Christian demonology Christian demonology is the study of demons from a Christian point of view. It is primarily based on the Bible (Old and New Testaments), the interpretation of these scriptures, the writings of early Christianity philosophers, hermits and t ...

, Belphegor (or Beelphegor, he, בַּעַל-פְּעוֹר ''Báʿal-pəʿór'' - Lord of the Gap) is a demon. In later

Kabbalah Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "receiver"). The defin ...

Belphegor is a demon who helps people make discoveries. He seduces people by suggesting to them ingenious inventions that will make them rich, stagnating that which could not be accredited to it. Auxiliary Bishop and

witch-hunt A witch-hunt, or a witch purge, is a search for people who have been labeled witches or a search for evidence of witchcraft. The classical period of witch-hunts in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America took place in the Early Modern per ...

Peter Binsfeld Peter Binsfeld (alternate spelling Peter of Binsfeld, lat. Petrus Binsfeldius; c. 1540 – 1598 or 1603)

believed that Belphegor tempts by means of laziness. Also, according to Peter Binsfeld's Classification of Demons, Belphegor is the chief demon of the deadly sin known as

Sloth Sloths are a group of Neotropical xenarthran mammals constituting the suborder Folivora, including the extant arboreal tree sloths and extinct terrestrial ground sloths. Noted for their slowness of movement, tree sloths spend most of their l ...

in Christian tradition.

Literature

The novella by Italian diplomat

Niccolò Machiavelli Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli ( , , ; 3 May 1469 – 21 June 1527), occasionally rendered in English as Nicholas Machiavel ( , ; see below), was an Italian diplomat, author, philosopher and historian who lived during the Renaissance. ...

was first published in 1549, and regales how the demon comes to earth to find a mate. Belphegor figures in '' Paradise Lost'' by John Milton, 1667. According to the 1818 by

Collin de Plancy Jacques Albin Simon Collin de Plancy (28 January 1793 in Plancy-l'Abbaye – 1881 in Paris) was a French occultist, demonologist and writer. He published several works on occultism and demonology. Biography He was born Jacques Albin Simon Colli ...

Belphegor was Hell's ambassador to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. The same claim was repeated by

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

in '' Toilers of the Sea'' (1866). In the grimoire ''

Key of Solomon The ''Key of Solomon'' ( la, Clavicula Salomonis; he, מפתח שלמה []) (Also known as "The Greater Key of Solomon") is a pseudepigraphical grimoire (also known as a book of spells) attributed to Solomon, King Solomon. It probably dates ba ...

'' translated into English by S.L. Mathers in 1889, Belphegor is listed near the end of the book as an Assyrian idol, now destroyed. The novella by Machiavelli became the basis for the opera '' Belfagor'' by Ottorino Respighi, which premiered at La Scala in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

in 1923.

In popular culture

* The

PZL M-15 Belphegor The PZL M-15 was a jet-powered biplane designed and manufactured by the Polish aircraft company WSK PZL-Mielec for agricultural aviation. In reference to both its strange looks and relatively loud jet engine, the aircraft was nicknamed ''Belph ...

, a 1970s Polish utility aeroplane, was named after the demon, due to its strange look, the noise of its jet engine, and its unsuitability for

crop dusting Aerial application, or what is informally referred to as crop dusting, involves spraying crops with crop protection products from an agricultural aircraft. Planting certain types of seed are also included in aerial application. The specific sp ...

, for which it had been purpose-designed. * Belphegor appears as a young human male in the first episode of the final season of the TV show '' Supernatural'' played by Alexander Calvert. * Belphegor is a recurring demon/persona in the ''

Megami Tensei ''Megami Tensei'', marketed internationally as ''Shin Megami Tensei'' (formerly ''Revelations''), is a Japanese media franchise created by Aya Nishitani, Kouji Okada, Kouji "Cozy" Okada, Ginichiro Suzuki, and Kazunari Suzuki. Primarily developed ...

'' and ''Persona'' video game series. * Belphegor is the youngest demon brother in the otome game ''Obey Me''. He appears as the avatar of sloth and the twin brother of Beelzebub. *

Belphegor In Christian demonology, Belphegor (or Beelphegor, he, בַּעַל-פְּעוֹר ''Báʿal-pəʿór'' - Lord of the Gap) is a demon. In later Kabbalah Belphegor is a demon who helps people make discoveries. He seduces people by suggesting to ...

is a

blackened death metal Blackened death metal (also known as black death metal) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal that fuses elements of black metal and death metal. The genre emerged in early 1990s when black metal bands began incorporating elements of death me ...

band. * Belphegor is the Storm Officer of the Varia in the anime and manga series ''Katekyo Hitman Reborn''. He is also known as 'Prince the Ripper'. List of Reborn! antagonists#The Varia *Belphegor is the name one of the heretical gods, more specifically that of yellow luxin and sloth, in the ''Lightbringer'' saga by

Brent Weeks Brent Weeks (born March 7, 1977) is an American fantasy writer. His debut novel, ''The Way of Shadows'', was a The New York Times Best Seller list, ''New York Times'' best seller in April 2009. Each of the five books in his Lightbringer Series m ...

. * Belphegor is a random demon/monster encounter in the Square Enix game ''

Final Fantasy IV known as ''Final Fantasy II'' for its initial North American release, is a role-playing video game developed and published by Square (now Square Enix) for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Released in 1991, it is the fourth main insta ...

''. * Belphegor is a young female demon in the series ''

As Miss Beelzebub Likes is a Japanese comedy manga series written and illustrated by matoba. It was serialized in Square Enix's ''Monthly Shōnen Gangan'' magazine from July 2015 to May 2020, with its chapters collected into twelve ''tankōbon'' volumes. The serie ...

''. One of the main characters, and the love interest of Azazel.

References

{{Reflist Baal Demons in Christianity