Isaiah 34:14 - Exposition

Wild beasts of the desert … wild beasts of the island . In the original, tsiyim and ' iyim— "wailers" and "howlers"—probably jackals and wolves, or wolves and hyenas." The satyr (see the comment on Isaiah 13:21 ). The screech owl The word here used, lilith , occurs only in this place. It may be doubted whether any bird, or other animal, is meant. Lilit was the name of a female demon, or wicked fairy, in whom the Assyrians believed—a being thought to vex and persecute her victims in their sleep. The word is probably a derivative from leilah , night, and designates" the spirit of the night"—a mischievous being, who took advantage of the darkness to play fantastic tricks. A Jewish legend made Lilith the first wife of Adam, and said that, having pronounced the Divine Name as a charm, she was changed into a devil. It was her special delight to murder young children (Buxtorf, 'Lex. Rabbin.,' ad voc .). The prophets, when they employ poetic imagery, are not tied down to fact, but are free to use the beliefs of their contemporaries in order to heighten the force of their descriptions.