Editing Demon (section)

=== Pseudepigrapha and deuterocanonical books ===
[[File:Demon. A miniature from the Georgian manuscript of the 12th century.jpg|thumb|upright|A demon from ''[[The Ladder of Divine Ascent]]'', written in Georgian by [[Nikrai]].]]
{{Main|Pseudepigrapha|Deuterocanonical books}}
{{See also|Book of Tobit|Book of Enoch|Book of Jubilees}}
Demons are included in biblical interpretation. In the story of Passover, the Bible tells the story as "the Lord struck down all the firstborn in Egypt" ({{Bibleverse|Exodus|12:21–29}}). In the [[Book of Jubilees]], which is considered canonical only by the [[Ethiopian Orthodox Church]],<ref name="Harris">[[Stephen L Harris|Harris, Stephen L.]], ''Understanding the Bible''. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985. It is considered one of the [[pseudepigrapha]] by [[Protestant]], [[Roman Catholic]], and [[Eastern Orthodox]] Churches</ref> this same event is told slightly differently: "All the powers of [the demon] Mastema had been let loose to slay all the first-born in the land of Egypt. And the powers of the Lord did everything according as the Lord commanded them." (Jubilees 49:2–4)

In the [[Genesis flood narrative]], the author explains how God was noticing "how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways" ({{Bibleverse|Genesis|6:12}}). In Jubilees, the sins of man are attributed to "the unclean demons [who] began to lead astray the children of the sons of Noah, and to make to err and destroy them" (Jubilees 10:1). In Jubilees, Mastema questions the loyalty of Abraham and tells God to "bid him offer him as a burnt offering on the altar, and Thou wilt see if he will do this command" (Jubilees 17:16). The discrepancy between the story in Jubilees and the story in Genesis 22 exists with the presence of [[Mastema]]. In Genesis, God tests the will of Abraham merely to determine whether he is a true follower, however; in Jubilees, Mastema has an agenda behind promoting the sacrifice of Abraham's son, "an even more demonic act than that of Satan in Job".<ref>Moshe Berstein (2000). "Angels at the Aqedah: A Study in the Development of a Midrashic Motif". ''Dead Sea Discoveries'' 7, p. 267.</ref> In Jubilees, where Mastema, an angel tasked with tempting mortals into sin and iniquity, requests that God give him a tenth of the spirits of the children of the watchers, demons, in order to aid the process (Jubilees 10:7–9). These demons are passed into Mastema's authority, where once again, an angel is in charge of demonic spirits.

In the [[Testament of Solomon]], written sometime in the first three centuries C.E., the demon [[Asmodeus]] explains that he is the son of an angel and a human mother. Another demon describes himself as having died in the "massacre in the age of giants". ''Beelzeboul'', the prince of demons, appears as a fallen angel, not as a demon, but makes people worship demons as their gods.{{sfn|Martin|2010|p=670}}