Samael 174639 225503877 2008-07-14T01:14:16Z Cyb3r 635416 /* In Anthroposophism */ {{otheruses4|the archangel}} '''Samael''' ({{lang-he|סמאל}}) (also '''Sammael''') is an important [[archangel]] in [[Talmud]]ic and post-Talmudic lore, as well as Christian tradition and demonology, a figure who is accuser, [[seducer]] and destroyer, and has been regarded as both '''good and evil'''. It is said that he was the guardian angel of [[Esau]] and a patron of the sinful empire of Rome. The etymology of his name is sometimes thought to be a combination of 'sam', meaning "poison/venom",{{Clarifyme|date=March 2008}} and 'el', meaning "of God"; thus he is the "poison of God". ==In Judaism== In [[Judaism|Jewish]] lore, Samael is said to be the Angel of Death, the chief ruler of the Fifth Heaven and one of the seven regents of the world served by two million angels; he resides in the Seventh Heaven. ''[[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 (Bible)|Eve]], then seduced and impregnated her with [[Cain]]. Though some sources identify [[Azazel|Gadreel]] as the angel that seduced Eve, other Hebrew scholars say that it was Samael who tempted Eve in the guise of the Serpent. Samael is also sometimes identified as being the angelic antagonist who wrestled with Jacob, and also the angel who held back the arm of [[Abraham]] as he was about to sacrifice his son. In ''The Holy [[Kabbalah]]'' (Arthur Edward Waite, 255), Samael is described as the "severity of God", and is listed as fifth of the archangels of the world of [[Beri'ah|Briah]]. Samael is said to have taken [[Lilith]] as his bride after she left Adam. According to Zoharistic cabala, Samael was also mated with [[Eisheth|Eisheth Zenunim]], [[Naamah (demon)|Na'amah]], and [[Agrat Bat Mahlat]] - all angels of [[prostitution]]. Samael is sometimes confused in some books with [[Camael]], an archangel of God, whose name means "He who sees God". ==In Gnosticism==<!-- This section is linked from [[The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch]] --> In the [[Apocryphon of John]], found in the [[Nag Hammadi library]], Samael is the third name of the [[demiurge]], whose other names are '''[[Yaldabaoth]]''' and '''[[Saklas]]'''. In this context, Samael means "the blind god", the theme of blindness running throughout gnostic works. He is born out of the error of [[Sophia (wisdom)|Sophia]], who desires to create offspring of her own without the Spirit. His appearance is that of a lion-faced serpent. In [[On the Origin of the World (Nag Hammadi)|On the Origin of the World]] in the [[Nag Hammadi library]] texts, he is also referred to as [[Ariael]]. ==In Anthroposophism== To [[anthroposophist]]s, Samael is known as one of the seven [[archangels]]: [[Saint Gregory]] gives the seven archangels as [[Anael]], [[Gabriel]] , [[Michael (archangel)|Michael]], [[Oriphiel]], [[Raphael (angel)|Raphael]], '''Samael''' and [[Zachariel]]. They are all imagined to have a special assignment to act as a global Zeitgeist ('time spirit'), each for periods of about 380 years. Since 1879, anthroposophists posit, Michael has been the leading time spirit. Four important archangels are also supposed to display periodic spiritual activity over the seasons: Raphael during the [[spring]], Uriel during the [[summer]], Michael during the [[autumn]], and Gabriel during the [[winter]]. In anthroposophy, archangels may be good or evil; in particular, some of their rank are collaborators of [[Ahriman]], whose purpose (anthroposophists believe) is to alienate humanity from the spiritual world and promote materialism and heartless technical control. ==References== * Bunson, Matthew, ([[1996]]). ''Angels A to Z : A Who's Who of the Heavenly Host.'' Three Rivers Press. ISBN 0-517-88537-9. * Davidson, Gustav. ''A Dictionary of Angels: Including the Fallen Angels''. Free Press. ISBN 0-02-907052-X ==Further reading== * Bamberger, Bernard Jacob, ([[March 15]], [[2006]]). ''Fallen Angels: Soldiers of Satan's Realm.'' Jewish Publication Society of America. ISBN 0-8276-0797-0 * Cruz, Joan C. (1999). ''Angels and Devils.'' Tan Books & Publishers. ISBN 0-89555-638-3. * [[Leo Jung|Jung, Leo]] (1925). "Fallen Angels in Jewish, Christian and Mohammedan Literature. A Study in Comparative Folk-Lore", published in four parts in ''The Jewish Quarterly Review'', New Ser. **Vol. 15, No. 4 (Apr., 1925), pp. 467-502, doi:10.2307/1451739 **Vol. 16, No. 1 (Jul., 1925), pp. 45-88, doi:10.2307/1451748 **Vol. 16, No. 2 (Oct., 1925), pp. 171-205, doi:10.2307/1451789 **Vol. 16, No. 3 (Jan., 1926), pp. 287-336, doi:10.2307/1451485 ==External links== * [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=106&letter=S Jewish Encyclopedia] [[Category:Angels in Judaism]] [[Category:Individual angels]] [[Category:Demons in Judaism]] [[Category:Qliphoth]] [[bg:Самаил]] [[de:Samael]] [[es:Samael (mitología)]] [[fr:Samaël]] [[it:Samael]] [[ja:サマエル]] [[he:סמאל]] [[pl:Samael (imię demona)]] [[ru:Самаэль]] [[sv:Samael]] [[uk:Самаель]]