In the Gemara, the shamir (Hebrew : שָׁמִירšāmīr) is a worm or a substance that had the power to cut through or disintegrate stone, iron and diamond. King Solomon is said to have used it in the building of the Solomon's Temple in place of cutting tools. For the building of the Temple in Jerusalem, which promoted peace, it was inappropriate to use tools that could also cause war and bloodshed. [2]
Referenced throughout the Talmud and midrashim, the Shamir was reputed to have existed in the time of Moses as one of the ten wonders created on the eve of the first Sabbath just before God finished creation. [lower-alpha 1] Moses reputedly used the Shamir to engrave the stones of the priestly breastplate of the High Priest of Israel. [4]
King Solomon, aware of the existence of the Shamir, but unaware of its location, commissioned a search that turned up a "grain of Shamir the size of a barley-corn". Solomon's artisans reputedly used the Shamir in the construction of the Temple. The material to be worked, whether stone, wood or metal, was affected by being "shown to the Shamir." Following this line of logic (anything that can be 'shown' something must have eyes to see), early Rabbinical scholars described the Shamir almost as a living being. Other early sources, however, describe it as a green stone. This is supported by contemporary scholars who believe that the shamir was emery, a bluegreen stone mined as an abrasive powder for thousands of years. The word emery comes from Greek smyris, which likely shares the same root as the Semitic shamir. [5]
For storage, the Shamir was meant to have been always wrapped in wool and stored in a container made of lead; any other vessel would burst and disintegrate under the Shamir's gaze. The Shamir was said to have been either lost or had lost its potency (along with the "dripping of the honeycomb") by the time of the destruction of the First Temple during the 587 BCE Siege of Jerusalem. [6]
According to the Asmodeus legend from the Mishnah, the location of the shamir was told to King Solomon by Asmodeus, who was captured by Solomon. The shamir was under the care of a bird, who had been granted it by Rahab, the angel of the sea. [7] [8] Solomon then sent his trusted aide Benaiah on a quest to retrieve it. [4]
The shamir worm was also used by King Solomon to engrave gemstones. Apparently he also used the blood of the shamir worm to make carved jewels with a mystical seal or design. According to an interview with Dr. George Frederick Kunz, an expert in gemstone and jewelry lore, this led to the belief that gemstones so engraved would have magical virtues, and they often also ended up with their own powers or guardian angel associated with either the gem, or the specifically engraved gemstones. [9]
The Quran mentions a creature thought[ by whom? ] to be the shamir, when pointing out the ignorance of the jinn who worked for Solomon concerning the occult, and emphasizing that all knowledge rests only with God:
And when We decreed death for him, nothing showed his death to them save a creeping creature of the earth which gnawed away his staff. And when he fell the jinn saw clearly how, if they had known the Unseen, they would not have continued in despised toil.
According to commentators such as Ibn Abbas, when Solomon died his body remained leaning on his staff for a long time, nearly a year, until "a creature of the earth, which was a kind of worm," gnawed through the stick weakening it and the body fell to the ground. [11] It was then that the jinn knew that he had died a long time before and until then they were working hard thinking they were being supervised by him. It also became clear to humans who divined and engaged in occult activities or spirit-consulting, or worshiped the jinn that they do not possess knowledge of the occult. [11]
A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in folklore, mythology, religion, and literature; these beliefs are reflected in media including comics, fiction, film, television, and video games. Belief in demons probably goes back to the Paleolithic age, stemming from humanity's fear of the unknown, the strange and the horrific. In ancient Near Eastern religions and in the Abrahamic religions, including early Judaism and ancient-medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered a harmful spiritual entity which may cause demonic possession, calling for an exorcism. Large portions of Jewish demonology, a key influence on Christianity and Islam, originated from a later form of Zoroastrianism, and was transferred to Judaism during the Persian era.
Jinn, also romanized as djinn or anglicized as genies, are invisible creatures in early religion in pre-Islamic Arabia and later in Islamic culture and beliefs. Like humans, they are accountable for their deeds and can be either believers (Muslims) or disbelievers (kuffar), depending on whether they accept God's guidance. Since jinn are neither innately evil nor innately good, Islam acknowledged spirits from other religions and was able to adapt them during its expansion. Jinn are not a strictly Islamic concept; they may represent several pagan beliefs integrated into Islam. To assert a strict monotheism and the Islamic concept of tawhid, Islam denies all affinities between the jinn and God, thus placing the jinn parallel to humans, also subject to God's judgment and afterlife. The Quran condemns the pre-Islamic Arabian practice of worshipping or seeking protection from them.
Solomon, also called Jedidiah, was a monarch of ancient Israel and the son and successor of King David, according to the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament. He is described as having been the penultimate ruler of an amalgamated Israel and Judah. The hypothesized dates of Solomon's reign are from 970 to 931 BCE. After his death, his son and successor Rehoboam would adopt a harsh policy towards the northern tribes, eventually leading to the splitting of the Israelites between the Kingdom of Israel in the north and the Kingdom of Judah in the south. Following the split, his patrilineal descendants ruled over Judah alone.
Asmodeus or Ashmedai is a king of demons in the legends of Solomon and constructing Solomon's Temple.
Shedim are spirits or demons in the Tanakh and Jewish mythology. Shedim do not, however, correspond exactly to the modern conception of demons as evil entities as originated in Christianity. While evil spirits were thought to be the cause of maladies, shedim differed conceptually from evil spirits. Shedim were not considered as evil demigods, but the gods of foreigners, and were envisaged as evil only in the sense that they were not God.
Sulaimān ibn Dāwūd was, according to the Quran, a nabī and ruler of the Israelites. Generally, Islamic tradition holds that he was the third ruler of the Israelites and a wise one.
The Seal of Solomon or Ring of Solomon is the legendary signet ring attributed to the Israelite king Solomon in medieval mystical traditions, from which it developed in parallel within Jewish mysticism, Islamic mysticism and Western occultism.
In some occult and similar writings, an archdemon, archdevil, or archfiend is a spiritual entity prominent in the infernal hierarchy as a leader of demons. Essentially, the archdemons are the evil opponents of the archangels.
Rabbinic Judaism, also called Rabbinism, Rabbinicism, or Rabbanite Judaism, has been the mainstream form of Judaism since the 6th century CE, after the codification of the Babylonian Talmud. Rabbinic Judaism has its roots in the Pharisaic school of Second Temple Judaism, and is based on the belief that Moses at Mount Sinai received both the Written Torah and the Oral Torah from God. The Oral Torah, transmitted orally, explains the Written Torah. At first, it was forbidden to write down the Oral Torah, but after the destruction of the Second Temple, it was decided to write it down in the form of the Talmud and other rabbinic texts for the sake of preservation.
The Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses is an 18th- or 19th-century magical text allegedly written by Moses, and passed down as hidden books of the Hebrew Bible. Self-described as "the wonderful arts of the old Hebrews, taken from the Mosaic books of the Kabbalah and the Talmud", it is actually a grimoire, or text of magical incantations and seals, that purports to instruct the reader in the spells used to create some of the miracles portrayed in the Bible as well as to grant other forms of good fortune and good health. The work contains reputed Talmudic magic names, words, and ideograms, some written in Hebrew and some with letters from the Latin alphabet. It contains "Seals" or magical drawings accompanied by instructions intended to help the user perform various tasks, from controlling weather or people to contacting the dead or Biblical religious figures.
Beshalach, Beshallach, or Beshalah is the sixteenth weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the fourth in the Book of Exodus. It constitutes Exodus 13:17–17:16. In this parashah, Pharaoh changed his mind and chased after the Israelites, trapping them at the Sea of Reeds. God commanded Moses to split the sea, allowing the Israelites to escape, then closed the sea back upon the Egyptian army. The Israelites also experience the miracles of manna and clean water. And the Amalekites attacked, but the Israelites were victorious.
Yitro, Yithro, Yisroi, Yisrau, or Yisro is the seventeenth weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the fifth in the Book of Exodus. The parashah tells of Jethro's organizational counsel to Moses and God's revelation of the Ten Commandments to the Israelites at Mount Sinai.
Terumah, Terumoh, Terimuh, or Trumah is the nineteenth weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the seventh in the Book of Exodus. The parashah tells of God's instructions to make the Tabernacle and its furnishings. The parashah constitutes Exodus 25:1–27:19. It is made up of 4,692 Hebrew letters, 1,145 Hebrew words, 96 verses, and 155 lines in a Torah Scroll. Jews in the Diaspora read it the nineteenth Sabbath after Simchat Torah, generally in February and rarely in early March.
Vayakhel, Wayyaqhel, VaYakhel, Va-Yakhel, Vayak'hel, Vayak'heil, or Vayaqhel is the 22nd weekly Torah portion in the weekly Torah portion and the 10th of the Book of Exodus. The parashah tells of the making of the Tabernacle and its sacred vessels. It constitutes Exodus 35:1–38:20. The parashah is made up of 6181 Hebrew letters, 1,558 Hebrew words, 122 verses, and 211 lines in a Torah scroll.
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Chukat, HuQath, Hukath, or Chukkas is the 39th weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the sixth in the Book of Numbers. The parashah sets out the laws of corpse contamination and purification with the water of lustration prepared with the Red Cow. It also reports the deaths of Miriam and Aaron, the failure of Moses at the Waters of Meribah, and the conquest of Arad, the Amorites, and Bashan. The parashah comprises Numbers 19:1–22:1. The parashah is the shortest weekly Torah portion in the Book of Numbers, and is made up of 4,670 Hebrew letters, 1,245 Hebrew words, 87 verses, and 159 lines in a Torah Scroll.
Pinechas, Pinchas, Pinhas, or Pin'has is the 41st weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the eighth in the Book of Numbers. It tells of Phinehas's killing of a couple, ending a plague, and of the daughters of Zelophehad's successful plea for land rights. It constitutes Numbers 25:10–30:1. The parashah is made up of 7,853 Hebrew letters, 1,887 Hebrew words, 168 verses, and 280 lines in a Torah scroll.
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The Gemara returns to the story of how Solomon acquired the shamir... [Solomon's servants] searched until they found the nest of a wild cock that had young,[...]
Asmodeus told Solomon that the shamir was given by God to the Angel of the Sea, and that Angel entrusted none with the shamir except the moor-hen, which had taken an oath to watch the shamir carefully.