by KF5ZXT » Mon Aug 06, 2007 4:16 pm
Sammael
A combination of ‘sam,’ meaning poison and ‘el,’ meaning angel. In Rabbinic Literature, Sammael is chief of the Satans and the Angel of Death. From the third century onwards Sammael became synonymous with Satan in Jewish designations.
In the Secrets of Enoch (Enoch II) he is a prince of demons and a magician. Sammael has been regarded as evil and good and one of the greatest and as one of the foulest spirits operating in Heaven, on earth, and in Hell.
On one hand he is said to be chief ruler of the 5th Heaven, one of the 7 regents of a world served by two million angels; on the other hand, he is “that great serpent with twelve wings that draws after him, in his fall, the solar system.” [Revelations: 12]
Sammael is also the Angel of Death whom god sent to fetch the soul og Moses when the Lawgiver’s days on earth had come to an end.
Samael is said to have taken Lilith as his bride after she left Adam. Lilith and Sammael are seen together as two black dogs roaming the streets. According to Zoharistic cabala, Samael was also mated with Eisheth Zenunium, Naamah, and Agrat Bat Mahlat - all angels of prostitution.
Sammael is spoken of being the guardian angel of both Edom and Esau. In The Sayings of Rabbi Eliezer, Sammael is charged with being the one (in the guise of a serpent) who tempted Eve, seduced her, and became by her the father of Cain. In the Zohar, Sammael is the dark angel who wrestled with Jacob at Peniel, although Michael, Uriel, Metatron, and others have been identified as the antagonist. Sammael is also equated with the satan (i.e. the adversary) who tempted David to number Israel.
In the Holy Kaballah Sammael is characterized as the “Severity of God,“ and is listed as 5th of the archangels of the world of Briah.
In Longfellow’s The Golden Legend, a rabbi asks Judas Iscariot why the dogs howl at night: “In the Rabbinical book it sayeth, the dogs howl when, with icy breath, Great Sammael, the Angel of Death, Takes through the town his flight.”
The Devil’s Own Dear Son describes Sammael as the youngest and most virile of the 72 pronces of Hell, a rogue who had made his reputation some centuries ago with both Eve and Lilith.
In the Apocryphon of John, found in the Nag Hammadi library, Samael is the third name of the evil 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, 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 in the Nag Hammadi library texts, he is also referred to as Ariael.
Sammael in Kabbalah is the Qliphoth corresponding to the sephirah Hod. It means "the poison of God", the liar and the jugglers, and the demons associated with it are described as dull-yellow, demon-headed dog-like monsters.
Sammael is also known as Samael, Satan, Asmodeus, Satanil, Samil, Seir, Salmael
Genesis 3:6 – “And the woman saw Sammael the Angel of Death.”
Job 28:7 – “the path of the Tree of Life which Sammael, who flies like a bird, did not know, which the eye of Eve did not perceive.
Ascension of Isaiah IV 7 – “and we ascended to the firmament, I and he, and there I saw Sammael and his hosts, and there was great fighting therein and the angels of Satan were envying one another.