Samael in Judaism

Samael is an important figure in Talmudic and post-Talmudic lore, a figure who is accuser, seducer, and destroyer. Legends referring to Satan refer equally to him, such that Samael is often taken to be the true or angelic name of the Devil, as opposed to the epithet Lucifer or the job title Satan (Adversary).

Samael is etymologized as "the venom of God," since he is sometimes identified with the Angel of death. But the name could also be derived from that of the Syrian god Shemal . Samael is also identified with the Choronzon entity of the Elizabethan ceremonial magician John Dee, and of Aleister Crowley.

In Jewish lore, he is said to be chief ruler of the 7th Heaven, one of the 7 regents of the world served by 2 million angels; on the other hand, St. John speaks of him in Revelations as the "great serpent with 12 wings that draws after him, in his fall, the solar system." Yalkut I, 110 of the Talmud speaks of Samael as Esau's guardian angel. In Sotah 10b, Samael is Edom's guardian angel, and in the Sayings of Rabbi Eliezer, he is charged with being the one who tempted Eve, then seduced and impregnated her with Cain.

In The Holy Kabbalah (p. 255), Samael is described as the "severity of God" and is listed as 5th of the archangels of the world of Briah . Samael took Lilith as his bride after she left Adam. According to Zoharistic cabala, also among Samael's mates were Eisheth Zenunium, Naamah and Agrat bat Mahlat - all angels of prostitution.

Fictional Samaels

• Sammael is the name of a major antagonist from the Wheel of Time series of books.

• Samiel, or The Black Huntsman, is the demonish antagonist in the Weber opera Der Freischütz.

• In the movie Hellboy, Samael is the name of the demon dog that the main villain resurects.

• Samael also appears in the Sandman comic book series.

People and groups named Samael

• Samael is the name of a Swiss black metal band. They began from 1990 with their debut album "Worship Him".

• Samael Aun Weor, was a Colombian neo-Gnostic, who formed the Gnostic Institute of Anthropology and is heralded by his followers as the Founder of Contemporary Gnosticism.

External links

• The Jewish Encyclopedia entry on Samael