Shamsiel (
Hebrew and
Aramaic: שִׁמְשִׁיאֵל ''Šīmšīʾēl'', "God is my sun"
Greek: Σεμσιήλ Semsiḗl), also spelled ''Samsâpêêl'', ''Shamshel'', ''Shashiel'' or ''Shamshiel'', was the 16th
Watcher of the 20 leaders of the 200
fallen angels that are mentioned in the
Book of Enoch. The name means "God is my sun",
[The Ethiopic Book Of Enoch., Knibb, Michael A., Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1978, repr. 1982.] which is fitting since it has been said that Shamsiel taught men the signs of the sun during the days of Jared or Yered.
Shamash
Utu (dUD "Sun"), also known under the Akkadian name Shamash, ''šmš'', syc, ܫܡܫܐ ''šemša'', he, שֶׁמֶשׁ ''šemeš'', ar, شمس ''šams'', Ashurian Aramaic: 𐣴𐣬𐣴 ''š'meš(ā)'' was the ancient Mesopotamian sun god. ...
(the Babylonian sun god) may share some mythological basis with Shamsiel.
[
Shamsiel is said to lead 365 legions of lesser angels in the ]Zohar
The ''Zohar'' ( he, , ''Zōhar'', lit. "Splendor" or "Radiance") is a foundational work in the literature of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah (the five ...
and it is said that he was assigned by God to guard the Garden of Eden
In Abrahamic religions, the Garden of Eden ( he, גַּן־עֵדֶן, ) or Garden of God (, and גַן־אֱלֹהִים ''gan-Elohim''), also called the Terrestrial Paradise, is the Bible, biblical paradise described in Book of Genesis, Genes ...
after Adam and Eve were expelled; comparable to cherub
A cherub (; plural cherubim; he, כְּרוּב ''kərūḇ'', pl. ''kərūḇīm'', likely borrowed from a derived form of akk, 𒅗𒊏𒁍 ''karabu'' "to bless" such as ''karibu'', "one who blesses", a name for the lamassu) is one of the u ...
im. There is apparently some disagreement in sources as to whether Shamsiel is a fallen angel; he is still regarded as the ruler of the 4th Heaven.
Modern culture
There is a monstrous "angel" named Shamshel in the anime series called ''Neon Genesis Evangelion
, also known simply as ''Evangelion'' or ''Eva'', is a Japanese mecha anime television series produced by Gainax and animated by Tatsunoko, directed by Hideaki Anno and broadcast on TV Tokyo from October 1995 to March 1996. ''Evangelion' ...
'', ostensibly named for the ancient Hebrew entity.
A minor character named Samchia appears in the first book in '' The Fallen'' series. He is a fallen angel living on earth as "Samuel Chia" and is the second in-series victim of the books' primary antagonist Verchiel, who kills him by kicking him from a high window.
In the anime '' Fairy Tail'', a character named Angel can use Angel Magic summoning forth Shamsiel, a white cherub that can shoot light to blast the latter's opponents.
A succubus by the name of Shamsiel Shahar is a main character in the erotic visual novel ''Kyonyuu Fantasy'' and its anime adaptation of the same name, serving as a benefactor and primary love interest of the protagonist, Lute Hende.
References
Watchers (angels)
{{Kabbalah-stub