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Potoooooooo · 12-16-2006, 07:41 PM

I know that satyrs are mentioned in some translations of the bible. What are these in refrence to? The Greco-Roman concept of the satyr?

Toto · 12-17-2006, 12:45 AM

There is a complete list of biblical references here.

apologetics press

Quote:

But what about the satyr? In Greek and Roman mythology, Satyr was a half-man/half-beast god and frequent companion of Bacchus, the Graeco-Roman religion’s god of fruitfulness and vegetation (known more popularly as the god of wine and ecstasy). In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word sa‘ir occurs some fifty-two times. It is related to the term se‘ar (hair), and generally means “a hairy one.” It is used, for example, to speak of the male goat that was employed as the Israelites’ solemn, collective sin offering on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16).

In two cases, however, the King James Version renders sa‘ir as “satyr” (Isaiah 13:21 and 34:14). But the specific context of both passages makes it quite clear that the term is being used to refer to the wild goats that frequently inhabited the ruins of both ancient Babylon and Edom. On two different occasions in the KJV, the word is translated “demon” (Leviticus 17:7; 2 Chronicles 11:15), where it denotes a pagan god in goat form (cf. the New International Version). In regard to 2 Chronicles 11:15, respected Old Testament scholar J. Barton Payne wrote:

Far from being mythological “satyrs,” as claimed by “liberal” criticism, the sirim appear to have been simply goat idols, used in conjunction with the golden calves (1969, p. 400).

It is evident once again that the Bible does not lower itself to superstitious mythology. “Satyr” is merely a translation error, not a case of “mistaken identity” wherein a mythological creature was thought by the inspired writers to be a living, breathing animal.

(emph supplied)

Contrary to this, it appears that the satyrs are part of superstitious mythology, just not classical pagan mythology.

Satyr says

Quote:

In the King James Version of the Bible, Isaiah 13:21 and 34:14, the English word "satyr" is used to represent the Hebrew sh'lrlm, "hairy ones". In Hebrew folklore, sh'lrlm are a type of demon or supernatural being which inhabits waste places. There is an allusion to the practice of sacrificing to the sh'lrlm (often translated as "devils") in Leviticus 17:7. They correspond to the "shaggy demon of the mountain-pass" (azabb al-akaba) of old Arab legend. Christian mythology demonised all pagan nature spirits such as satyrs by associating them with demons and devils, though they do resemble the Jewish goat-man demon Azazel to whom the scapegoats were sent.

Potoooooooo · 12-17-2006, 07:03 AM

So, which one is right

12-16-2006, 07:41 PM	#1
Potoooooooo Contributor Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: USA Posts: 13,541	Satyrs I know that satyrs are mentioned in some translations of the bible. What are these in refrence to? The Greco-Roman concept of the satyr?

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12-17-2006, 07:03 AM	#3
Potoooooooo Contributor Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: USA Posts: 13,541	So, which one is right

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