Asmodeus, also known as Ashmadia, most likely originated from the Persian Aeshma-deva ("demon of waith").
The apocryphal Book of Tobit describes an instance where Raguel's daughter, Sarah, was tormented by the demon. She was married to seven times, each time the Asmodeus killed off the husband before they could have intercourse. Sarah, was about to hang herself in grief, but decided against it after thinking about the shame it would cause her
father. She then prayed to God for
death.
God answered her prayer by sending the angel,
Raphael, to her aid. He instructed Tobiah to place fish liver and heart on the embers for incense. Asmodeus was repelled by the odor:
"The demon, repelled by the odor of the fish, fled into Upper Egypt;
Raphael pursued him there and bound him hand and foot." - Tobit 8:3
In the Testament of
Solomon (dated 1st - 3rd centuries CE) ,
Solomon invokes Asmodeus to aid in the construction of the Temple. The demon appears and predicts
Solomon's kingdom will one day be divided.
"My constellation (is like an animal which) reclines in its den in
heaven; some men call me the Great Bear, but others the Offspring of a Dragon. Moreover, a smaller constellation accompanies my constellation, for the high position and throne of my
father is always in the
sky. So do not ask me so many things,
Solomon, for eventually your kingdom will be divided. This glory of yours is temporary. You have us to torture for a little while; then we shall disperse among human beings again with the result that we shall be worshiped as gods because men do not know the names of the angels who rule over us."
-TSol 5:4-5
After Asmodeus had spoken,
Solomon ordered him to state his name and activities, to which the demon responded that he:
"Is always hatching plots against newlyweds; I mar the
beauty of virgins and cause their hearts to grow cold"
- TSol 5:7
When Solomon interrogated Asmodeus further, he learned that Asmodeus was thwarted by the angel,
Raphael, as well as sheatfish found in the rivers of Assyria. He also admitted he hated
water.
Milton writes in Paradise Lost
'Better pleased Than Asmodeus with the fishy fume That drove him, though enamoured, from the spouse Of Tobit's son, and with a vengeance sent From Media post to Egypt, there fast bound." - Paradise Lost , iv. 167--71.
Asmoday appears later in Mather's translation of the Goetia: the Lesser Key of Solomon as the 32th spirit.
