Leviticus 17
05 Aug 2026 - Theology
Goat-Demons
The Lord commands that all ox, sheep, or goats had to be offered to the Lord at the entrance of the Tabernacle. This includes the killing of an animal for food.
Anyone who does not obey this command of the Lord shall be cut off from the rest of the Israelites (4).
Leviticus 17:5 - “To the end that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices, which they offer in the open field, even that they may bring them unto the Lord, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, unto the priest, and offer them for peace offerings unto the Lord.”
The priest would offer part of the animal to the Lord, return the blood to the earth, and give most of the meat to the person who brought the sacrifice.
Leviticus 17:7 - “And they shall no more offer their sacrifices unto devils, after whom they have gone a whoring. This shall be a statute for ever unto them throughout their generations.”
The word which the KJV translates as “devils” is the Hebrew word lasseirim, which more closely translates to “goat demons.” Its root word is sa’iyr, meaning “he-goat”, which is often compared to the satyrs of Greek mythology. It seems that the Israelites had begun to offer sacrifices to “goat demons” - perhaps imaginary wild goats with human faces, like the satyrs of Greek mythology. Some scholars also link the “goat demons” with Egyptian goat or ram deities, which is certainly possible after the Israelite exodus from Egypt.
While verse 7 says, “This shall be a statute for ever unto them throughout their generations”, this never actually became a law for all times.
This law to bring all animals to the Tabernacle might have been useful to Israelites in the wilderness, where it was a short walk to the altar. Or it might have been useful to people in Jerusalem, where an altar was close by. But it could never serve for the whole people of Israel in the Promised Land - most people lived too far away from Jerusalem to bring every animal for food to the Temple just to have it slaughtered.
Again we see the command for the Israelites not to eat any blood:
Leviticus 17:12 - “Therefore I said unto the children of Israel, No soul of you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger that sojourneth among you eat blood.”
The punishment for eating blood is that the person would be cut off from among the congregation (10).
Leviticus 17:15-16 - “And every soul that eateth that which died of itself, or that which was torn with beasts, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger, he shall both wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even: then shall he be clean. But if he wash them not, nor bathe his flesh; then he shall bear his iniquity.”
References
- The Hebrew - Greek Key Study Bible (KJV Version)
- The Torah Portion-by-Portion by Rabbi Seymour Rossel (2007)
- Leviticus 17 - Hebrew Interlinear
- goat demons - lasseirim, or sa’iyr