Demonic · The Watchers · c. 200 BCE
Semjaza
Also called Shemyaza, Semyaz, Samyaza · also recorded as Shemyazaz, Sêmîazâz, שמחזי, שמיעזא (per Wikidata)
The Watcher who proposed the descent and bound the other two hundred to it by mutual oath on Mount Hermon.
Narrow source base
1 Enoch opens the Watcher narrative with Semjaza as ringleader. He fears he alone will pay for the plan, so he requires the others to swear together — the oath is why the mountain is called Hermon, from the Hebrew for 'curse' or 'oath'. He teaches enchantments and root-cutting. Michael is sent against him. Where Azazel becomes the theological centre of the story, Semjaza remains its narrative instigator, and the two roles are held in tension throughout the text.
Identity
Where does the name come from?
Where it was actually worshipped
None. Mount Hermon is where 1 Enoch has the Watchers descend and swear their oath, which makes it the scene of the crime rather than a shrine.
A figure with temples and a figure that only ever existed on a page are different kinds of thing, and the difference is easy to lose once both are entries in a list.
At a glance
Vitals
Vitals
Also known as
- First attested
- 1 Enoch (The Book of Enoch) · c. 300–100 BCE
- Rank
- Leader of the Watchers
- Order
- The Watchers
- Base of operations
- None. Mount Hermon is where 1 Enoch has the Watchers descend and swear their oath, which makes it the scene of the crime rather than a shrine.
- Era
- c. 200 BCE
- Traditions
- Jewish, Enochian
Traits
- Domain
- Oath-binding, enchantment, root-cutting
3 attributed
What is it said to do?
Where these powers cluster
The 3 offices attributed to Semjaza, grouped by kind. Segment width is the share of powers falling in each category.
A bar dominated by one colour means a specialist; an even spread means a figure the sources credit with almost anything.
- knowledge1
- martial1
- malefic1
1 texts
Which texts say so?
Proposes the descent, binds the two hundred by oath, and teaches enchantments and root-cutting.
“Semjaza, who was their leader, said unto them: I fear ye will not indeed agree to do this deed.”
Connections
What is it connected to?
Commands Azazel
Ringleader of the two hundred, though the text gives Azazel the theological weight.
Thwarted by Michael
1 Enoch 10: Michael is sent to bind Semjaza and his associates for seventy generations.
Served by Araqiel
One of the chiefs of ten under the leader of the descent.
Served by Kokabiel
Served by Baraqiel
Served by Penemue
Served by Gadreel
Served by Kasdeja
Served by Arakiba
One of the twenty chiefs of tens bound by the oath on Hermon, 1 Enoch 6:7-8.
Served by Rameel
One of the twenty chiefs of tens bound by the oath on Hermon, 1 Enoch 6:7-8.
Served by Tamiel
One of the twenty chiefs of tens bound by the oath on Hermon, 1 Enoch 6:7-8.
Served by Danel
One of the twenty chiefs of tens bound by the oath on Hermon, 1 Enoch 6:7-8.
Served by Ezeqeel
One of the twenty chiefs of tens; his teaching is the knowledge of the clouds.
Served by Batarel
One of the twenty chiefs of tens bound by the oath on Hermon, 1 Enoch 6:7-8.
Served by Ananel
One of the twenty chiefs of tens bound by the oath on Hermon, 1 Enoch 6:7-8.
Served by Zaqiel
One of the twenty chiefs of tens bound by the oath on Hermon, 1 Enoch 6:7-8.
Served by Samsapeel
One of the twenty chiefs of tens; his teaching is the signs of the sun.
Served by Satarel
One of the twenty chiefs of tens bound by the oath on Hermon, 1 Enoch 6:7-8.
Served by Turel
One of the twenty chiefs of tens bound by the oath on Hermon, 1 Enoch 6:7-8.
Served by Jomjael
One of the twenty chiefs of tens bound by the oath on Hermon, 1 Enoch 6:7-8.
Served by Armaros
One of the twenty chiefs of tens; his teaching is the resolving of enchantments.
Answered from the sources
Common questions
Which texts mention Semjaza?
What rank is Semjaza?
How else is Semjaza spelled?
What is Semjaza said to do?
How old is Semjaza?
Nearest in the corpus
If Semjaza is what you came for, these are next
Chosen by proximity rather than by popularity: the same pantheon first, then the same rank, then the same kind of figure.
Satan
Adversary · Infernal Court
Not originally a name but an office — 'the accuser'. In Job he is a member of the divine court doing his job; only later does he become the enemy.
Lucifer
Emperor · Infernal Court
The morning star of Isaiah 14. Christian tradition reads the phrase as the devil's own name; the passage itself makes no such claim.
Iblis
Chief of the Shayatin · Jinn
The one who refused to bow to Adam. The Qur'an is specific that he was of the jinn rather than the angels, a distinction Western retellings almost always erase.
The book behind Semjaza
Every claim on this profile is attributed to one of these. It is public domain, listed oldest first, and each links to a full text where one is freely available.
1 Enoch (The Book of Enoch)
Anonymous; tr. R. H. Charles · c. 300–100 BCE · Ge'ez (from Aramaic)
Read 1 Enoch (The Book of Enoch) in full ↗Cover: Public domain · Wikimedia file page
Corpus last revised 29 August 2026. A reference site’s credibility rests on being maintained, so this is the date the sourced records last changed — not the date the page was rebuilt.