Samael

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the archangel. For other uses, see Samael (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Samuel.
Jacob Wrestles with the Angel, Gustave Doré (1855)
A relief of the Archangel Samiel in red robe, shown on the left side of the altar at Saint Bartholomew's Church, in Sydenham, London.

Samael (

seducer, and Destroying angel (in the Book of Exodus
).

Although many of his functions resemble the Christian notion of Satan, to the point of being sometimes identified as a fallen angel,[5][6][7]: 257–60  he is not necessarily evil, since his functions are also regarded as resulting in good, such as destroying sinners.[3]

He is considered in

fall of Adam and Eve with a snake in writings during the Second Temple period.[5] However, the serpent is not a form of Samael, but a beast he rode like a camel.[8] In a single account he is also believed to be the father of Cain,[6][9] as well as the partner of Lilith. In early Talmudic and Midrashic literature he is not identified with Satan yet. Only in later Midrashim he is entitled "head of satans".[10]

As guardian angel and prince of Rome, he is the archenemy of Israel. By the beginning of Jewish culture in Europe, Samael had been established as a representative of Christianity, due to his identification with Rome.[11][7]: 263 

In some Gnostic cosmologies, Samael's role as source of evil became identified with the Demiurge, the creator of the material world. Although probably both accounts originate from the same source, the Gnostic development differs from the Jewish development of Samael, in which Samael is merely an angel and servant of God.

Judaism

Second Temple period and posteriority

Samael sits enrobed with scythe in hand on top the world, Gustave Doré illustration

Samael was first mentioned during the

Semyaza.[6][13]

In the

Greek Apocalypse of Baruch,[5] he is the dominant evil figure. Samael plants the Tree of knowledge, thereupon he is banished and cursed by God.[7]: 257–60  To take revenge, he tempts Adam and Eve into sin by taking the form of the serpent.[5][6]

He appears further as the embodiment of evil in the Ascension of Isaiah, often identified as:

  • Melkira (Hebrew: מלך רע, melek ra, 'king of evil, 'king of the wicked');
  • Malkira / Malchira (מלאך רע, malakh/malach ra, 'messenger of evil' or 'angel of iniquity');
  • Belkira (prob. בעל קיר, baal qir, 'lord of the wall'); or
  • Bechira (בחיר רע, bachir ra, 'the elect of evil, chosen by evil').

The names Belial and Satan are also applied to him and he gains control of King Manasseh in order to accuse Isaiah of treason.[6]

Talmudic-Midrashic literature

In

Midrashic literature, Samael's role as an agent of evil is rather marginal, but from the fifth or sixth century onward, this name again becomes one of the most prominent among the demonic entities.[7]: 257–60  Samael has not been identified with the angel of death in the Talmud.[14]

In the Exodus Rabbah, Samael is depicted as the accuser in the heavenly court and tempting to sin, while Michael defends Israel's actions.[15] Here, Samael is identified with Satan. While Satan describes his function as an "accuser," Samael is considered to be his proper name. He also fulfills the role of the Angel of Death, when he comes to take the body of Moses and is called the leader of satans.

The title of satan is also applied to him in the midrash

Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer, where he is the chief of the fallen angels,[7]: 257–60  and a twelve-winged seraph.[16] According to the text, Samael opposed the creation of Adam and descended to Earth to tempt him into evil. Riding the serpent, he convinces Eve to eat the forbidden fruit.[6] His role here might be similar to the Islamic idea of Iblis,[17] who refused to prostrate himself before Adam because he consists of fire and Adam merely from dust.[18][19] The midrash also reveals Samael fathered Cain with Eve.[6]

In the

Midrash Konen, he is the ruler of the third hell. Several sources, such as Yalkut Shimoni (I, 110) describe him as the guardian angel of Esau relating him to Rome, the one who wrestled with Jacob, the angel who ordered Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, and a patron of Edom.[2][20]

Kabbalah

In Kabbalah (A. E. Waite, 255), Samael is described as the "severity of God," and is listed as fifth of the archangels of the world of Briah. Among his portions are Esau, the people who inherit the sword and bring war; the goats and se'irim (demons); and the destroyer angels.[10]

Although both Samael and

Asmodai).[23]

In the Kabbalistic work Treatise on the Left Emanation, Samael is part of the qlippoth, prince of all demons, and spouse of Lilith.[6] The two are said to parallel Adam and Eve, being emanated together from the Throne of Glory as a counterpart. Asmodeus is also mentioned to be subservient to Samael and married to a younger, lesser Lilith.[24] According to the treatise, God castrated Samael in order not to fill the world with their demonic offspring, this being the reason why Lilith seeks to fornicate with men.[6]

In the

Aza and Azrael.[26]

It is also said that the Baal Shem Tov once summoned Samael to make him do his bidding.[27]

Other tradition

Samael is also depicted as the angel of death and one of the seven archangels, the ruler over the

Fifth Heaven and commander of two million angels such as the chief of all the destroying angels
.

According to apocryphal Gedulat Moshe (The Apocalypse of Moses, "The Ascension of Moses" in The Legends of the Jews by Louis Ginzberg) Samael is also mentioned as being in 7th Heaven:

In the last heaven Moses saw two angels, each five hundred parasangs in height, forged out of chains of black fire and red fire, the angels Af, "Anger", and Hemah, "Wrath", whom God created at the beginning of the world, to execute His will. Moses was disquieted when he looked upon them, but Metatron embraced him, and said, "Moses, Moses, thou favorite of God, fear not, and be not terrified," and Moses became calm. There was another angel in the seventh heaven, different in appearance from all the others, and of frightful mien. His height was so great, it would have taken five hundred years to cover a distance equal to it, and from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet he was studded with glaring eyes. "This one," said Metatron, addressing Moses, "is Samael, who takes the soul away from man." "Whither goes he now?" asked Moses, and Metatron replied, "To fetch the soul of Job the pious." Thereupon Moses prayed to God in these words, "O may it be Thy will, my God and the God of my fathers, not to let me fall into the hands of this angel."[28]

Gnosticism

A lion-faced deity found on a Gnostic gem in Bernard de Montfaucon's L'antiquité expliquée et représentée en figures may be a depiction of the Demiurge, Samael.

In the

Saklas
.

After Yaldabaoth claims sole divinity for himself, the voice of Sophia comes forth calling him Samael, due to his ignorance.[29][30] In On the Origin of the World, his name is explained as "blind god" and his fellow Archons are said to be blind, too. This reflecting the characteristics of the Christian devil, making people blind, as does the devil in 2 Corinthians 4. Also Samael is the first sinner in the Hypostasis of the Archons and the First Epistle of John calls the devil as sinner from the beginning. These characteristics combined with his boasting conflates the Jewish god with the devil.[31] His appearance is that of a lion-faced serpent.[32] Although the Gnostics and Jewish originally used the same source, both depictions of Samael developed independently.[7]: 266 

Samael is sometimes confused in some books with Camael, who appears in the Coptic Gospel of the Egyptians also as an evil power, whose name is similar to words meaning "like God" (but Camael with a waw missing). The name might be explained, because in Jewish traditions, the snake had the form of a camel, before it was banished by God.[7]: 259 

Anthroposophy

To

Oriphiel, Raphael, Samael, and Zerachiel.[citation needed] They are all imagined to have a special assignment to act as a global zeitgeist ('time-spirit'), each for periods of about 360 years.[33]

See also

Citations

  1. Jewish Encyclopedia
  2. ^
    ISBN 978-0029070505
    .
  3. ^
    JSTOR 1451748
    .
  4. ISBN 9781598564914
    .
  5. ^ a b c d e Jewish Virtual Library – Samael
  6. ^
    ISBN 978-1317471714
    .
  7. ^
    ISBN 978-1136650123
    .
  8. ^
    ISBN 978-1107470996
    .
  9. ^ Jewish Encyclopedia – Samael
  10. ^ a b Yisraeli, O. (2016). Temple Portals: Studies in Aggadah and Midrash in the Zohar. Deutschland: De Gruyter. p. 146
  11. ISBN 978-9004100534
    .
  12. ISBN 978-1684220625
  13. ^ The First Apology by Justin Martyr, translated by Marcus Dods
  14. doi:10.1163/147783507X231930
    . Acesso em: 30 jan. 2022.
  15. ISBN 978-0-816-06982-8
    .
  16. JSTOR 24751800
    . Accessed 6 Sept. 2021.
  17. ISBN 978-1-107-08133-8
    .
  18. ISBN 978-0-814-72097-4
    .
  19. ISBN 978-0-312-16062-3
    .
  20. ISBN 978-0-195-32713-7
    .
  21. S2CID 161672440
    .
  22. ISBN 978-1-4381-3191-7
    .
  23. ^ "Lilith the younger". Liber 777 Notes. Archived from the original on 25 October 2014.
  24. ISBN 978-0253212719
    .
  25. ^ Johnson, Erika D. "Myth of sacred prostitution in antiquity". rosetta.bham.ac.uk. Retrieved 13 December 2012.
  26. ^ Laitman, Michael Rav. "Sefer-Zohar" (PDF).
  27. ISBN 978-0-307-83407-2
    .
  28. ISBN 978-0265621684
    .
  29. ISBN 978-3447025188
    . p. 44
  30. JSTOR 1560677
    .
  31. ISBN 978-0190467173
    p. 55
  32. JSTOR 1560677
  33. ^ Matherne, Bobby. 2003. "The Archangel Michael, GA# 67" (review). A Reader's Journal 2. Retrieved on 11 October 2014.

General and cited references

Further reading

External links
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