Editing Azazel (section)

==Biblical Apocrypha==
In the first book of [[Enoch]], Azazel is portrayed as one of the two hundred angels who, after descending to Earth in lust for human women, resided on [[Mount Hermon]] and fathered the giants, sometimes identified with [[Nephilim]], prior to the [[Antediluvian|Flood]]. Afterwards he corrupted humanity- by the reckoning of the author- by teaching men the art of crafting metal weapons and armour and women the means of beautifying themselves with hair dyes, face paints, and other cosmetics. His defeat came at the hand of [[Raphael (archangel)|Raphael]] who, on God's command, chained him to jagged rocks where he was to remain until the [[Day of Judgement]].<ref name="JE-Azazel">{{cite book|chapter=Azazel|title=Jewish Encyclopedia|date=1906|url=http://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/2203-azazel|publisher=JewishEncyclopedia.com.}}</ref>

===Enochic literature===
[[File:Azazel.jpg|thumb|Illustration of Azazel in ''Dictionnaire infernal'' by Collin de Plancy (1863)]]
In the [[Dead Sea Scrolls]], the name Azazel occurs in the line 6 of 4Q203, ''[[The Book of Giants]]'', which is a part of the [[Enoch|Enochic]] literature found at [[Qumran]].<ref>Loren T. Stückenbruck ''The Book of Giants from Qumran: texts, translation, and commentary''</ref> Despite the expectation of Brandt (1889){{explain|date=September 2018}}<ref>Brandt "Die mandäische Religion" 1889 pp. 197, 198; Norberg's "Onomasticon," p. 31; [[Adriaan Reland]]'s "De Religione Mohammedanarum," p. 89; Kamus, s.v. "Azazel" [demon identical with Satan]; Delitzsch, "Zeitsch. f. Kirchl. Wissensch. u. Leben," 1880, p. 182</ref> to date no evidence has surfaced of Azazel as a demon or god prior to the earliest Jewish sources among the Dead Sea Scrolls.<ref>Ralph D. Levy ''The symbolism of the Azazel goat'' 1998 "the midrash is less elaborate than in 1 Enoch, and, notably, makes no mention of Azazel or Asa' el at all."</ref>

The [[Book of Enoch]] brings Azazel into connection with the Biblical story of the [[War in Heaven|fall of the angels]], located on [[Mount Hermon]], a gathering-place of the demons of old.<ref>Enoch xiii.; compare Brandt, "Die mandäische Religion", 1889, p.&nbsp;38</ref> Here, Azazel is one of the leaders of the rebellious [[Watcher (angel)|Watchers]] in the time preceding [[Genesis flood narrative|the Flood]]; he taught men the art of warfare, of making swords, knives, shields, and coats of mail, and taught women the art of deception by ornamenting the body, dyeing the hair, and painting the face and the eyebrows, and also revealed to the people the secrets of witchcraft and corrupted their manners, leading them into wickedness and impurity until at last he was, at Yahweh's command, bound hand and foot by the [[Raphael (archangel)|archangel Raphael]] and chained to the rough and jagged rocks of [Ha] [[Dudael]] (= Beth Ḥadudo), where he is to abide in utter darkness until the great [[Last Judgment|Day of Judgment]], when he will be cast into the fire to be consumed forever.<ref>Enoch viii. 1, ix. 6, x. 4–6, liv. 5, lxxxviii. 1; see Geiger, "Jüd. Zeit." 1864, pp.&nbsp;196–204</ref>

{{quotation|The whole earth has been corrupted through the works that were taught by Azazel: to him ascribe all sin.|Book of Enoch 10:8|}}
According to the Book of Enoch, Azazel (here spelled ''‘ăzā’zyēl'') was one of the chief [[Watcher_(angel)#Bad_watchers_in_the_Book_of_Enoch|Grigori]], a group of fallen angels who married women. Many believe that this same story (without any mention of Azazel) is told in the [[Book of Genesis]] 6:2–4:

{{quotation|And it came to pass [...] that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. [...] There were giants in the earth in those days; and also afterward, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bore children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.}}

These "sons of God" have often been thought of as fallen angels, and are sometimes equated with the [[Nephilim]]. (On the other hand, it has also been argued that the phrase refers only to pious men, or else that it should be translated "sons of the rulers".)

In the Book of Enoch, Azazel is responsible for teaching people to make weapons and cosmetics, for which he was cast out of heaven. The Book of Enoch 8:1–3a reads, "And Azazel taught men to make swords and knives and shields and breastplates; and made known to them the metals [of the earth] and the art of working them; and bracelets and ornaments; and the use of antimony and the beautifying of the eyelids; and all kinds of costly stones and all colouring tinctures. And there arose much godlessness, and they committed [[fornication]], and they were led astray and became corrupt in all their ways." The corruption brought on by Azazel and the Grigori degrades the human race, and the four [[archangel]]s ([[Michael (archangel)|Michael]], [[Gabriel]], Raphael, and [[Uriel]]) “saw much blood being shed upon the earth and all lawlessness being wrought upon the earth […]  The souls of men [made] their suit, saying, "Bring our cause before the Most High; […] Thou seest what Azazel hath done, who hath taught all unrighteousness on earth and revealed the eternal secrets which were in heaven, which men were striving to learn." God sees the sin brought about by Azazel and has Raphael “bind Azazel hand and foot and cast him into the darkness: and make an opening in the desert – which is in Dudael – and cast him therein. And place upon him rough and jagged rocks, and cover him with darkness, and let him abide there forever, and cover his face that he may not see light.” Azazel's fate is foretold near the end of Enoch 2:8, where God says, “On the day of [[Apocalypse|the great judgement]] he shall be cast into the fire.” He will be delivered to the [[Destroying angel (Bible)|angels of punishments]] (Satan).<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Caldwell|first1=William|title=The Doctrine of Satan: II. Satan in Extra-Biblical Apocalyptical Literature|journal=The Biblical World|year=1913|volume=41|issue=2|pages=98–102|doi=10.1086/474708|jstor=3142425|s2cid=144698491|doi-access=free}}</ref>

Several scholars have previously discerned that some details of Azazel's punishment are reminiscent of the scapegoat rite. Thus, Lester Grabbe points to a number of parallels between the Azazel narrative in Enoch and the wording of Leviticus 16, including "the similarity of the names Asael and Azazel; the punishment in the desert; the placing of sin on Asael/Azazel; the resultant healing of the land."<ref name=Orlov>Andrei Orlov (2009), "[http://www.marquette.edu/maqom/azazelscapegoat.html Azazel as the Celestial Scapegoat]". An excerpt (pp. 79-111) from his contribution "The Eschatological Yom Kippur in the Apocalypse of Abraham: Part I: The Scapegoat Ritual" to A. Orlov and B. Lourié, eds., ''Symbola Caelestis. Le symbolisme liturgique et paraliturgique dans le monde Chrétien''.</ref> Daniel Stökl also observes that "the punishment of the demon resembles the treatment of the goat in aspects of geography, action, time and purpose."<ref name=Orlov/> Thus, the place of Asael's punishment designated in Enoch as Dudael is reminiscent of the rabbinic terminology used for the designation of the ravine of the scapegoat in later rabbinic interpretations of the Yom Kippur ritual. Stökl remarks that "the name of place of judgment (''Dudael'') is conspicuously similar in both traditions and can likely be traced to a common origin."<ref name=Orlov/>

Azazel in 1 Enoch has been compared to [[Greek mythology|Greek]] [[Titan (mythology)|Titan]] [[Prometheus]]. He might be a demonized counterpart of a heavenly creature, who provided knowledge for people to make weapons, thus causing bloodshed and injustice. The latter might be identified with Greek kings and generals, who suppressed the Jews with military forces, but learned how to make their weapons by this specific expelled creature.<ref>George W. E. Nickelsburg. ''Apocalyptic and Myth in 1 Enoch 6-11.'' Journal of Biblical Literature, vol. 96, no. 3, 1977, pp. 383–405</ref>

In the fifth-century [[3 Enoch]], Azazel is one of the three angels (Azza [Shemhazai] and Uzza [Ouza] are the other two) who opposed Enoch's high rank when he became the angel [[Metatron]]. Whilst they were fallen at this time they were still in Heaven, but Metatron held a dislike for them, and had them cast out.

===In the Apocalypse of Abraham===
In the [[Biblical canon|extra-canonical]] text the [[Apocalypse of Abraham]] (c.1st CE), Azazel appears as an unclean bird who came down upon the sacrifice which [[Abraham]] prepared. (This is in reference to Genesis 15:11: "Birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away" [<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[NIV]]</span>]).

{{quotation|And the unclean bird spoke to me and said, "What are you doing, Abraham, on the holy heights, where no one eats or drinks, nor is there upon them food for men? But these all will be consumed by fire and ascend to the heights, they will destroy you. Forsake the man who is with you and flee; for if you ascend to the heights they will make an end of you." And it came to pass when I saw the bird speaking I said this to the angel: "What is this, my lord?" And he said, "This is disgrace – this is Azazel!" And he said to him, "Shame on you, Azazel! For Abraham's portion is in heaven, and yours is on earth, for you have selected here, [and] become enamored of the dwelling place of your blemish. Therefore the Eternal Ruler, the Mighty One, has given you a dwelling on earth. Through you the all-[[evil]] spirit [was] a liar, and through you [come] wrath and trials on the generations of men who live impiously.|Abr. 13:4–9}}

The text also associates Azazel with [[Serpent symbolism#Abrahamic mythology|the serpent]] and [[hell]]. In Chapter 23, verse 7, it is described as having seven heads, fourteen faces, "hands and feet like a man's, [and] on his back six wings on the right and six on the left."

Abraham elsewhere says that the wicked will "putrefy in the belly of the crafty worm Azazel, and be burned by the fire of Azazel's tongue" (Abr. 31:5) and, to Azazel himself, "May you be the firebrand of the furnace of the earth! Go, Azazel, into the untrodden parts of the earth. For your heritage is over those who are with you" (Abr. 14:5–6).

The implicit notion is that God's heritage (the created world) is largely under the dominion of evil – i.e., it is "shared with Azazel" (Abr. 20:5), who is arguably identified with the [[devil]] (whom Jesus called "the prince of this world"). ({{bibleref|John|12:31|NIV}} <span style="font-variant:small-caps">niv</span>)