In the article about Satan’s usually goatlike features, Cecil quotes something about left-handed goats. But I found an even better bible verse (for the record, I got this from another Straight Dope article. I don’t even think I own a bible, and I know very little about what lies within) which makes an even stronger connection between Satan and goats than the lefty goat thing.
“Isaiah 34:14, ‘Goat demons shall greet each other; there too the lilith will repose.’”
Now, as indicated before, if I even own a bible anymore it’s hopelessly lost, so I guess to be accurate someone who owns one should look it up to verify. Just thought I’d throw this out there. Much better verse for the purposes.
Do you know which translation that’s from? It’s none of these. One translation uses the word “satyr” which is close to the Pan-like depiction mentioned in the report, but in most of them the goats are merely goats.
No idea what translation it’s from. If any of the three mentioned authors of the article are still lurking around here somewhere, I guess they’d know. Or maybe they just put in “goat-demons” to avoid people asking what satyrs are.
Anyway, it strengthens Cecil’s point about Satan’s looks being taken from Pan (or something like him). I figure it’s worth throwing in there.
Dude, much as I love him, is OT-Only. As I understand our OT bros, they, like a lot of us fallen Christians, won’t bother with imaginings from after the 16th Century.
The English quotation is probably from the NRSV. The Hebrew word in question can simply mean “goat”, or even “hairy one”, but it is used from time to time in a context of idol-worship. “Goat-demon” is one of many possible translations in this passage; so is “satyr”.
It is not likely to have had any effect on medieval iconography; the Vulgate translation is pilosus – "hairy one.
I used what I typically used, the JPS (Jewish Publication Society of America) for translations of Old Testament/Hebrew bible. I usually look at the Hebrew text as well, although that Staff Report was written many years ago, so I don’t remember what I did then. I generally find the JPS tends to be fairly close to literal, rather than bringing in interpretative translation. That’s not always true, of course, but tends to be more accurate (although less poetic) than KJV, say.
And thanks, dropzone, I love you too, dude. I’ll be the first to agree that most of my knowledge/learning/sources are OT, but I’ve dabbled in NT a bit as well.
I often wondered about the Satan <-> Goat connection as well… that is until I met my first goat up-close while taking the kiddo to a petting zoo.
Their pupils are not round like humans, nor vertical slits like cats. Pictures I’ve found online show goats with horizontal-bar pupils. This goat had pronounced dumbell or “dog-bone” shaped pupils. Very unnerving.
I’m thinking the person who first saw a goat’s eyes thought “this thing ain’t right”. Apparently many (most, all?) prey animals have a similar horizontal pupil, so maybe it was just the horns?
Yes! this! I saw my first up close goat - those are the scariest eyes I have ever seen. Cat-eyes are sane compared to them “them goat eyes is hela scary”. The ones I met at a friend’s farmette were in the shade so the horizontal slit was dilated only on the lower half of the eye - I am just glad they don’t also have that reflective layer like dogs; bright red goat eyes would scare me.
But we all love horses, don’t we? Actually, horses’ eyes have that horizontal rectangular pupil just like goats’ eyes. It’s just not so obvious with most horses, since the iris is dark brown and the black of the pupil doesn’t stand out. But look into the eye of a white horse sometime, which also has a light iris, and the pupil is very visible and creepy.
If you really want to see creepy eyes, just do a google image search for Octopus Eyes.
Relatively modern. Lots of medieval images depict him with blue skin. The usual explanation is that Good is warm and cuddly, while Evil is cold and harsh. Note that in Dante’s Inferno, the worst part of Hell is a lake of ice.
I think the red imagery starts in the 18th Century, though I could be wrong.
