I was reading the other day in my trusty NKJV, in Leviticus 17, and I came to a peculiar thing in verse 7:
They shall no more offer sacrifices to demons, after whom they have played the harlot. This shall be a statute forever throughout their generations.
Now, demons are all over the place in the New Testament. Apparently they’re primarily invisible, they deceive people with all sorts of false ideas, and they live in people (though the word “demon-possessed” is a translational problem unto itself). But they don’t tend to show up in the Old Testament, unless we count the frequent references to the gods. So I was curious, and I pulled out Jay P. Green’s Interlinear, where things just got more complicated.
The Hebrew word in question is Strong’s #8163, sa`iyr, and Green renders it “goats” in Leviticus 17:7. So what is a sa’ir? Is it a goat or a demon? Well, it turns out that the word appears in the AV 59 times, and 52 times it is rendered “kid” or “goat.” There are several exceptions, though. First, it is used as an adjective for “hairy.” This is particularly interesting in Genesis 27, where the hide of a sa’ir (goat) is used to make Jacob’s arms feel sa’ir (hairy).
Next, we have 2 Chronicles 11:15,
Then he [Rehoboam] appointed for himself priests to the LORD, priests for the high places; for the demons, and the calf idols which he had made. (NKJV)
The close association of sa’irs and calves in this passage would suggest that we may well be looking at goat idols here. Finally, there’s the odd cases of Isaiah 13:21 and 34:14, which speak of a variety of animals, including (KJV) “satyrs,” roaming the deserts. Although I imagine the coincide may not be significant sa’ir and satyr do look a bit alike, no? Anyhow, the NKJV translates sa’ir/satyr in both places as “wild goat(s).”
So it would appear that the word sa’ir refers to nothing more than goats, or perhaps in a few places goat-gods of some sort. They don’t seem to be solid examples of “demons” in the OT in the NT sense of the word.
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leviticus 17:7 — demons in the old testament, and goats
I was reading the other day in my trusty NKJV, in Leviticus 17, and I came to a peculiar thing in verse 7:
They shall no more offer sacrifices to demons, after whom they have played the harlot. This shall be a statute forever throughout their generations.
Now, demons are all over the place in the New Testament. Apparently they’re primarily invisible, they deceive people with all sorts of false ideas, and they live in people (though the word “demon-possessed” is a translational problem unto itself). But they don’t tend to show up in the Old Testament, unless we count the frequent references to the gods. So I was curious, and I pulled out Jay P. Green’s Interlinear, where things just got more complicated.
The Hebrew word in question is Strong’s #8163, sa`iyr, and Green renders it “goats” in Leviticus 17:7. So what is a sa’ir? Is it a goat or a demon? Well, it turns out that the word appears in the AV 59 times, and 52 times it is rendered “kid” or “goat.” There are several exceptions, though. First, it is used as an adjective for “hairy.” This is particularly interesting in Genesis 27, where the hide of a sa’ir (goat) is used to make Jacob’s arms feel sa’ir (hairy).
Next, we have 2 Chronicles 11:15,
Then he [Rehoboam] appointed for himself priests to the LORD, priests for the high places; for the demons, and the calf idols which he had made. (NKJV)
The close association of sa’irs and calves in this passage would suggest that we may well be looking at goat idols here. Finally, there’s the odd cases of Isaiah 13:21 and 34:14, which speak of a variety of animals, including (KJV) “satyrs,” roaming the deserts. Although I imagine the coincide may not be significant sa’ir and satyr do look a bit alike, no? Anyhow, the NKJV translates sa’ir/satyr in both places as “wild goat(s).”
So it would appear that the word sa’ir refers to nothing more than goats, or perhaps in a few places goat-gods of some sort. They don’t seem to be solid examples of “demons” in the OT in the NT sense of the word.
Related Posts: