Isaiah 34:14

14 Wildcats shall meet with hyenas, goat-demons shall call to each other; there too Lilith shall repose, and find a place to rest.

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.


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 They shall name it No Kingdom There, and all its princes shall be nothing.
13 Thorns shall grow over its strongholds, nettles and thistles in its fortresses. It shall be the haunt of jackals, an abode for ostriches.
14 Wildcats shall meet with hyenas, goat-demons shall call to each other; there too Lilith shall repose, and find a place to rest.
15 There shall the owl nest and lay and hatch and brood in its shadow; there too the buzzards shall gather, each one with its mate.
16 Seek and read from the book of the Lord: Not one of these shall be missing; none shall be without its mate. For the mouth of the Lord has commanded, and his spirit has gathered them.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.