Interesting Facts

• Asael, also appearing as Azazel, is listed as one of the principal leaders of the two hundred angels who descended to Earth.
• He is credited with teaching humankind how to make swords, knives, shields, and breastplates, and revealing the metals of the earth and the art of working them.
• Azazel also taught the arts of making bracelets, ornaments, the use of antimony, the beautifying of eyelids, all kinds of costly stones, and all colouring tinctures.
• The corruption of the whole earth is attributed to the works taught by Azazel.
• Azazel is the tenth angel listed in one enumeration of the leaders.

Genealogy

• Asael/Azazel is identified as one of the “angels who descended to the earth” and among “the Watchers of the heaven who have left the high heaven, the holy eternal place“.
• He was part of the company of two hundred angels who swore an oath on Mount Hermon, led by Semjaza.
• The texts do not specify any further familial relationships for Asael/Azazel, such as his birth within the heavenly host or any marital connections or offspring resulting from the union with human women.

Historical Context

The descent of Asael/Azazel occurred during the period when “men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them“. This was in the “days of Jared“, around the tenth jubilee according to some reckonings. This era is depicted as a time when the “sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose“. The actions of Asael/Azazel, in revealing the arts of warfare and ornamentation, contributed to a growing godlessness and corruption on the earth. This dissemination of secret knowledge, alongside similar teachings from other fallen angels, is presented as a direct cause for the increase in violence and unrighteousness that plagued the pre-diluvian world. The earth became “filled with violence” as a consequence of these transgressions.

Narrative

Asael/Azazel stands out in the narrative for the specific and impactful knowledge he imparted to humankind. Unlike some of the other Watchers who taught celestial or esoteric arts, Asael provided practical skills related to warfare and adornment, fundamentally altering human society and its relationship with violence and material possessions. His teachings on crafting weapons like swords, knives, shields, and breastplates directly facilitated the increase in bloodshed and conflict on the earth. Furthermore, the instruction in creating bracelets, ornaments, and cosmetics fostered vanity and a focus on earthly appearances, potentially distracting from spiritual concerns. The narrative explicitly states that “the whole earth has been corrupted through the works that were taught by Azâzêl: to him ascribe all sin“, highlighting the immense responsibility attributed to him for the pervasive wickedness. Consequently, divine judgment is specifically pronounced against Azazel: he is commanded to be bound hand and foot and cast into the darkness in the desert of Dudael, to remain there until the day of the great judgment, when he will be cast into the fire. Enoch is tasked with declaring this severe sentence against him, emphasizing the irrevocable nature of his punishment due to the “unrighteousness which thou hast taught, and because of all the works of godlessness and unrighteousness and sin which thou hast shown to men“.