Satyr

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Generic term for woodland gods and divine beings Roman/Greek
Gods and Goddess Reference


SATYR.—The Heb. word sâ‘îr means primarily ‘he-goat,’ but the plur. sĕ‘îrîm is tr. [Note: translate or translation.] in Lev_17:7 and 2Ch_11:15, AV [Note: Authorized Version.] ‘devils,’ RV [Note: Revised Version.] ‘he-goats’; in Isa_13:21; Isa_34:14 EV [Note: English Version.] ‘satyrs,’ RVm [Note: Revised Version margin.] ‘he-goats.’ Probably too in 2Ki_23:3 shě‘ârîm (‘gates’) should be sĕ‘îrîm, and tr. [Note: translate or translation.] as in Lev_17:7. In these passages some ‘hairy’ demon is to be Inferred to whom ‘sacrifices’ were made (Lev_17:7), ‘high places’ erected (2Ki_23:8), and ‘priests’ set apart (2Ch_11:15). The association of these creatures with the mythological Lilith (wh. see) in Isa_34:14 is specially noticeable.
E. W. G. Masterman.
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible
Edited by James Hastings, D.D. Published in 1909

Sa'tyr or Sat'yr. A sylvan deity or demigod of Greek mythology, represented as a monster, part man and part goat. Isa_13:21; Isa_34:14. The Hebrew word signifies "hairy" or "rough", and is frequently applied to "he-goats." In the passages cited, it probably refers to demons of woods and desert places. Compare Lev_17:7; 2Ch_11:15.
Smith's Bible Dictionary
By Dr. William Smith.Published in 1863

sat?ẽr, sā?tẽr (שׂעיר, sā‛ı̄r, literally ?he-goat?; שׂער, sā‛ir, ?hairy? (Gen_27:11, of Esau), and Arabic sha'r, ?hair?; plural שׂעירים, se‛ı̄rı̄m): For se‛ı̄rı̄m in Lev_17:7 and 2Ch_11:15, the King James Version has ?devils,? the Revised Version (British and American) ?he-goats,? the English Revised Version margin ?satyrs,? the Septuagint has τοῖς ματαίοις, toı́s mataı́ois, ?vain things.? For se‛ı̄rı̄m in Isa_13:21, the King James Version and the English Revised Version have ?satyrs,? the English Revised Version margin ?he-goats,? the American Standard Revised Version ?wild goats,? Septuagint δαιμόνια, daimónia, ?demons.? For sā‛ir in Isa_34:14, the King James Version and the English Revised Version have ?satyr,? the English Revised Version margin ?he-goat,? the American Standard Revised Version ?wild goat.? Septuagint has ἔτερος πρὸς τὸν ἔτερον, héteros prós tón héteron, ?one to another,? referring to daimonia, which here stands for cı̄yı̄m, ?wild beasts of the desert.?
The text of the American Standard Revised Version in these passages is as follows: Lev_17:7, ?And they shall no more sacrifice their sacrifices unto the he-goats, after which they play the harlot?; 2Ch_11:15, ?And he (Jeroboam) appointed him priests for the high places, and for the he-goats, and for the calves which he had made?; Isa_13:21 f (of Babylon), ?But wild beasts of the desert (cı̄yı̄m) shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures ('ōḥı̄m); and ostriches (benōth ya‛ănāh) shall dwell there, and wild goats (se‛ı̄rı̄m) shall dance there And wolves ('ı̄yı̄m) shall cry in their castles, and jackals (tannı̄m) in the pleasant palaces?; Isa_34:11, Isa_34:13, Isa_34:14, Isa_34:15 (of Edom), ?But the pelican (ḳā'āth) and the porcupine (ḳippōdh) shall possess it; and the owl (yanshōph) and the raven (‛ōrēbh) shall dwell therein:... and it shall be a habitation of jackals (tannı̄m), a court for ostriches (benōth ya‛ănāh). And the wild beasts of the desert (cı̄yı̄m) shall meet with the wolves ('ı̄yı̄m), and the wild goat (sā‛ı̄r) shall cry to his fellow; yea, the night monster (lı̄lı̄th) shall settle there ... There shall the dart-snake (ḳippōz) make her nest ... there shall the kites (dayyōth) be gathered, every one with her mate.?
The question is whether sā‛ı̄r and se‛ı̄rı̄m in these passages stand for real or for fabulous animals. In Lev_17:7 and 2Ch_11:15, it is clear that they are objects of worship, but that still leaves open the question of their nature, though it may to many minds make ?devils? or ?demons? or ?satyrs? seem preferable to ?he-goats.? In Isa_13:20 we read, ?neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall shepherds make their flocks to lie down there.? This may very likely have influenced the American Committee of Revisers to use ?wild goat? in Isa_13:21 and Isa_34:14 instead of the ?he-goat? of the other passages. In the American Standard Revised Version, no fabulous creatures (except perhaps ?night-monster?) are mentioned here, but the Septuagint employs daimonia, ?demons? in Isa_13:21 for se‛ı̄rı̄m and in Isa_34:14 for cı̄yı̄m; ὀνοκέταυροι, onokéntauroi, from ὄνος, ónos, ?ass,? and κένταυρος, kéntauros, ?centaur,? in Isa_13:22 and Isa_34:14 for 'ı̄yı̄m, and again in Isa_34:14 for lı̄lı̄th; σειρῆνες, seirḗnes, ?sirens,? in Isa_13:21 for benōth ya‛ănāh, and in Isa_34:13 for tannı̄m. We must bear in mind the uncertainty regarding the identity of cı̄yı̄m, 'ı̄yı̄m,'ōḥı̄m and tannı̄m, as well as of some of the other names, and we must recall the tales that are hung about the name lı̄lı̄th (the King James Version ?screech owl,? the King James Version margin and the Revised Version (British and American) ?night-monster,? the Revised Version margin ?Lilith?). While sā‛ı̄r is almost alone among these words in having ordinarily a well-understood meaning, i.e. ?he-goat,? there is good reason for considering that here it is used in an exceptional sense. The translation ?satyr? has certainly much to be said for it. See GOAT; JACKAL.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
PRINTER 1915.


Fig. 312?Macacus Arabicus
There is much to suggest the probability that the 'satyr' of Isa_13:21; Isa_34:14, if not also the 'hairy ones' (rendered 'devils') of Lev_17:7, were no other than a species of ape or baboon. The only species of ape of the baboon form known in Arabia is the Macacus Arabicus, remarkable for stature and aspect, having the doglike nose and approximating eyes of baboons; the skin of the face of a reddish color; the snout, lips, and chin black; the forehead low, and the sides of the head furnished with bushy, long, white hair; the breast, arms and shoulders similarly covered, but the loins and lower extremities of a fine chestnut; the tail of the same color, of no great length, tufted at the end, and all the hands black. It is found from the straits of Bab-el-Mandeb, through Southern Arabia to the Euphrates, and even beyond the junction of that river with the Tigris. Like other large and formidable Simiad?, it is less solicitous about the vicinity of trees, because it is armed with powerful canines; holds its enemy firmly grasped, and fights, not singly, but assisted by the whole troop: it frequents scrubby underwood near water, but becomes more rare eastward of Yemen. Comparing the characters of this species, we find it by configuration, colors, and manners peculiarly adapted to the purposes of idolatry in its grossest and most debasing aspect. The Hebrew people, already familiar with a similar worship in Egypt, may have copied the native tribes in the wilderness, and thus drawn upon themselves the remonstrance in Lev_17:7, where the allusion to these animals is very descriptive, as is that in Isa_13:21; and again, Isa_34:14, where the image is perfect, when we picture to ourselves the 'hairy ones' lurking about the river in the juniper and liquorice jungle, as described by Mr. Rich in his Memoir on the Ruins of Babylon.




The Popular Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature
by John Kitto.

Satyr
The rendering in Isa_13:21; Isa_34:14, of the Hebrews word ‘שָׂעַיר, sair', which properly means hairy; hence a goat, especially a he-goat (comp. Lat. hircus, from hirsutus, hirtus), and is so rendered in Lev_4:24; 2Ch_29:23, and often. The Sept. has, in the passages in Isaiah, δαιμόνιον, demon; and so the Eng. A.V., in 2Ch_11:15, ‘devil.' These beings are mentioned in Isaiah as the inhabitants of desert places, but particularly the ruins of Babylon and Petra, where they dance and call to each other. The Greeks probably derived their belief in the existence of beings half men and half goats from the Eastern nations, whose mythology abounds with such fabulous animals, but there is no reason to believe that they formed any part of the Jewish superstitions. Yet it has been supposed by some that Isaiah alludes to the spectral beings which the ancient Persians, the Jews, and the Mohammedans believe to haunt the ruins of Babylon. SEE SUPERSTITION.
But in those passages where the prophet predicts the desolation of Babylon, there is probably no allusion to any species of goat, whether wild or tame. According to the old versions, and nearly all the commentators, our own translation is correct, and satyrs — that is, daemons of woods and desert places, half men and half goats — are intended. Comp. Jerome (Comment. ad Isaiah xiii): ‘Seirim vel incubones vel satyros vel sylvestres quosdam homines quos nonnulli fatuos ficarios vocant, aut daemonum genera intelligunt.' This explanation receives confirmation from a passage in Lev_17:7, ‘They shall no more offer their sacrifices unto seirim,' and from a similar one in 2Ch_11:15. The Israelites, it is probable, had become acquainted with a form of goat worship from the Egyptians (see Bochart, Hieroz. 3, 825; Jablonski, Pant. Egypt. 1, 273 sq.). The opinion held by Michaelis (Supp. p. 23-42) and Lichtenstein (Commentat. de Simiarum, etc. § 4, p. 50 sq.), that the seirim probably denote some species of ape, has been sanctioned by some modern scientists from a few passages in Pliny (Hist. Nat. 5, 8; 7, 2; 8, 54). SEE APE. That some species of cynocephalus (dog-faced baboon) was an animal that entered into the theology of the ancient Egyptians is evident from the monuments and from what Horapollo (1, 14-16) has told us. The other explanation, however, has the sanction of Gesenius, Bochart, Rosenmüller, Parkhurst, Maurer, Fürst, and others. As to the ‘dancing' satyrs, comp. Virgil, Ecl. 5, 73. SEE GOAT.

CYCLOPEDIA OF BIBLICAL, THEOLOGICAL AND ECCLESIASTICAL
press 1895.

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