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Judeo-Christian demonsAdramelechThe name Adramelech (also Adrammalech) appears in the Old Testament only twice. The first time, he is mentioned as a son of the Assyrian King Sennacharib along with Sharezer, who murdered their father while he was worshiping in the temple of his idol, Nisrach. The second time Adramelech is mentioned is in the context of a Samarian sun god who was worshipped by the Sepharvites.
AsmodeusAsmodeus, also known as Ashmadia, most likely originated from the Persian Aeshma-deva ("demon of waith"). The apocryphal Book of Tobit describes an instance where Raguel's daughter, Sarah, was tormented by the demon. She was married to seven times, each time the Asmodeus killed off the husband before they could have intercourse. Sarah, was about to hang herself in grief, but decided against it after thinking about the shame it would cause her father. She then prayed to God for death. God answered her prayer by sending the angel, Raphael, to her aid. He instructed Tobiah to place fish liver and heart on the embers for incense. Asmodeus was repelled by the odor:
In the Testament of Solomon (dated 1st - 3rd centuries CE) , Solomon invokes Asmodeus to aid in the construction of the Temple. The demon appears and predicts Solomon's kingdom will one day be divided.
After Asmodeus had spoken, Solomon ordered him to state his name and activities, to which the demon responded that he:
When Solomon interrogated Asmodeus further, he learned that Asmodeus was thwarted by the angel, Raphael, as well as sheatfish found in the rivers of Assyria. He also admitted he hated water. Asmoday appears later in Mather's translation of the Goetia: the Lesser Key of Solomon as the 32th spirit. Astarte/AstarothAstaroth/Astarot is derived from Ashtoreth of 1 Kings 11:5 "the goddess of the Sidonians." The name is derived from the goddess Astarte with the ending distorted to closely resemble the Hebrew boshet, meaning "shame." The name should not be associated with the Hebrew "Asherah"/"Ashura", the consort of Yahweh. Other interpretations translate "Astoreth" as "lady", similar to that of Baal, which means "lord." A Babylonian title of hers is Qadesh, similar to Qadishtu, meaning harlot. Astarte was the goddess of love, fertility, and war. In Egypt, she might have been the daughter of the sun god Ra or Ptah, & is sometimes identified as the goddess Ah or Ast (Isis). She may also be identified with the Sumerian goddess Innini. Astarte is depicted in a number of ways, sometimes with the head of a lioness, cow, or bull. Sometimes she carries a shield and club as she rides into battle naked on her horse or driving her chariot. Astarte corresponds to the Arabian male deity, Athtar, is identified with Aphrodite, Mylitta, and sometimes Tyche, as well as the Assyrian Istaru. Astaroth appears later in Mather's translation of the Goetia: the Lesser Key of Solomon as the 29th spirit.
AzazelAzazel is the chief of the Se'irim, or goat-demons, who haunted the desert and to whom most primitive Semitic (most likely non-Hebrew) tribes offered sacrifices. The Old Testament states that Jeroboam appointed priests for the Se'irim. But Josiah destroyed the places of their worship, as the practices accompanying this worship involved copulation of women with goats. The Se'irim, or hairy demons as the word itself means, are mentioned in Leviticus 17:7 and 2 Chronicles 11:15 as "goat-demons". Isaiah 34:14 says that the "goat-demons" greet each other amoung the ruins of Edom along with Lilith and other wild beasts. The name 'Azazel' may be derived from 'azaz' and 'el' meaning 'strong one of God.' It is thought that Azazel may have been derived from the Canaanite god, 'Asiz, who caused the sun to burn strongly. It has also been theorized that he has been influenced by the Egyptian god, Seth. In Leviticus 16:8 we are told that the Lord ordered his high priest, Aaron, to 'place lots upon the two goats, one marked for the Lord and the other marked for Azazel' on the Jewish Day of Atonement. The goat designated by lot for the Lord is to be used as a sin offering, while the goat designated for Azazel "shall be left standing alive before the Lord, to make expiation with it and to send it off to the wilderness for Azazel." (Lev 16:10) Aaron was to "lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat and confess over it all the iniquities and transgressions of the Israelites, whatever their sins, putting them on the head of the goat; and it shall be sent off to the wilderness through a designated an. Thus the goat shall carry on it all their iniquities to an inaccessible region; and the goat shall be set free in the wilderness." (Lev 16:21-22) Leviticus also says that "He who set the Azazel-goat free shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water; after that he may reenter the camp." (16:26) From this passage in Leviticus, it would seem that Azazel is conceived of as a personal being, as lots were drawn for the Lord and for him. Also, Leviticus mentions that Azazel lives in the wilderness, as do the Se'irim. Because of this ritual, Azazel is known as the "scapegoat." The goat that is sent to Azazel is not as a sacrifice, but as a symbol that there is no longer any unexpiated guilt. Both the goat and the man who leads away the goat are unclean, and the only way the man can reenter the camp is by washing his clothes and bathing. In one account of the fall of the angels in the Book of Enoch, Azazel (Asa'el as in the Qumran texts) is the leader of the Watchers who educates humankind of heavenly secrets that lead humankind to sin. These teachings include making weapons of war and preparing cosmetics, which enabled the women to seduce the angels. The angels then charge Asa'el before the Lord with crimes of revealing the heavenly secrets which mankind was not supposed to know. Raphael was then assigned to punish Asa'el by binding him hand and foot and throwing him into the darkness among the sharp and jagged rocks, where he would remain until the day of judgment when he would be hurled into the fire. The story then claims that "the whole earth has been corrupted by [Asa'el's] teachings of his (own) actions; and write upon him all sin." . It was because of Asa'el's teachings that God sent the Flood to destroy the evil in the world including even the souls of the giants, so that all evil will be wiped away from the face of the earth.
In the Apocalypse of Abraham, Azazel is portrayed as an unclean bird which came down upon the sacrifice which Abraham prepared. This is in reference to Genesis 15:11 "Birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away."
The Apocalypse of Abraham also associates Azazel with Hell. Abraham says to him "May you be the firebrand of the furnace of the earth! Go, Azazel, into the untrodden parts of the earth. For your heritage is over those who are with you" (14:5-6) There is also the idea that God's heritage (the created world) is largely under the dominion of evil. It is "shared with Azazel" (20:5) Azazel is also identified with the serpent which tempted Eve. His form is described as a dragon with "hands and feet like a man's, on his back six wings on the right and six on the left." (23:7) Finally, the Apocalypse of Abraham says that the wicked will "putrefy in the belly of the crafty worm Azazel, and be burned by the fire of Azazel's tongue." (31:5) Here again, there is another reference to Azazel as being Hell.
BeelzebubBa'al-zebub, also called Beelzebub or Beelzebul is known as the 'prince of demons' in the Synoptic Gospels during the accusations of the Pharisees against Jesus.
The name Ba'al-zebub is associated with the Philistine city of Ekron. In 2 Kings, after Moab rebelled against Israel, Ahaziah had fallen and injured himself. To find out if he'd recover from the injury he sent out messengers, telling them:
The Lord, however sent Elijah to intercept the messengers on their way to Ekron, asking them if they seek Baalzebub's advice because there is no God of Israel and instructing them to return home and inform their master that he shall not recover. Ba'alzebub's name derives from the Canaanite "Baal" meaning "lord," and he is known as the "lord of the flies" In the Testament of Solomon (1st-3rd centuries CE), Solomon learns that Beelzeboul is one of the fallen angels who destroys by means of tyrants, causes demons to be worshipped, arouses desires in priests, brings about jealousies and murders, and instigates wars. The other demon he refers to as being imprisoned in the Red Sea is the one-winged demon,, Abezethibou, Moses' adversary in Egypt.
Beelzeboul then prophecizes that the wind demon, Ephippas will bind the demon imprisoned in the Red Sea and bring him out of the abyss. He then tells Solomon that he is thwarted by the Almighty God and the oath "the Elo-i".
Another manuscript (MS P) of the passage found includes the numeric sum of the name of God. The letters translate as follows. E = 5, m = 40, m = 40, a = 1, n = 50, o = 70, u = 400, e = 8, l = 30.
Finally, Beelzeboul informs Solomon about heavenly things.
According to the apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus (5th century CE), after Christ's crucifixion, Satan/Beelzebub is depicted conversing with Hell about how he would now bring Christ down to Hades. While conversing, Christ frees Adam and those residing in Hades and then ascended with them into paradise. Hell then rebukes Satan:
BehemothBehemoth, a spirit of the desert, possibly derives from the Egyptian for "water buffalo" or from the Egyptian deity, Taueret, about whom the Greek historian, Herodotus wrote. In the Old Testament, the earliest description is in the Book of Job, which describes Behemoth as follows:
1 (Ethiopic Apocalypse of) Enoch (dated second century BCE - first century CE) gives the following description of this demon's origins:
Also 4Edras 6:47-52 (dated late 1st century CE) states that on the fifth day, after God had commanded the water to create living creatures:
John Milton writes about the birth of Behemoth in his epic, "Paradise Lost" living creatures, both good and evil:
BelialAmong certain sections of the Jews, Belial was considered the chief of all the devils. In The War of the Sons of Light and the Sons of Darkness (1QM), one of the Dead Sea scrolls, Belial is the leader of the Sons of Darkness:
Belial is also mentioned in the Fragments of a Zadokite Work (which is also known as The Damascus Document (CD)), which states that at the time of the Antichrist, "Belial shall be let loose against Israel, as God spake through Isaiah the prophet." (6:9). The Fragments also speak of "three nets of Belial" which are said to be fornication, wealth, and polution of the sanctuary. (6:10-11) In this work, Belial is sometimes presented as an agent of divine punishment and sometimes as a rebel, as Mastema is. It was Belial who inspired the Egyptian sorcerers, Jochaneh and his brother, to oppose Moses and Aaron. The Fragments also say that anyone who is ruled by the spirits of Belial and speaks of rebellion should be condemned as a necromancer and wizard. Belial is also mentioned in the Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs. The author of the work seems to be a dualist because he presents Belial as God's opponent, not as a servant, but does not mention how or why this came to be. Simeon 5:3 says that fornication separates man from God and brings him near to Beliar. Levi tells his children to choose between the Law of God and the works of Beliar (Levi 19:1) It also states that when the soul is constantly disturbed, the Lord departs from it and Beliar rules over it. Naphtali (2:6, 3:1) contrasts the Law and will of God with the purposes of Beliar. Also, in 20:2, Joseph prophesies that when Israel leaves Egypt, they will be with God in light while Beliar will remain in darkness with the Egyptians. Finally, the Testament describes that when the Messiah comes, the angels will punish the spirits of deceit and Beliar (3:3) and that the Messiah will bind Beliar and give to his children the power to trample the evil spirits (18:12). The Martyrdom of Isaiah, Belial is the angel of lawlessness and is the ruler of this world.
Belial appears later in Mather's translation of the Goetia: the Lesser Key of Solomon as the 68th spirit.
LeviathanThe Apocryphal Book of Enoch gives the following description of this monster's origins:
Leviathan was a large whale-like sea creature, who may have had 7 heads according to some legends. A lengthy description of him comes from the Book of Job:
Also, according to Isaiah 27:1, on the Day of Judgement the Lord will slay Leviathan:
According to a passage in the T.B. Baba Bathra (75a), at the time of the resurrection, Gabriel will fight against Leviathan and overcome. However, in Psalms 74:26 God is praised as having crushed the heads of Leviathan:
In Paradise Lost, Milton mentions Leviathan twice referring to his enormous size. (See Book 1 Line 207, & Book 7 Line 412) LilithIn the Babylonian tradition, there is a triad of demons with whom Lilith is associated. The male is called Lilu, and the two females are Lilitu, a frigid, barren, & husbandless demon who roamed the night searching for men to seduce or drink their blood, and Ardat Lili, the 'maid of desolation.' Lilith is thought be the demon of waste places who originally lived in the garden of the Sumerian goddess, Innana, queen of heaven. She is mentioned only briefly in the Hebrew Bible in Isaiah 34:14. In Jewish traditions, Lilith was created with Adam from the dust of the earth, & became his first wife. She was stubborn, though, & refused to be subservient to her husband. Instead of becoming Adam's servant, she left him & was turned out of Paradise. However, before God created Eve, He sent 3 angels to try to convince Lilith to return to Adam. She refused, & God cursed her by sentencing 100 of her offspring to die each day. After her expulsion from Paradise, however, she slept once more with Adam, & bore the Shedim, Lilin, & Rauchin. Later, in Kabbalistic circles, Lilith became the mistress of Sammael. It is mistakenly thought that Lilith's name was derived from the Hebrew word lailah, which means 'night.' This was probably derived from the similarity of the two words, and the idea that Lilith was mostly active at night. Lucifer
In Christian tradition, this passage is proof for the fall of Lucifer. However, it may be that this passage is an allusion to a Canaantie or Phoenician myth about Helel, who is the son of the god Shahar. Helel sought the throne of the chief god and was cast down into the abyss because of this. El, Elyon, and Shahar are members of the Canaanite pantheon, while the "mount of meeting" is the abode of the gods, which corresponds to Mount Olympus in Greek mythology. There is a Ugaritic poem about two divine children, Shachar (dawn) and Shalim (dusk), who were born as the result of the intercourse of the god El with mortal women. There are, however, no Canaanite sources that tell about Helel ben Shahar or a revolt against Elyon. Many Apocalyptic writers interpreted this passage as referring to Lucifer, and wrote about the fall of the angels. 1 Enoch refers to the falling angels as stars (see the watchers) and may be the beginning of the overlap between the story of the watchers and Isaiah. The name 'Lucifer' means light-bearer, and is not used in the New Testament, where the "bearer of light" is Christ. He was once one of the Seraphim (sometimes called the fiery, flying serpents). Later authors, such as St. Jerome, associate Ezekial 28:13-15 with Lucifer, the greatest of the fallen angels. It has been argued that this passage was actually addressed to Nebuchadrezzar.
Later interpretations of the fall tell that Lucifer was upset because God the Father made Lucifer's brother, Jesual, the Son. From his head, he gave birth to Sin, and by copulating with her, fathered Death. He was then cast out of heaven. There are characters similar to Lucifer in other mythologies. In Egypt, there is a serpent god, Sata, whi is father of lightning and who likewise fell to earth. A Babylonian god, Zu, was also a lightning god who fell as a fiery flying serpent. MephistophilesMephistophiles is the name of the devil in the Faust myths of the late Middle Ages through the Renaissance. During this period, there was a revival in the popularity of the Devil with the Protestant Reformation, which emphasized the Bible as the sole authority on religious matters, & thus greater emphasis on the New Testament concept of evil. Labels were thrown around between the Protestants and the Catholics - both claiming the other was the tool of the Devil, with Protestants claiming the Pope was the Antichrist. Rumors of Witchcraft and Satanism ran wild. New beliefs came to light during this time contributing to this phenomenon, stressing the importance of the individual's choice of free will in following God or the Devil over previous notions of the cosmic battle between God and the Devil. God would still be there to protect the individual, but if the individual was weak in faith, it was seen as an open invitation to the Devil. Martin Luther struggled with the concept of the Devil and evil in relation to an omnipotent God, coming close to arguing that the Devil was just a manifestation of the evil side of God (as Christ was the good side of God). He wrote that God's will included the Devil as his tool doing God's work, and that he would not exist if God had not created him. However, while the two may appear to be doing the same will, their purpose is always different, with God always working towards the ultimate good while the Devil's intent was to destroy. While the theology of the individual's struggle between good and evil was circling, the poets and playwrights of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries took to applying the classic narratives such as the Iliad to Christian mythos, and openly embraced the cosmic battle between Christ or Michael over the Devil & his fallen angels at the beginning of the world, a concept that was common to popular belief though not expressly written within the Bible itself. Much of it was based on Jewish Midrash of the fall of the Watchers or an interpretation of Revelation 12. And then came Faust. Faust was a historical figure who was turned into a legendary character throughout the years. The earliest accounts of his life come from the beginnings of the 1500s. Faust studied philosophy and theology, went on to hermetic magic and eventually ended up with fortune telling. With the theology of the Protestant Reformation circling, many identified hermetic magic, or any magic for that matter, as a prideful attempt at attaining divine knowledge through the intellect & thus must be aided by the Devil. Faust soon became associated with the Devil, and by the end of the 1500s, rumors were spreading that he had made a pact with the Devil. The first book devoted entirely to Faust was written by Johann Spiess in 1587 and came to be known as the Faustbook. Faust, a scholar, desires to obtain knowledge and thus sells his soul to the Devil - a parallel to the original sin of Adam and Eve and their quest for the forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge. The spirit Faust invokes as a servant of Lucifer is Mephistophiles, who agrees to aid Faust in this quest for twenty-four years if Faust will make a pact written in blood to deny Christ and the Christian people. When his time is up, Faust experiences a moment of piety and summons his students and warns them against sin and temptation. His actions are in vain, though, for the next morning, his mangled body is found. Another famous account of the Faust myth was written by Christopher Marlowe in 1588-89 called Doctor Faustus. The structure follows the Faustbook closely though Faust is portrayed in a clownish way, with Faust's sin being pride and the moral of the story proclaiming that lust for worldly fame and power ultimately leads to destruction. Again, Faust's mutilated body is found by his students the morning after his years of power have ended. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe transformed the Faust myth significantly when he wrote his version of Faust during most of his life (approx 1770-1832). Mephistophiles in this account is portrayed anywhere from a minor demon to the Devil's equivalent (or even the Devil himself) appearing both as God's opponent and the instrument of God's divine will. Mephistophiles is presented as the spirit of chaos, as a liar and trickster who can flatter and coax. He hates beauty and fails to grasp the power of love. He is proud and reenacts the part of the satan in Job, making a bet with God to win over Faust's soul and asking God for permission to put Faust to the test. Faust, himself, is eventually able to redeem himself through his never ceasing to strive and give himself over to sensual pleasure, and through his learning to love. MolochMoloch, whose name probably was a derivative of the Hebrew word for king, Molech, was known as a fire god through out the Old Testament to whom children were sacrificed. He was referred to as "the abomination of the children of Ammon" (1 Kings 11:7) and portrayed as one of the idol gods the Israelites worshipped. Solomon was even said to have created a temple to him. (1 Kings 11:7) Moloch (or Saturn-Moloch) is also identified with Baal Hammon in Carthaginian religion, in which human sacrifice was performed to appease the god. An example of a religious tablet reads as such:
Infants were not the only ones sacrificed in Carthage. Justin writes:
Ancient descriptions of the sacrificial sites were described.
Diodorus described the ritualistic sacrifice. First, the devotee would kiss the image of Moloch. He would then make a fire under the idol, which would quickly cause the hands of the statue to become red-hot. A victim would then be placed in the hands to suffer an agonizing death. His cries would be muffed by the drums. While this was taking place, the prophets would dance around an altar,
It was mentioned in the Old Testament that Jezebel sacrificed to Moloch, and supported 450 of his prophets. Several Biblical References include:
Watchers/Nephilim (Naphidim)
This is the only account of the watchers in the Bible. Isaiah 14:12-15 talks of the fall of the "day-star, son of morning," which implies that there was a revolt, and the "day-star" was cast into the abyss, but this may be a reference to early Canaanite or Phoenician myths. (see Lucifer) One other possible reference is Psalm 82.
The parts of the Psalm I have left out are the parts that refer to wicked earthly rulers, but it is agreed upon by many scholars that this part of the Psalm refers to the fallen angels. While Genesis 6 tells that angels married women, it does not condemn this as a sin. Psalm 82 tells that the elohim sinned, but does not tell how (i.e. it does not mention that they married women). It may have been that the angels sinned by reproducing. Certain passages in Jewish Midrash talk of how angels are immortal and do not need to reproduce. Because humans are not, they must reproduce in order to achieve immortality in their descendents. This is a passage from Jewish midrash in which Hannah is praying for a child at Shiloh:
A different interpretation of this passage concerning the sin of the angels was that they revolted against God, and because of this, they were cast down. Apocrypal texts give more complete accounts of the fall of the angels. 1 Enoch gives an account of the fall of the Angels from heaven. Chapter 6 talks of how the angels saw and lusted after the daughters of men.
The angels descended on Mount Hermon during the days of Jared. There were 19 leaders mentioned in 1 Enoch, who were also called 'the chiefs of ten.' Once they reached the earth:
The Angels then taught women charms, enchantments, the cutting of roots, and the knowledge of plants. They taught men how to make various weapons and armor, and also arts and sciences. These acts led to an increase in lawlessness and warfare. The men of earth then cried out to heaven, and the 4 archangels (Michael, Uriel, Raphael, and Gabriel) cried out to God. In response, God sent Uriel to warn Noah that there would soon be a flood that would destroy the wickedness on earth. Raphael was commanded to bind Azazel hand and foot, and to cast him into the a hole in the desert (Duda'el) that the Lord had made. Raphael threw rugged and sharp rocks and covered Azazel's face so that he would not see light. Michael was commanded to bound Semyaza and his associates in the valleys of the earth. They will remain there until the day of judgment when he will be cast into the fire. The race of giants produced from this union gave way to a brood of evil spirits. The evil spirits most likely are the departed spirits of the giants, themselves. These spirits are not material or corporeal beings, but they torment mankind because they have proceeded from them. According to 1 Enoch, these spirits will not be punished until the day of judgment, in contrast to the Watchers, who are punished both before and on the day of judgment.
1 Enoch 19 also gives a variation to the origin of demons. It implies that demons were already in existence during the time of the fall of the angels. According to 1 Enoch 10-16, the demons are the spirits which go forth from these angels.
1 Enoch 85-90 gives a similar account of the fall of the angels. In these passages, a star (either Semjaza or Azazel) fell from heaven and began to pasture among the oxen (mankind). A number of stars then fell and were transformed into bulls. They began to cover the cows (the angels married mortal women), who then gave birth to elephants, camels, and asses (the giants). The oxen then became restless and began to fight, but they became prey to the wild beasts. The archangels then appear in the disguise of men. One seizes the first of the fallen stars and casts it into the abyss. A second gives the elephants, camels, and asses a sword so that they will slay each other. A third archangel stones the other fallen stars and casts them into the gulf. The story then goes on to describe the Maccabean revolt, which leads to a description of the final struggle between good and evil. It seems that there is a threefold aspect to the sin of the Watchers in these accounts. First, it was a defilement of the essence of the angels to marry and engage in sexual acts with human women. Second, these unions between the angels and mortal women were considered evil, themselves. Because of the Nephilim and and evil created by these unions, God caused the great Flood of Noah's time. Finally, the angels sinned because they taught humanity and revealing the secrets of the natural universe which God did not intend for man to know. The Book of Jubilees gives another account of how the Watchers fell that is similar to 1 Enoch. It explains that the Watchers originally descended to the earth to teach mankind and do what is just, but they 'sinned with the daughters of men because these had begun to mix with earthly women so that they became defiled.' (Jubilees 4:22) Malalael "named [his son] Jared because during his lifetime the angels of the Lord who were called Watchers descended to earth to teach mankind and to do what is just and upright upon the earth" - Jubilees 4:15 Jubilees also says that they were sent by God, Himself.
Jubilees tells an account of the fall of the angels similar to that of 1 Enoch. God was displeased with the angels because of their lust for the daughters of men. The union of the angels and women is said to be the Nephilim.
In Jubilees, Mastema is the chief of the spirits. As God commanded the angels to bind all the evil spirits, Mastema came and asked the Lord that some of the spirits might be allowed to remain with him to do his will. God granted his request and allowed one tenth of the spirits to remain with Mastema, while the other nine parts would be condemned.
2 Enoch also mentions a group of angels called the Grigori, who are similar to the Watchers. Their prince is called Satanail. A difference in this account as compared with the two previous accounts is that only 3 angels came down to earth to take wives and beget giants.
In the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, the fall of the angels is mentioned twice. One is only a brief reference stating that the Watchers "changed the order of their nature." (Naphtali 3:5) The second is in Reuben, where he accuses womankind of seeking to ensnare men.
In this account, the writer denies that there was a physical union between the angels and mortal women. He says that the real fathers of the giants were humans, but the giants were conceived from the mutal passion from angels and women. Names and Misdeeds of the Fallen Angels (aka the Five Satans) in 1 Enoch 69:4-12. (1 Enoch gives other lists of the names of the fallen angels as well.) This passage is odd because it mentions angels that are not mentioned elsewhere.
Names of other fallen angels - Semyaz, Aristaqis, Armen, Kokba'el, Tur'el, Rumyal, Danyul, Neqa'el, Baraqel, Azaz'el, Armaros, Betryal, Basas'el, Hanan'el, Tur'el, Sipwese'el, Yeter'el, Tuma'el, Tur'el, Rum'el, and Azaz'el - 1 Enoch 69:2
SatanSatan in the Old Testament and In Early Jewish
Apocryphal Writings
Satan possesses no real demonic qualities in the OT writings. He is mentioned as a distinct personality in 3 passages. These passages are thought to be post-exilic and are dated between 519 and 300 BCE.
Here, "Satan" becomes an official title of a distinct personality, but it is not used as a proper name because it is still used with the article "the."
In this passage, the Satan is the servant of God, whose job is not only to accuse man, but he also urges God to test Job. He does nothing without the permission of God. He appears along with the other 'ben Elohim' (sons of God) implying that he is one of the angel-ministers of Yahweh. Also, this passage shows that while he acts in accordance with God's permission, he seems as if he would be pleased if he could prove that Job wasn't as loyal to God as God claimed. Despite this, he remains an angel.
This passage is a later version of the passage in 2 Samuel 24:1 "The anger of the LORD again flared up against Israel; and He incited David against them, saying, 'Go and number Israel and Judah.'" While the author attributes the census to Satan, he insists that David was personally responsible for his actions and therefore guilty of breaking God's law. Satan's substitution for the Lord indicates that he was thought of as the destructive power of God. Rabbinic Literature gives two accounts for the origin of Satan. The first is that Satan was created on the sixth day at the same time as Eve. This ties in with the tradition that Satan played some part in the fall of man. The second and more prevalent tradition is that Satan is one of the fallen angels. Satan is identified with Sammael and his deeds. In T.B. Baba Bathra (16a), Satan is identified with the Yetzer ha Ra, which is the 'evil impulse' in man. The Talmud distinguishes between the personified Satan outside man, and the Yetzer ha Ra that exists within man. It is this evil impulse within man that allows Satan the opportunity to work his will against man. Rabbinic writings also foreshadow the destruction of Satan. T.B. Succah (52a) talks of the destruction of the evil angel, while the Yalkut Jesaj (359) implies that Satan will be overthrown at a future time by the Messiah, referring to Psalm 36:9. The general belief is that there are a class of satans with a chief Satan. For example, in 1 Enoch, there are 5 Satans. The first and second are said to have been responsible for leading astray the angels and for bringing them down to earth, where they sinned with the daughters of men (69:4), while the third brought about the fall of Adam and Eve (69:6). The satans are allowed to access heaven in order to accuse men, but they are not confined to heaven.
Satan's Fall
This passage usually is interpreted to refer to the temptation and fall of Eve. The following passages describe this encounter. (It may also be noted that this passage could also be interpreted as referring to Cain because according to Genesis, physical death did not enter the world until Cain murdered Abel.) 2 Enoch explains that the angels were created on the second day of creation and were assigned to various positions. One of the angels, called Satanel, rebelled because he thought he could become more powerful than God. God, therefore, threw him out of heaven.
In his jealousy, Satanail decided to lead Adam astray, even though he was aware of his own sinfulness. When his plan worked, God cursed evil and ignorance, implying that it is through man's ignorance of his own nature that is the root of sin, not Satanail.
The Apocalypsis Mosis tells of how Satan used the serpent as a vessel to lead astray Adam and Eve. The serpent tells him that he fears the Lord's wraith, but Satan convinces him that he only has to be a vessel - it will be Satan speaking through him.
This book then mentions that it was the devil that spoke through Eve that led Adam astray.
A similar account of the fall of Satan takes place in the Books of Adam and Eve. These books give an account of how Satan tempted and brought about the fall of Adam and Eve. In the beginning, Satan is represented as being an angel of God. It then explains that when Adam was formed in God's image, Michael commanded the angels to worship him. Satan refused to do so because Adam was inferior and younger then himself. He claimed that Adam should worship him. Because of this, Satan and the other angels who refused to worship Adam were banished from heaven. Satan then decided to bring about the ruin of Adam and Eve. There is no reference to the Watchers or the union of angels with women.
These later accounts (Vita Adae et Evae and Apocalypsis Mosis) give a much more highly developed concept of Satan, that is close to the presentation of Satan in the New Testament. He appears as the great enemy of mankind and God, and is directly associated with the fall of Adam and Eve (which isn't the prominent teaching of the New Testament, although Paul does mention it briefly in 2 Corinthians 11:3). The Apocalypsis Mosis also is one of the only books to develop the idea that the Devil can take possession of a person (the other being the the Book of Tobit in which Asmodeus appears to take possession of Sarah).
Satan in the New Testament In Mark 3:22ff. the Scribes say of Jesus "'He is possessed by Beelzebub,' and 'By the prince of demons he drives out demons.'" Jesus then rebuts the statement by asking "How can Satan drive out Satan?" This rebuttal seems to identify Beelzebub with Satan, however it can be noted that there may be two concepts here with Jesus identifying Satan with the prince of demons and Beelzebub being a separate identity. Both Matthew 12:24 and Luke 11:15 specify Beelzebub as the prince of demons, however in Jesus' rebuttal, He mentions both Satan and Beelzebub, implying the two are identical terms. The first reference to Satan is in the temptation of Jesus. Mark says that Jesus was 'tempted of Satan,' while Matthew and Luke say that He was 'tempted of the devil.' (Mk 1:13, Mt 4:1-11, Lk 4:2-13) The terminology used throughout the NT generally consists of identifying Satan with the devil and the evil one. The parable of the sower demonstrates this. Mark 4:15 uses 'Satan,' while Luke 8:12 uses 'the devil,' and Matthew 13:19 uses 'the evil one.' This parable of how Satan comes and 'takes away the word which has been sown in them' (Mk 4:15) is very similar to the parable in the Book of Jubilees where the prince, Mastema (identified with Satan), sent ravens and other birds to devour the seed which had been sown. (11:11ff.) The Gospels speak of both demons and Satan as being able to possess an individual. An example of an evil spirit taking possession is the case of the woman who had a spirit of infirmity' for eighteen years, which was attributed to her being 'bound' by Satan (Lk 13:11ff.) Here, the condition of the woman is regarded as being caused by demon possession, with Satan as the chief of evil spirits. It is most often portrayed in the Gospels that when a demon takes possession of an individual, it is usually by force and the demonized are not regarded as willful sinners or as excessively wicked people. However, when Satan is said to enter into a person, the possession is not forceful, and the man is held accountable for allowing Satan to influence him. Examples include when Jesus addressed Peter by saying 'Get behind me, Satan.' (Mk 8:33, Mt 16:23) and in Luke 22:3 and John 13:2, which both portray the betrayal of Judas as an effect of Satan entering into Judas. Also, only a few passages in the Synoptic Gospels mention the final destruction of Satan. Luke 10:18 describes Jesus saying 'I beheld Satan fallen as lightning from heaven.' This may refer to either the original fall of Satan from heaven or it may imply that Jesus believed that the success of His disciples casting out demons could symbolize a complete overthrow of Satan. The most direct allusion in the Gospels is that found in Matthew 25:41 where at the last judgment, Jesus will say to the wicked 'Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.' In the book of Acts, the terms, 'Satan' and 'the Devil' are used synonymously to portray the chief power of evil. Acts regards Satan as an instigator of falsehood and deceit in the story of Ananias and Sapphira (5:1ff) This agrees with the statement in John which says that the devil tells lies.
Acts also makes reference to Satan as the head of the kingdom of evil. When Paul spoke to king Agrippa, he told the king of how Jesus wanted him to preach to the Gentiles in order "to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God" (26:18) |
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