v_public_revealer_figures: 97
This data as json
| rowid | entity_id | canonical_name | tradition | category | primary_domains | short_note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 97 | ENT_ISR_SHEMIHAZAH | Shemihazah | Israelite/Second Temple | Fallen Angel | watchers; descent; oath; forbidden knowledge | Shemihazah (also Semyaza, Samjaza; "My name has seen" or "Name of God sees") is the leader of the 200 Watchers (angelic beings) who, according to 1 Enoch 6-10, descended from heaven to the summit of Mount Hermon and took human wives. In 1 Enoch 6:3, Shemihazah is named as the ringleader: "And Shemihazah, their chief, said to them: 'I fear you will not agree to do this deed, and only I will have to pay for this great sin.'" Despite his hesitation, all 200 Watchers swear an oath and descend together. He is listed first among the 20 Watcher leaders named in 1 Enoch 6:7: "Shemihazah, Arteqoph, Rametel, Kokabel, Ramel, Danel, Zeqiel, Baraqel, Asael, Hermoni, Matureq, Ananel, Sataoel, Shamshiel, Sahriel, Tummiel, Turiel, Yomioel, Sariel." Shemihazah's specific teaching is enchantments/spell-casting (1 Enoch 7:1), while the second-most prominent Watcher, Azazel, teaches metalwork and cosmetics. In 1 Enoch 10:11-12, Michael is commanded by God to bind Shemihazah for 70 generations: "Go, Michael, bind Shemihazah and his company who have intermixed with women so as to have defiled themselves with them in all their uncleanness." He is to be bound under the hills of the earth until the Day of Judgment. Shemihazah has a parallel in the Ugaritic tradition (some scholars connect his name to Canaanite divine names), and his figure is preserved in the Dead Sea Scrolls' Book of Giants (4Q531), which elaborates the Watcher narrative with additional Aramaic material. He is distinct from his Jubilees counterpart, where the leader of the Watchers is called "Mastema" in a more developed demonological schema. Nickelsburg (2001) pp. 175-205. |