Never has there lived a man privileged, like Solomon, to make the
demons amenable to his will. God endowed him with the ability to turn
the vicious power of demons into a power working to the advantage of
men. He invented formulas of incantation by which diseases were
alleviated, and others by which demons were exorcised so that they were
banished forever. (48) As his personal attendants he had spirits and
demons whom he could send hither and thither on the instant. He could
grow tropical plants in Palestine, because his ministering spirits
secured water for him from India. (49)
As the spirits were subservient to him, so also the animals. He had an
eagle upon whose back he was transported to the desert and back again
in one day, to build there the city called Tadmor in the Bible (50)
This city must not be confounded with the later Syrian city of Palmyra,
also called Tadmor. It was situated near the "mountains of darkness,"
(51) the trysting-place of the spirits and demons. Thither the eagle
would carry Solomon in the twinkling of an eye, and Solomon would drop
a paper inscribed with a verse among the spirits, to ward off evil from
himself. Then the eagle would reconnoitre the mountains of darkness,
until he had spied out the spot in which the fallen angels 'Azza and
'Azzael (52) lie chained with iron fetters a spot which no one, not
even a bird, may visit. When the eagle found the place, he would take
Solomon under his left wing, and fly to the two angels. Through the
power of the ring having the Holy Name graven upon it, which Solomon
put into the eagle's mouth, 'Azza and 'Azzael were forced to reveal the
heavenly mysteries to the king. (53)
The demons were of greatest service to Solomon during the erection of
the Temple. It came about in this wise: When Solomon began the building
of the Temple, it once happened that a malicious spirit snatched away
the money and the food of one of the king's favorite pages. This
occurred several times, and Solomon was not able to lay hold on the
malefactor. The king besought God fervently to deliver the wicked
spirit into his hands. His prayer was granted. The archangel Michael
appeared to him, and gave him a small ring having a seal consisting of
an engraved stone, and he said to him: "Take, O Solomon, king, son of
David, the gift which the Lord God, the highest Zebaot, hath sent unto
thee. With it thou shalt lock up all the demons of the earth, male and
female; and with their help thou shalt build up Jerusalem. But thou
must wear this seal of God; and this engraving of the seal of the ring
sent thee is a Pentalpha." (54) Armed with it, Solomon called up all
the demons before him, and he asked of each in turn his or her name, as
well as the name of the star or constellation or zodiacal sign and of
the particular angel to the influence of which each is subject. One
after another the spirits were vanquished, and compelled by Solomon to
aid in the construction of the Temple.
Ornias, the vampire spirit who had maltreated Solomon's servant, was
the first demon to appear, and he was set to the task of cutting stones
near the Temple. And Solomon bade Ornias come, and he gave him the
seal, saying: "Away with thee, and bring me hither the prince of all
the demons." Ornias took the finger-ring, and went to Beelzeboul, who
has kingship over the demons. He said to him: "Hither! Solomon calls
thee." But Beelzeboul, having heard, said to him: "Tell me, who is this
Solomon of whom thou speakest to me?" Then Ornias threw the ring at the
chest of Beelzeboul, saying: "Solomon the king calls thee." But
Beelzeboul cried aloud with a mighty voice, and shot out a great,
burning flame of fire; and he arose and followed Ornias, and came to
Solomon. Brought before the king, he promised him to gather all the
unclean spirits unto him. Beelzeboul proceeded to do so, beginning with
Onoskelis, that had a very pretty shape and the skin of a fair-hued
woman, and he was followed by Asmodeus; both giving an account of
themselves.
Beelzeboul reappeared on the scene, and in his conversation with
Solomon declared that he alone survived of the angels who had come down
from heaven. He reigned over all who are in Tartarus, and had a child
in the Red Sea, which on occasion comes up to Beelzeboul and reveals to
him what he has done. Next the demon of the Ashes, Tephros, appeared,
and after him a group of seven female spirits, who declared themselves
to be of the thirty-six elements of the darkness. Solomon bade them dig
the foundation of the temple, for the length of it was two hundred and
fifty cubits. And he ordered them to be industrious, and with one
united murmur of protest they began to perform the tasks enjoined.
Solomon bade another demon come before him. And there was brought to
him a demon having all the limbs of a man, but without a head. The
demon said to Solomon: "I am called Envy, for I delight to devour
heads, being desirous to secure for myself a head; but I do not eat
enough, and I am anxious to have such a head as thou hast." A
hound-like spirit, whose name was Rabdos, followed, and he revealed to
Solomon a green stone, useful for the adornment of the Temple. A number
of other male and female demons appeared, among them the thirty-six
world-rulers of the darkness, whom Solomon commanded to fetch water to
the Temple. Some of these demons he condemned to do the heavy work on
the construction of the Temple, others he shut up in prison, and
others, again, he ordered to wrestle with fire in the making of gold
and silver, sitting down by lead and spoon, and to make ready places
for the other demons, in which they should be confined.
After Solomon with the help of the demons had completed the Temple, the
rulers, among them the Queen of Sheba, who was a sorceress, came from
far and near to admire the magnificence and art of the building, and no
less the wisdom of its builder. (55)
One day an old man appeared before Solomon to complain of his son, whom
he accused of having been so impious as to raise his hand against his
father and give him a blow. The young man denied the charge, but his
father insisted that his life be held forfeit. Suddenly Solomon heard
loud laughter. It was the demon Ornias, who was guilty of the
disrespectful behavior. Rebuked by Solomon, the demon said: "I pray
thee, O king, it was not because of thee I laughed, but because of this
ill-starred old man and the wretched youth, his son. For after three
days his son will die untimely, and, lo, the old man desires to make
away with him foully." Solomon delayed his verdict for several days,
and when after five days he summoned the old father to his presence, it
appeared that Ornias had spoken the truth.
After some time, Solomon received a letter from Adares, the king of
Arabia. He begged the Jewish king to deliver his land from an evil
spirit, who was doing great mischief, and who could not be caught and
made harmless, because he appeared in the form of wind. Solomon gave
his magic ring and a leather bottle to one of his slaves, and sent him
into Arabia. The messenger succeeded in confining the spirit in the
bottle. A few days later, when Solomon entered the Temple, he was not a
little astonished to see a bottle walk toward him, and bow down
reverently before him; it was the bottle in which the spirit was shut
up. This same spirit once did Solomon a great service. Assisted by
demons, he raised a gigantic stone out of the Red Sea. Neither human
beings nor demons could move it, but he carried it to the Temple, where
it was used as a cornerstone.
Through his own fault Solomon forfeited the power to perform miraculous
deed, which the Divine spirit had conferred upon him. He fell in love
with the Jebusite woman Sonmanites. The priests of Moloch and Raphan,
the false gods she worshiped, advised her to reject his suit, unless he
paid homage to these gods. At first Solomon was firm, but, when the
woman bade him take five locusts and crush them in his hands in the
name of Moloch, he obeyed her. At once he was bereft of the Divine
spirit, of his strength and his wisdom, and he sank so low that to
please his beloved he built temples to Baal and Raphan. (56)