De-Demonising the Old Testament An Investigation of Azazel , Lilith , Deber , Qeteb and Reshef in the Hebrew Bible Judit M. Blair Doctor of Philosophy University of Edinburgh 2008 Declaration I declare that the present thesis has been composed by me, that it represents my own research, and that it has not been submitted for any other degree or professional qualification. ______________________ Judit M. Blair ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are many people to thank and acknowledge for their support and help over the past years. Firstly I would like to thank the School of Divinity for the scholarship and the opportunity they provided me in being able to do this PhD. I would like to thank my ‘numerous’ supervisors who have given of their time, energy and knowledge in making this thesis possible: To Professor Hans Barstad for his patience, advice and guiding hand, in particular for his ‘adopting’ me as his own. For his understanding and help with German I am most grateful. To Dr Peter Hayman for giving of his own time to help me in learning Hebrew, then accepting me to study for a PhD, and in particular for his attention to detail. To Professor Nick Wyatt who supervised my Masters and PhD before his retirement for his advice and support. I would also like to thank the staff at New College Library for their assistance at all times, and Dr Jessie Paterson and Bronwen Currie for computer support. My fellow colleagues have provided feedback and helpful criticism and I would especially like to thank all members of HOTS-lite I have known over the years. I would like to thank the School of Divinity for the financial support through the Postgraduate Students Conference and Research Expenses Award that enabled me to attend and present at various conferences. And, last but not least, I would like to thank my family and friends, my husband’s parents for ‘babysitting’ so frequently and especially my mother-in-law for her stamina in ironing; my own parents for their support, even at such a distance; my brother for his continuing support and help with all matters technical. My greatest debt of gratitude goes to my husband, Stuart, who supported me emotionally and financially, and was always willing to read my work and offer critical advice. I would like to thank him for always ‘being there’, and my three daughters, Sarah, Zsófia and Anna, for sometimes ‘not being there’ and allowing me to work! iii ABSTRACT The subject of demons and demonology has fascinated scholars and non-scholars, ancient and modern alike; it is not surprising that much work has been done on the topic by biblical scholars too. Chapter 1 places the present study within the existing scholarship showing that the early works on ‘OT demonology’ were influenced by comparative religion, anthropology, and an increasing interest in Mesopotamian and Canaanite parallels as well as a concern to seek and find vestiges of ancient religious beliefs in the Old Testament. The consensus of early 20 th century scholars regarding what constitutes a ‘demon’ in the Old Testament has not been challenged by modern scholarship. Chapter 2 shows that biblical scholars still commonly turn to the ancient Near Eastern religions and cultures to explain difficult passages in the Hebrew Bible, to find parallels or the ‘original’ of difficult terms and concepts. Since it is generally accepted without challenge that azazel , lilith , deber , qeteb and reshef are the personal names of ‘demons’ appearing in the Hebrew Bible, the necessity arises to return to the texts in order to examine each term in its context. The present study seeks to answer the question whether these five terms are names of ‘demons’ in the Hebrew texts as we have them today. To accomplish its goal the present study will provide an exegesis based on Close Reading of all the relevant biblical passages in which the terms azazel (chapter 3), lilith (chapter 4) , deber (chapter 5), qeteb (chapter 6), and reshef (chapter 7) appear. Attention is paid to the linguistic, semantic, and structural levels of the texts. The emphasis is on a close examination of the immediate context in order to determine the function (and if possible the meaning) of each term. The reading focuses on determining how the various signals within the text can guide towards meaning, noting how the (implied) poet/author uses the various poetical/rhetorical devices, especially personification, but also parallelism, similes, irony, and mythological elements. The present study shows that contrary to former and current scholarship there is nothing in the texts to support the view that azazel , lilith , deber , qeteb and reshef are the names of ‘demons’. Azazel appears as the personification of the forces of chaos that threaten the order of creation; his role is to stand in contrast to Yahweh. The context requires that lilith is regarded as a bird, a night bird being the most plausible explanation of the term. Deber , qeteb and reshef are personifications of destructive forces and appear as agents of Yahweh, members of his ’Angels of Evil’ who bring punishment (death) on the people of Israel for disobedience. There is no evidence to suggest that there are mythological figures behind azazel , lilith or the personifications of deber and qeteb . In case of reshef there is a possible connection to the Semitic deity Reshef . However, the mythological motifs are used merely as a poetic device. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii ABSTRACT iv TABLE OF CONTENTS v ABBREVIATIONS ix CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTORY REMARKS – PLACE, AIM AND METHOD OF STUDY 1 1.1 The place of the present study within existing scholarship 1 1.2 A survey of ‘OT demonology’ 2 1.3 Summary observations and implications 12 1.4 Aim of the present study 13 1.5 Methodological and procedural remarks 14 1.6 Results of investigation 16 CHAPTER 2: HISTORY OF RESEARCH OF AZAZEL , LILITH , DEBER , QETEB AND RESHEF 17 2.1 Introduction 17 2.2 The interpretation of Azazel 17 2.2.1 Etymology and the ancient Near East 19 2.2.2 Intertestamental Literature: The Book of Enoch 23 2.2.3 Evidence in the Hebrew Bible? 25 2.2.4 Summary azazel 25 2.3 The interpretation of lilith in the Hebrew Bible 26 2.3.1 Lilith in the ancient Near East and post-biblical Judaism 27 2.3.2 Summary lilith 31 2.4 History of research on deber 32 2.4.1 Deber in the ancient Near East 34 2.4.1.1 Ebla 34 2.4.1.2 Ugarit 35 2.4.2 Summary deber 37 2.5 History of research on qeteb 37 2.5.1 Qeteb in the ancient Near East and post-biblical Judaism 40 2.5.1.1 Assyria 40 2.5.1.2 Ugarit 41 2.5.1.3 Post-biblical Judaism 42 2.5.2 Summary qeteb 43 v 2.6 History of research on reshef 44 2.6.1 Ebla 44 2.6.2 Egypt 45 2.6.3 Ugarit 46 2.6.4 Phoenician and Aramaic evidence 48 2.6.5 The interpretation of reshef 49 2.6.6 Summary reshef 56 2.7 Conclusion to History of research of azazel, lilith , deber , qeteb and reshef 57 CHAPTER 3: AZAZEL IN THE HEBREW BIBLE 59 3.1 Introduction 59 3.2 Leviticus 16: 8, 10 and 26 59 3.3 Conclusion of azazel 66 CHAPTER 4: LILITH IN CONTEXT. AN EXAMINATION OF TERMS RELATED TO IT IN ISAIAH 34 AND OTHER CONTEXTS 68 4.1 Introduction 68 4.2 Isaiah 34 68 4.2.1 Isa 34:1-7 69 4.2.2 Isa 34: 8-13b 73 4.2.2.1 and 76 4.2.2.2 ć and 78 4.2.3 Isa 34:13c-15 78 4.2.3.1 79 4.2.3.2 č ć 82 4.2.3.3 and 84 4.2.3.4 The 86 4.2.3.4.1 Leviticus 17:7 87 4.2.3.4.2 2 Chronicles 11:5 89 4.2.3.4.3 2 Kings 23:8 92 4.2.3.5 98 4.2.3.6 and ! 100 4.2.4 Isa 34:16-17 102 4.3 Conclusion of lilith 102 CHAPTER 5: DEBER IN THE HEBREW BIBLE 104 5.1 Introduction 104 5.2 Passages generally considered to contain Deber as a demon 105 5.2.1 Psalm 91:1-6 105 5.2.2 Hosea 13:1-14:1 109 5.2.3 Habakkuk 3:5 113 5.2.4 Summary of deber in Ps 91, Hos 13 and Hab 3 117 vi 5.3 Deber in Jeremiah 118 5.3.1 Jeremiah 14:12 119 5.3.2 Jeremiah 21:6, 7 and 9 123 5.3.3 Jeremiah 24: 10 127 5.3.4 Jeremiah 27:8, 13 and Jer 28:8 128 5.3.5 Jeremiah 29:17, 18 131 5.3.6 Jeremiah 32: 24, 36 132 5.3.7 Jeremiah 34: 17 134 5.3.8 Jeremiah 38:2 136 5.3.9 Jeremiah 42: 17, 22 and 44:13 136 5.3.10 Summary of occurrences of deber in Jeremiah 137 5.4 Deber in Ezekiel 139 5.4.1 Ezekiel 5:12 and 17 139 5.4.2 Ezekiel 6:11 and 12 144 5.4.3 Ezekiel 7:15 146 5.4.4 Ezekiel 12:16 (1-16) 148 5.4.5 Ezekiel 14:19 and 21 149 5.4.6 Ezekiel 28:23 152 5.4.7 Ezekiel 33:27 (33:23-29) 154 5.4.8 Ezekiel 38:22 157 5.4.9 Summary of occurrences of deber in Ezekiel 163 5.5 Other occurrences of deber 164 5.5.1 Exodus 5:3 164 5.5.2 Exodus 9:3, 15 168 5.5.3 Leviticus 26:25 171 5.5.4 Deuteronomy 28:21 174 5.5.5 Numbers 14:12 177 5.5.6 2 Samuel 24:13-15 // 1 Chronicles 21:12-14 179 5.5.7 1 Kings 8:37 and 2 Chronicles 6:28 183 5.5.8 2 Chronicles 7: 13 185 5.5.9 2 Chronicles 29:9 186 5.5.10 Psalm 78:49-50 187 5.5.11 Amos 4:10 189 5.5.12 Summary of other occurrences of deber 192 5.6 Conclusion of deber 193 CHAPTER 6: QETEB IN THE HEBREW BIBLE 195 6.1 Introduction 195 6.2 Psalm 91:6 195 6.3 Hosea 13:14 196 6.4 Deuteronomy 32 196 6.5 Isaiah 28 203 6.6 Conclusion of qeteb 211 vii CHAPTER 7: RESHEF IN THE HEBREW BIBLE 214 7.1 Introduction 214 7.2 Deuteronomy 32:24 214 7.3 Habakkuk 3 215 7.4 Psalm 78:48 215 7.5 Psalm 76:4 216 7.6 Job 5:7 221 7.7 Canticles 8:6 229 7.8 Conclusion of reshef 233 MAIN CONCLUSION OF INVESTIGATION 235 APPENDIX I: RESHEF IN THE RITUAL TEXTS OF UGARIT 240 BIBLIOGRAPHY 256 viii ABBREVIATIONS Periodicals, Reference Works, Serials AB Anchor Bible ABD Anchor Bible Dictionary , 6 vols, ed.