Solomon and the Demons

I got myself sharim and sharot, and human pleasures, shidda and shiddot (Ecclesiastes 2:8). [ . . . ]

The Master said: Here they interpreted [shidda and shiddot as—Ed.] male demons and female demons. Why was it necessary for [Solomon to have] male demons and female demons? As it is written [with regard to the building of the Temple]: For the house, when it was being built, was built of stone made ready at the quarry; [and there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was being built (1 Kings 6:7). Solomon] said to the sages, “How shall I make [it so that the stone will be precisely cut without using iron]?” They said to him, “There is a [creature called] a shamir [that can cut the stones], which Moses brought [and used to cut] the stones of the ephod.”

[Solomon] said to them, “Where is it found?” They said to him, “Bring a male demon and a female demon [and] torment them together. It is possible that they know [and, due to the suffering,] they will reveal [the place] to you.” [Solomon] brought a male demon and a female demon [and] tormented them together, [and] they said, “We do not know [where to find the shamir]. Perhaps Ashmedai, king of the demons, knows.”

[Solomon] said to them, “Where is [Ashmedai]?” They said to him, “[He] is on such-and-such a mountain. [He has] dug a pit for himself [there], and filled it with water, and covered it with a rock, and sealed it with his seal. And every day he ascends to heaven and studies in the heavenly study hall, and he descends to the earth and studies in the earthly study hall. And he comes and checks his seal [to ensure that nobody has entered his pit], and [then] he uncovers it and drinks [from the water in the pit]. And [then] he covers it and seals it [again] and goes.”

[Solomon] sent for Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, [a member of the royal entourage, and] gave him a chain onto which [a]‌ name [of God] was carved, and a ring onto which [a] name [of God] was carved, and fleeces of wool, and wineskins of wine. He [Benaiah] went and dug a pit lower [down the mountain, below the pit dug by Ashmedai], drained the water, and plugged it with the fleeces of wool [so that Ashmedai’s pit was emptied]. And he dug a pit higher [up the mountain, above Ashmedai’s pit]. And he poured the wine into it [so that the wine filled Ashmedai’s pit], and he plugged [the lower and upper pits that he dug]. He [climbed] up [and] sat in a tree.

When [Ashmedai] came, he checked his seal, opened [the pit, and] found it [to be filled with] wine. He said [that] it is written: Wine is a mocker, strong drink is riotous; and whosoever wallows in it is not wise (Proverbs 20:1), and it is written: Harlotry, wine, and new wine take away the heart (Hosea 4:11). [He concluded,] “I will not drink [this wine.” Eventually,] when he became thirsty, he was unable to [resist the wine and] he drank, became intoxicated, and fell asleep.

[Benaiah] descended [from the tree], came, threw the chain around [Ashmedai, and] enclosed him [within it]. When [Ashmedai] awoke, he struggled [to remove the chain. Benaiah] said to him, “The name of your Master is upon you, the name of your Master is upon you.”

When [Benaiah] took [Ashmedai] and came [to Jerusalem], he reached a palm tree, [and Ashmedai] rubbed against it [and] knocked it down. He reached a house [and] knocked it down. He reached a small shack belonging to a certain widow. [The widow] emerged, [and] she begged him [not to knock down the house]. He bent [his body away] from her [and] broke one of his bones. He said, “This is as it is written: Soft speech can break a bone” (Proverbs 25:15).

[Ashmedai] saw a blind man who was lost on the road, [and] he brought him to the [correct] road. He saw a drunk who was lost on the road, [and] he brought him to the [correct] road. He saw the joy [of a wedding celebration] in which they were celebrating, [and] he cried. He heard a certain man say to a shoemaker, “Make me shoes [that will last] for seven years,” [and] he laughed. He saw a certain sorcerer performing magic, [and] he laughed.

When [Ashmedai] arrived there [in Jerusalem], they did not bring him before Solomon until three days [had passed. On] the first day, he said to them, “Why doesn’t the king want me [to come] to him?” They said to him, “[He drank too much and was] overcome [by] drink.” [Ashmedai] took a brick [and] placed [it] on [top of] another [brick. The servants] came and told Solomon [what he had done. Solomon] said to them, “This is what he said to you [through this allusion]: Return [and] give [the king more to] drink.”

The following day, [Ashmedai] said to them, “And why doesn’t the king want me [to come] to him?” They said to him, “[He ate too much and was] overcome [by] food.” [Ashmedai] took the brick off the other [brick and] placed it on the ground. [The servants] came [and] told Solomon [what Ashmedai had done]. He said to them, “This is what he said to you [through this allusion]: Take his food away from him.”

At the end of three days, [Ashmedai] came before [Solomon. Ashmedai] took a reed and measured four cubits, and threw it before him. He said to [Solomon], “See, when that man [Solomon] dies, he [will] have nothing in this world except the four cubits [of his grave]. Now you have conquered the entire world, and [yet] you are not satisfied until you also conquer me?”

[Solomon] said to him, “I need nothing from you. I want to build the Temple, and I need the shamir.” [Ashmedai] said to him, “[The shamir] was not given to me, [but] it was given to the [angelic] minister of the sea. And he gives it only to the wild rooster, whom he trusts by [the force of] his oath [to return it].” And what does [the wild rooster] do with it? He brings it to mountains that are not [fit for] habitation, and he places [the shamir] on the craggy rock, and the mountain splits. And he takes [and] brings seeds of trees, throws them there, and it becomes [fit for] habitation. And this is why we interpret [the biblical word dukhifat (hoopoe)—Ed.] [as] a cutter of mountains [naggar tura’].¹

They investigated [and found] the nest of a wild rooster in which there were chicks, and he covered its nest with translucent glass. When [the rooster] came, it wanted to enter [the nest] but was unable [to do so]. It went and brought the shamir and placed it on top [to crack the glass. Solomon’s servant] threw a clump [of dirt] at [the rooster, and the rooster] knocked over [the shamir. The man] took it, [and the wild rooster] went [and] strangled itself over [the fact that it had not kept] its oath [by not returning the shamir].

[Later,] Benaiah said to [Ashmedai], “What is the reason [that] when you saw that blind man who was lost on the road you brought him to the [correct] road?” [Ashmedai] said to him, “They proclaim about him in heaven that he is a completely righteous man, and anyone who does good for his soul shall merit [to enter] the world to come.”

[Then Benaiah asked,] “And what is the reason [that] when you saw the drunk man who was lost on the road you brought him to the [correct] road?” [Ashmedai] said to him, “They proclaim about him in heaven that he is a completely wicked man. And I did good for his soul so that he will consume [his reward in this] world [and not have any reward in the world to come].”

[Benaiah continued and asked him,] “What is the reason [that] when you saw that joy [of the wedding,] you cried?” [Ashmedai] said to him, “[I knew that this] man will die within thirty days. And [his wife] is required to wait for the yavam [the husband’s brother, who is] a minor, [to reach the age of] thirteen years.”²

[In addition, he asked,] “What is the reason [that] when you heard that man say to a shoemaker, ‘Make me shoes [that will last] for seven years,’ you laughed?” [Ashmedai] said to him, “That [man] does not have seven days [to live]; does he need shoes [that will last] for seven years?”

[Benaiah then asked,] “What is the reason [that] when you saw that sorcerer performing magic you laughed?” [Ashmedai] said to him, “Because he was sitting on the king’s treasury. Let him use his magic [to know] what there is [buried] underneath him.”

[Solomon] kept [Ashmedai] with him until [he completed] building the Temple. One day, he stood [with Ashmedai] alone. He said to [Ashmedai], “It is written: For him like the lofty horns of the wild ox (Numbers 24:8), and [the sages] say [in explanation of the verse]: Like the lofty horns—these are the ministering angels. The wild ox—these are the demons. [In] what [way] are you greater than us?”³

[Ashmedai] said to him, “Take the chain [engraved with God’s name] off me, and give me your ring [with God’s name engraved on it], and I will show you my strength.” [Solomon] took the chain off him, and he gave him his ring. [Ashmedai] swallowed [the ring and grew until] he placed one wing in the heaven and one wing on the earth. He threw [Solomon a distance of] four hundred parasangs [and took his place as king—Ed.]. With regard to that moment, Solomon said: What profit is there for a person through all of his toil under the sun? (Ecclesiastes 1:3).

[With regard to the verse] And this was my portion from all of my toil (Ecclesiastes 2:10), What [is the meaning of] and this? Rav and Samuel [disagree]. One said: [This is referring to Solomon’s] staff. And one said: [This is referring to] his cloak. [Solomon] circulated from door to door [collecting charity, and] wherever he arrived, he would say: I, Ecclesiastes, was king over Israel in Jerusalem (Ecclesiastes 1:12). When he [finally] arrived at the Sanhedrin, the sages said, “Now, an imbecile does not fixate on one matter [all of the time, so] what is this [matter? Is this man perhaps telling the truth that he is Solomon]?”

[The sages] said to Benaiah, “Does the king require you [to be] with him?” [Benaiah] said to them, “No.” They sent to the queens [and asked, “Does] the king come [to be] with you?” [The queens] sent [a response] to them: “Yes, he comes.” They sent [a request] to [the queens:] “Check his feet [to see if they are human feet.” The queens] sent [a response] to [the sages]: “He [always] comes in socks.” And [the queens went on to say that—Ed.] he demands [of] them [to engage in sexual intercourse] when they are menstruating. And he also demands [that] Bathsheba, his mother, [engage in sexual intercourse with him. Once the Sanhedrin heard this, they understood that this was an imposter and not actually Solomon]. They brought Solomon [and] gave him a ring and the chain on which the name [of God] was carved. When [Solomon] entered, [Ashmedai] saw him [and] fled. And even so, [Solomon] was fearful of him, and this is as it is written: Behold the bed of Solomon surrounded by sixty strong men from the warriors of Israel. All of them holding swords and trained in war, each man with his sword on his thigh from fear in the nights (Song of Songs 3:7–8).

Rav and Samuel [disagreed with regard to this story of Solomon]. One said: [He was] a king, and [afterward he became] a commoner [and never returned to his position as king]. And one said: [He was] a king and [became] a commoner and [then returned to being—Ed.] a king.