Names of the demons
Encyclopedia
According to some Christian
theology
, many Pagan
deities are demon
s. So, when names of demons are spoken, one must consider that they were incorporated to Christian demonology
, as were Jewish demons, Pagan deities, folkloric supernatural beings, and sometimes imaginary names given by people interrogated under torture
during the witch trials, by mentally ill persons (energumens) that were considered possessed, imaginative priest
s, etc.
In this way, we have Jewish names like Asmodai
(Book of Tobit
), Azazel
(Leviticus
16:8-10), or Belial
(Deuteronomy
13:13, Book of Judges
19:22, Books of Samuel
, part 1, 1:16, 2:12 10:27 and 25:17, and part 2 16:7 and 22:5, Books of Kings
part 1, 21:10-13, Books of Chronicles
, part 1, 13:7); Semitic
deities like Adramelech
, Baal
(see Baal (demon)
, Baal was also a general Jewish name for a false god), Ashtaroth (derived from Astarte
); Greek
, Roman
and Egyptian
names like Bifrons (See Bifrons (demon)
), Lamia
, Phoenix
(see Phenex
); and so on. All biblical references were taken from the Vulgate
.
Lilith
, a female demon important in Judaism
, does not count in Christian demonology. However, the newer generation of demonologists (and some modern exorcists/deliverance counsellors) recognize Lilith as a general demon, the argument being that if other Judaic demons exist in Christian demonology, so should Lilith as well, introducing her as the wife of Samael, and as a princess and queen of Hell. Also, from the aforementioned 'everything other than God and His angels, if spirit, is demon' vein of reasoning - we find valid logical reasoning for there being a 'Lilith demon' - if simply to create confusion and add validity to the following of Lilith as deity.
Some grimoire
s like The Great Book of Saint Cyprian
, Le Dragon Rouge, Pseudomonarchia Daemonum
and The Lesser Key of Solomon
(see Ars Goetia) among others provide us of more of these names.
Sebastien Michaelis
in his classification of demons (see Michaelis' classification of demons) gives more names.
Abaddon
, an angel of destruction extracted from the Bible
(Book of Revelation
9:11) was also incorporated as a different demon.
Lucifer
, Beelzebub
and Satan
, were originally one Devil who was transmogrified into three different characters by demonology and the Devil remained as such. Beelzebub was a separate entity in Judaism, later appearing as a fallen angel, and Satan is the leader of fallen angels: while Lucifer was originally an unnamed angel, the one who talked Satan into joining him in the rebellion. Whether all three (as well as other names such as Baal) are considered the same being or different depends on opinion.
Goblins, drudes, Familiars
and other folkloric creatures became part of Christian demonology.
Thus there is little agreement on who is whom, for many names that originally were only one being have been separated into several entities. Others have been "created" by people, like Sonnilon, Olivier (demon), Raum
, etc. Many demons have several spellings of their names, not all of them with a valid fundament.
Some of these demons are mentioned in the bible, but have no official names, such as the Raging Demon, or some of the demons that were cast out by Christians during the time of the New Testament, or by Jesus Christ.
Also, many deliverance counselors and exorcists in modern times, such as Dr. Ed Murphy in his book "The Handbook For Spiritual Warfare", cite examples of demons named after the afflictions they cause, or the effect they produce. In his book, Dr. Murphy retells his encounters with multiple demons manifest in a lady named Betty, naming themselves through use of her vocal cords, with names such as "Hellbent" (its purpose was to ensure Betty's place in Hell (although it was defeated)); "Unbelief" (purposed to inspire exactly what it's named for) and "Destroyer" (meant to destroy the victim's spirit).
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
, many Pagan
Paganism
Paganism is a blanket term, typically used to refer to non-Abrahamic, indigenous polytheistic religious traditions....
deities are demon
Demon
call - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...
s. So, when names of demons are spoken, one must consider that they were incorporated to Christian demonology
Christian demonology
Christian demonology is the study of demons from a Christian point of view. It is primarily based on the Bible , the exegesis of these scriptures, the scriptures of early Christian philosophers and hermits, tradition, and legends incorporated from other beliefs.-Development:In monotheistic...
, as were Jewish demons, Pagan deities, folkloric supernatural beings, and sometimes imaginary names given by people interrogated under torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
during the witch trials, by mentally ill persons (energumens) that were considered possessed, imaginative priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
s, etc.
In this way, we have Jewish names like Asmodai
Asmodai
Asmodeus or Asmodai is a king of demons mostly known from the deuterocanonical Book of Tobit, in which he is the primary antagonist. The demon is also mentioned in some Talmudic legends, for instance, in the story of the construction of the Temple of Solomon. He was supposed by some Renaissance...
(Book of Tobit
Book of Tobit
The Book of Tobit is a book of scripture that is part of the Catholic and Orthodox biblical canon, pronounced canonical by the Council of Carthage of 397 and confirmed for Roman Catholics by the Council of Trent...
), Azazel
Azazel
Azazel or Azazael or Azâzêl is a term used three times in the Hebrew scriptures, and later in Hebrew mythology as the enigmatic name of a character....
(Leviticus
Leviticus
The Book of Leviticus is the third book of the Hebrew Bible, and the third of five books of the Torah ....
16:8-10), or Belial
Belial
Belial is one of the four crown princes of Hell and a demon in the Bible, Jewish apocrypha and Christian apocrypha...
(Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy
The Book of Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible, and of the Jewish Torah/Pentateuch...
13:13, Book of Judges
Book of Judges
The Book of Judges is the seventh book of the Hebrew bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its title describes its contents: it contains the history of Biblical judges, divinely inspired prophets whose direct knowledge of Yahweh allows them to act as decision-makers for the Israelites, as...
19:22, Books of Samuel
Books of Samuel
The Books of Samuel in the Jewish bible are part of the Former Prophets, , a theological history of the Israelites affirming and explaining the Torah under the guidance of the prophets.Samuel begins by telling how the prophet Samuel is chosen by...
, part 1, 1:16, 2:12 10:27 and 25:17, and part 2 16:7 and 22:5, Books of Kings
Books of Kings
The Book of Kings presents a narrative history of ancient Israel and Judah from the death of David to the release of his successor Jehoiachin from imprisonment in Babylon, a period of some 400 years...
part 1, 21:10-13, Books of Chronicles
Books of Chronicles
The Books of Chronicles are part of the Hebrew Bible. In the Masoretic Text, it appears as the first or last book of the Ketuvim . Chronicles largely parallels the Davidic narratives in the Books of Samuel and the Books of Kings...
, part 1, 13:7); Semitic
Semitic
In linguistics and ethnology, Semitic was first used to refer to a language family of largely Middle Eastern origin, now called the Semitic languages...
deities like Adramelech
Adramelech
Adramelech, also called Adrammelech, Adramelek or Adar-malik, was a form of sun god. The centre of his worship was the town of Sepharvaim. According to the cult was brought by the Sepharvite colonists into Samaria: "the Sepharvites burnt their children in the fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech,...
, Baal
Baal
Baʿal is a Northwest Semitic title and honorific meaning "master" or "lord" that is used for various gods who were patrons of cities in the Levant and Asia Minor, cognate to Akkadian Bēlu...
(see Baal (demon)
Baal (demon)
Baal , Baell) is one of the seven princes of Hell. He is mentioned widely in the Old Testament as the primary pagan idol of the Phoenicians, often associated with the pagan goddess Ashtaroth.-Archaeology and scripture:...
, Baal was also a general Jewish name for a false god), Ashtaroth (derived from Astarte
Astarte
Astarte is the Greek name of a goddess known throughout the Eastern Mediterranean from the Bronze Age to Classical times...
); Greek
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
, Roman
Roman mythology
Roman mythology is the body of traditional stories pertaining to ancient Rome's legendary origins and religious system, as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans...
and Egyptian
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
names like Bifrons (See Bifrons (demon)
Bifrons (demon)
In demonology, Bifrons was a demon, Earl of Hell, with six legions of demons under his command. He teaches sciences and arts, the virtues of the gems and woods, herbs, and changes corpses from their original grave into other places, sometimes putting magick lights on the graves that seem candles...
), Lamia
Lamia (mythology)
In ancient Greek mythology, Lamia was a beautiful queen of Libya who became a child-eating daemon. Aristophanes claimed her name derived from the Greek word for gullet , referring to her habit of devouring children....
, Phoenix
Phoenix (mythology)
The phoenix or phenix is a mythical sacred firebird that can be found in the mythologies of the Arabian, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Chinese, Indian and Phoenicians....
(see Phenex
Phenex
In demonology, Phenex is a Great Marquis of Hell and has twenty legions of demons under his command. He teaches all wonderful sciences, is an excellent poet, and is very obedient to the conjuror...
); and so on. All biblical references were taken from the Vulgate
Vulgate
The Vulgate is a late 4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. It was largely the work of St. Jerome, who was commissioned by Pope Damasus I in 382 to make a revision of the old Latin translations...
.
Lilith
Lilith
Lilith is a character in Jewish mythology, found earliest in the Babylonian Talmud, who is generally thought to be related to a class of female demons Līlīṯu in Mesopotamian texts. However, Lowell K. Handy notes, "Very little information has been found relating to the Akkadian and Babylonian view...
, a female demon important in Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
, does not count in Christian demonology. However, the newer generation of demonologists (and some modern exorcists/deliverance counsellors) recognize Lilith as a general demon, the argument being that if other Judaic demons exist in Christian demonology, so should Lilith as well, introducing her as the wife of Samael, and as a princess and queen of Hell. Also, from the aforementioned 'everything other than God and His angels, if spirit, is demon' vein of reasoning - we find valid logical reasoning for there being a 'Lilith demon' - if simply to create confusion and add validity to the following of Lilith as deity.
Some grimoire
Grimoire
A grimoire is a textbook of magic. Such books typically include instructions on how to create magical objects like talismans and amulets, how to perform magical spells, charms and divination and also how to summon or invoke supernatural entities such as angels, spirits, and demons...
s like The Great Book of Saint Cyprian
The Great Book of Saint Cyprian
The Great Book of Saint Cyprian is a book that deals with the occult. The book is written in Portuguese and Spanish and has been published in several editions with varying titles.-Authorship:...
, Le Dragon Rouge, Pseudomonarchia Daemonum
Pseudomonarchia Daemonum
Pseudomonarchia Daemonum, or Hierarchy of Demons first appears as an Appendix to Johann Weyer's De praestigiis daemonum . The title of the book translates roughly to "false monarchy of demons"....
and The Lesser Key of Solomon
The Lesser Key of Solomon
The Lesser Key of Solomon or Clavicula Salomonis , is an anonymous 17th-century grimoire, and one of the most popular books of demonology...
(see Ars Goetia) among others provide us of more of these names.
Sebastien Michaelis
Sebastien Michaelis
Sebastien Michaelis was a French inquisitor and prior of the Dominican order who lived during the late 16th and early 17th centuries. His Histoire admirable de la possession d'une penitente , includes a classification of demons which has passed into general use in esoteric literature.-Early...
in his classification of demons (see Michaelis' classification of demons) gives more names.
Abaddon
Abaddon
Abaddon in the Revelation of St. John, is the king of tormenting locusts and the angel of the bottomless pit. The exact nature of Abaddon is debated, but the Hebrew word is related to the triliteral root אבד , which in verb form means "to perish."...
, an angel of destruction extracted from the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
(Book of Revelation
Book of Revelation
The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament. The title came into usage from the first word of the book in Koine Greek: apokalupsis, meaning "unveiling" or "revelation"...
9:11) was also incorporated as a different demon.
Lucifer
Lucifer
Traditionally, Lucifer is a name that in English generally refers to the devil or Satan before being cast from Heaven, although this is not the original meaning of the term. In Latin, from which the English word is derived, Lucifer means "light-bearer"...
, Beelzebub
Beelzebub
Beelzebub -Religious meaning:Ba‘al Zəbûb is variously understood to mean "lord of flies", or "lord of the dwelling". Originally the name of a Philistine god, Beelzebub is also identified in the New Testament as Satan, the "prince of the demons". In Arabic the name is retained as Ba‘al dhubaab /...
and Satan
Satan
Satan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
, were originally one Devil who was transmogrified into three different characters by demonology and the Devil remained as such. Beelzebub was a separate entity in Judaism, later appearing as a fallen angel, and Satan is the leader of fallen angels: while Lucifer was originally an unnamed angel, the one who talked Satan into joining him in the rebellion. Whether all three (as well as other names such as Baal) are considered the same being or different depends on opinion.
Goblins, drudes, Familiars
Familiar spirit
In European folklore and folk-belief of the Medieval and Early Modern periods, familiar spirits were supernatural entities believed to assist witches and cunning folk in their practice of magic...
and other folkloric creatures became part of Christian demonology.
Thus there is little agreement on who is whom, for many names that originally were only one being have been separated into several entities. Others have been "created" by people, like Sonnilon, Olivier (demon), Raum
Raum
In demonology, Raum is a Great Earl of Hell, ruling thirty legions of demons. He is depicted as a crow which adopts human form at the request of the conjurer....
, etc. Many demons have several spellings of their names, not all of them with a valid fundament.
Some of these demons are mentioned in the bible, but have no official names, such as the Raging Demon, or some of the demons that were cast out by Christians during the time of the New Testament, or by Jesus Christ.
Also, many deliverance counselors and exorcists in modern times, such as Dr. Ed Murphy in his book "The Handbook For Spiritual Warfare", cite examples of demons named after the afflictions they cause, or the effect they produce. In his book, Dr. Murphy retells his encounters with multiple demons manifest in a lady named Betty, naming themselves through use of her vocal cords, with names such as "Hellbent" (its purpose was to ensure Betty's place in Hell (although it was defeated)); "Unbelief" (purposed to inspire exactly what it's named for) and "Destroyer" (meant to destroy the victim's spirit).
See also
- The Devil and his names
- Classification of the demons
- List of theological demons
- True nameTrue nameA true name is a name of a thing or being that expresses, or is somehow identical with, its true nature. The notion that language, or some specific sacred language, refers to things by their true names has been central to philosophical and grammatical study as well as various traditions of magic,...