Isaiah 34:14

14 The wild beasts will meet hyenas, and one wild goat will call to another. Indeed, the screech owl will stay there and will find a resting place for herself.

Isaiah 34:14 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 34:14

The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the
wild beasts of the islands
In Rome, and take up their abode there; of these creatures, the first of which the Targum renders monstrous ones, and the latter wild cats, (See Gill on Isaiah 13:22): and the satyr shall cry to his fellow;
or the "hairy" one ^F18; from which word the goat has its name; and these creatures are described by the ancients as half goats and half men; of which (See Gill on Isaiah 13:21). The Targum renders it demons; and with this well agrees the account of Babylon or Rome as fallen, that it shall be the habitation of, devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, ( Revelation 18:2 ) : the screech owl also shall rest there, and find for herself a place
of rest;
there being no inhabitants to disturb her. By the name "Lilith", it appears to be a night bird, which flies and is heard in the night. The Jews call a she demon by this name, which, they say {s}, has a human face, and has wings, and destroys children as soon as born; and therefore the Jews, especially in Germany, write upon the four corners of the bed of a new mother, Adam, Eve, out Lilith ^F20; the same with the Lamia of the Romans; and so the Vulgate Latin here renders it.

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FOOTNOTES:

F18 (ryev) "pilosus", a (rev) "capillus."
F19 T. Bab. Nidda, fol. 24. 2.
F20 Vid. Buxtorf. Lex. Rab. col. 1140.

Isaiah 34:14 In-Context

12 No nobles will be left to proclaim a king, and all her princes will come to nothing.

13 Her palaces will be overgrown with thorns; her fortified cities, with thistles and briers. She will become a dwelling for jackals, an abode for ostriches.

14 The wild beasts will meet hyenas, and one wild goat will call to another. Indeed, the screech owl will stay there and will find a resting place for herself.

15 The sand partridge will make her nest there; she will lay and hatch her eggs and will gather [her brood] under her shadow. Indeed, the birds of prey will gather there, each with its mate.

16 Search and read the scroll of the Lord: Not one of them will be missing, none will be lacking its mate, because He has ordered it by my mouth, and He will gather them by His Spirit.