Belial (also
Belhor,
Baalial,
Beliar,
Belias ,
Beliall,
Beliel,
Bilael,
Belu; from Hebrew
בְּלִיַּ֫עַל ; also named
Matanbuchus,
Mechembuchus,
Meterbuchus in older scripts) is a
demonIn religion, folklore, and mythology a demon is a supernatural being that is generally described as a malevolent spirit. In Christian terms demons are generally understood as fallen angels, formerly of God. A demon is frequently depicted as a force that may be conjured and insecurely controlled...
in the
BibleThe Bible contains the central religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. Modern Judaism generally recognizes a single set of canonical books known as the Tanakh, or Hebrew Bible, as it is written almost entirely in the Hebrew language, with some small portions in Aramaic...
,
Christian apocryphaThe biblical apocrypha are books published in an edition of the Bible whose canonicity the publisher either rejects or doubts. For this reason they are typically printed in a third section of the Bible apart from the Old and New Testaments...
and
Jewish apocryphaThis article on Jewish apocrypha includes a survey of books written in the Jewish religious tradition either in the late pre-Christian era or in the early Christian era, but outside the Christian tradition. It does not include books in the canonical Jewish Bible, nor those accepted into the canon...
, and also a term used to characterize the wicked or worthless.
The
etymologyEtymology is the study of the history of words and how their form and meaning have changed over time.For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages, and texts about the languages, to gather knowledge about how words were used at earlier stages, and...
of the word is uncertain, but is most commonly translated as "without worth". Some scholars translate it from Hebrew as "worthless" (Beli yo'il), while others translate it as "yokeless" (Beli ol), "may have no rising" (Belial) or "never to rise" (Beli ya'al). Only a few etymologists have assumed it to be a proper name from the start. In the
Book of JubileesThe Book of Jubilees , sometimes called the Lesser Genesis , is an ancient Jewish religious work, considered one of the Pseudepigrapha by most Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Protestant Christians. It was well known to Early Christian writers in the East and the West, as well as by the Rabbis...
,
uncircumcisedMale circumcision is the removal of some or all of the foreskin from the penis. The word "circumcision" comes from Latin and ....
heathens are called "sons of Belial". Also appearing in some Muslim scripture, the demon is said to have feasted on the poor and feed the rich with the regurgitated remains. When the rich denied his service, he was sent back into the underworld to serve Satan himself.
In the
Goetia refers to a practice which includes the invocation of angels or the evocation of demons, and usage of the term in English largely derives from the 17th century grimoire The Lesser Key of Solomon, which features an Ars Goetia as its first section...
, Belial is said to be a mighty and a powerful king over 50 legions, created after
LuciferLucifer is a Latin word, literally meaning "light-bearer", that was used as a name for the "day star" or "Morning Star" that precedes the rising of the sun. The name is frequently given to the Devil in Christian convention...
. He appears as two beautiful angels sitting in a chariot of fire. His purpose in the Goetia is to make the magician popular, possibly getting them titles. It is also written that sacrifices have to be given or he will lie to the magician.
In the Hebrew Torah the term appears in several places to indicate the wicked or worthless, such as :
- idolaters
Idolatry is usually defined as worship of any cult image, idea, or object, as opposed to the worship of a monotheistic God. It is considered a major sin in the Abrahamic religions whereas in religions where such activity is not considered a sin, the term "idolatry" itself is absent...
(Deut. 13:13)
- the men of Gibeah
Gibeah – could be a variation of the Hebrew word meaning “hill,” other names include Gibeah of Benjamin and Gibeah of Saul. The site is believed to be identical to Tell el-Ful meaning “mound of beans” in Arabic, a hill next to the modern Jerusalem neighbourhood of Pisgat Ze'ev.It is located along...
(Judg. 19:22, 20:13)
- the sons of Eli
Eli was, according to the Books of Samuel, the name of a priest of Shiloh, and one of the last Israelite Judges before the rule of kings in ancient Israel.-Biblical narrative:Eli abruptly appears when Hannah, who is childless, prays to God for a child...
(1 Sam. 2:12), NabalAccording to the 1st Book of Samuel Chapter 25, Nabal , was a rich Calebite who was also described as being harsh and badly behaved. David and his band of men who had been outlawed by King Saul were living off the Wilderness of Paran and providing voluntary protection to the shepherds in the...
(1 Sam. 25:17), and ShimeiShimei is the name of a number of persons referenced in the Hebrew Bible and Rabbinical literature.*The second son of Gershon and grandson of Levi...
(2 Sam. 20:1).
The Dead Sea Scrolls
In
The War of the Sons of Light Against the Sons of Darkness (1QM), one of the
Dead Sea scrollsThe Dead Sea scrolls consist of about 900 documents, including texts from the Hebrew Bible, discovered between 1947 and 1956 in eleven caves in and around the Qumran Wadi near the ruins of the ancient settlement of Khirbet Qumran, on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea.The texts are of great...
, Belial is the leader of the Sons of Darkness:
- 'But for corruption thou hast made Belial, an angel
Angels are spiritual beings found in many religious traditions. They are broadly viewed as messengers of God, sent to do God's tasks. Traditions vary as to the precise nature and role of these messages and tasks...
of hostility. All his dominions are in darkness, and his purpose is to bring about wickedness and guilt. All the spirits that are associated with him are but angels of Sweed, a type of drug.'
In Christianity
In the
New TestamentThe New Testament is the name given to the second major division of the Christian Bible, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament, both terms being associated with Supersessionism...
the word is used to refer to
SatanSatan is an embodiment of antagonism that originates from the Abrahamic religions, being traditionally considered an angel in Judeo-Christian belief, and a Jinn in Islamic belief...
when asked by
St. PaulPaul of Tarsus, also called Paul the Apostle, the Apostle Paul, or Saint Paul, Paul of Tarsus, also called Paul the Apostle, the Apostle Paul, or Saint Paul, Paul of Tarsus, also called Paul the Apostle, the Apostle Paul, or Saint Paul, ...
as to how
ChristChrist is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed". It is a translation of the Hebrew . The term "Christ" was a title rather than a proper name. In the four gospels in the New Testament, the word "Christ" is nearly always preceded by the definite article...
and Belial can agree. The passage in the Bible NIV states: "What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?" (2 Cor 6:15).
Since the
Middle AgesThe Middle Ages of European history is a period of European history covering roughly a millennium in the 5th century through 16th centuries. More specific starting and ending points are sometimes adopted by scholars to suit their respective specializations or current focus...
he has been considered to be a powerful king of
HellIn many religious traditions, Hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife, often in the underworld. Religions with a linear divine history often depict Hell as endless...
that gives excellent
familiarsA familiar spirit, imp, or familiar is an animal-shaped spirit who serves for witchery, a demon, or other magician-related subjects....
to his followers. As a demon he was said to have an agreeable aspect, and to induce to any type of sins, especially those related to sex and lust.
Sebastien MichaelisSebastien 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...
states that Belial seduces by means of arrogance and his adversary is
St. Francis of PaolaSaint Francis of Paola was an Italian mendicant friar and the founder of the Roman Catholic Order of the Minims.-Biography:...
; in this sense his name is translated as "Lord of Arrogance" or "Lord of Pride" (Baal ial).
In the Biblia Vulgata fewer allusions to this demon are made, referring to Belial as
torrents of death, and to impious men as
sons of Belial and
men of Belial.
Belial is listed as the sixty-eighth spirit of the
The Lesser Key of SolomonThe Lesser Key of Solomon or Clavicula Salomonis , is an anonymous 17th-century grimoire, and one of the most popular books of demonology...
.
(Be′li·al) [from Heb., meaning “Good for Nothing”; a compound of beli′, “not, without,” and ya·‛al′, “be of benefit; be beneficial”].
The quality or state of being useless, base, good for nothing. The Hebrew term beli·ya′‛al is applied to ideas, words, and counsel (De 15:9; Ps 101:3; Na 1:11), to calamitous circumstances (Ps 41:8), and most frequently, to good-for-nothing men of the lowest sort—for example, men who would induce worship of other gods (De 13:13); those of Benjamin who committed the sex crime at Gibeah (Jg 19:22-27; 20:13); the wicked sons of Eli (1Sa 2:12); insolent Nabal (1Sa 25:17, 25); opposers of God’s anointed, David (2Sa 20:1; 22:5; 23:6; Ps 18:4); Rehoboam’s unsteady associates (2Ch 13:7); Jezebel’s conspirators against Naboth (1Ki 21:10, 13); and men in general who stir up contention (Pr 6:12-14; 16:27; 19:28). Indicating that the enemy power would no longer interfere with the carrying out of true worship by his people in their land, Jehovah declared through his prophet: “No more will any good-for-nothing person pass again through you. In his entirety he will certainly be cut off.”—Na 1:15; see also 1Sa 1:16; 10:27; 30:22; Job 34:18.
By the time Bible writing resumed in the first century, “Belial” was used as a name for Satan. So when Paul wrote at 2 Corinthians 6:15 in his series of parallel contrasts, “What harmony is there between Christ and Belial?” the conclusion usually drawn is that “Belial” is Satan. The Syriac Peshitta here reads “Satan.”
Apocrypha
The word "belial" appears frequently in Jewish apocrypha and pseudepigrapha. In addition to his appearance in the Book of Jubilees, Belial appears in other texts as well.
Belial is also mentioned in the Fragments of a Zadokite Work (which is also known as The Damascus Document (CD)), which states that during the eschatological age, "Belial shall be let loose against Israel, as God spoke through Isaiah the prophet." (6:9). The Fragments also speak of "three nets of Belial" which are said to be fornication, wealth, and pollution of the sanctuary. (6:10-11) In this work, Belial is sometimes presented as an agent of divine punishment and sometimes as a rebel, as
MastemaMastema is the name of an arch-demon who first appears in the literature of Israel's Second Temple Period, as a personification of the Hebrew word "mastemah" , meaning "hatred", "hostility", "enmity" or "persecution".-Hosea:From Hosea 9.7-8:...
is. It was Belial who inspired the Egyptian sorcerers, Jochaneh and his brother, to oppose Moses and Aaron. The Fragments also say that anyone who is ruled by the spirits of Belial and speaks of rebellion should be condemned as a necromancer and wizard.
Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs
Belial is also mentioned in the
Testaments of the Twelve PatriarchsThe Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs is a constituent of the apocryphal scriptures connected with the Torah. It is a pseudepigraphical work comprising the dying commands of the twelve sons of Jacob. It is part of the Oscan Armenian Orthodox Bible of 1666. Fragments of similar writings were...
. The author of the work seems to be a
dualistDualism denotes a state of two parts. The word's origin is the Latin duo, "two" . The term 'dualism' was originally coined to denote co-eternal binary opposition, a meaning that is preserved in metaphysical and philosophical duality discourse but has been diluted in general or common usages.-Moral...
because he presents Belial as God's opponent, not as a servant, but does not mention how or why this came to be. Simeon 5:3 says that fornication separates man from God and brings him near to Belial. Levi tells his children to choose between the Law of God and the works of Belial (Levi 19:1) It also states that when the soul is constantly disturbed, the Lord departs from it and Belial rules over it. Naphtali (2:6, 3:1) contrasts the Law and will of God with the purposes of Belial. Also, in 20:2, Joseph prophesies that when
IsraelIsrael officially the State of Israel , is a developed state in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its...
leaves
EgyptAncient Egypt was an ancient civilization of eastern North Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. The civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh, and...
, they will be with God in light while Belial will remain in darkness with the Egyptians. Finally, the Testament describes that when the Messiah comes, the angels will punish the spirits of deceit and Belial (3:3) and that the Messiah will bind Belial and give to his children the power to trample the evil spirits (18:12).
The Ascension of Isaiah
In
The Ascension of IsaiahThe book Ascension of Isaiah is one of the Pseudepigrapha, dating probably the second half of the 2nd century AD and compiled by an unknown Christian scholar.-Content:The content is two-and-a-half fold:...
, Belial is the angel of lawlessness and "the ruler of this world."
- "And Manasseh turned aside his heart to serve Beliar; for the angel of lawlessness, who is the ruler of this world, is Beliar, whose name is Matanbuchus." - Ascension of Isaiah 2:4
In the
Rules of the Community God is found making a very prolific statement, "I shall not comfort the oppressed until their path is perfect. I shall not retain Belial within my heart."
The
War Scroll and
the Thanksgiving hymns both delve into the idea that Belial is accursed by God and his people, and shows how the existence of Belial in this world can be attributed to the mysteries of God since we can not know why he permits the dealings of Belial to persist.
In the
Dead Sea Scrolls Belial is further contrasted with God. These are the Angel of Light and the Angel of Darkness. The Manual of Discipline identifies the Angel of Light as God himself. The Angel of Darkness is identified in the same scroll as Belial.
Also in
The Dead Sea Scrolls is a recounting of a dream of Amram, the father of Moses, who finds two 'watchers' contesting over him. One is Belial who is described as the King of Evil and Prince of Darkness.
Atlantis legends
Edgar CayceEdgar Cayce was an American who was believed to be psychic. He is said to have demonstrated an ability to channel answers to questions on subjects such as health or Atlantis, while in a self-induced trance...
spoke of the existence of Atlantis, a legendary continent with an advanced technology whose refugees peopled ancient Egypt as well as pre-Columbian America. Cayce's description of Atlantis has much in common with that of Ignatius L. Donnelly. According to Cayce, Atlantean society was divided into two long-lived political factions--a "good" faction called the "Sons of the Law of One," and an "evil" faction called the "Sons of Belial." Many people alive today are the reincarnations of Atlantean souls, he believed, who must now face similar temptations as before. It is said Atlantis suffered three major destructions, one of which was the deluge. According to the readings, a major source of turmoil was the Sons of Belial's desire to exploit the Things, sub-humans with animal appendages and low intelligence, and the movements to protect and evolve them by the Sons of the Law_of_One. The final destruction was the overcharging of the crystal which caused a massive explosion.
In Satanism
The Satanic BibleThe Satanic Bible was written by Anton LaVey in 1969. It is a collection of essays, observations and basic Satanic rituals, and outlines LaVey's Satanic ideology...
names Belial as one of the Four Crown Princes of Hell (specifically, the North Crown), and states that his name means "'without a master' and symbolizes true independence, self-sufficiency, and personal accomplishment." Belial represents the earth element, is the Master of Mankind and the Champion of Humanity, and represents the carnal and base urges of humans.
Literary references
- John Milton
John Milton was an English poet, author, polemicist and civil servant for the Commonwealth of England. He is best known for his epic poem Paradise Lost and for his treatise condemning censorship, Areopagitica....
, "Paradise Lost", Book I
BELIAL came last, then whom a Spirit more lewd
Fell not from Heaven, or more gross to love
Vice for it self: To him no Temple stood
Or Altar smoak'd; yet who more oft then hee
In Temples and at Altars, when the Priest
Turns Atheist, as did ELY'S Sons, who fill'd
With lust and violence the house of God.
In Courts and Palaces he also Reigns
And in luxurious Cities, where the noyse
Of riot ascends above thir loftiest Towrs,
And injury and outrage: And when Night
Darkens the Streets, then wander forth the Sons
Of BELIAL, flown with insolence and wine.
Witness the Streets of SODOM, and that night
In GIBEAH, when hospitable Dores
Yielded thir Matrons to prevent worse rape.
See also
- Belial in popular culture
The demon Belial, or characters named for him, have appeared in many examples of modern culture.In the Gothic game series, Beliar is the god of darkness and of all that is unnatural and unholy....
- 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...
- List of theological demons
Sources
- S. L. MacGregor Mathers, A. Crowley, The Goetia: The Lesser Key of Solomon the King (1904). 1995 reprint: ISBN 0-87728-847-X.
External links