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(light-bearer), which is based on a misapprehension of a verse against the King of Tyre, or the job title, Satan (Adversary). Samael cannot always be simply identified with Satan, since in the Books of Enoch, Satan's angelic name is confirmed to be Satanail or Satanael. Although, different translations of the Book of Enoch give the name Satanael as Samael, so there is still heavy discussion amongst scholars.
Samael appears in the Ars Goetia, under the name Göap.
Samael is etymologized as "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.
In Jewish lore, he is said to be the Angel of Death, the 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. Though other sources state Gadreel as being the angel which seduced Eve. According to some Hebrew scholars, it was Samael who tempted Eve in the guise of the Serpent. Samael is also sometimes identified as being the angelic antagonist that wrestled Jacob at Esau, and as the angel which held back the arm of Abraham when the latter was about to sacrifice his son.
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 is said to have taken 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. Samael is also perhaps the true Personification of Wrath, rather than Satan, seeing as how Samael is also sometimes associated with Asmodeus, the demon of lust and wrath, and Satan is considered a juridical adversary, directed by God.
After Isaac Luria had introduced the practice of not pronouncing the name of Satan, the custom of calling Samael Samekh Mem became widespread among cabalists.
Samael in other traditions
Samael is also identified with the Coronzon entity of the Elizabethan ceremonial magician John Dee, although the link is only tenuous, and of Aleister Crowley, who changes the Coronzon spelling by adding an unwarranted H after the initial letter thus changing the name to Choronzon.
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 that the main villain resurrects.
- Samael also appears in the Sandman comic book series written by Neil Gaiman.
- Samael is the name of the occult god in the Silent Hill series.
- Samael is the vampiric proprietor of Cafe Ankh in the PC game Discworld Noir
- Samael makes an appearance as a boss, as a snake-like dragonic demon in the role-playing game, Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne.
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.