Demons Build the Temple and Solomon Falls Through Idolatry

Apocrypha & Pseudepigrapha Testament of Solomon 106-130
Curated by The Jewish Mythology Team ·

The thirty-sixth and final zodiac demon, Bianakith, confessed: "I lay waste houses and cause flesh to decay. But if a man writes certain holy names on the front door of his home, I flee from that place."

Solomon glorified the God of heaven and earth. He commanded the demons to fetch water for the Temple. Some he set to the heavy labor of construction. Others he locked in prisons. Others he ordered to work with fire, smelting gold and silver. He prepared sealed chambers for those yet to be captured.

And then — peace. Profound, extraordinary peace. Solomon's kingdom prospered. His army stood ready. Jerusalem rejoiced. The entire Temple of the Lord was built, and all the kings of the earth came from the ends of the world to behold it, bringing gold and silver, precious stones, bronze, iron, lead, and cedar wood that would never decay (1 Kings 6:1).

Among those who came was the Queen of the South. She entered the Temple and saw the altar of incense with its brazen supports, the gems of the lamps flashing in every color — emerald, sapphire, hyacinth — the vessels of gold and silver and bronze, the hangings dyed red with madder, the pillars made of pure gold. She saw the demons laboring in chains. She heard Solomon's wisdom and fell to the ground, glorifying the God of Israel.

During this time an old workman threw himself before Solomon, weeping. "My only son beats me. He insults me. He pulls out the hair of my head and threatens me with death." Solomon summoned the son, who denied everything. But before Solomon could render judgment, he noticed the demon Ornias laughing in the corner.

"Why do you laugh in my presence?" Solomon demanded.

"Not at you, O king. I laugh at this old man and his wretched son. In three days, the boy will die. The old man seeks to have him punished — not knowing his son's life is already forfeit."

Solomon sent father and son home and told the old man to return in three days. When he did, the old man wore black. His son was dead. Ornias had spoken true.

Solomon pressed the demon: "How did you know?" And Ornias revealed one of the great secrets of the demonic order: "We demons ascend into the firmament of heaven and fly among the stars. There we overhear the sentences pronounced upon the souls of men. Then we descend — by force, or fire, or sword, or accident — and carry out the destruction. If a man does not die by disaster or violence, we transform ourselves to appear human, so that men worship us in our disguise."

"How can you, being demons, ascend to heaven and mingle with the holy angels?" Solomon asked.

"Whatever is fulfilled in heaven is also mirrored on earth," Ornias said. "There are principalities and authorities. We demons fly in the air and hear the voices of the heavenly beings. But we have no firm ground to stand on. We lose our strength and fall — like leaves from trees. Men see us plummeting through the night sky and think the stars are falling. But it is only us, falling because we have nothing to hold on to. We crash like lightning through the darkness. And we set cities aflame and burn the fields."

Meanwhile, Adares, the King of Arabia, sent a letter pleading for help. A terrible wind demon blew from dawn until the third hour each day, killing men and beasts. Nothing could stop it. Solomon sent a servant with a leather flask and the ring of God. At dawn, the servant placed the flask before the demon's blast with the ring over its mouth. The demon blew straight into the flask. The servant sealed it instantly in the name of the Lord God of Hosts.

The flask was brought to Jerusalem, and the wind demon — Ephippas — was forced to lift the great cornerstone that no worker or demon had been able to move. He hoisted it up the Temple steps and laid it at the pinnacle, fulfilling the scripture: "The stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner" (Psalm 118:22).

Ephippas also brought up a demon from the depths of the Red Sea — Abezithibod, who revealed a stunning secret. "I was present when Moses stood before Pharaoh in Egypt. I am the one who hardened Pharaoh's heart. I am the one whom the magicians Jannes and Jambres invoked against Moses. When the children of Israel crossed the Red Sea and the waters returned, I was trapped — held under a pillar in the depths ever since" (Exodus 14:21-28).

Solomon adjured both Ephippas and Abezithibod, and they swore: "The Lord your God lives — we will hold up this pillar until the end of the world. On whatever day this stone falls, the world will end."

And then came the fall.

Solomon took wives from every nation — numberless women (1 Kings 11:1-4). Among them he desired a Shunammite woman, a Jebusite. Her priests demanded a price: worship our gods — Raphan and Moloch. Solomon refused. He knew the glory of God. But the priests told the woman not to lie with him until he complied.

Love did what no demon could. The woman brought Solomon five grasshoppers and told him to crush them in the name of Moloch. It seemed so small a thing. Five insects. A minor act. But Solomon did it — and in that instant, the Spirit of God departed from him. His wisdom dimmed. His words became foolish. He was compelled to build temples to Baal, to Raphan, to Moloch, and to other idols.

The man who had bound every demon under heaven was himself enslaved — not by a spirit, but by desire. The king who forced Asmodeus to tread clay and Beelzeboul to saw marble could not resist a single woman's demand. And so Solomon wrote this testament as a warning: "I, wretch that I am, followed her counsel, and the glory of God departed from me. My spirit was darkened, and I became the sport of idols and demons."

He wrote it all down for the children of Israel — so that those who read it might attend to the end, and not the beginning. So that they might find grace forever.

Themes

Solomon Demons Temple Idolatry Sin Divine judgment Exodus Red sea Angels Magic & the Supernatural

Biblical References

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