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''Shedim'' (; singular: ''šēḏ'') are spirits or

demons A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in folklore, mythology, religion, occultism, and literature; these beliefs are reflected in media including fiction, comics, film, t ...

in the

Tanakh The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. ''

Jewish mythology Jewish mythology is the body of myths associated with Judaism. Elements of Jewish mythology have had a profound influence on Christian mythology and on Islamic mythology, as well as on Abrahamic culture in general. Christian mythology directly ...

. Shedim do not, however, correspond exactly to the modern conception of demons as evil entities as originated in

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

. While evil spirits were thought to cause maladies, shedim differed conceptually from evil spirits. Shedim were not considered evil

demigod A demigod is a part-human and part-divine offspring of a deity and a human, or a human or non-human creature that is accorded divine status after death, or someone who has attained the "divine spark" (divine illumination). An immortality, immor ...

s, but the gods of foreigners; further, they were envisaged as evil only in the sense that they were ''not God''. They appear only twice (and in both instances in the plural) in the Tanakh, at

Psalm 106 Psalm 106 is the 106th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "Praise ye the LORD. O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good". The Book of Psalms is part of the third section of the Hebrew Bible, and a bo ...

:37 and

Deuteronomy Deuteronomy (; ) is the fifth book of the Torah (in Judaism), where it is called () which makes it the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible and Christian Old Testament. Chapters 1–30 of the book consist of three sermons or speeches delivered to ...

32:17. In both instances, the text deals with

child sacrifice Child sacrifice is the ritualistic killing of children in order to please or appease a deity, supernatural beings, or sacred social order, tribal, group or national loyalties in order to achieve a desired result. As such, it is a form of human ...

animal sacrifice Animal sacrifice is the ritual killing and offering of animals, usually as part of a religious ritual or to appease or maintain favour with a deity. Animal sacrifices were common throughout Europe and the Ancient Near East until the spread of Chris ...

. Although the word is traditionally derived from the root ( ''shuḏ'') that conveys the meaning of "acting with violence" or "laying waste," it was possibly a

loanword A loanword (also a loan word, loan-word) is a word at least partly assimilated from one language (the donor language) into another language (the recipient or target language), through the process of borrowing. Borrowing is a metaphorical term t ...

from Akkadian, in which the word ''

shedu ''Lama'', ''Lamma'', or ''Lamassu'' (Cuneiform: , ; Sumerian: lammař; later in Akkadian: ''lamassu''; sometimes called a ''lamassuse'') is an Assyrian protective deity. Initially depicted as a goddess in Sumerian times, when it was called ...

'' referred to a spirit that could be either protective or malevolent.''The Encyclopedia of Demons and Demonology''. Rosemary Guiley. Infobase Publishing, May 12, 2010
p. 21
With the translation of Hebrew texts into Greek, under the influence of

Zoroastrian Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, Zoroaster ( ). Among the wo ...

dualism Dualism most commonly refers to: * Mind–body dualism, a philosophical view which holds that mental phenomena are, at least in certain respects, not physical phenomena, or that the mind and the body are distinct and separable from one another * P ...

, "shedim" was translated into Greek as ''

daimon The daimon (), also spelled daemon (meaning "god", "godlike", "power", "fate"), denotes an "unknown superfactor", which can be either good or hostile. In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology a daimon was imagined to be a lesser ...

ia'' with implicit connotations of negativity. Later, in Judeo-Islamic culture, shedim became the

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

word for the

jinn Jinn or djinn (), alternatively genies, are supernatural beings in pre-Islamic Arabian religion and Islam. Their existence is generally defined as parallel to humans, as they have free will, are accountable for their deeds, and can be either ...

, conveying the morally ambivalent attitude of these beings.

Origin

According to one legend, the shedim are the descendants of serpents, or of demons in serpent form, in allusion to the story of the serpent in Eden, as related in

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Religion * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of humankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Bo ...

. A second view is that they are the offspring of

Lilith Lilith (; ), also spelled Lilit, Lilitu, or Lilis, is a feminine figure in Mesopotamian and Jewish mythology, theorized to be the first wife of Adam and a primordial she-demon. Lilith is cited as having been "banished" from the Garden of Eden ...

, from her union with

Adam Adam is the name given in Genesis 1–5 to the first human. Adam is the first human-being aware of God, and features as such in various belief systems (including Judaism, Christianity, Gnosticism and Islam). According to Christianity, Adam ...

or other men, while a third says that

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

created them on the sixth day, starting to fashion their bodies but failing to complete the work because he was obliged to rest on the

Sabbath In Abrahamic religions, the Sabbath () or Shabbat (from Hebrew ) is a day set aside for rest and worship. According to the Book of Exodus, the Sabbath is a day of rest on the seventh day, Ten Commandments, commanded by God to be kept as a Holid ...

. Even after the Sabbath, he left them as they were, in order to show that, when the Sabbath comes, all work still unfinished at the beginning of the Sabbath must afterward be viewed as complete.Maureen Bloom. ''Jewish Mysticism and Magic: An Anthropological Perspective''. Routledge, 2007. . p. 128. As a result, the shedim have souls like those of humans, but lack the bodies to contain them. Yet a fourth conception was that the shedim had their origins among the builders of the

Tower of Babel The Tower of Babel is an origin myth and parable in the Book of Genesis (chapter 11) meant to explain the existence of different languages and cultures. According to the story, a united human race speaking a single language migrates to Shin ...

- these being divided by their motivations into three groups, of which the third and worst comprised those who sought actively to wage war against God and were punished for their

sacrilegious Sacrilege is the violation or injurious treatment of a sacred object, site or person. This can take the form of irreverence to sacred persons, places, and things. When the sacrilegious offence is verbal, it is called blasphemy, and when physical ...

hubris Hubris (; ), or less frequently hybris (), is extreme or excessive pride or dangerous overconfidence and complacency, often in combination with (or synonymous with) arrogance. Hubris, arrogance, and pretension are related to the need for vi ...

by transformation into the shedim. Finally, the ''

Zohar The ''Zohar'' (, ''Zōhar'', lit. "Splendor" or "Radiance") is a foundational work of Kabbalistic literature. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah and scriptural interpretations as well as material o ...

'' describes them as offspring of the demons

Azazel In the Hebrew Bible, the name Azazel (; ''ʿĂzāʾzēl'') represents a desolate place where a scapegoat bearing the Jewish views on sin, sins of the Jews was sent during Yom Kippur. During the late Second Temple period (after the Development ...

and Naamah. Biblical and rabbinical texts depict shedim as demonic entities, with references such as Deuteronomy 32:17 and Psalm 106:37 suggesting sacrifices to these beings, including human sacrifices like the firstborn. However, the extent and details of such practices in ancient Israel remain a subject of debate among scholars. Hurwitz's work, citing archaeological finds and the existing rite of 'pidjon ha’ben,' supports the notion of such sacrifices, especially in the archaic period.

Traits

The

Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

describes the shedim as possessing some traits of

angels An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...

, and some traits of humans: According to ''

Rashi Shlomo Yitzchaki (; ; ; 13 July 1105) was a French rabbi who authored comprehensive commentaries on the Talmud and Hebrew Bible. He is commonly known by the List of rabbis known by acronyms, Rabbinic acronym Rashi (). Born in Troyes, Rashi stud ...

'', shedim, like '' lillin'' but unlike ''ruchos'', have human form, although no human body. They eat and drink as humans do. They can cause sickness and misfortune, follow the dead and fly around graves. One is admonished not to do many thing that could invoke the shedim, such as whistling or even saying the word "shedim". The 12th century mystic

Judah ben Samuel of Regensburg Judah ben Samuel of Regensburg (1150 – 22 February 1217), also called Yehuda HeHasid or Judah the Pious in Hebrew, was a leader of the Ashkenazi Hasidim a movement of Jewish mysticism in Germany (not to be confused with the 18th-century Hasid ...

wrote in his

will and testament A will and testament is a legal document that expresses a person's (testator) wishes as to how their property (estate (law), estate) is to be distributed after their death and as to which person (executor) is to manage the property until its fi ...

that one should not seal up windows completely because it traps shedim in the house. The shedim are not always seen as malicious creatures; they can be helpful. Some are said to be even able to live according to the

Torah The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...

, like

Asmodeus Asmodeus (; , ''Asmodaios'') or Ashmedai (; ; ; see below for other variations) is a king of demons in the legends of Solomon and the constructing of Solomon's Temple."Asmodeus" in '' The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia B ...

. Conjuring shedim is not necessarily forbidden, depending on whether the theologian discussing the topic views such summoning to constitute sorcery. Even if summoning shedim is an act of sorcery and thus forbidden, consulting shedim conjured by a non-Jew would be permissible.

Appearance

In early

midrash ''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; or ''midrashot' ...

im, shedim are corporeal beings. they take the form of men, but have no shadow (Yeb. 122a; Giṭ. 66a; Yoma 75a). Sometimes they are black goat-like beings ( Kiddushin 29a); other times, seven-headed dragons (Kiddushin 29a). They are occasionally called ''malʾake ḥabbala'' (angels of destruction) (Ber. 51a; Ket. 104a; Sanh. 106b). If a man could see them, he would lack the strength to face them, although he can see them by throwing the ashes of the fetus of a black cat around his eyes, or by scattering ashes around his bed he can trace their footprints similar to those of

roosters The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated subspecies of the red junglefowl (''Gallus gallus''), originally native to Southeast Asia. It was first domesticated around 8,000 years ago and is now one of the most common and w ...

in the morning ( Ber.6a). To see if the shedim were present, ashes were thrown to the ground or floor, which rendered their footsteps visible. In later Judaism, these entities developed into more abstract beings. Shedim can

shapeshift In mythology, folklore and speculative fiction, shapeshifting is the ability to physically transform oneself through unnatural means. The idea of shapeshifting is found in the oldest forms of totemism and shamanism, as well as the oldest exist ...

, sometimes assuming a human form, the Talmud telling how

assumed

King Solomon King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a constitutional monarch if his power is restrained by f ...

's form and ruled in his place for a time. In the Zohar:

References

External links

*
Elyonim veTachtonim
'. An on-line database of angels, demons, ghosts and monsters in the Bible and Babylonian Talmud. {{Book of Deuteronomy Demons in Judaism Jewish legendary creatures Kabbalistic words and phrases Psalms Book of Deuteronomy Daimons Jinn

Origin

Traits

Appearance

See also

References

Further reading

External links