Liber XXVIII · Solomonic Magic · Chapter IX: Testament of Solomon
Testament of Solomon: Demons, Angels and the Temple
The Testament of Solomon explained: a Greek pseudepigraphon on demons and their thwarting angels, its dating, manuscripts, Ornias and influence on magic.
The Testament of Solomon is a Greek pseudepigraphal text, written in the voice of King Solomon, that tells how he received a magic ring from the archangel Michael and used it to summon, question and enslave demons to build the Temple in Jerusalem. Composed by an unknown author, probably a Christian drawing on Jewish and Hellenistic magical lore, it is usually dated somewhere between the first and fifth centuries CE and is the oldest surviving work to present Solomon as a systematic demonologist.
What the Testament of Solomon Is§
The work presents itself as a first-person testament, the kind of farewell record in which a famous figure looks back on his life and leaves instruction for posterity. Solomon explains how he came to command demons, what each demon told him about its nature and activities, and how he eventually fell from favor. The title in several manuscripts calls it the testament of Solomon, son of David, who reigned in Jerusalem and mastered all the spirits of the air, the earth and the underworld.
Unlike the books of the Bible or the rabbinic literature, the Testament is not a narrative of piety or law. It is essentially a catalogue: a narrative frame enclosing a long sequence of interviews in which demons are compelled to reveal their names, their astrological associations, the harms they cause, and the angel, name or remedy by which they may be defeated. This combination of story and practical reference made it valuable to readers interested in exorcism and protection.
Origins and Dating Debates§
Dating the Testament is notoriously difficult. The surviving manuscripts are late medieval, and the text exists in several distinct recensions that differ substantially in wording, order and content. Scholars have proposed dates ranging from the first century CE to the fifth or even later.
The edition still used as the standard reference was published by Chester Charlton McCown in 1922. McCown argued for a date around the early fourth century, while recognizing that the work drew on older materials. Dennis C. Duling, who translated the Testament for James Charlesworth's Old Testament Pseudepigrapha (1983), surveyed the evidence and allowed for an earlier core, possibly first to third century, with later redaction. Others have argued for a later compilation. A papyrus fragment of related Solomonic material and references in early Christian literature to books of Solomonic exorcism show that such traditions circulated early, even if the Testament in its present form is later.
Jewish, Christian or Both?§
The Testament contains unmistakable Christian elements. Several demons are thwarted by Emmanuel or by reference to the crucifixion, and one passage alludes to the virgin birth and to a future cornerstone rejected by the builders. Most scholars therefore regard the author or final editor as Christian. At the same time the book's frame, its fascination with the Temple, its angelology and its picture of Solomon as master of spirits all derive from Jewish tradition of the kind seen in Josephus and later in the Talmud. The text is best understood as a product of the mixed religious world of the eastern Roman Empire, where Jewish, Christian, Greek and Egyptian magical practices borrowed from one another freely.
Manuscripts and Recensions§
McCown grouped the manuscripts into recensions, labeled A, B and C, along with other witnesses. Recension A is generally treated as closest to an older form; Recension C is a later expansion with additional material. Manuscripts are held in collections including those of Paris, London, Jerusalem and Mount Athos, and they range in date from roughly the fifteenth to seventeenth centuries. A fragment in a Vienna papyrus collection containing Solomonic demonological material is sometimes cited as evidence that the tradition existed in late antiquity.
Because the recensions diverge, any summary of "the" Testament is a generalization. Translations in English, notably Frederick Conybeare's 1898 version in the Jewish Quarterly Review and Duling's 1983 translation, each follow particular textual choices. Readers should be aware that numbering of demons and even their names vary between versions.
The Story: Ornias, the Ring and the Temple§
The narrative opens during the construction of the Temple. A favorite young workman of Solomon's is being drained of his strength and wages by a demon called Ornias, who sucks the thumb of his right hand each evening. Solomon prays for help, and the archangel Michael brings him a small ring with a seal engraved on precious stone, granting him power over all demons. This is the origin of the Seal of Solomon in its most influential Christian form.
The boy throws the ring at the demon's chest and commands it in the name of God to come to Solomon. Ornias, bound, is set to work cutting stone. Solomon then gives him the ring and sends him to fetch Beelzebul, the prince of demons. Beelzebul in turn summons others, and a remarkable procession begins.
The Procession of Demons§
Among the figures who appear are Onoskelis, a female demon with the legs of a mule; Asmodeus, who declares that he plots against newlyweds and is thwarted by the angel Raphael and by the liver and gall of a fish, a clear reference to the Book of Tobit; Lix Tetrax, a demon of the wind; the seven "heavenly bodies" or stars, female spirits identified with deception, strife and similar vices; and Obizuth, a child-killing female demon who strangles infants.
The longest sequence presents thirty-six demons associated with the thirty-six decans, the ten-degree divisions of the zodiac inherited from Egyptian astronomy. Each describes the bodily affliction it causes, such as headaches, fevers, eye diseases or kidney pain, and each names the angel or formula that drives it away. This list bridges astrology and medicine and is one of the most studied parts of the text.
Solomon sets the bound demons to various tasks: carrying stones, forging metal, making lamps, and other labor on the Temple. The Asmodeus episode here is related to, though different from, the Talmudic legend discussed in Solomon and Asmodeus.
The Fall of Solomon§
The Testament ends with Solomon's downfall. Infatuated with a Jebusite woman, he agrees, at the urging of her people's priests, to sacrifice locusts to the gods Raphan and Moloch. The divine glory departs from him, and he becomes a laughingstock to idols and demons. He writes the testament, he says, so that readers may learn from both his power and his error. The ending echoes the biblical account of Solomon's foreign wives and apostasy in 1 Kings 11.
Demons and Their Thwarting Angels§
The most distinctive feature of the Testament is the principle that every demon has a specific adversary. When asked, each demon reveals its "thwarting angel" or the name that defeats it: Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel and many lesser names appear, along with formulas invoking Emmanuel, the Lord Sabaoth, or the sign of the cross. Some demons are defeated by physical remedies, such as Asmodeus by smoke from fish organs.
This logic reflects late antique protective magic as documented in amulets and the Greek Magical Papyri. Knowing a demon's name and the name of its superior gave power over it. The Testament effectively presents itself as an encyclopedia of such knowledge, attributed to the wisest of kings. For the medieval and early modern reader, the text both explained the causes of illness and misfortune and suggested remedies.
Influence on Later Solomonic Magic§
The Testament of Solomon was not a grimoire in the Renaissance sense: it gives no detailed ritual procedure for summoning spirits. Its influence lies in the template it established. Solomon became the archetypal master of spirits; demons were catalogued by name, appearance, function and controlling power; and a seal or ring was the instrument of command.
Later works developed these themes. Byzantine Greek manuscripts such as the Hygromanteia, or Magical Treatise of Solomon, combine Solomonic attribution with planetary hours, angelic names and ritual instructions, and scholars see them as one of the bridges between late antique traditions and the Latin Key of Solomon. The demon catalogues of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, including Johann Weyer's Pseudomonarchia Daemonum and the Goetia in the Lesser Key of Solomon, continue the format of naming each spirit and describing its powers, even though their specific lists are largely independent. Our article on the Ars Goetia and its 72 spirits traces this later development, which also reaches back to the brass vessel motif in which Solomon seals the demons away.
Why the Testament Matters to Historians§
For historians of religion, the Testament is a valuable window into popular belief in late antiquity. It shows how demons were thought to cause specific illnesses, how astrology and medicine intertwined, how biblical figures were enlisted as authorities in practical magic, and how Jewish and Christian traditions overlapped in everyday religious life. Scholars working on ancient magic, and Todd Klutz in a monograph devoted to the text, have read it as evidence of how communities understood suffering and protection. It also illustrates the long transition from biblical wisdom figure to Renaissance magus.
Frequently asked questions§
When was the Testament of Solomon written?§
The date is uncertain. Proposals range from the first to the fifth century CE, with many scholars favoring a date in the third or fourth century for the work in its present form while allowing that it uses older material. The surviving manuscripts are medieval.
Who is Ornias in the Testament of Solomon?§
Ornias is the first demon Solomon binds. He torments a young workman on the Temple by draining his strength, is captured with the ring brought by the archangel Michael, and is then used to summon Beelzebul and other demons.
Is the Testament of Solomon in the Bible?§
No. It is a pseudepigraphon, a work falsely attributed to a biblical figure, and has never been part of the Jewish or Christian canon. It appears in modern collections of Old Testament pseudepigrapha.
Is the Testament of Solomon the same as the Key of Solomon?§
No. The Testament is a late antique narrative catalogue of demons in Greek. The Key of Solomon is a much later Latin and Italian ritual manual from the Renaissance, though both belong to the broader Solomonic tradition.
Sources and further reading§
- The Testament of Solomon — ed. Chester Charlton McCown, 1922
- "The Testament of Solomon" — trans. F. C. Conybeare, Jewish Quarterly Review, 1898
- "Testament of Solomon" — trans. D. C. Duling, in The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, vol. 1, ed. James H. Charlesworth, 1983
- Rewriting the Testament of Solomon: Tradition, Conflict and Identity in a Late Antique Pseudepigraphon — Todd E. Klutz, 2005
- Solomon the Esoteric King: From King to Magus, Development of a Tradition — Pablo A. Torijano, 2002
- The Greek Magical Papyri in Translation — ed. Hans Dieter Betz, 1986
- Grimoires: A History of Magic Books — Owen Davies, 2009