The extraordinary qualities with which Adam was blessed, physical and
spiritual as well, aroused the envy of the angels. They attempted to
consume him with fire, and he would have perished, had not the
protecting hand of God rested upon him, and established peace between
him and the heavenly host.[33] In particular, Satan was jealous of the
first man, and his evil thoughts finally led to his fall. After Adam
had been endowed with a soul, God invited all the angels to come and
pay him reverence and homage. Satan, the greatest of the angels in
heaven, with twelve wings, instead of six like all the others, refused
to pay heed to the behest of God, saying, "Thou didst create us angels
from the splendor of the Shekinah, and now Thou dost command us to cast
ourselves down before the creature which Thou didst fashion out of the
dust of the ground!" God answered, "Yet this dust of the ground has
more wisdom and understanding than thou." Satan demanded a trial of wit
with Adam, and God assented thereto, saying: "I have created beasts,
birds, and reptiles, I shall have them all come before thee and before
Adam. If thou art able to give them names, I shall command Adam to show
honor unto thee, and thou shalt rest next to the Shekinah of My glory.
But if not, and Adam calls them by the names I have assigned to them,
then thou wilt be subject to Adam, and he shall have a place in My
garden, and cultivate it." Thus spake God, and He betook Himself to
Paradise, Satan following Him. When Adam beheld God, he said to his
wife, "O come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the
Lord our Maker." Now Satan attempted to assign names to the animals. He
failed with the first two that presented themselves, the ox and the
cow. God led two others before him, the camel and the donkey, with the
same result. Then God turned to Adam, and questioned him regarding the
names of the same animals, framing His questions in such wise that the
first letter of the first word was the same as the first letter of the
name of the animal standing before him. Thus Adam divined the proper
name, and Satan was forced to acknowledge the superiority of the first
man. Nevertheless he broke out in wild outcries that reached the
heavens, and he refused to do homage unto Adam as he had been
bidden.[34] The host of angels led by him did likewise, in spite of the
urgent representations of Michael, who was the first to prostrate
himself before Adam in order to show a good example to the other
angels. Michael addressed Satan: "Give adoration to the image of God!
But if thou doest it not, then the Lord God will break out in wrath
against thee." Satan replied: "If He breaks out in wrath against me, I
will exalt my throne above the stars of God, I will be like the Most
High!" At once God flung Satan and his host out of heaven, down to the
earth, and from that moment dates the enmity between Satan and man.'