The Holy Scripture
Chapter V
‘From the day when the Holy One, blessed be He, expelled the first Adam from the Garden of Eden (and onwards), Shekina was dwelling upon a Kerub under the Tree of Life.
And the ministering angels “were gathering together and going down from heaven in parties, from the Ragid' in ‘companies and from the heavens in camps? “to do His will in^ the whole world.
And the first man and ‘his generation® were sitting outside the gate of the Garden to behold the radiant appearance of the Shekina. v
For the sblendour of the Shekina traversed the world from one end to the otiier “(with a splendour) 305,000 times (that) of the globe of the sun®. And everyone who ‘made use of’ the splendour of the Shekina, on him no flies and no gnats did rest, neither was he ill nor suffered he any pain. No demons got power over him, neither were they able to injure him.
When the Holy One, blessed be He, went out and went in: 8from the Garden to Eden, from Eden to the Garden, from the Garden to Ragia‘ and from Ragia‘ to the Garden of Eden then all and everyone beheld the splendour of His Shekina and they were not injured;
until “the time of" the genera'ion of Enosh "who was the head of all idol worshippers of the world”.
And “what did the generation of Enosh do? They went from one end of the world to the other, and each one brought silver, gold, precious stones and pearls in “heaps like unto mountains and hills making idols out of them throughout all the world. And they erected the idols in every quarter of the world: the size of each idol was Iooo parasangs.
And they brought down the sun, the moon, planets and constellations, and placed them before the idols on their right hand and on their left, to attend them even as they attend” the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is written (1 Kings xxii. 19): “And all the host of heaven was standing by him on his right hand and on his left".
What power was in them that they were able to bring them down? 'They would not have been able to bring them down but for 19'UZZA, 'AZZA and 'AZZIEL!$ who taught them !’sorceries whereby they brought them down and made use of them". (xo) In that time the ministering angels brought charges (against them) before the Holy One, blessed be He, saying before him: “Master of the World! What hast thou to do with the children of men? As it is written (Ps. viii. 4) ' What is man (Enosh) that thou art mindful of him?’ ‘Mah Adam’ is not written here, but ‘Mah Enosh, for he (Enosh) is the head of the idol worshippers.
Why hast thou left a direct descendant of that which has found expression in the pseudepigraphal writings, esp. 1 En. vi, vii, viii: Semiazaz and Asael among other leaders of the fallen angels who corrupted mankind. vii. 1: “they began to...defile themselves with them, and they taught them charms and enchantments”’. viii. 1: “Azazel taught men...and made known to them the metals (cf. ‘gold, silver etc.’ here)... and all kinds of costly stones (cf. here).... (3) Semjaza taught enchantments... Baraqijal astrology. Kokabel the constellations,. .Shamsiel the signs of the sun, Sariel the course of the moon", vide Charles, ad loca. Cf. (ro) At that time the ministering angels brought charges against man before God ete. ‘Whatismanetc.’ This verse, Ps. viii. 4, is traditionally made to express the animosity of the angels against man, and rather suitably. See Tanchuma, Par. Bechuqqothai (Lev. xxvi); Gen. R. viii. 5 (in connection with the creations of man); P. R. ’El. xiii uses the similar passage Ps. cxliv. 3, 4 (‘The ministering angels said before the Holy One, blessed be He: ‘Lord of all the World, what is man that thou takest knowledge of him or the son of man that thou takest account of him'"). But the form of accusation here recorded is also, in particular, attributed to the angels ‘Azza and ‘Azzael. Then forthwith came the two angels Shemchazai and Azza’el and said before him: Master of the World! Did we not say before thee when thou didst create thy world: what is man that thou art mindful of him. He answered them: if ye were to go down to earth, the evil impulse would get power over you more than over man....Let us go down.... He said: Go down and dwell with them. As soon as they were on earth, they corrupted their ways with the daughters of men...". In that passage almost all the different statements about ‘Azza and 'Azzael are woven together. Cf. on ADE: | the highest of the high heavens, the abode of thy glo- rious Name, and the high and exalted Throne in ‘Araboth on high highest ‘Araboth on high and art gone and dwellest with the children of men who worship idols and equal thee to the idols..
Now thou art on earth and the idols likewise. What hast thou to do with the inhabitants of the earth who worship idols?”
Forthwith the Holy One, blessed be He, lifted up His Shekina from the earth, from their midst”.
In that moment came the ministering angels, the troops of hosts and the armies of ‘Araboth in thousand camps and ten thousand hosts: they fetched trumpets and took the horns in their hands and surrounded the Shekina with all kinds of songs. 24And He ascended to the high heavens, as it is written (Ps. xlvii. 5): '' God is gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet".