ASMODEUS, ASMODAEUS ăz’ mō de’ əs (̓Ασμοδέυς). An evil spirit who plays an important role in the book of Tobit (3:17). According to the account he fell in love with Sarah, the only daughter of Raguel of Ecbatana, and slew her seven successive husbands on their wedding night. His power over her was broken by Tobias, who, with the help of the angel Raphael, brewed a potion which drove Asmodeus away. Some believe that the concept of Asmodeus is derived from Zoroastrianism, with which the Jews became familiar during the Exile. Asmodeus was prominent in later Jewish legend, esp. in connection with Solomon. He appears in Milton’s Paradise Lost, 4, 168-171.