WHO IS AZRAEL?a?

Question

The Angel of Death?

Answer 1

Azazel is the chief of the Se'irim, or goat-demons, who haunted the desert and to whom most primitive Semitic (most likely non-Hebrew) tribes offered sacrifices. The Old Testament states that Jeroboam appointed priests for the Se'irim. But Josiah destroyed the places of their worship, as the practices accompanying this worship involved copulation of women with goats.

The Se'irim, or hairy demons as the word itself means, are mentioned in Leviticus 17:7 and 2 Chronicles 11:15 as "goat-demons". Isaiah 34:14 says that the "goat-demons" greet each other amoung the ruins of Edom along with Lilith and other wild beasts.

The name 'Azazel' may be derived from 'azaz' and 'el' meaning 'strong one of God.' It is thought that Azazel may have been derived from the Canaanite god, 'Asiz, who caused the sun to burn strongly. It has also been theorized that he has been influenced by the Egyptian god, Seth.

In Leviticus 16:8 we are told that the Lord ordered his high priest, Aaron, to 'place lots upon the two goats, one marked for the Lord and the other marked for Azazel' on the Jewish Day of Atonement. The goat designated by lot for the Lord is to be used as a sin offering, while the goat designated for Azazel "shall be left standing alive before the Lord, to make expiation with it and to send it off to the wilderness for Azazel." (Lev 16:10) Aaron was to "lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat and confess over it all the iniquities and transgressions of the Israelites, whatever their sins, putting them on the head of the goat; and it shall be sent off to the wilderness through a designated an. Thus the goat shall carry on it all their iniquities to an inaccessible region; and the goat shall be set free in the wilderness." (Lev 16:21-22) Leviticus also says that "He who set the Azazel-goat free shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water; after that he may reenter the camp." (16:26)

From this passage in Leviticus, it would seem that Azazel is conceived of as a personal being, as lots were drawn for the Lord and for him. Also, Leviticus mentions that Azazel lives in the wilderness, as do the Se'irim. Because of this ritual, Azazel is known as the "scapegoat." The goat that is sent to Azazel is not as a sacrifice, but as a symbol that there is no longer any unexpiated guilt. Both the goat and the man who leads away the goat are unclean, and the only way the man can reenter the camp is by washing his clothes and bathing.

In one account of the fall of the angels in the Book of Enoch, Azazel (Asa'el as in the Qumran texts) is the leader of the Watchers who educates humankind of heavenly secrets that lead humankind to sin. These teachings include making weapons of war and preparing cosmetics, which enabled the women to seduce the angels. The angels then charge Asa'el before the Lord with crimes of revealing the heavenly secrets which mankind was not supposed to know. Raphael was then assigned to punish Asa'el by binding him hand and foot and throwing him into the darkness among the sharp and jagged rocks, where he would remain until the day of judgment when he would be hurled into the fire. The story then claims that "the whole earth has been corrupted by [Asa'el's] teachings of his (own) actions; and write upon him all sin." . It was because of Asa'el's teachings that God sent the Flood to destroy the evil in the world including even the souls of the giants, so that all evil will be wiped away from the face of the earth.

"And Azazel taught the people (the art of) making swords and knives, and shields, and breastplates; and he showed to their chosen ones bracelets, decorations, (shadowing of the eye) with antimony, ornamentation, the beautifying of the eyelids, all kinds of precious stones, and all coloring tinctures and alchemy." - 1 Enoch 8:1

In the Apocalypse of Abraham, Azazel is portrayed as an unclean bird which came down upon the sacrifice which Abraham prepared. This is in reference to Genesis 15:11 "Birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away."

"And the unclean bird spoke to me and said, 'What are you doing, Abraham, on the holy heights, where no one eats of drinks, nor is there upon them food for men. But these all will be consumed by fire and ascend to the height, they will destroy you.' And it came to pass when I saw the bird speaking I said this to the angel: 'What is this, my lord?' And he said, 'This is disgrace, this is Azazel!' And he said to him, 'Shame on you Azazel! For Abraham's portion is in heaven, and yours is on earth, for you have selected here, (and) become enamored of the dwelling place of your blemish. Therefore the Eternal Ruler, the Mighty One, has given you a dwelling on earth. Through you the all-evil spirit (is) a liar, and through you (are) wrath and trials on the generations of men who live impiously." - Apocalypse of Abraham 13:4-9

The Apocalypse of Abraham also associates Azazel with Hell. Abraham says to him "May you be the firebrand of the furnace of the earth! Go, Azazel, into the untrodden parts of the earth. For your heritage is over those who are with you" (14:5-6) There is also the idea that God's heritage (the created world) is largely under the dominion of evil. It is "shared with Azazel" (20:5) Azazel is also identified with the serpent which tempted Eve. His form is described as a dragon with "hands and feet like a man's, on his back six wings on the right and six on the left." (23:7)

Finally, the Apocalypse of Abraham says that the wicked will "putrefy in the belly of the crafty worm Azazel, and be burned by the fire of Azazel's tongue." (31:5) Here again, there is another reference to Azazel as being Hell.

Answer 2

Azrael is yes the angel of Death some cultures decided to give him/her a name. ^_^

hope that helps ^^

Answer 3

Azriel is the sixth arch angel. Some call him the angel of death. The literal translation of Azriel is "Whom god helps." but it may also be "Who God Helps On Their WAy" , but in Hebrew it's translated as "god's command". He's depicted as using a scyth (grimm reaper, anyone? haha. He's also considered a 'kameoth', or protector against Evil.
Azriel decides how the transmigration of the spirtis from the deceased is handles. For faithful spirits, he holds an apple from the tree of life under their nose to gently entice the soul from the body. For those who have lead a path of righteousness, he plunges his hand into their lifeless body and rips out their souls, then he delivers the spirits to his brother Michael who brings the souls to their final resting place.
He always carries an apple from the tree of life.
He was the one to steal the souls from the first born sons in Egypt.

Answer 4

Azrael is typically known as one of the names of the angel of death. It is an English form of the Arabic name Ezra'il or Ezra'eil, the name traditionally attributed to the angel of death in Islam, although the Qur'an never uses this name.

In literature, Azrael has been featured by a variety of authors, across a broad range of styles and countries. In the West, he has been written about by Terry Pratchett in both Reaper Man and Good Omens, which was coauthored by Neil Gaiman. He also forms part of the underworld pantheon in the Dragon King series by Stephen Lawhead. The playwright Arthur Miller wrote in Azrael as a character in "The Creation of Life and Other Business", while the Mexican poet Amado Nervo wrote a poem entitled Azrael. The character has even found a place in popular culture – emerging as a costumed superhero named Azrael in the fictional Batman universe, and in the French graphic novel "Poulet aux prunes". He even formed the title of the CSI: NY episode "Here's To You, Mrs. Azrael", featuring a homicidal mother. Also, he appeared as a character played by Jason Lee in the Kevin Smith movie Dogma. In music, Azrael has been written about in both songs and albums by such varied acts as Demons & Wizards, Coil, The Nice, and VNV Nation – classically, Asrael is a symphony by Czech composer Josef Suk, dating from 1906.

In Asia, Azrael has appeared in the manga Juvenile Orion and Chrono Crusade. Yoshiki Tanaka's novel The Heroic Legend of Arslan includes Azrael, translated as 'Kokushitenshi' or 'Angel Who Announces Death'. Azrael has also appeared several times in Square Enix's Final Fantasy series, and Capcom's Chaos Legion. Azrael is also a character in the Anime Science Fiction series Gundam Seed, who wants to kill all genetically engineered people (coordinators).

"Azrael" is also the name of a song by progressive metal band Crimson Glory as well as the Black Metal band Marduk.

Azrael is also the name of the cat that belongs to Gargamel in Hanna-Barbara's The Smurfs, as well as in the Smurfs comic.

In the Warhammer 40,000 tabletop wargame universe, Azrael is the name of the chapter master of the Dark Angels chapter of Space Marines.

Answer 5

Azreal 's name means " He whom God helps." Azreal is an archangel who helps people crossover at the point of death. He also helps those who have lost loveones deal with the death that has occure. He helps the counslors who specialize in helping people deal with the passing of there love ones or closes friends. He helps them by keeping their emotions together so that they can give the best advise that they can so that it will help heal the person or persons in order for them to move on with their lives. For this reason he is known as the angel of death although he is also known by many other names as well; Azrail, Ashriel, Azaril, and Azriel.

Answer 6

in the Qur'an, angel of death, who severs the soul from the body. The name and the concept were borrowed from Judaism.

Answer 7

Yes, the Archangel of Death.

Here's quite possibly everything you could ever need to know about Azrael:
http://www.songofazrael.org/

Oh, and he was Gargamel's cat in the Smurfs I think.