Why are they called Seraphim? Because they burn (saraph) the writing tables of Satan: Every day Satan is sitting, together with SAMMAEL, the Prince of Rome, and with DUBBIEL, the Prince of Persia, and they write the iniquities of Israel on writing tables which they hand over to the Seraphim, in order that they may present them before the Holy One, blessed be He, so that He may destroy Israel from the world. But the Seraphim know “from the secrets" of the Holy One, blessed be He, that he desires not,” that this ro-ro DE: ‘he writes’ 11-11 E: ‘in a vision from’ 12-12 ins. from D. A om. Berith Menucha, 38 b, also puts the Seraphim in the highest rank, under the leadership of YeHOEL. Further on the Seraphim, see the Introduction. (12) Every day Satan is sitting, together with Sammael etc. Satan is here the Prince of the Accusers, SAMMAEL and DUBBIEL being merely his assistants. This function tends more and more to be transferred to SAMMAEL, who as the repre- sentative of Rome, the head of the Gentile Nations, naturally becomes the chief supraterrestrial enemy of Israel. So, ch. xiv. 2, SAMMAEL is explicitly named ‘the ' Prince of the Accusers. In the earlier Apocrypha he is the angel of death, e.g. Traces of his character as angel of death are found even in later writings, e.g. R. ' El. xxxi, xiii). As Prince of Rome Sammael is mentioned in Gez. R. Ixxvii, in Pzrqe Mashi'ch, ib., in Hek. R. iv, v and freq. As such he obtains a prominent place among ‘the Princes of Kingdoms, even at times represented as their leader. Cf. notes on chh. xiv. 2 and xvii. 8. For DUBBIEL as the Prince of Persia cf. TB. Yoma, 77 a. Vide Introd. sect. 7. For ‘Satan’ and ‘Satans’ as having access to heaven, vide CHARLES, The Book of Enoch, p. 66, on the relation of The Parables’ of 1 En. to the rest of the book. Acc. to 1 En. xl. 7, the Satans have access to heaven. that they may present them before the Holy One. This conception of the Seraphim as having the function of handing over documents or petitions to the Holy One, is represented in a somewhat different form in the statement occurring in Lev. R. xxii and Eccl. R. x, that the record of man’s deeds during the past day is during his sleep transmitted by the ‘neshämä’ to a Kerub and by the Kerub to a Seraph, who in his turn presents it before the Holy One, blessed be He. The conception is based on the assumption that the Seraphim are the class of Merkaba- angels who stand next to the Throne. know from the secrets of the Holy One. It was thought that some of the highest angels enjoyed the privilege of partaking in the knowledge of God’s secrets; people Israel should perish. What do the Seraphim? Every day do they receive (accept) them from the hand of Satan and burn ‘them in the burning fire over against the high and exalted Throne in order that “they may not come” before the Holy One, blessed be He, at the time when he 1s sitting upon the Throne of Judgement, judging the whole world in truth.