96 myths · Page 2 of 4
A witch rides a man through the market as a donkey, another strangles a child in the womb, and the sages rule how such women must die.
On the day Moses finished the Mishkan, a wedding was completed, a setting up came to rest, and every demon that had been loose in the world departed.
Samael searched the sea, Gehinnom, and Sheol for Moses and found nothing. Death's poison could not touch the man God had already taken.
Moses called from the camp gate, and Levi ran toward him, raising a sword against guilty kin without seeing his father in the calf.
A man keeps an all-night vigil at the tombs of the righteous, and the demons who climb out at dawn give him a son who can hear what the birds say.
The angels of the nations prosecute Israel before God 364 days a year. Vayikra Rabbah reveals why the Accuser falls silent on exactly one day.
A wizard-priest of the fire-temple challenges a Jewish sage to a public duel of powers, but a demon feeds the flames and cannot do the one thing a Creator can.
Moses recited Psalm 91 on Sinai to ward off demons, and when the Mishkan rose, the noon demon Ketev Meriri lost dominion over the world.
After Balaam blessed Israel a third time, Balak dismissed his princes and asked what God had spoken. His tone was not a question. It was a verdict.
A nation that kindles a great stake at dawn and dusk meets the demon their fire was feeding, and Samriel opens the gate.
Before Joshua was born, his father saw what the child would do. The midrash records how the family tried to outrun the prophecy.
Ha-Satan took the form of a beautiful deer and led David across the wilderness, valley by valley, until the king was deep inside Philistine land.
Asmodeus wore Solomon's face and ruled his throne. Solomon wandered for three years telling people his name while they laughed.
Rabbah bar bar Hannah swears the sea-fish that fed sixty towns and the demon on the walls of Mehoza are Lilith's own loose-running brood.
Solomon needed a demon to build the Temple. He caught the king of demons with wine, used him, then kept him chained. The demon got his revenge.
A demon was draining life from a child on Solomon's building crew. Solomon prayed and Michael arrived with a ring that bound every demon on earth.
Solomon bound a prince of demons and made him confess his secrets. Then he put the entire court of the underworld to work cutting marble for God's house.
Solomon kept the demon king chained as a trophy. When he handed Asmodeus his ring to prove a point, he lost his throne for years.
The Testament of Solomon records how the king built a catalog of demons by interrogating them one by one, turning each confession into an antidote.
Benaiah trapped Asmodeus with wool, wine, and the holy Name, but the demon king turned the road to Jerusalem into a trial of wisdom.
A headless demon named Envy wanted Solomon's head. Soon Asmodeus wore the king's face, while Solomon begged to be recognized.
Samael agreed to accept every condition placed on him, in exchange for ten great lives. The Yom Kippur scapegoat was always meant for him.
A spirit tore through Arabia and no army could stop it. Solomon sent a servant with a leather bottle and a ring engraved with the divine name.
No iron could touch the Temple stones. Only the shamir could split rock without weapons. Only Asmodeus knew where the shamir was kept.
A kabbalist conjured Elijah and asked how to chain the Prince of Evil. He came within one act of forcing the Messiah's arrival. One mistake ended everything.
Psalm 91 promised protection from the terror of night. The rabbis disagreed about what that terror was. Hezekiah lit every school in Jerusalem with Torah.
The ancient rabbis said that when you first sit down to study Torah, goat-demons leap all over you. They knew this was terrifying. That was the point.
Solomon chained Asmodeus to build the Temple. The demon warned him exactly what would happen. Solomon did not listen. The demon was right about everything.
The king of demons helped build the Temple, then stole Solomon's throne. A fish and a ring undid the greatest heist in the history of heaven.
Solomon used a ring inscribed with God's name to call every beast, bird, and demon to his table. Every creature came dancing. Then one did not appear.
