De Moor IX:21: Terms for Evil Angels, Part 4

[A fundraising update: We are a little more than 30% of the way to our fundraising goal of 25 new $100/month subscribers! Thanks be to God. If you are being blessed by the translation work, please consider supporting the work and speeding it on its way.  Click here to watch a brief video on the project.]

Thus outside of Scripture other names have also been put upon the Prince of Demons by the Jews, which sort our AUTHOR surveys in his Compendio, the name סַמָּאֵל/Sammaël, for example, of which name VOGELSANG in the passage cited mentions a threefold Etymology as probable:  The same, says he, is also called Sammaël by the older Rabbis, whether because he is the head of the impious, which impious they were calling the left side, as of an inferior condition:[1]  or because of his defection from God, that is, inasmuch as the letter ר/resh, which perished from the first syllable,[2] is compensated for by the Dagesh (ּ  ) in the מ/mem:[3]  or because of his incredible swiftness, especially to hurt, according to the signification of the Arabic term.[4]  This Sammaël the Jews everywhere call the head of all Devils, who, riding upon the ancient serpent, seduced Eve:  see ODÉ, Commentario de Angelis, section IV, chapter III, page 548.

עֻזִּיאֵל/Huzziel, from עַז/robust/hard/cruel, עוֺז/strength, or עֵז/ he-goat, from the root עָזַז, to be strong, and אֵל/El/God, according to BUXTORF[5] in his Lexico Thalmudico; is the name of an Angel, whose associate was Shamhazai, who fell from heaven, and, mingling with men, begat the Giants, Genesis 6:4 in Jonathan.[6]  Add À LENT,[7] de Theologia Judaica moderna, chapter VIII, § 10, pages 259, 260.

The name Asmodeus,[8] of which our AUTHOR also makes mention, will be the name אַשְמְדָּאִי/Ashmedai, whereby the Chaldean Paraphrast designated the primary Demon, as if you would say the destroyer and exterminator, from the word שָׁמַד/shamad, to destroy; or the apostate, from the Chaldean שמד, to deny the faith, to defect from religion; or the tempter, from a Persic root, which denotes to tempt; see ODÉ, Commentario de Angelis, section VII, chapter II, § 3, page 727.  Elias Levita[9] says, that this one is the same as Sammaël; see À LENT, de Theologia Judaica moderna, chapter VIII, § 10, pages 260, 261.

What our AUTHOR says, that the Gnostics also added a great many terrible names for Evil Angels; it has regard to the saying of AUGUSTINE in his libro de Hæresibus, chapter VI, where among other things he relates concerning the Gnostics, that they also capture unstable souls with terrible names of Princes or Angels.  With which compare what things EPIPHANIUS has, Hæresi XXVI, chapters IX, X, pages 90, 91, where are the names Σακλᾶν/Saklas, Σὴθ/Seth, Δάδην/Daden, Ἰαλδαβαὼθ/Ialdabaoth, Βαρβηλὼ/Barbelo,[10] etc.

[1] שְׂמאֹל/semol signifies left.

[2] סַר/sar signifies rebellious.

[3] Thus the doubling of the מ/mem/m.

[4] سَرِيع/sari signifies swift.

[5] Johann Buxtorf, Sr. (1564-1629) was a renowned Reformed Hebraist, known as the “Master of the Rabbis”.  He served as Professor of Hebrew at Basel from 1590 to 1629.

[6] Targum Jonathan of Genesis 6:4: שַׁמְחַזַּאי וְעַזָּאֵל נָפְלוּ מִן שְׁמַיָּא וַהֲווֹ בְאַרְעָא בְּיוֹמַיָּא הָאִנּוּן וְאַף בָּתַר כֵּן דִּי יַעֲלוּן בְּנֵי רַבְרְבַיָּא לְוָת בְּנָת אֱנָשָׁא וִילִידָן לְהוֹן אִנּוּן גִּבָּרַיָּא דִּמֵעָלְמָא אֱנָשִׁין דִּשְׁמָא, Shamhazai and Azzael/Uzziel fell from heaven, and were on the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of the mighty went in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them; these are the heroes who were of old, the men of renown.  Jonathan ben Uzziel (first century) was one of the great pupils of Hillel.  It is a matter of some doubt whether Jonathan ben Uzziel is actually responsible for the translation of this portion of the Chaldean Version.  For the most part, Targum Jonathan tends to be more paraphrastic and expansive than Targum Onkelos.

[7] Johann à Lent (1654-1696) served as Professor of Church History, Hebrew, and Syriac at Herborn (1686-1696).

[8] See Tobit 3:8, 17.

[9] Elias Levita (1468-1549) was a Jewish Hebrew grammarian, respected among Christians such as Munster and Fagius.  He wrote Tishbi, a lexicon presenting for the German reader seven hundred and twelve words used in the Talmud and Midrash; and Sefer Meturgeman, explaining all the Aramaic words found in the Targum.

[10] According to Epiphanius, in Gnostic cosmology, there are seven or eight heavens, each ruled by an Archon (or Angelic Power), with the first heaven being the lowest, and the eighth the highest.  Barbelo resides in the first heaven as the first emanation of the Invisible Spirit, serving as a semi-divine Mother figure.  Ialdabaoth inhabits the sixth or seventh heaven; in other Gnostic traditions he is the absolute chief of the archons, or the creative Demiurge.  Daden/Davides is a lesser archon, inhabiting the fourth heaven; and Seth, the third.  Saklas (fool in Aramaic) is the archon of the second heaven, associated with fornication, and sometimes identified as the Demiurge.