Samyaza (Aramaic: שמיחזה, Greek: Σεμιαζά) also Semihazah, Shemyazaz, Sêmîazâz, Semjâzâ, Samjâzâ, Shemyaza, and Shemhazai. is a fallen angel of apocryphal Jewish and Christian tradition that ranked in the heavenly hierarchy as one of the Grigori (meaning "Watchers" in Greek). The name 'Shemyaza[z]' means 'infamous rebellion', the combination of 'shem' [meaning 'name' or 'fame' {whether positive or negative}] + 'azaz' [which means 'rebellion' or 'arrogance' as a negative particle]. Michael Knibb lists him as “the (or my) name has seen” or “he sees the name”. The interesting thing about the second interpretation is there is a tale about Semjâzâ knowing the explicit name of God and making a deal with a human Istahar to tell her the name.[1]
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Some suggest that Samyaza is most likely another name for Satan (Heb: 'the adversary'), who was originally an entity created in the service of God; he was the caretaker of God's throne, but later fell from the heavens because of his pride according to some Abrahamic traditions. Jesus states that he saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning in Luke 10:18.
Others say that Samyaza should not be mistaken for another name for Satan, who some believe was "cast out" from the heavens because of his refusal to bow down to Adam as written in the Qur'an (7:11) and the pseudepigraphical Gospel of Bartholomew (IV:54-56).[2] This interpretation points to Rev. 12:9 and Gen. 6:4 as depicting two separate falls from heaven, one of Satan being cast down, the other of the sons of God choosing to come to earth to take human wives.
In the Book of Enoch he is portrayed as the leader of a band of angels called the Watchers that are consumed with lust for mortal women and become Fallen Angels.
A full listing of the leaders of the group can be found on the 1 Enoch page. Semjâzâ convinced several other Grigori to join him in fornicating with women. As a result, he and the other sinful Grigori begot giant offspring (in Genesis called Nephilim or 'fallen ones' in Hebrew) that dominated and feasted upon humans during the days of Enoch. The Watchers' other sin was to teach humans various creative arts — especially Azâzêl's, who taught the secrets of war, which brought down the wrath of God.
God commanded the angel Gabriel to cause the Giants to wage Civil War:
Finally, the judgement of the associates of Samyaza is described.
After the destruction of the Giants, God caused the Great Flood (Noah's flood) to wipe out the humans who had become corrupted.
The quotes are taken from a revised text of R. H. Charles's translation, which is more accurate than the present Ethiopian text. The link to which is on the 1 Enoch page.