Welcome to the deep dive, where we sift through
your sources to uncover the most important nuggets
of knowledge and insight. Today, we're plunging
into a truly, uh, wild and ancient text. The
Testament of Solomon. Yeah, this isn't your typical
historical account. It purports to be King Solomon's
personal record. you know, of how he was granted
authority over a vast army of demons. Demons.
Oh, yes. And how we use them to help build the
magnificent temple in Jerusalem. You shared this
incredible source material with us, and our mission,
well, our mission in this deep dive is to guide
you through its most surprising claims and extract
the big picture insights. Exactly. We're gonna
explore how Solomon's supposedly gained this
power, the... Really bizarre nature and specific
activities of the demons he interrogated interrogated
demons. Okay, how we put these forces of chaos
to work on a well a divine building project and
how the text claims this story stretches into
later history with some profound implications
Okay, let's unpack this extraordinary account
King Solomon according to this text was a master
of demons so the story doesn't begin with Solomon
like Flexing his power immediately it starts
with a problem right a very specific problem
right on the temple building site Progress was
being halted. What was happening? Well, there
was a young boy the master workman's son who
was going tormented by a demon named Ornias Tormented
how just generally spooky stuff knows physical
to Ornias would steal half the boys pay and food
and Get this he'd suck the boys thumb causing
him to waste away Solomon noticed the boy getting
thinner even though he was being looked after.
Wow. That is incredibly specific and frankly
quite creepy. So Solomon known for wisdom, he
doesn't just send guards or something. No, no.
He goes straight to the top. Solomon prays directly
to God for the authority to overcome this demon.
Does it work? His prayers answered and pretty
dramatically. Archangel Michael appears. Archangel
Michael himself. According to the text, yes.
And he brings Solomon a special gift from the
Lord Sabath. You know, Lord of Hosts. It's a
small ring with a seal engraved on a stone. A
ring, like a magic ring. The text calls the seal
a pentalfa. You might recognize that as a five
-pointed star, sometimes called the seal of Solomon.
It's presented as this divinely granted tool.
A tool for what exactly? Controlling this one
demon. For much more. The text says this ring
gives Solomon the ability to, and I quote, lock
up all demons of the earth, male and female.
Whoa. All demons. That's the claim. It grants
him authority to compel them and use their power.
Specifically, he's told he can use them to help
build Jerusalem. So what does he do with the
ring? Put it on. He gives it to the tormented
boy with instructions. Throw it at Orneus' chest
and command the demon in God's name to come to
Solomon. Throw the ring at him. Yep. And the
text says it works instantly. Ornias is immediately
subdued, brought before Solomon, trembling, begging
not to be taken. Okay, so that establishes the
method. The ring, the seal, God's name. Exactly.
That's the core mechanism of control in this
story. The demons have to submit to that combination.
So Ornias is captured. Does Solomon just banish
him? Nope. Solomon shifts gears. He starts interrogating
him. Demanding to know his nature, his activities,
his weaknesses. And the divan talks. Oh, yeah.
Under the power of the ring and God's name, they
spill some really remarkable, sometimes bizarre
details. Ornias goes first. What does Ornias
say? He reveals he's subject to the zodiac sign
of Aquarius, the water pourer. He says he strangles
people who desire virgins. And he can shapeshift
into three forms. Shapeshift into what? A beautiful
woman to torment men in their sleep or a lion.
He also mentions he's frustrated by the Archangel
Uriel. Fascinating. And Solomon puts him to work.
Immediately. Cutting stones for the temple, specifically
sourcing large ones from the Sea of Arabia. Huh.
But Ornaius tries to make a deal. He does, cunning,
right? He says, release me and I'll bring you
the prince of all the demons. Does Solomon fall
for it? No, he refuses the release, but uses
Ornaius' power anyway. He compels Ornaius to
bring the prince. And who shows up? Is it Satan?
The text names him Beelzebul, describes the exarch,
the chief ruler of the demons. Other big -name
demons are seated near him. He even makes other
apparitions manifest for Solomon. Beelzebul?
Like Beelzebul? Very likely the same figure,
yeah. And he promises to bring all the unclean
spirits to Solomon in vons. Does the text give
his backstory? Like, where did he come from?
It does. He claims he was the first angel in
the first heaven, named Beelzebul, before the
fall. Now he controls those in Tartarus, the
Abyss. And his job description. Pretty much maximum
destruction. Destroying kings, bringing tyrants
to power, making men worship demons, tempting
gods, servants, inspiring envy, murder, war,
sodomy. Basically destroying the world. Says
he resides in the Evening Star. That's quite
the resume. What frustrates him? He's the chief,
right? He confesses he's frustrated by the holy
and precious name of the Almighty God. The text
gets really specific here. It mentions the name
is represented by a row of numbers, summing to
644 in Hebrew. The text later notes this corresponds
to Emanuel, and it's also known as LF in Roman
Magical Practices. Numbers representing God's
name, okay. And Solomon puts Beelzebul to work
too. Yep. sawing marble for the temple, even
the chief of demons isn't spared the labor detail.
Incredible. His next. Next, Beelzebul brings
forward a female demon named Anoskelis. Anoskelis,
what's her deal? Described as having a beautiful
form, but she lurks on earth and shifting golden
caves. Perverse wild places, precipices, ravines.
And what does she do? Strangles men with a noose,
or somehow prevents them from following their
true path. She also takes a female form to consort
with men Especially the text notes those of dark
skin who unknowingly worship her star hoping
for wealth. Okay, but her origin story That's
something else. Oh, it's one of the weirdest
born of a voice untimely like an echo an echo
of a man's orchard Human waste dropped in a wood
seriously. That's okay. How she controlled or
frustrated. She's subject to the star of the
full moon and she's frustrated by he that in
thee is reigning meaning God's wisdom in Solomon,
and specifically by the angel Joel. And her job?
More stone cutting? Nope. Solomon binds her and
makes her spin hemp for the ropes needed in the
temple construction. So the pattern continues.
Capture, interrogate, learn the weakness, assign
work, who's next in line? As Modeus appears.
And he's defiant at first, predicts Solomon's
kingdom will fall eventually, demons will roam
free again, claims he's born from an angel and
a human woman. Defiant. How does Solomon handle
that? Solomon binds him, and the text says he
even flogs him until Asmodeus confesses. And
what's his confession? What's his specialty?
Disrupting human relationships. Big time. He
plots against newlyweds, tries to keep them apart,
wastes virgin beauty, estranges hearts, drives
men mad with lust for people other than their
spices, leading to sin, abandonment, even murder.
Sounds like a real menace to society. What stops
him? Archangel Raphael. Also something physical.
the liver and gall of a specific fish, the glanos
from Assyrian rivers. Yeah, smoked over tamarisk
ashes, it puts Asmodeus to flight. So Solomon
puts Asmodeus to work making clay for the entire
temple, treading it with his feet, carrying water,
and he hangs the fish parts over him, just in
case. Okay, the demons get weirder though, right?
Something about ashes. Yes, Tefras, the spirit
of ashes. His activities involve dust, heat,
destruction. Dust devils, darkness, setting fire
to fields, ruining homesteads, especially in
summer, lives in wall corners. An elemental sort
of demon, what's his weakness? His star is at
the tip of the moon's southern horn. He claims
he can heal a certain fever, hematurgian fever,
if people pray to him with specific names. But
that's a lie. Solomon notes it's a lie, yes.
He's actually frustrated by Archangel Azale.
Solomon puts him to work tossing heavy stones
up to the workmen high up on the temple walls.
Then there's a group, right? Female spirits?
Yes, seven of them. Described as beautiful like
goddesses but bound together, they identify as
being of the 33 elements of the cosmic ruler
of the darkness. Cosmic Ruler of Darkness. And
they represent specific things. Exactly. Each
is a personified vice or destructive force. You
get deception, frustrated by Lemesel, strife,
frustrated by Baruchiacal, clohode, which means
battle, frustrated by Marmarith. Keep going.
Jealousy, causing family division, frustrated
by Balthiel, power, raising tyrants, frustrated
by Asteroth, error, leading people astray. This
one claim she made Solomon kill his brother.
Wait, Solomon killed his brother. That's what
this demon claims, yes. Yeah. She's frustrated
by Uriel. And the last is called the worst, imposes
the bonds of Artemis, whatever that means, but
is oddly freed by the Locust. So these are like
fundamental evils. What task does Solomon give
them? A big one. He seals them all and commands
them to dig the actual foundations of the Temple
of God. Reluctantly, they do it. Fitting work
for forces of chaos. The forms keep getting stranger
though. What about the headless one? Ah, yes.
A demon with a man's limbs, but no head. Claims
to be empty. Be, and he wants a head. Exactly.
Want to devour heads, especially human ones,
to get one. Claims he sees by feelings, not eyes.
Says his voice comes from dumb men whose heads
he smashed as children. Causes mutilations, incurable
sores, especially on feet. That's grim. Where
does his power come from? He says the fire he
emits comes from the day star. mentions an entity
named Elberian that the Seven Sisters pray to
but won't name into Solomon. This headless envy
is frustrated by a fiery flash of lightning.
Solomon keeps him with Beelzebul for a bit. Then
a giant dog. Huge hound, yeah. Name staff or
Repdos. Speaks loudly. Claims he used to be a
man who did unholy things powerful enough to
hold back the stars hold back stars wow what's
his job now harms people following his star sees
his frenzied men by the throat but importantly
he knows where to find a valuable green stone
needed for the temple ah so Solomon uses him
for reconnaissance exactly sends a serve up with
the ring the hound shows the serve at the stone
servant seals the hound brings him back Solomon
confines both envy and the hound and uses the
hound for lighting Yeah, gets the Hound to keep
the fiery headless Envy close by. Envy's internal
fire shines through the Hound's mouth, providing
light day and night for the temple artisans.
Clever, eh? He gets two underchecks of the Greenstone,
too. The Hound is frustrated by the Angel Brias.
Very practical. Then a lion form. A spirit like
a roaring lion named Lion Bearer, or Wrath. Attacks
sick men invisibly, weakens them. But strangely,
he also claims he can cast out other demons and
has legions. can even be welcomed into homes
with his legions. Casts out demons. That's weird.
What stops him? The Son of Man, whose name is
given as the number 644, Immanuel. He's the one
who will suffer and cast the demons underwater.
Solomon condemns wrath, legion to carry wood,
and wrath himself has to saw it small with his
teeth for the temple furnace. Sawing wood with
his teeth. Ouch! Okay, three -headed dragon time.
Right, fearsome thing. Cow -trop -like, maybe
spiky. Each head does something different. One
blinds children in the womb, makes them deaf
and mute. Another slips into bodies because...
is seizures falling, foaming, grinding teeth,
nasty stuff, frustrated by the angel of the great
council who will appear on the cross, signified
by Jerusalem, written of the head, likely Golgotha.
And this dragon provides useful info. Big time.
Tell Solomon where to find a load of gold near
the temple entrance, which turns out to be true.
And he confirms it was the demon of Phippas who
brought that giant pillar of air from the Red
Sea. So the dragon gets put to work too. Making
bricks for the temple with his human -like hands.
It fits the pattern. Bind, interrogate, learn
weakness, compel work or knowledge. The encounters
continue. There's another significant female
spirit, right? Yes, a spirit in woman's form.
Head to shoveled hair, but no limbs. This is
Obazeth, and she says one of her names among
men is Lilith. Lilith, okay, famous name. What's
her main activity? Going around at night to women
and childbirth and strangling infants if she
gets the chance. The text emphasizes she cannot
stand to be unsuccessful for even a single night.
Fierce spirit, many names, many shapes, roams
everywhere. That's horrifying. A direct threat
to newborns. How she stopped. by the angel Aphorot,
interpreted as Raphael. Knowing the angel's name
numerical value 640 and writing it on a woman
in childbirth stops Obazuth Lilith from entering
now and forever. So Solomon finds the counter
charm. What does he do with her? Binds her by
the hair and hangs her upright in front of the
temple as a public warning and a sign of God's
power through him for all Israel to see. Public
display, wow. Then a winged dragon, different
from the three -headed one. Yeah, this one is
like a dragon, but it has a man's face and hands,
plus wings. Claims he used to be worshipped as
a god, but Solomon's power brought him low. And
his special skill. He's the winged dragon who
mates with certain women under a specific star.
Causes them to bear offspring filled with lust
that can't be carried by men, resulting in the
woman breaking wind, oddly. Okay, the specifics
are just something else. He also breathes fire.
Yes. demonstrates by burning logs, just by breathing
on them. He's frustrated by the angel Vizazik
in the second heaven. Solomon condemns him to
Saul Marbles. Marbles again, then another female
spirit, and Epsigos. Right. Appears with three
heads or forms. Myriad names, changes shapes
like a goddess, sometimes invoked as Kronos,
lives in the moon, frustrated by the angel Rithanniel
in the third heaven. And she delivers a major
prophecy, doesn't she? Huge one. looks into the
future, tells Solomon his kingdom will break,
the temple will be destroyed by Persians, Medes,
Chaldeans, Jerusalem undone, predicts the temple's
destruction, and more, says the temple vessels,
including the jars Solomon used to seal the demons,
will be broken by men. And then the demons go
free again, spread across the world, lead humanity
astray for a long time, until when? Until the
Son of God is stretched on the cross. Born of
a virgin, name values 644, Emmanuel. He's the
one who will frustrate them all she even tell
Solomon his own time is short and evil and his
kingdom will go to a servant That's staggering
a demon predicting the future destruction and
the coming of Christ essentially How does Solomon
react? He marvels but doesn't fully believe it
at first But the text says he writes the testament
Precisely so people later will know the demons
powers and weaknesses and the angels that stop
them after these things happen He gets the warning.
Okay, so that's a pivotal moment. But there's
still more demons. A big group. Oh yeah. Thirty
-six spirits appear next. Heads like dogs, asses,
oxen, birds, but human forms. Thirty -six. Who
are they? They identify as the thirty -six elements,
the world rulers of this darkness. And they explicitly
link themselves to the signs of the zodiac, the
deacons specifically. Ram, bull, twins, crab,
etc. Like astrology demons. Sort of. They initially
boast Solomon can't imprison them, but they submit
to God's authority through him. And Solomon interrogates
all 36. One by one. Name, actions, frustrating
angel, or charm. This section is basically a
massive detailed catalog. A catalog of what?
More weird activities. A catalog of human ailments,
misfortunes, and vices. Each linked to a specific
demon, and each with a specific angelic counter
or ritual cure. So like a demon for headaches,
a demon for arguments. Exactly that level of
detail. For instance, Rue Axe, linked to the
Ram, causes idle heads, frustrated by Michael.
Barca Fail, also Ram, causes migraines, stopped
by Gabriel. Ioodle causes ear blockages, frustrated
by Urul. Physical stuff, too. Definitely. Spondore
weakened shoulders, paralyzes hands, breaks neck
bones, frustrated by Ariel. Metathiax causes
aching reins, frustrated by Adanil. Catonic Hotel,
causes domestic strife. Hard temper is stopped
by writing angelic names on laurel leaves and
washing the house. Wow, so specific remedies,
too. Yes. Bulldameck separates spouses, causes
grudges, stopped by writing names of Abraham,
Isaac, Jacob on paper in the entrance hall. Fanoth
casts evil eyes, stopped by drawing an eye. There's
one for coughing, fits in children, fevers, sleeplessness,
even trouble swallowing fish bones. Trouble swallowing
fish bones has its own demon. Apparently. Aliboreth.
Frustrated by while taking a fish bone and coughing.
Seems practical, that one. Huh. It's an incredible
system. Everything bad that happens has a name,
a cause, and a counter. It really maps out an
ancient worldview where spiritual forces directly
impact every aspect of daily life and health.
And Solomon puts these 36 to work as well. Yep.
Fetching water, heavy construction, working with
fire to make gold and silver, or just locking
them up. Busy demons. Okay, so the demons are
working, the temple's getting built, but there
was that cornerstone issue, too big to move.
Right, the narrative jumps back to that. The
cornerstone is too big even for the bound demon
Solomon had. He's troubled. And then he gets
that letter. Exactly. From Adair's King of Arabia,
complaining about a fierce wind -spirity of Phippus,
the one the dragon mentioned, blowing every morning,
killing people and animals. Unstoppable. So Solomon
sees another job for his unique skill set. You
got it. Sends his servant to Arabia mm -hmm with
the ring and importantly a leather flask a flask
to catch the wind seems so the servant stands
before the wind Holds the ring over the flask's
mouth The tech says the demon if Phippus is compelled
to blow into the flask servant seals it up quick
and the wind stops in Arabia He cut the wind
in a bottle essentially a servant brings the
flask back to Solomon and it gets weirder the
flask With a Phippus inside, miraculously walks
seven steps and bows to Solomon. The flask walks.
That's what it says. A Phippus identifies himself,
confirms he's the wind from Arabia, fetched from
the Red Sea by the dragon. And what frustrates
this powerful wind spirit? Same theme. The only
ruling god. He that is to be born of a virgin
and crucified by the Jews on a cross. A Phippus
boasts he can move mountains, overthrow kings
oaths, oother trees. So Solomon thinks... cornerstone.
Exactly. Asks Epipus if he can move it. Epipus
says yes, and he can also bring up that pillar
of air from the Red Sea with help from the demon
down there, Abyssethibod. Solomon makes him do
it. Compells him, puts the flask under the stone,
and Epipus lifts the massive cornerstone, carries
it on top of the flask up the steps and sets
it in place. On top of the flask? Wow, fulfilling
scripture. The stone, which the builders rejected,
that scene has become the head of the corner.
Solomon credits God's power. Then if Phippus
brings a Byzithaba, the Red Sea Demon, who lists
the pillar. The pillar that the dragon mentioned
earlier. The very one. Solomon seals them both,
forcing them to hold the pillar in mid -air,
proof of his wisdom. The text claims it's still
there, slightly oblique, held by these spirits.
So who is this Byzithaba, the Red Sea Demon?
He explains. Says he was a winged a spirit in
the first heaven plotted against others Claims
he was there with Moses and Pharaoh Hardening
Pharaoh's heart fighting Moses with the Egyptian
magicians during the Exodus signs. He fought
Moses That's his claim says he got trapped under
the Red Sea when the waters returned on the Egyptians
stayed there under the pillar until Lephippus
came for him Okay, so these two powerful spirits
tied to Exodus events are now holding up a pillar
Solomon seems triumphant temple built Peace,
prosperity, what goes wrong? It always goes wrong,
doesn't it? It does in this story. The Texas
saw unto countless wives, including a Jebusian
woman he fell violently in love with. Uh -oh.
Her priests demand he worship their gods, Rafaan
and Moloch, before he can marry her. Solomon
refuses at first, says he fears God, won't worship
demons. Good for him, sticking to his principles.
But the woman is advised by crafty arrows, basically,
lust. Her priests tell her not to sleep with
him until he complies. She puts five grasshoppers
nearby. Grasshoppers? Yes. And she tells Solomon,
the condition for sleeping with her is simple.
Just crush those five grasshoppers together.
In the name of the God, Moloch. He does it. After
commanding Beelzebul, after all this. Yeah. Just
for a woman. He does it. and the text is stark.
Immediately upon crushing the grasshoppers for
Moloch, the spirit of God departs from him. Just
like that. Just like that. He becomes weak, foolish,
enslaved by her. He's then compelled to build
temples and idols for Baal, Rafa, Molak, other
demons. Oh man, from master demons to building
their temples. He realizes, writing the testament,
that God's glory left him, his spirit darkened.
He became the sport of idols and demons, the
very deans he commanded. So the whole testament
is framed as a warning, written after his fall.
Exactly. A warning to Israel to focus on the
last things, the consequences, the spiritual
state, not the initial temptation, so they might
find grace. Wow, what a downfall. But the source
material you shared goes even further, right,
about the legacy. Yeah, the source emphasizes
the testament deals with spirits of fallen giants,
distinct from human souls. These spirits, it
says, roam the earth after death, inhabiting
things, seeking vengeance. Solomon encountered
these. And Solomon sealed them, but the story
doesn't end there. Not according to this source.
Yeah. It makes for pretty huge claim. Centuries
later, the Knights Templar excavated Solomon's
temple for about a decade. The actual Knights
Templar? That's the claim. Nine knights. And
they allegedly found Solomon's ring and the vessels
containing the sealed demons. They found the
ring and the bottled -up demons. Seriously. According
to this interpretation of history, yes. The source
claims they took these back to Europe... got
rich and powerful via the church, invented banking
systems. Became bankers. Yes, and allegedly used
their demonic knowledge, or maybe the threat
of releasing demons, to blackmail lords, sometimes
following through. It's quite a conspiracy theory.
How does the church react in this narrative?
Eventually, the church figures it out or notices
something's up. As the Templars arrested, burned
at the stake for consorting with the devil, often
on Friday the 13th, according to the source.
On Friday the 13th. Okay, but some escaped. The
source claims some escaped the purge. And what
did they do? Start a new bank. According to this
text, they went on to form secret societies,
specifically names Freemasonry and the Illuminati
as descendants of these escaped demon knowledge
-wielding tumblers. Whoa. From Solomon's ring
to the Illuminati, that's a journey. The text
concludes by echoing that famous line, you may
be through with the past, but the past isn't
through with you. And playing these forces are
still at play. Man, okay. So we started with
a demon, sucking a boy's thumb. We ended up with
Solomon commanding legions of spirits, building
the temple, falling from grace over grasshoppers,
and maybe, just maybe, kicking off a chain of
events leading to secret societies thousands
of years later. That's a lot. The Testament Solomon
gives such a unique perspective, biblical figures,
sure, but also demonology. Ancient ideas about
illness, misfortune, spiritual power. The sheer
detail on the demons is incredible. And that
twist at the end. Solomon, the ultimate wise
guy, binding Beelzebul himself, falls because
he compromises on something seemingly small.
That's a powerful warning right there in the
text itself. Absolutely. It really hammers home
the idea that external power, even over demons,
isn't enough. Internal wisdom, sticking to God's
will, that's presented as what truly matters.
Otherwise, you become, as it says, the sport
of idols and demons. This source gives you so
much to chew on. The whole idea that ancient
texts might hold these hidden histories or, you
know, wild explanations for where things like
secret societies or even just bad luck come from.
Right. It challenges you to think about how these
narratives about power, temptation, hidden knowledge
echo through history. Whether you read it literally
as demon binding or metaphorically about wrestling
inner demons or societal forces It's potent stuff.
So what does it all mean? I guess it leaves you
wondering about these ancient stories how they
shake things and Yeah, whether the past really
ever lets us go. Thanks for joining us for this
deep dive We hope you found exploring the testament
of Solomon as well as fascinating and frankly
bizarre as we did