Fallen angel

=== Early Rabbinic literature ===
Although the concept of fallen angels developed from Judaism during the Second Temple period, rabbis from the second century onward turned against the Enochian writings, probably in order to prevent fellow Jews from worship and veneration of angels. Thus, while many angels were individualized and sometimes venerated during the Second Temple period, the status of angels was degraded to a class of creatures on the same level of humans, thereby emphasizing the omnipresence of [[God in Judaism|God]]. The 2nd-century rabbi [[Shimon bar Yochai]] cursed everyone who explained the term ''sons of God'' as angels. He stated sons of God were actually sons of judges or sons of nobles. Evil was no longer attributed to heavenly forces, now it was dealt as an "evil inclination" (''[[yetzer hara]]'') within humans.<ref>https://www.hs.ias.edu/files/Crone_Book_of_Watchers.pdf {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190923202013/https://www.hs.ias.edu/files/Crone_Book_of_Watchers.pdf |date=2019-09-23 }}: Patricia Crone. The Book of Watchers in the Qurān, p. 6 (from The Qurʾānic Pagans and Related Matters: Collected Studies in Three Volumes, Band 1)</ref> In some [[Midrash]]ic works, the "evil inclination" is attributed to [[Samael]], who is in charge of several [[Destroying angel (Bible)|''satans'']] in order to test humanity.<ref>Geoffrey W. Dennis ''The Encyclopedia of Jewish Myth, Magic and Mysticism: Second Edition'' Llewellyn Worldwide 2016 {{ISBN|978-0-7387-4814-6}}</ref><ref>Yuri Stoyanov ''The Other God: Dualist Religions from Antiquity to the Cathar Heresy'' Yale University Press 2000 {{ISBN|978-0-300-19014-4}}</ref> Nevertheless, these angels are still subordinate to God; the reacceptance of rebel angels in Midrashic discourse was posterior and probably influenced by the role of fallen angels in Islamic and Christian lore.<ref>Annette Yoshiko Reed, ''Fallen Angels and the History of Judaism and Christianity: The Reception of Enochic Literature'' Cambridge University Press 2005 {{ISBN|978-0-521-85378-1}} p. 266</ref>