We now continue, from part 1 and part 2, considering the discussion and debate that ensued after the infiltration of Bohemian
Grove by Mike Hanson and Alex Jones. The issue was the identity of the huge owl idol. Jones stated that it is Moloch / Molech, other question this conclusion.
Note Isaiah 34:14 which reads:
The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the wild beasts of the island, and the satyr shall cry to his fellow…also shall rest there, and find for herself a place of rest.
The “…” was added on purpose so as to remove a term so as to see how various translations have it and so here it is:
KJV the screech owl
WEB the screech-owl
YLT the night-owl
RVR la lechuza [the owl]
NKJV the night creature
NIV the night creatures
NASB the *night monster
ASV the night-monster
RSV the night hag
The ESV has “the night bird with a footnote stating, “Identity uncertain.”
The NLT has “night creatures and a footnote reading, “Hebrew Lilith, possibly a reference to a mythical demon of the night.”
The DBY has “the lilith” and the HNV has “the Lilit.”
This is because the Hebrew word there is liyliyth (Stong’s # H3917) the root word of which is layil (# H3915).
Layil is defined as:
1) night
a) night (as opposed to day)
b) of gloom, protective shadow (fig.)
Liyliyth is defined as:
1) “Lilith”, name of a female goddess known as a night demon who haunts the desolate places of Edom
a) might be a nocturnal animal that inhabits desolate places
Gesenius’s Lexicon notes that it is “a nocturnal spectre” that, according to the “rabbins” took the “form of a beautiful woman, and lay in wait for children by night” and that this was much like the concepts of the Greeks, Romans, Lamiae, Striges and Arabian. The Arabian’s was the “fable of the Ghules…female monsters inhabiting deserts, and tearing men in pieces.”
But why then translations relating to owls? Gesenius considers the monsterous spectre view “utterly absurd when thus connected with the nature of something real mentioned in Scripture; what it is, may be doubtful.” And again, “It is really lamentable that anyone could connect the word of God with such utter absurdity; many understand the nocturnal creature spoken of to be simply the screech owl.”
Thus, the view of this lexicon appears to be that the context of Isaiah 34:14 refers to something real, various real life animals, and so there is no need to read mythology (or, demonology) into the text (note that whilst the satyr came to be thought of as a mythological half goat, half man it originally referred to a mere he-goat).
It may be of interest to note that while we do not know what satan or other fallen angels look like we do know that, “Satan disguises himself as an angel of light” (2nd Corinthians 11:14) and that “the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:2). Thus, perhaps the correlation between demon wings (whatever that is…generally represented as bat-like constructs) as the quaintly worded conventional mode of transportation for underworld residents.
A limestone wall plaque was found in Arslan Tash, Syria dating to circa the seventh or eighth century BC “contains a horrific mention of Lilith” and refers to her as “Thief, breaker of bones,” etc. This was as translated by Theodor H. Gaster and yet, “Another translation does not mention Lilith’s name and reads, ‘Be off, terrifying ones, terrors of my night.’”
The community of Essenes who lived at Qumran around the time of the Messiah Jesus produced what has come to be known as the Dead Sea Scrolls:
The Qumran sect was engrossed with demonology, and Lilith appears in the Song for a Sage, a hymn possibly used in exorcisms:
“And I, the Sage, sound the majesty of His beauty to terrify and confound all the spirits of destroying angels and the bastard spirits, the demons, Lilith. . ., and those that strike suddenly, to lead astray the spirit of understanding, and to make desolate their heart.” [“4Q510. See Joseph M. Baumgarten, “On the Nature of the Seductress in 4Q184,” Revue de Qumran 15 (1991–1992), pp. 133–143”]
For more info on the Bohemian Grove see our previous article:
The Bohemian Grove and the “cremation of care”
Is Zozobra New Mexico’s Bohemian Grove?
Also, see following books:
The Boys at Bohemian Grove by Armand Santilli
Bohemian Grove and Other Retreats: A Study in Ruling-Class Cohesiveness by G. William Domhoff
Bohemian Grove: Cult of Conspiracy by Mike Hanson
The Bohemian Grove Affair by Ron Snyder
The Greatest Men’s Party on Earth: Inside the Bohemian Grove by John Van der Zee
Also, check out the 2 DVD deal:
Dark Secrets Inside Bohemian Grove and The Order of Death by Alex Jones