Shamsiel (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

and

Aramaic Aramaic (; ) is a Northwest Semitic language that originated in the ancient region of Syria and quickly spread to Mesopotamia, the southern Levant, Sinai, southeastern Anatolia, and Eastern Arabia, where it has been continually written a ...

: שִׁמְשִׁיאֵל ''Šīmšīʾēl'', "God is my sun"

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

: Σεμσιήλ Semsiḗl), also spelled ''Samsâpêêl'', ''Shamshel'', ''Shashiel'' or ''Shamshiel'', was the 16th Watcher of the 20 leaders of the 200

fallen angel Fallen angels are angels who were expelled from Heaven. The literal term "fallen angel" does not appear in any Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic religious texts, but is used to describe angels cast out of heaven. Such angels are often described ...

s that are mentioned in the

Book of Enoch The Book of Enoch (also 1 Enoch; Hebrew language, Hebrew: סֵפֶר חֲנוֹךְ, ''Sēfer Ḥănōḵ''; , ) is an Second Temple Judaism, ancient Jewish Apocalyptic literature, apocalyptic religious text, ascribed by tradition to the Patriar ...

. The name means "God is my sun",The Ethiopic Book Of Enoch., Knibb, Michael A., Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1978, repr. 1982. which is fitting since it has been said that Shamsiel taught men the signs of the sun during the days of Jared or Yered.

Shamash Shamash (Akkadian language, Akkadian: ''šamaš''), also known as Utu (Sumerian language, Sumerian: dutu "Sun") was the List of Mesopotamian deities, ancient Mesopotamian Solar deity, sun god. He was believed to see everything that happened in t ...

(the Babylonian sun god) may share some mythological basis with Shamsiel. Shamsiel is said to lead 365 legions of lesser angels in the

Zohar The ''Zohar'' (, ''Zōhar'', lit. "Splendor" or "Radiance") is a foundational work of Kabbalistic literature. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah and scriptural interpretations as well as material o ...

and it is said that he was assigned by God to guard the

Garden of Eden In Abrahamic religions, the Garden of Eden (; ; ) or Garden of God ( and ), also called the Terrestrial Paradise, is the biblical paradise described in Genesis 2–3 and Ezekiel 28 and 31.. The location of Eden is described in the Book of Ge ...

after

Adam and Eve Adam and Eve, according to the creation myth of the Abrahamic religions, were the first man and woman. They are central to the belief that humanity is in essence a single family, with everyone descended from a single pair of original ancestors. ...

were expelled; comparable to

cherub A cherub (; : cherubim; ''kərūḇ'', pl. ''kərūḇīm'') is one type of supernatural being in the Abrahamic religions. The numerous depictions of cherubim assign to them many different roles, such as protecting the entrance of the Garden of ...

im. There is apparently some disagreement in sources as to whether Shamsiel is a fallen angel; he is still regarded as the ruler of the 4th Heaven.

Modern culture

There is a monstrous "angel" named Shamshel in the

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

series called '' Neon Genesis Evangelion'', ostensibly named for the ancient

entity. A minor character named Samchia appears in the first book in '' The Fallen'' series. He is a

living on earth as "Samuel Chia" and is the second in-series victim of the books' primary antagonist Verchiel, who kills him by kicking him from a high window. In the anime '' Fairy Tail'', a character named Angel can use Angel Magic summoning forth Shamsiel, a white cherub that can shoot light to blast the latter's opponents. A succubus by the name of Shamsiel Shahar is a main character in the erotic visual novel ''Kyonyuu Fantasy'' and its anime adaptation of the same name, serving as a benefactor and primary love interest of the protagonist, Lute Hende.

References

Watchers (angels) {{Kabbalah-stub

Modern culture

See also

References