supporting column, a prop or a pillow. It is somemthing upon which something else rests. The second letter is Nun, which is a fish,  and isrepresentative of death and decay. Death is a support. Daleth means door, and is the symbol of Venus, t,thus giving it a sexual connotation. The association between death and sex is born out by biological history as they cam about at the same time - pre-sexual organism have a theoretically indefinite lifespan. Lamed is an ox-goad or lash. It is a symbol of severity, but also of guidance and authority. In combination with the letter peh, or mout, it suggests a voice of authority or guiding principle. Vav is the nail, and here erpresents fixity and permanence. The second nun is the oter half of the formula ofdeath and rebirth. The appearance of the same letter twice emphasises its importance.

 

Taken as a whole Sandalphon shows that permanence can only be attained through perpetual equilibrium rather than stagntation ans stillness. The human body is constantly replacing cells, creeating itself entirely anew every few years, but yet apparently staying the same. Death is the support through which authority is established for the experssion of the permanence of life through rebirth.

 

Sandalphon sees with the eyes of a child, filled with wonder at Gods creation.