Se'irim- Hebrew/Jewish RaceRace"Goat Demons"
Also known as: Sa'ir and שעירים
Description
Goat-demons of the wilderness, banned from Israel's altars in Leviticus. When Babylon falls, Isaiah says they will dance in the ruins. When Edom is destroyed, they will cry to one another among the rubble.
Mythology & Lore
The Hairy Ones
The Se'irim are goat-like spirits of desolate places. The word sa'ir means "hairy one" or "he-goat," and the creatures share both natures.
Leviticus 17:7 forbids Israel to sacrifice "to the goat-demons after whom they whore." 2 Chronicles 11:15 reports that Jeroboam "appointed his own priests for the high places and for the goat demons and for the calves that he had made." Both passages speak of worship that had already happened.
Dwellers in Desolation
The Se'irim appear most vividly in Isaiah's prophecies of destruction. Describing Babylon's fall, Isaiah 13:21 declares: "Wild animals will lie down there, and their houses will be full of howling creatures; there ostriches will dwell, and there se'irim will dance." Isaiah 34:14 prophesies a similar fate for Edom: "The se'ir shall cry to his fellow; indeed, there the night creature shall rest and find for herself a place of rest." The Se'irim appear alongside Lilith and other creatures of the waste.
They do not attack the living or invade cities. They inherit what destruction leaves behind. Where once were palaces, now are goat-demons dancing.
Connection to Azazel
The Day of Atonement ritual sends two goats in opposite directions: one sacrificed to the Lord, one driven into the wilderness for Azazel. 1 Enoch names Azazel as a fallen Watcher bound in the desert of Dudael, a leader of rebellious angels who taught humanity forbidden knowledge.
The scapegoat carries Israel's sins into the wilderness. It carries them to the domain of the Se'irim, the hairy spirits of the waste, back to the source of corruption.