Hebrew Mythology
Written by Sean Michael Smith
| Abraham | Adam | Archangels |
| Ark of the Covenant | Behemoth | Daniel |
| Elohim | Eve | Gabriel |
| Leviathan | Lilith | Malaika |
| Moloch | Moses | Noah |
| Og | Satan | Sephiroth |
| Shem ha-Mephoresh | Solomon | Yahweh (YHVY) |
Abraham: “Father of the multitude” is a major Old Testament figure and is referred to in the earliest sources as the “Hebrew.” The founder of the Hebrew people, he is given credit for the Sefer Yetzirah, Hebrew Book Of Creation and rebuilding the Kaaba of Islam.
Adam: According to Genesis, Adam was the first human being. In the Qabbalah, Adam Kadmon is the principle of cosmic perfection embodied as a human. Everything in the paradisial Eden belonged to him except the fruit on the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. When Adam and Eve fell, the entire material creation came forth and the light of Adam's divine nature was broken up into countless minute sparks. These sparks are the lights that illuminate human souls and at the end of time they will be reunified into perfection once more.
Archangels: The Archangels in Judaism and Christianity come from the babylonian designation for the planets. The archangels are Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Uriel, often including Uziel, Samael, and Reziel, sometimes an alternative name for Raphael. These are the angels that guard the Throne.
Ark of the Covenant: The ark was said to have powers that were used against the enemies of Israel. The Ark was the throne of God in his home in the Tabernacle. It resided in the Holy of Holies, a room in the Tabernacle. The high priest was the only person permitted to go in one day a year, the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). He was required to come in with the blood of a goat; it represented his sins and the sins of the people of Israel. It is a small box with two long bars, used for carrying, and made of acacia wood overlaid with gold.
Behemoth: This was a terrifying monster of Hebrew mythology, the dry-land equivalent of the monstrous sea serpent Leviathan. According to the Old Testament book of Job, Behemoth was associated with the hippopotamus. The monster is sometimes said to have developed from Tiamat, the fearsome Babylonian Goddess.
Daniel: Daniel was not a god, but he was a heroic character etched in history. In the Old Testament Daniel was taken prisoner in the sixth century B.C. by the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar. In 597 B.C., the king seized Jerusalem. A decade later, the city was sacked and the Hebrews were taken off to Babylon where they were held in captivity until the city fell. Daniel was one of these Hebrew exiles. He gained a reputation for interpreting dreams and visions, earning the title "Master of Magicians," and was made a provincial ruler. However, Nebuchadnezzar commanded all his subjects to worship an image of gold. Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego, Daniel's friends, refused to do so, insisting on remaining true to YHVH. The king threw the men into a fiery furnace, but astonishingly, they remained unharmed, protected by an angel of the Most High.
Nebuchadnezzar had many troubling dreams and called on Daniel to interpret them for him. According to Daniel, the dreams meant that Nebuchadnezzar would be banished from Babylon and become mad. The prophecy came true, and in his absence the king's son Belshazzar ruled the kingdom. One evening during a feast that Belshazzar was holding for a thousand regents and lords, mysterious writing appeared on the wall: "In the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of the king's palace." Daniel took the message to mean that Babylon would be conquered by the Medes and Persians. In due course, Darius the Median did indeed take the kingdom from Belshazzar. Members of the new court became envious of Daniel's position and powers. They devised a plan whereby the king was forced to have Daniel thrown into a den of lions. Darius sealed the entrance of the den with a stone, but YHVH sent an angel to Daniel's aid, forcing the lions to close their mouths. "So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in God."
Elohim: These were the creator gods of Genesis in the Bible, the gods of creation and destruction aspect of YHVH.
Eve - Eve is the popular name for Hawah, the first woman of Genesis, wife of the primordial human, Adam. In the Hebrew creation story she was said to have been formed from her husband Adam's rib. A serpent tempted Eve to eat the one fruit which God forbade the couple, and she persuaded Adam to join her. As a result, both Adam and Eve were expelled from Paradise. Eve was seen as responsible for the Fall and for bringing Death, sin and sorrow in the world. Christians have often viewed Eve's sin as a sexual failing. However the fall also opened the way for growth and learning. Adam refers to Eve as Hawah, which means "Mother of All" or "She who gives Life."
Gabriel: Also called Jibril, he is known as the spirit of truth or “Angel of Revelations” in Islamic tradition. He stands at the apex of the angelic host and is said to have dictated the Quran to Prophet Muhammad. Gabriel is also believed to stand guard over the north-east corner of the Kaaba, Islam's most sacred shrine. In the Bible, Gabriel appears as the messenger of YHVH. He visited the Old Testament prophet Daniel twice, to announce the return of the Hebrews from captivity in Babylon and to explain the diversity of nations. In the New Testament, it is the archangel Gabriel who brings Mary the tidings that she is to conceive Jesus. Gabriel is also the trumpeter who will sound the Last Judgment. According to the ancient Hebrew apocalyptic tradition, Gabriel is the angel of retribution and death.
Leviathan: This was a ferocious monster of Phoenician mythology whose name means “Coiled.” The figure of Leviathan drew upon the Canaanite Lotan, a seven headed monster killed by Anat, as well as the chaos monster Tiamat of Mesopotamian mythology. In the Old Testament, Leviathan is the chaos dragon who is overcome by Yahweh. He is refered to in Isaiah as the crooked serpent. In the Book of Job, God says, "His heart is as firm as a stone; yea as hard as a millstone." The lashings of his tail "make the deep to boil like a pot...upon earth there is not his like, who is made without fear. He beholds all things: he is king over all the children of pride." In apocalyptic writings, as well as in Christianity, the devil is said to manifest himself as the serpent Leviathan. In the apocryphal Book of Enoch, he appears as a vast creature, which inhabits the "abyss over the fountains of waters." Leviathan's jaws were sometimes depicted as the very gates of hell.
Lilith: According to Hebrew legend Lilith was the first woman to be created. She was portrayed as part snake, part woman and with wings. Yahweh blamed her for tempting Eve to reveal the mysteries of the Garden of Eden to Adam, having instigated the temptation of the serpent. In the Old Testament, she is the demon who disturbs the night. Her name means “Storm Goddess” or “She of the Night.” The owl was her sacred creature. According to Talmudic legend, Lilith was created at the same time as Adam, by God, directly in the same way as Adam. She refused to lie down beneath Adam during sex, believing herself to be his equal and flew away to the desert. There she had orgies with demons and became the mother of many demons. She copulated so much she was having a hundred demon children a day. God sent three angels to bring Lilith back to Eden, but she refused. The angels threatened to drown her, but she said she would harm the world's human children if they attacked. She eventually made a truce with the angels, agreeing not to hurt children when "I see you or your names or your images on an amulet..." This myth was the basis of giving children amulets with Hebrew angelic names on them. Lilith wanders the world looking for unprotected children who are punished because of the sins of their fathers. She kills them by smiling at them. Lilith originated in Sumerian mythology as a goddess of desolation. She is also associated with the Babylonian demon Lilitu, who devoured men by seducing them, sucking out their vital juices through their penises, then eating their flesh.
Malaika: Malaika are angels. They are sometimes said to be made from light and are believed to be superior to ordinary humanity but inferior to prophets. The four chief angels are Jibril or Gabriel, the holy spirit; Mik'hail, the guardian of the Jews; Israfil, the angel who will sound the trumpet at resurrection; and Arazil, the Angel of Death.
Moloch: This is the name of an Ammonite god to whom human sacrifices were made. The Ammonites occupied the southern part of Jordan and were descended from Lot, nephew of Abraham. In the second Book of Kings, Moloch is described as "the abomination of the children of Ammon." Many Israelites are believed to have consecrated their children to Moloch by throwing them into the flames. Moloch may have simply been the name of such a bizarre ritual as sacrificing one's children. He is depicted as a fearsome demon in medieval and later literature. He is the awful soul devourer made of a billion infanticides.
Moses: A great Hebrew Prophet who led the Israelites to the establishment of their own nation around Zion in Jerusalem. In history, Moses and the Amarna Pharaoh Akhnaten are the same person. In the Biblical traditions, Moses was the agent of God in delivering the tribes of Israel from their bondage in Egypt, and he presented them with the Law of God's covenant with them. He is traditionally thought to have written key portions of the Penteuch, the first five books of the Bible. Moses, raised as an Egyptian nobleman and priest and during a period of exile an angel of God appeared to him in a flame of fire, which issued from a bush. Speaking from the center of the fire, the voice of God told Moses what to do, giving him vast powers over the elements. Later YHVH told Moses his true identity, EHIE ASHR EHIE, that he was called "I am that I am,” which in Hebrew is expressed by the four letters of YHVH, later pronounced as Yahweh.
Noah: He was the hero of the Old Testament story of the flood. According to the Book of Genesis, God saw that humankind and the Nefilim were committing all sorts of wickedness. God decreed, "I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man and beast, and the creeping things and the birds of the air; for I repent having made them." However, because Noah was righteous, good, and faithful, God decided to save him and his family. God instructed Noah to build an ark and to take into it two of every living thing. When the day of the flood arrived, water gushed from the ground, and the rain began to fall. For 40 days and 40 nights the torrent continued until the entire earth was submerged. After some time had passed, Noah sent out a dove to see if the flood had abated. Eventually, the dove returned with an olive leaf in its mouth. God promised never again to flood the earth, and offered the rainbow as a sign of good faith: "This is the token of covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I do set my rainbow in the cloud." Flood myths are found throughout the ancient world, from Greece to India. The story of a flood destroying earth appears in the epic of Gilgamesh as well as in the myth of the Sumerian water god Enki.
Og: According to Hebrew mythology, Og was one of many giants that roamed the earth before the flood, and was the only giant to live through it. Og, like all giants, was a son of the Nefillim, the fallen angels. In the Old Testament he was said to be the long living king of Bashan: "Behold, his bedstead was a bedstead of iron...nine cubits was its length and four cubits its breadth." He was eventually killed by Moses when he tried to smash the Israelites. YHVH and Moses caused the mountain to fall on Og instead, cutting him down at the ankles and crushing his huge body beneath the rock.
Satan: His name means "Adversary." He plays a role in the Old Testament as the opponent of humanity, ordered by Yahweh to test Humanity's faith. At that time he was an Angel of Heaven dealing directly with Yahweh. In the Book of Job, YHVH instructs Satan, also known as Lucifer, to destroy Job's family and possessions and cover him with boils, with the intention of tempting him into cursing God. However, the patient Job declares, "What? Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.” Satan came to be viewed by the Hebrews as the supreme evil being under whom was ranged a hierarchy of demons. In opposition to the demons were the angels. Thus, the Hebrews came to see creation as a battle between the forces of good and evil, suggesting the influence of Persian thinking. One tale relates how Satan, the devil and "prince of this world" rebelled against Yahweh and was hurled by an angel into the Abyss. He is imagined in the form of a snake or dragon. In Christianity, Satan became the embodiment of evil. He was pictured as a handsome man with horns, a pointed tail and cloven hooves. In the apocryphal Book of John the Evangelist, Jesus describes Satan's transformation: "My Father changed his appearance because of his pride, and the light was taken from him, and his face became unto a heated iron, and his face became wholly like that of a man: and he drew with his tail the third part of the angels of God and was cast out from the seat of God, forever barred from the stewardship of the heavens." In Gnosticism, Satan is the pretender god, Saboath, who claims to be self-begotten in defiance of the Father and Sophia, Mother of Wisdom. As the evil Demiurge, he tries to deceive the earth with his Archons, false gods and his Watchers, the fallen ones amongst the third of the deluded angels.
Sephiroth: Literally meaning “figures” or “numerical ideation,” the Sephira are the “fruit” of the Holy Tree of Life. There are ten traditional Sephira, each representing a quality of the ineffable Father. See Sefer Ayin for the full meanings of the Tree of Life's Sephira on microcosmic and macrocosmic scales.
Shem ha-Mephoresh: These are the 72 Names of YHVH; there are three sets of Shem ha-Mephoresh in the magical lexicon of Palestine. Two are the Hebrew 72 Names of YHVH and 72 Angelic Names encoded in the Old Testament of the Bible. The other is the Arabio-Assyrian and Egyptian Goetia (witchcraft) of Solomon, in which 72 night and day demons are listed by name and empowerment. The 72 Angelic names are Eial, Habuiah, Rochel, Iibamiah, Haiaiel, Mumiah, Vehuiah, Ieliel, Sitael, Elemiah, Mahashiah, Lelahel, Aehiah, Cahethel, Haziel, Aladiah, Lauiah, Hahiah, Ieiazel, Mebahel, Hariel, Hakamiah, Leviah, Caliel, Leuuiah, Pahliah, Nelchael, Ieiaiel, Melahel, Hahuaiah, Nithhaiah, Haaiah, Ieathel, Sahliah, Reiiel, Amael, Lecabel, Vasariah, Iehiah, Lehahiah, Chavakiah, Monadel, Aniel, Haamiah, Rehael, Ihizael, Hahahel, Michael, Vevaliah, Ielahiah, Saliah, Ariel, Asaliah, Mihael, Vehuel, Daniel, Heahaziah, Amammiah, Nanael, Nithael, Mebahiah, Poiel, Nemamiah, Ieilael, Harahel, Mizrael, Umabel, Iahhel, Annauel, Mekekiel, Damabiah, and Menial. The 72 Goetic or Demonic names are Buer, Bifrons, Gusion, Vual, Sitri, Haagenti, Beleth, Crocell, Leraie, Furcas, Eligos, Balam, Zepar, Alloces, Botis, Camio, Bathin, Murmur, Sallos, Orobas, Purson, Gremory, Marax, Os, Ipos, Amy, Aim, Orias, Naberius, Vapula, Glasya-Labolas, Zagan, Bun, Valac, Ronov, Andras, Berith, Haures, Astaroth, Andrealphus, Forneus, Cimeies, Foras, Amdusias, Asmoday, Belial, Gap, Decabria, Furfur, Seere, Marchosias, Dantalion, Stolas, Andromalius, Bael, Phenix, Agares, Halphas, Vassago, Malphas, Samigina, Rum, Marbas, Focalor, Valefor, Vepar, Amoin, Sabnock, Barbatos, Shax, Paimon, and Vin. Each is stationed at the different decants of the zodiacal wheel, each possessing different qualities and powers for use by the magus.
Solomon: This was the 10th century B.C. legendary Biblical name of Amenhotep III from the Old Testament. King Solomon was said to possess a glorious flying ship, had all mystical powers, could communicate with animals, held council with Angels and could control all manner of demons and elemental forces to do his bidding. Solomon used djinn and demons to help build the temple of Jerusalem at Zion. Solomon's Seal, a six pointed star, is the Merkaba field, as he was famous all over the middle east and Ethiopia for flying in a Merkabah. He was given it from his Biblical father David (in actuality his grandfather Tutmosis IV) and is also known as the Shield of David. According to Arabic mythology the real name of God was etched upon Solomon's ring, giving him power over all elemental and celestial beings. He married many wives, including Makeda, Queen of Sheba, and sired a son, Menelik (or Greater David) by her, who took the Ark of the Covenant to Ethiopia. As Amenhotep III, he sired Akhnaten, who is known as the Biblical Moses and was the religious reformer king of Egypt.
Yahweh (YHVH): Yahweh was regarded by the tribes of Israel as the Creator of all things and the supreme God and Judge over all nations. He probably originated as a mountain god and was identified with El. Yahweh intervened in earthly affairs, often through his Prophets. He demanded that his followers should worship no other deity and was a wrathful, jealous god. Though he dealt severely with anyone who strayed from his teachings, he was a god of righteousness and ultimately merciful. No physical likeness was ever attributed to Him. The formula of Tetragramaton YHVH can be explained in a million ways and should be studied in detail by anyone interested. YHVH is sometimes refereed to as Jehovah in English.