Samael or Samuel (Hebrew: ( )Severity of God) (also Sammael or Samil) is an important

archangel in Talmudic and post-Talmudic lore, 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 Roman empire.
He is considered in Talmudic texts to be a member of the heavenly host (with often grim and
destructive duties). One of Samael's greatest roles in Jewish lore is that of the main archangel of
death. He remains one of YHWH's servants even though he wants men to do evil. As an angel,
Samael resides in the seventh heaven, although he is declared to be the chief angel of the fifth
heaven, the reason for this being the presence of the throne of glory in the fifth heaven
In Judaism, Samael is said to be the archangel 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 Seven
Heavens. Yalkut I, 110[disambiguation needed] of the Talmud speaks of Samael as Esau's
guardian angel.
According to The Ascension of Moses[2] 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, at the sight of which the beholder fell
prostrate in awe. "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."
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 Briah. Also in the Kabbalah, Samael was
said to be the Serpent who tempted Eve into sin. He even seduced and impregnated her with
Cain. Samael then became the consort of Adam's first wife, Lilith, who is also his uncircumised
sexual partner. He created with her a host of demon children, including a son, Sariel, the "Sword
of Samael" [3] (or Asmodai).[4] God feared that Samael and Lilith would destroy the earth with
their heinous progenies, thus he castrated the corrupt angel, and cursed him with the name
Satan.[5]
Samael is sometimes confused in some books with Camael, an archangel of God, whose name is
similar to words meaning "like God" (but Camael with a waw missing).
It is also said that the Baal Shem once summoned Samael, to make him do his bidding.[6]
In several interpretations of the Ascension of Isaiah, Samael is often identified as Malkira (Heb.:
melek roa; lit. "king of evil" or "king of the wicked") or Belkira (prob. baal qir,
"lord of the wall"), which are both epithets of the false prophet sent by the Devil Belial to accuse
Isaiah of treason, notably the Ascension of Isaiah also identifies him as Satan
To anthroposophists, Samael is known as one of the seven archangels: Saint Gregory gives the
seven archangels as Anael, Gabriel, Michael, Oriphiel, 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 360 years.[12] 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 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",[10] the theme of blindness running throughout gnostic works[citation needed]. His
appearance is that of a lion-faced serpent.[11] In On the Origin of the World in the Nag Hammadi
library texts, he is also referred to as Ariael, the Archangel of Principalities.