With Lucifer’s very premise centered on the King of Hell’s earthly adventures, it can be no surprise that the show counts a number of other Biblical figures in its cast; here is every Lucifer character’s Biblical counterpart explained. Based on the DC Comics character created by Neil Gaiman, the Biblically inspired series revolves around Lucifer Morningstar (Tom Ellis), the Devil, who abandons his throne in Hell in favor of Los Angeles — the irony of which he clearly enjoys. There, he establishes a nightclub and becomes a consultant for the Los Angeles Police Department, partnering with Detective Chloe Decker (Lauren German) to solve crimes while evading calls from angels and demons alike for his return to the Underworld. Lucifer season 6 marked the end of the show.
Lucifer‘s characters offer a fresh and entertaining take on infamous Biblical figures, and throughout the tv show’s run continues to introduce their own take on religious figures from Abrahamic religious mythology. Lucifer season 5 has given audiences the appearance of Lucifer’s twin, the Archangel Michael. Other Biblical figures were shown in Lucifer season 6, with many being thrown in during God’s retirement party. There are plenty of characters that have their roots in Jewish, Islam, and Christian tradition. Some of them appear on the tv show while others, like Archangel Raphael, are only mentioned in passing.
Considering that Lucifer has the Devil running a piano bar and solving crimes, it is fair to say that the series differs somewhat from the Judeo-Christian canon, despite Lucifer’s characters like God himself. Still, the Fox show mostly follows the broad strokes of religious mythology, namely the existence of God as creator, the war in Heaven that led to Lucifer being cast out, the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden, and many others, only with a Hollywood or DC comics twist. Whether named directly or loosely based upon, the following is every Biblically-inspired character to appear on Lucifer, including of course the eponymous fallen angel.
Lucifer Morningstar, a.k.a. Satan
Known by many names including Satan, the Devil, Beelzebub, and Lucifer, the figure is often regarded as a personification of evil. The show, however, takes a more sympathetic approach to the character of Lucifer, painting him not as a malevolent being but as someone with his own sense of justice and desire to punish sinners. As time goes by, he also grows to enjoy gaining justice for the innocent, most often through his police work. In mainstream Christianity and the Bible, the Devil is a fallen angel who rebelled against God and, after losing to God’s armies of angels, was cast out of Heaven and tasked to rule over Hell for all eternity. The Devil is also identified as the serpent in the Garden of Eden, whose persuasions led to Eve eating the fruit of knowledge. This sequence of events is referred to in the series by Lucifer’s characters, though details of his fall from Heaven are sparse.
Marcus Pierce, a.k.a. Cain
Marcus Pierce (Tom Welling) is a major character in Lucifer’s season 3, introduced as the new LAPD Lieutenant and boss of Chloe Decker, Dan Espinoza, and Ella Lopez. It is later revealed that not only is Pierce leading a double life as the crime lord “The Sinnerman”, but he is also the immortal Cain, the firstborn son of Adam and Eve. In Christian lore and in the Bible, Cain’s character is humanity’s first murderer, having killed his brother Abel out of jealousy. As punishment, he was cursed to wander the Earth forever. The character briefly allies with Lucifer in order to erase the Mark of Cain, so that he may break the curse and finally die.
Bree Garland a.k.a. Abel
The Lucifer character Bree Garland is based on the biblical figure of Abel, Cain’s murdered brother. Bree first appears on Lucifer season 3, episode 16 “Infernal Guinea Pig”. Lucifer uses his powers to resurrect Abel in order to remove Cain’s mark with hilarious consequences. Since Abel was Hell’s first soul, he’s often referred to as their “guinea pig” as Mazikeen and the other demons basically learned how to torture through trial-and-error with Abel. Abel is resurrected into the body of Bree Garland, who is consequently suspected by the LAPD to be connected to a Bolivian drug cartel and a bomb. Abel eventually dies again by being hit by an ambulance after trying to convince a slew of women to have sex with him not realizing he’s in a female body.
Eve, a.k.a. The Original Sinner
Eve (Inbar Lavi) first appears in Lucifer season 4, having escaped Heaven in search of Lucifer and Eve later marries Mazikeen in Lucifer season 6. In the origin story of Abrahamic religions, Eve is the first human woman, wife to Adam, and mother to Cain and Abel. Eve is tempted by the serpent to eat the forbidden fruit from the tree of the knowledge (of good and evil), sharing the fruit with Adam. As a result of her actions, they are expelled from the Garden of Eden. The biblical character Eve was Adam’s second wife after he separated from Lilith, though it remains unknown whether Lilith was human and thus whether Eve was the first woman. In Lucifer‘s lore, Eve entered into a sexual relationship with Lucifer while she was still with Adam, a relationship she rekindles upon her return to Earth before Eve’s relationship with Maze. Eve also explains that the story of the apple being the forbidden fruit was false and that it was more like “a banana,” implying that the “forbidden fruit” was a sexual metaphor for her and Adam’s affair with Lucifer, which was misinterpreted over the millennia.
Adam, a.k.a. The Original Man
In Christian tradition and the Bible, Adam is the first man God creates along with Eve. Lucifer‘s characters follow Judaic mythology from time to time and according to the show, Adam was created alongside his first wife Lilith. Adam (Scott MacArthur) first appears in Lucifer season 6, episode 7 “My Best Fiend’s Wedding” after realizing that Eve hasn’t been around for about a year and a half. It’s clear throughout the episode that Adam is still hung up on his first wife Lilith, and Adam’s primary directive in Lucifer season 6 is to break up Eve and Maze’s wedding to get Eve back. His behavior at said wedding disgusts even the protagonist and in the end, the biblical figure is unsuccessful. Eventually, he shows some sense of growth when he contacts Dr. Linda Martin and shows a real desire to change his ways.
Lucifer’s Twin Brother or Archangel Michael
Lucifer season 5 sees Lucifer’s twin brother Michael impersonate him and take over his life on Earth while Lucifer is still in Hell. The character’s name indicates a relation to the Biblical figure of Archangel Michael. In mainstream Christianity and the Bible, Michael was the angel who led God’s armies against the Devil during the Heavenly War. While popular depictions of Michael paint him as the dutiful son of God; however, this role in the show seems occupied by Amenadiel (D.B. Woodside). Lucifer’s Michael sees him jealous and angry, at odds with his kin and with his brother. In fact, Michael is partially responsible for Lucifer’s fall as he attempted to manipulate his brother into causing an uprising, knowing exactly how to get to the Devil’s ego. Throughout Lucifer season 5, Michael goes to great lengths to take over his brother’s life including recruiting Mazikeen and saving Detective Decker. All of this leads up to a brother vs. brother battle which ended in a draw.
God
Finally revealed in Lucifer season 5, though voiced by Neil Gaiman in a bonus episode of Lucifer season 3, God appears and is portrayed by Dennis Haysbert. In religious texts, God is the creator of all; an omnipotent, omnipresent, and omnibenevolent being. However, the show’s Biblical figure is the co-creator of the Universe, alongside his wife the Goddess. God is mostly absent in the series, once intervening to resurrect Lucifer after he was murdered by Malcolm Graham and then appearing again throughout the rest of the show, all the way up through his retirement party.
Gabriel, Zadkiel, Azrael, Remiel, and Uriel
Many of Lucifer and Amenadiel’s siblings appear on the show: Uriel (Michael Imperioli) comes to earth to kill the Goddess with Azrael’s blade and is killed by Lucifer; Remiel (Vinessa Vidotto) comes down to earth after sensing a new celestial being was going to be born and tries to convince Amenadiel to let his child be raised in Heaven; Azrael (Charlyne Yi) is the Angel of Death, and prior to the series’ events had befriended Lucifer character Ella Lopez and encouraged her to move to LA, so she could meet the charming protagonist. Azrael in Islam and some Jewish traditions are understood to be the Angel of Death. On the other hand, religious mythology pertaining to Remiel and Uriel are more confused, though they are understood to be archangels in Christianity and Judaism. Gabriel is an archangel and in the Bible is the messenger who declared to the virgin Mary the upcoming birth of her son Jesus. The character appears in Lucifer season 5, episode 14 “Nothing Lasts Forever”. Gabriel sides with Michael during the Battle for Supremacy following God’s retirement. Zadkiel, another one of Lucifer’s siblings, is considered the Angel of Mercy in the Rabbinical tradition. The angel attempts to hear the Devil out during the Battle for Supremacy.
Speculating on the Origins of Lilith, Raziel, Amenadiel, Mazikeen, and Goddess
Lucifer characters Amenadiel, Mazikeen (Lesley-Ann Brandt), Lilith (L. Scott Caldwell), Raziel (Kellina Rutherford), and Goddess (also known as Charlotte Richards, portrayed by Tricia Helfer), are all prominent characters with no direct Biblical counterpart. However, fans have long speculated on which figures the characters were inspired by. As previously mentioned, though the show’s Biblical figure Amenadiel does not appear in the Bible or any other religious texts, the angel’s status as God’s firstborn and his favorite son, as well as his most loyal and trusted, it seems likely that Lucifer character Amenadiel is based on the Abrahamic faiths’ angel Michael. Meanwhile, Mazikeen, often called Maze, is a member of the Lilim, a class of powerful demons descended from Lilith (Adam’s first wife); she served as Hell’s best torturer and remains Lucifer’s most trusted friend, accompanying him on Earth when he left Hell. Her name is likely drawn from the Hebrew term mazikin, as mentioned in the Talmud, and is understood to refer to invisible demons that a person could encounter in daily life. Raziel is an angel within the teachings of Jewish mysticism, said to be the “keeper of secrets”. During the Battle for Supremacy, she sides with Michael. Lastly, the co-creator of the Universe in Lucifer, Goddess, is likely based on Asherah. Scholars have suggested that ancient Israelites may have worshiped Asherah as the wife of Yahweh (God); asherim, cult objects related to the worship of Asherah, are mentioned in the Hebrew Bible.
