Mastema

According to the Book of Jubilees, Mastema ("hostility") is the chief of the Nephilim, the demons engendered by the fallen angels called Watchers with human women.

Although leading a group of demons, the text implies that he is an angel working for God instead, as he does not fear imprisonment along with the Nephilim.{{cite book |last=Stokes |first=Ryan E. |url= |title=The Satan: How God's Executioner Became the Enemy |date=2013 |publisher=Mohr Siebeck |isbn=9783161510311}}{{cite book|last=Bamberger|first=Bernard J.|title=Fallen Angels: Soldiers of Satan's Realm|url=|date=2010|publisher=Jewish Publication Society|page=|isbn=9780827610477}} Yet, the matter is blurred because angels and other kinds of spirits are not clearly differentiated in the work.

His function is similar to Satan in the Book of Job, as a servant of God.PREGILL, E. B. M. (2017). The Evolution and Uses of the Stories of the Prophets. EVOLUTION, 2.

68 Another devilish entity, Belial, is mentioned twice in Jubilees and is probably identical to Mastema.{{cite book|last=Michalak|first=Aleksander R.|title=Angels as Warriors in Late Second Temple Jewish Literature|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L9mqH-rmpg8C&pg=PA173|access-date=12 May 2014|year=2012|publisher=Mohr Siebeck|isbn=978-3-16-151739-6|page=173}}

According to the Book of Jubilees, a retelling of Book of Genesis and Book of Exodus,PREGILL, E. B. M. (2017). The Evolution and Uses of the Stories of the Prophets. EVOLUTION, 2. 68 Mastema requests permission from God to spare some of the giants (demons) and put them under his control (Jubilees 10:8).Ellens, J. H. (Ed.). (2011). Explaining Evil:[3 volumes]. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. 136PREGILL, E. B. M. (2017). The Evolution and Uses of the Stories of the Prophets. EVOLUTION, 2. 73 In Jubilees 11:10, Mastema is behind the birds mentioned in Genesis 15:11. At the time of Terah, Mastema sends ravens to eat and devour the seeds from the fields.PREGILL, E. B. M. (2017). The Evolution and Uses of the Stories of the Prophets. EVOLUTION, 2. 68 It is Mastema who initiates the binding of Isaac and, by that, substitutes Yahweh.Ellens, J. H. (Ed.). (2011). Explaining Evil:[3 volumes]. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. 136PREGILL, E. B. M. (2017). The Evolution and Uses of the Stories of the Prophets. EVOLUTION, 2. 70 Likewise, not Yahweh but Mastema hardens the Pharaoh's heart (Jub. 48:15–17).Ellens, J. H. (Ed.). (2011). Explaining Evil:[3 volumes]. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. 136Löfstedt, Torsten. "Who is the Blinder of Eyes and Hardener of Hearts in John 12: 40?." Svensk Exegetisk Årsbok 84 (2019): 191.

The account of Zipporah at the Inn where Yahweh meets Moses and tries to kill him is retold in a way that attributes the attack to Mastema instead (Jubilees 48:1-3).Anderson, Bernhard. "NEW CREATION IN THE JEWISH SCRIPTURES: AN OVERVIEW." New Creation in Paul's Letters and Thought 119 (2002): 39.Segal, M. "Chapter Ten. The Exodus (Jubilees 48–49)." The Book of Jubilees. Brill, 2007: 203. Mastema is also said to have been chained while the Israelites left Egypt, but then let go to encourage the Egyptians to chase after the Israelites and so come to their doom in the Red Sea. The deaths of the firstborn of the Egyptians are attributed to "all the powers of Mastema". Mastema is also behind the powers of the Pharaoh's sorcerers.Ellens, J. H. (Ed.). (2011). Explaining Evil:[3 volumes]. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. 136

The figure Mastema might be a step in developing the concept of the Devil as independent from God during the Second Temple period.Russell, Jeffrey Burton. The devil: Perceptions of evil from antiquity to primitive Christianity. Cornell University Press, 1987. p. 204 By substituting Yahweh's malevolent role throughout the Torah with one of his angels, God is abolished from evil actions.Löfstedt, Torsten. "Who is the Blinder of Eyes and Hardener of Hearts in John 12: 40?." Svensk Exegetisk Årsbok 84 (2019): 191.Russell, Jeffrey Burton. The devil: Perceptions of evil from antiquity to primitive Christianity. Cornell University Press, 1987. p. 204 Yet, the authors of the Book of Jubilees assert that, ultimately, evil is caused by God, as it is God who explicitly grants Mastema demons.Russell, Jeffrey Burton. The devil: Perceptions of evil from antiquity to primitive Christianity. Cornell University Press, 1987. p. 194 Accordingly, God allows evil to exist, but only for a limited period of time, without committing evil himself.Russell, Jeffrey Burton. The devil: Perceptions of evil from antiquity to primitive Christianity. Cornell University Press, 1987. p. 204

Although a prince of evil, Mastema never harms God's servants. Whenever Mastema acts, it is only by God's permission, or Mastema is immediately restrained.Hanneken, Todd R. The Subversion of the Apocalypses in the Book of Jubilees. Vol. 34. Society of Biblical Lit, 2012. p. 81 In cases when harm actually befalls God's people, Mastema is not associated with the act. Mastema and his demons only succeed when they attack a non-Jewish nation.Hanneken, Todd R. The Subversion of the Apocalypses in the Book of Jubilees. Vol. 34. Society of Biblical Lit, 2012. p. 63-64 Throughout the Book of Jubilees, God's loyalty to the people of Israel remains unshaken.Hanneken, Todd R. The Subversion of the Apocalypses in the Book of Jubilees. Vol. 34. Society of Biblical Lit, 2012. p. 81 Mastema might be understood as a figure of evil befalling the non-Jewish nations. As such, the text inverts the audience's expectations by nullifying the power of the agent of evil as long as they stay loyal to the Jewish tradition.Hanneken, Todd R. The Subversion of the Apocalypses in the Book of Jubilees. Vol. 34. Society of Biblical Lit, 2012. p. 63

There are no parallel stories to that of Mastema and Abraham in later Jewish traditions.PREGILL, E. B. M. (2017). The Evolution and Uses of the Stories of the Prophets. EVOLUTION, 2. 68 However, parallels are found between Mastema and Nimrod in Muḥammad al-Kisāʾī's Qisas al-Anbiya.PREGILL, E. B. M. (2017). The Evolution and Uses of the Stories of the Prophets. EVOLUTION, 2. 74 In the Quran, Mastema's function is reflected in the figure Iblis, who likewise requests God to tempt humanity and receives hosts of demons in order to do so, and is subordinative to God, unable to harm God's servants.Kadari, Tamar, et al. "Religious Stories in Transformation: Conflict, Revision and Reception" (2016): 72.

The name appears in the Dead Sea Scrolls. In the Damascus Document, the expression "angel of mastema" (mal'ak ha-mastema) occurs.Ellens, J. H. (Ed.). (2011). Explaining Evil:[3 volumes]. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. p. 135 The definite article ha- indicates that mastema is not a proper name here.Ellens, J. H. (Ed.). (2011). Explaining Evil:[3 volumes]. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. p. 135 The Serek ha-Yahad declares that God:

"made Belial for the pit, an angel of mastema; and in dark[ness is] his [rule] and in his counsel is to bring wickedness and guilt about; and all the spirits of his lot are angels of destruction; they walk in the statutes of darkness."Ellens, J. H. (Ed.). (2011). Explaining Evil:[3 volumes]. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. p. 135

• In Anne Rice's 1999 novel Vittorio the Vampire, Mastema is an angel that aids the main character in attacking a vampire coven.{{cite book|last1=Rice|first1=Anne|title=Vittorio the Vampire|date=1999|publisher=Random House, Knopf|isbn=0-375-40160-1|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/vittoriovampiren0000rice}}
• In the Megami Tensei series of video games and its spin-offs, Mastema is portrayed as a demon, although, within the context of the franchise, the term "demon" is used in its classical meaning (cf. daemon) to refer to any supernatural creature. Mastema can be fought but can also join the player's group. In Strange Journey, Mastema represents the Law alignment and plays a significant role within the game.
• In the Digimon game, Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth, Mastemon is an Angel Digimon who manipulates light and darkness, and has the power to cross through space-time.{{cite web|last1=Romano|first1=Sal|title=Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth details and screenshots: Mirei and Rina, Tower Records, more Royal Knights|url=http://gematsu.com/2015/02/digimon-story-cyber-sleuth-details-screenshots-mirei-rina-tower-records-royal-knights|website=Gematsu|date=26 February 2015 |publisher=Gematsu.com|access-date=2 March 2017}}
• In the Yu-Gi-Oh! trading card game, the card "Darklord Nasten" (堕天使マスティマ, datenshi [= Fallen Angel] Mastema) is based on this demon.
• In the comic book Birthright, Mastema is the name of one of the mages living on Earth that maintain the barrier between worlds. She is revealed shortly after her introduction to be the daughter of the series' main villain.
• In the mobile game Arknights, Mostima is the name of an operator that has angelic and demonic qualities.
• In the Korean MMORPG MapleStory, Mastema (마스테마) is the name of the devout follower of the playable class "Demon", and it can transform into a purple cat to conceal its power.

• Angra Mainyu
• Azazel
• Iblis
• List of angels in theology
• Lucifer

{{Reflist}}

• [https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/mastema MASTEMA] by David Flusser. Encyclopaedia Judaica article at Encyclopedia.com

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Category:Fallen angels

Category:Book of Jubilees

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Category:Crossing the Red Sea