ِ مْ ي ِ ح َ الر ِ نٰ مْ ح َ الرِ الِ مْ س ِ ب جيـم َ الر ِ ـطانْ يَ الشَ ن ِ مِ ال ِ بُ عـوذَ أ Who is Asmodeus, King of Demons? A Study of King Solomon’s Master Craftsman By Abu Muhammad David Levy Medieval Talmudic legends and Qur’anic commentary explain that Asmodeus (a demon) usurped the throne of King Solomon and led the world astray as a fraudulent son of David. Contemporary Jews and Muslims dismiss these events as mere folklore, having little relevance to the time at hand. On the contrary, this meticulous etymological-based investigation of Jewish, Christian, Islamic and Freemasonic texts, details several of Asmodeus' many incarnations throughout history. The results of which provide compelling, multi-faceted evidence of a template from which Asmodeus will reemerge as the apocalyptic False Messiah. GENERAL INTRODUCTION Asmodeus is described primarily as the main antagonist in the Book of Tobit. He appears in both the Talmudic legends and Qur’anic commentary, perhaps most notably in the story of the construction of King Solomon’s Temple. Islamic historians claim he is the most knowledgeable and rebellious of all demons; as such, he acts as their chief. This status corresponds with the 1 Rabbinical and Talmudic claims of Asmodeus being king of the demons, 2 analogous to Samael i.e."Satan”. 3 It is generally assumed that Asmodeus is the proper name of a demonic being. However, it has been suggested that Asmodeus is more likely the title of office for the reigning king of demons, rather than the name of an individual, just as pharaoh was the title of office for the king of Egypt. Therefore every king of demons acquires the title Asmodeus. 4 al-Kisāʾī (d.189 AH), al-Ṭabarī (d. 310 AH), al-Tha'ālibī (d. 427 AH), etc. [cf.- n.96] 1 Targ. to Eccl. i. 13; Pes. 110a; Yer. Shek. 49b 2 Dictionnaire Infernal, by Jacques Auguste Simon Collin de Plancy [1863 edition] Pg.54 3 - Samael (Hebrew: לֵאָמַ סSammāʾēl, "Venom of God") is identified with Satan. He is known as "chief of Satans" or "the prince of the devils”. All legends associated with Satan refer equally to him. See: http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/13055-samael Kabbalah - Gershom Scholem, Keter Publishing House Jerusalem Ltd. 1974 Pg. 322 4 © 2019 David Levy 1