Ariel (Hebrew:אֲרִיאֵל,romanized: ʾÁrīʾēl;Ancient Greek:Ἀριήλ,romanized: Ariel) is anangel found primarily in Judaism and Christianity.
The wordAriel appears in theHebrew Bible and on theMesha Stele under various spellings but not as the name of an angel. In2 Samuel 23:20 and its parallel passage1 Chronicles 11:22 the meaning of the word is unclear. InEzra 8:16 it is a personal name. InEzekiel 43:15 it is a part of the altar. InIsaiah 29:1–2, 7 it meansJerusalem and inIsaiah 33:7 it probably has a related meaning. On the Mesha Stele, it appears to meanmatzevah (sacred pillar). According to Samuel Feigin, "all the places where it appears seem to be archaic or archaistic in character. The different spellings ... indicate that the word is a loan from a foreign language." He argues that the original meaning of the word was related to death and suggests that it is related toArali (Sumerian) andArallu (Babylonian), names for theancient Mesopotamian underworld. It may be the root ofErelim, the name of the angels of death in theTalmud.[1]
In the CopticPistis Sophia (British Library, Add MS 5114), Jesus bids the apostles preach that they "be delivered from the rivers of smoke of Ariel."[2] Because of the association of Jerusalem with the name "Ariel", it is likely that this is an allusion to the fires ofGehenna (or Gehinnom), a valley near Jerusalem deemed cursed[3] because of its association with early pagan religions (Ba'als andCanaanite gods, includingMoloch) where children were sacrificed by immolation.[4] In later Jewish, Christian and Islamic scripture, Gehenna is a destination of the wicked and often translated in English biblical versions as "Hell".[5][6] According to tradition, fires located in this valley were kept burning perpetually to consume the filth and cadavers thrown into it.[7][8][9]
Harris Fletcher (1930) found the name Ariel in a copy of theSyncellus fragments of theBook of Enoch. Fletcher suggested that the text was known toJohn Milton and may be the source for Milton's use of the name for a minor angel inParadise Lost.[10] However, the presence of the name in the Syncellus fragments has not been verified (1938),[11] and, reviewing for example theDead Sea Scrolls, earlier versions of the Book of Enoch are now known to not contain the name Ariel. InParadise Lost, Ariel is a rebel angel, overcome by the seraphAbdiel in the first day of theWar of Heaven.
According to the German occultistCornelius Agrippa (1486–1535): "Ariel is the name of an angel, sometimes also of a demon, and of a city, whence called Ariopolis, where the idol is worshipped."
"Ariel" has been called an ancient name for theleontomorphicGnosticDemiurge (Creator God). Historically, the entity Ariel was often pictured in mysticism as a lion-headed deity with power over the Earth, giving a strong foundation for Ariel's association with the Demiurge.[12] It is possible that the name itself was even adopted from the Demiurge'sZoroastrian counterpartAhriman (who is likely the predecessor of theMithraic "Arimanius").[citation needed]
"Ariel" is sometimes associated with the better known Judeo-Christian Archangel Uriel, as for example some sources claim that theElizabethan court astrologerJohn Dee called "Ariel" a "conglomerate ofAnael andUriel," though this is not mentioned where the name Anael appears in the only conversation of Dee withBarnabas Saul.[13]
InThomas Heywood,Hierarchy of the Blessed Angels (1635) Ariel is called both a prince who rules the waters and "Earth's great Lord." In several occult writings,[who?] Ariel is mentioned with other elemental titles such as the "3rd archon of the winds," "spirit of air," "angel of the waters of the Earth" and "wielder of fire." In mysticism, especially modern, Ariel is usually depicted as a governing angel with dominion over the Earth, creative forces, the North,elemental spirits, and beasts. Other entries in angelologies to Ariel are found inJacques Collin de Plancy,Dictionnaire Infernal (1863) andMoïse SchwabVocabulaire de l'Angélologie (1897).
In thePistis Sophia Jesus bids the apostles preach to the whole world thus: 'Say to them, Renounce plunderings, that ye may be worthy of the mysteries of the light, and be delivered from the rivers of smoke of Ariel.'
However, in the New Testament the term Gehenna is used more frequently in preference to hades, as a name for the place of punishment of the damned. ... held in abomination by the Jews, who, accordingly, used the name of this valley to designate the abode of the damned (Targ. Jon., Gen., iii, 24; Henoch, c. xxvi). And Christ adopted this usage of the term.
It is frequently said that certain sins will lead man into Gehenna. The name 'Gehenna' itself is explained to mean that unchastity will lead to Gehenna ('Er. 19a); so also will adultery, idolatry, pride, mockery, hypocrisy, anger, etc. (Soṭah 4b, 41b; Ta'an. 5a; B. B. 10b, 78b; 'Ab. Zarah 18b; Ned. 22a).
Perhaps Milton knew of an even fuller account of the Angel Ariel than any I have listed in some rabbinical work that has not yet been connected with him....But the connection of the Enoch literature...
Professor Fletcher, whose reference I have been unable to verify, finds in the Syncellus fragments the equally unusual Ariel, who, with ...
in the Treatise without Title… it is said that the perfect call Jaldabaoth "Ariel", because he has the face of a lion. This could only have been invented by a Jew, because Ariel means: "the lion of God". We conclude then that in the Treatise without Title the demiurge is thought to be an angel", "A magical amulet of Antiquity contains on its observe the names Jaldabaoth and Ariel in Greek letters, together with a lion-headed figure, and on its reverse the names of the seven demonic rulers of the universe.
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