Small note on Demons in the Bible
Mar 23, 2012 13:35:52 GMT -5
Post by us4-he2-gal2 on Mar 23, 2012 13:35:52 GMT -5
Notes from Frey-Anthas
Recently I browsed across an article entitled "Concepts of "Demons" in Ancient Israel" by Henrike Frey- Anthas (Die Welt des Orients, 2008, pg. 38) - the article is interesting as issues such as Lilith and the continuity (or lack thereof) of demonology from Mesopotamia into Israel have been discussed at enenuru before. This article helps to delineate between what can and cannot be expected in terms of the Israeli view of demons.
I will sum the observation into a series of key points -
a) The misleading nature of the term "demons" in reference to Biblical phenomenon: The author makes it quite clear that while calling different phenomena from the Bible "demon" may give us the general sense of what is being described, it is also a misleading term when it comes to specifics. The word demon actually comes from Greek Philosophy and later found its way into Christian contexts, yet "there is no equivalent expression of the word "demon" in the Semitic languages". This comment should not be taken too literally, however, as of course Akkadian, for example, has words borrowed from Sumerian which describe their agents or illness or "demons" if you will.
Things that may loosely be termed demons appear in the Biblical texts and refer to illnesses, as well as once might gods de-possessed of their power (Rešep; Šadim) or animals and entities taken from the boundary of civilisation of the surrounding cultures of Israel, boundary crossing entities such as Satan or Ašmodai. Ghost-like border-crossing entities between the human and numinous world are called "demons" as well as chaotic powers like Leviathan, Behemot and Rahab. "Demons" are placed at border-situations of life and they are fought against by apotropaic rituals, says the author.
Examples of these apotropaic rituals he gives are Gen 4. 7 which my bible translates:
"If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is lurking at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it."
The word translated as sin is apparently Heb. ribiṣ which the author states has been identified with the Mesopotamian demon rābiṣu, by B. Janowski. Therefore what is being referred to here is apparently the classic ANE demon at the door, rather than sin.
Gen 32, 23-33, Ex 4, 24-26 and Ex 12 seem to mention vague apotropaic acts like smearing blood on a door handle, but don't describe the figures they are meant to ward off, short of vague terms like "the destroyer".
b) Intentionally vague and abstract descriptions: Terms used to reference demon like creatures in the Bible seem to be intentionally vague, which may done to avoid invoking the entity directly, or as the author mentions, it may be done to in order to emphasize the otherworldliness other their origins; In Ex 12, 22-23 the passover event, blood is smeared on the door posts to ward off "the destroyer" - this enitity has been interpreted as "an old demon of malady" as a "strangling-angel" as a "night demon" or as a "desert demon" .. the author however states: "the fact that the destroyer "beats" during the night rather reminds us of the nightly activities of the Mesopotamian Lil-ghosts or the Lilith of Rabbinic literature. It is also reminiscent of Mesopotamian incantations against the evil demons Udug and Ala, which are to prevent them from crossing the threshold of a house and to send them back into the mountains or steppe.
c) Lilith in the Bible: Of primary interest to us may be Lilith, since her name is often traced back to Sumerian origins. We have discussed Lilith on the vampire thread, and what Frey-Anthas has to say about Lilith mostly affirms the views already gather. For a more detailed discussion, see Reply16 of that thread.
Frey-Anthas: "The "wind-demoness" Lilith, who can already be found in the Sumerian Epos "Gilgames, Enkidu and the Underworld" does not seem to have had any special importance outside Mesopotamia.20 Interpretations of supposed findings from Ugarit and Phoenicia are very uncertain. It is astonishing, however, that, according to Isa 34,14, Lilith belongs to the inhabitants of the counter world together with owls and other birds of prey, ostrich, jackals, snakes, desert dwellers, howlers and he-goats. The description of the ruins of Edom in Isa 34,11-15 is a subtly composed literary text with close connections to Isa 13,2If and Jer 50,39, which are similar descriptions of the deserted Babylon. Isa 34,11-15 intensifies the descriptions of Isa 13,21f. and Jer 50,39 by listing the inhabitants of the periphery in a detailed way and by introducing Lilith.
However, Lilith, like the other creatures, is only mentioned as an inhabitant of the human counterworld. She does not get a personal position beyond this. It is Yahweh who destroys Edom. The fact that Lilith and the animals start dwelling in the ruins is a result of Yahwes actions. The danger arising from Lilith is only mentioned implicitly, on the one hand by the birds (owls) related to the underworld and animals who symbolise destruction and mourning (ostrich and jackal), on the other hand by naming other eerie creatures belonging to the realm of destruction ( "?, ct9n, he-goat). The character of Lilith (being poisonous and gripping things quickly) is furthermore indicated by the actions of serpent (Ti9p) and birds of prey (rp? [pi.]). Encountering Lilith could be deadly. There is almost no reasonable explanation why Lilith is mentioned in Isa 34 or how her name got into the text at all. "
