It is<\/em> enough.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nBased on the KJV translation many commentators suggest the proverb is a commentary on greed.\u00a0 However, this topic is quite out of place with the surrounding passages.\u00a0 Prior passages deal with the sins of lying, pride, and improper and disrespectful relationships with parents.\u00a0 Subsequent passages deal with the mysteries of sexual relations with virgins and adulterous women.\u00a0 A careful study of the Hebrew will reveal that the proverb is a reference to a demoness named Alukah and her mystical power as a cursing agent in a bitter water trial.\u00a0 Her curses are able to grant one barren woman a promised seed, but to another barren woman of the trial, Alukah brings the curses of death.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The first obstacle to correctly understanding Proverbs is to correctly translate Aluwqah<\/em> (hqwle<\/span> – Strongs 5936) in verse 15.\u00a0 The KJV renders it \u201chorseleach.\u201d\u00a0 This is not entirely without merit, as aluwqah<\/em> is a feminine noun formed from an unused root meaning \u201cto suck\u201d, and in Talmudic times this Hebrew noun has been used to denote leaches.\u00a0 However, neither aluwqah<\/em> nor its root appears anywhere else in the Bible.\u00a0 This makes ascertaining its true biblical meaning very difficult.\u00a0 It is now commonly understood that Aluwqah<\/em> is the proper name of a well-known Middle Eastern demoness in ancient times.\u00a0 Gesenius states that Aluwqah<\/em> in Proverbs is a proper name of a demoness linked to the Arabic demoness Aulak (whose Arabic root also means \u201cto suck\u201d).\u00a0 Aulak was a female night monster or vampire who sucked blood from her victim.\u00a0 Likewise, the Jewish Encyclopedia links Aluwqah<\/em> to Alukah, a Hebrew succubus and female vampire.\u00a0 There is little doubt that the Arab\u2019s Aulak and Hebrew\u2019s Alukah are the same demon.\u00a0 According to a comprehensive demonic pantheon compiled by historic researcher Marc Carlson of the University of Tulsa, Alukah was a direct female offspring of Lilith.\u00a0 As we shall see, there are obvious reasons to hold this opinion.\u00a0 The similarity between Alukah and Lilith is so vast, the two may very well be the same entity.\u00a0<\/p>\nThe proverb of verse 15 and 16 has long befuddled readers.\u00a0 Based on the KJV translation of the underlying Hebrew, comprehension is almost impossible.\u00a0 A proper understanding begins with the good literal translation provided below.\u00a0 In obtaining this literal translation, it is important to note four corrections to the KJV.\u00a0 First, Aluwqah<\/em> (\u201chorseleach\u201d in KJV) is actually the proper name of a demoness.\u00a0 Second, Aluwqah<\/em> is clearly prefixed with a lamed (l<\/span>) inseparable preposition meaning \u201cto\u201d or \u201cfor.\u201d\u00a0 Thus, the daughters are being given over \u201cto Aluwqah.\u201d\u00a0 This important preposition is simply ignored in the KJV.\u00a0 Third, the KJV word for \u201csatisfied\u201d in verse 15, ta\u2019saba\u2019neh<\/em> (hnebvt<\/span>), is clearly the plural imperfect future tense of saba (ebs<\/span> – Strongs 7646), and negated.\u00a0 It should be rendered, \u201cthey will not be satisfied.\u201d\u00a0 Fourth, the KJV word for \u201csay\u201d in the same verse, amar\u2019av<\/em> (wrma<\/span>), is the plural perfect past tense of amar<\/em> (rma<\/span> – Strongs 559) and negated.\u00a0 It should be rendered \u201cthey had not said.\u201d\u00a0 My best literal translation is given below.\u00a0 The word-by-word breakdown of the Hebrew is given in Table 3\u201119.\u00a0<\/p>\n\nPr 30:15-16 (My Literal)<\/strong><\/div>\n15 To Aluwqah are two daughters \u2013 Give! \u00a0Give!\u00a0<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Three, behold, not will be satisfied of four that not had said it is enough:\u00a0<\/div>\n
16 The grave and the barren womb; the earth not satisfied with water and fire not she had said enough.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\n\n\n\nhnh<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n\nswls<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n\nbh<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n\nbh<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n\ntwnb<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n\nyts<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n\nhqwle:l 15<\/sup><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n\nbehold<\/div>\n<\/td>\n \nThree<\/div>\n<\/td>\n \ngive!<\/div>\n<\/td>\n \ngive!<\/div>\n<\/td>\n \ndaughters<\/div>\n<\/td>\n \nare two<\/div>\n<\/td>\n \nTo Alukah<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n \n\n\n\nrue:w<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n\nlwas 16<\/sup><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n\nNwh<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n\nwrma<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n\nal<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n\nebra<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n\nhnebvt<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n\nal<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n\nand barren<\/div>\n<\/td>\n \nSheol \/ grave<\/div>\n<\/td>\n \nenough<\/div>\n<\/td>\n \nthey have said<\/div>\n<\/td>\n \nnot<\/div>\n<\/td>\n \nof four<\/div>\n<\/td>\n \nthey will be satisfied<\/div>\n<\/td>\n \nnot<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n \n\n\n\nNwh<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n\nhrma<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n\nal<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n\nsa:w<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n\nMym<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n\nhebv<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n\nal<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n\nUra<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n\nMxr<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n\nenough<\/div>\n<\/td>\n \nshe had said<\/div>\n<\/td>\n \nnot<\/div>\n<\/td>\n \nand fire<\/div>\n<\/td>\n \nof water<\/div>\n<\/td>\n \nare satisfied<\/div>\n<\/td>\n \nnot<\/div>\n<\/td>\n \nearth<\/div>\n<\/td>\n \nwomb<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n Table 3\u201119: A Literal Translation of Pro 30:15,16<\/strong><\/p>\nWith a proper translation now in hand, the two keys to understanding the proverb is to identify Alukah as a demoness and deciphering the mystical meaning of the cleverly crafted riddle.\u00a0 The proverb begins by announcing that two daughters are given over to the demonic power of Alukah.\u00a0 The double imperative hab (\u201cgive!\u201d) apparently refers to the individual giving over of each daughter.\u00a0 As we shall see, the remainder of the proverb is a riddle discussing the two possible fates of these daughters at the hand of Alukah.\u00a0<\/p>\n The riddle portion of the proverb is based on a Hebrew poetic parallelism.\u00a0 It announces that three things will never be saba (satisfied) of four that have said it is not enough.\u00a0 It then lists four things which have said it is not enough \u2013 1) the grave, 2) the barren womb, 3) the earth not satisfied of water, and 4) fire.\u00a0 The proverb leaves it as a riddle for the reader to deduce which are the three that will never be satisfied.\u00a0 With a little reasoning, this can be easily solved.\u00a0 First, consider the grave, or sheol.\u00a0 Can it ever say it has enough?\u00a0 No.\u00a0 It will always take more and will never stop because it is satisfied.\u00a0 No amount of death will ever fill the grave or sheol to satiation.\u00a0 Second, consider the earth not saba (satisfied) with water.\u00a0 Will this land ever be saba (satisfied)?\u00a0 No.\u00a0 The winds will come and dry the land.\u00a0 In the end, it will always want more.\u00a0 Note that by definition a land not<\/u> saba cannot be saba.\u00a0 Third, consider fire.\u00a0 Has fire ever never said it has enough?\u00a0 Has fire ever consumed a timber and refused to take its neighbor simply because it has had enough?\u00a0 No.\u00a0 Fire is never full and will never be satisfied as long as there is fuel.\u00a0 Finally, consider the barren womb.\u00a0 Has the barren womb given a seed ever said it is enough?\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 A single seed given unto a long barren womb can satisfy that place.\u00a0 The Bible is replete with examples of barren women who after long years of suffering finally receive a long desired child.\u00a0 In utter contentment they sing prayers of thanks to God, saying it is enough.\u00a0 Sarah bore Isaac and was fulfilled.\u00a0 Hannah bore Samuel and was satiated.\u00a0 Hence, of the four items listed which have said it is not enough, only the barren womb given seed can become saba (satiated).\u00a0 All the rest cannot.\u00a0<\/p>\n The proverb\u2019s secret concerning the two daughters subjected to the power of Alukah is that the one with a barren womb given seed will be satisfied, whereas dry land, the grave, and fire shall not be satisfied.\u00a0 As we shall see, this proverb is a clever riddle detailing the mysterious underpinnings concerning the women undergoing a bitter water trial.\u00a0 The riddle is saying that the secret to the trial is that the woman given the promised seed of the trial is saved from the curses of the trial by virtue of the seed her womb receives.\u00a0 This is precisely what our study of the trial has revealed.\u00a0<\/p>\n In the riddle the grave represents the womb of the defiled woman, whereas the barren womb represents the womb of the innocent woman.\u00a0 The dry earth always accepting water represents the belly of both women.\u00a0 Any bitter waters entering their belly will be accepted.\u00a0 Finally, fire represents the waters\u2019 unstoppable fiery curses.\u00a0<\/p>\n With the above symbolisms defined, the parallelism of the proverb with the bitter water trial can be seen.\u00a0 Recall that the women of the trial drink waters twice.\u00a0 The proverb reveals that upon either drinking, any curses in the waters will be accepted by both women\u2019s bodies — their \u201cdry land\u201d will never be satiated and will always absorb the bitter waters.\u00a0 Likewise, when the curses enter their body they will never stop unless removed — the women\u2019s \u201cfire\u201d will never be satiated and stop on its own.\u00a0 After their first drinking, both women are given seed who bear away their curse to the altar.\u00a0 The seed of the defiled woman is not an acceptable sacrifice before Jehovah.\u00a0 It returns to her womb in her second drinking. Yet again, her belly is like an un-satiated dry land that soaks up the bitter waters.\u00a0 The unstoppable fiery curses return and consume her, and she joins her seed in its insatiable grave that is her womb.\u00a0 However, for the innocent woman, her seed is accepted and carries away her curse.\u00a0 At her second drinking, there are no bitter waters for her belly to absorb and there are thus no unstoppable fires to consume her.\u00a0 She is redeemed, and her satisfied womb is granted a second promised seed in replacement for the first, which was lost.\u00a0<\/p>\n Further confirming the above analogies is that fact that the four items not satisfied are grouped into two categories.\u00a0 The grave and barren womb are grouped together by a vav (w) conjunctive, and the dry land and fire are grouped together by another vav conjunctive.\u00a0 The lack of a vav conjunctive attached to the earth is conspicuous, given the tendency for Hebrew text to employ a massive number of conjunctives.\u00a0 A little thought reveals that the reason for the proverb\u2019s grouping is very logical.\u00a0 The grave and the barren womb are abodes for dead and live bodies.\u00a0 For the woman who perishes at the hands of Alukah, her womb is as a grave for the mystical seed she receives at her first drinking and for herself in her second drinking.\u00a0 For the innocent woman who is saved, her barren womb is a safe abode for both her first and second granted seeds.\u00a0 The initial curses of her first drinking are taken away by the first promised seed, and they never return at her the second drinking.\u00a0 This explains the riddle\u2019s second grouping of fire with the dry earth drinking up waters.\u00a0 The dry earth is the belly of the women, and the fire is the curses.\u00a0 When bitter waters enter their belly, the belly will soak up the waters like dry earth, and the water\u2019s curses will consume them like fire.\u00a0 This will happen every time for both women.\u00a0 The innocent woman is saved in that at her second drinking there are no bitter waters to absorb or fiery curses to stop.\u00a0 Her seed has saved her.\u00a0<\/p>\n It is obvious that the two daughters given over to the power of Alukah parallel the two types of women undergoing a bitter water trial.\u00a0 One daughter shall be granted a seed and be redeemed.\u00a0 The other shall suffer death and fiery curses.\u00a0 This interpretation of the riddle is confirmed by the invocation of Alukah in proverb.\u00a0 Alukah is the cursing spirit in the riddle.\u00a0 In the bitter water trial, it is the spirit of Lilith who curses.\u00a0 As we shall see, in rabbinic tradition Alukah is strongly linked to Lilith.\u00a0 Pr 30:15-16 is discussed at length in The Bitter Waters Code<\/strong> (BWC).\u00a0 There it is shown that mystical meaning of the passages imply the two daughters were inseminated by supernatural spirits, and that in this respect they are likened unto the daughters of man who the sons of God took for wives to sire the race of Nephilim.\u00a0<\/p>\nAlukah, Lilith, and Estries<\/h2>\nTraditions on Alukah reveal her similarity to Lilith.\u00a0 Like Lilith, Alukah sought to snatch and kill children for revenge.\u00a0 Alukah is perhaps best known as the namesake mother of the Jewish vampires, the alukah.\u00a0 The best Jewish references to alukah come from the writings of the Hasidei Ashkenaz, a mystical movement of thirteenth-century Germany.\u00a0 The best of these writings is the Sefer Hasidim, a halachic work written by Rabeinu Yehudah HaChasid (Rabbi Judah the Pious).\u00a0 There the alukah, referred to by their French name estries<\/em>, were demon filled female creatures with bird-like characteristics who could fly and who unleashed their supernatural powers by releasing their long hair.\u00a0 The French estries<\/em> derives from strix<\/em>, a Latin word for night-owl.\u00a0 This Latin term was apparently used because the ancient Romans believed that the owls consumed human blood.\u00a0 The striges were said to be terrible women who could turn themselves into dreadful birds of prey, with huge talons, misshapen heads, and breasts full of poisonous milk.\u00a0 In later medieval legends, they continued to be associated with screech owls.\u00a0 There is the fascinating possibility that the same medieval beliefs that led to the association of Alukah to owls led the KJV translators to render Lilith in Isa 34 as \u201cscreech owl.\u201d\u00a0 When faced with the proper name of a demon in the Hebrew scripture, the KJV almost always attempts to translate the name as a reference to a common animal that might be associated with it.\u00a0 It may be from Alukah\u2019s legend that the KJV translated Lilith as \u201cscreech owl.\u201d\u00a0 They were confronted with a demoness name, and in its place they used the name of the animal most closely associated with it.\u00a0<\/p>\nAccording to the Sefer Hasidim, the estries fed on the blood of victims and would eventually die if prevented from feeding. \u00a0Their favorite prey was children.\u00a0 This is in keeping with Alukah\u2019s desire for revenge against children, and matches Lilith\u2019s legend as an enemy of Eve\u2019s children.\u00a0 According to Sefer Hasidim, estries could shape-shift into various forms and often appeared as normal humans.\u00a0 In one story, a woman who was an estrie fell ill, and was watched over during the night by two unsuspecting ladies.\u00a0 When one of the women fell asleep, the estrie suddenly stood up and began to unravel her hair.\u00a0 It then attempted to suck out the blood of one of the sleeping women.\u00a0 Fortunately, her alert companion managed to cry out and wakened her, and the two of them were able to prevent the estrie from feeding.\u00a0 The estrie then sprouted wings and attempted to fly off.\u00a0 This sudden transformation from woman to winged monster again matches the Lilith legend.\u00a0<\/p>\n The medieval texts list several different ways to restrain an estrie.\u00a0 First, they could be controlled by the imposing of an oath upon them.\u00a0 In addition, since their powers were somehow linked to the loosening of their hair, they could be restrained if their hair was somehow held in check.\u00a0 Finally, if a known estrie (hiding in human form) was included in the prayer for the sick that is recited in synagogue, the congregation was warned not to respond with “Amen”! [1]<\/a>\u00a0 This is again in marvelous similarity to Lilith and the Sotah.\u00a0 Lilith gained her powers by loosening her hair.\u00a0 Similarly, Lilith and the Sotah were constrained by oaths, and it was the \u201cAmen\u201d of the woman in the bitter water trial that empowered her demonic curse against her.\u00a0<\/p>\nThe Sefer Hasidim states that the Talmud was referring to estries when it spoke about beings who were created at twilight on the first Friday, and whose bodies were not completed when God ceased working at the onset of the Sabbath.\u00a0 This again matches the essential elements of the Lilith legend and points to Alukah as Lilith.\u00a0 For in a very real since, Lilith was an incomplete creation of the first Friday.\u00a0 Before she could be completed by God, the mist of the deep broke through and animated her instead of God\u2019s breath.\u00a0 So Lilith was never completed by God, and this ruined incomplete creation is the reason for her demonic nature.\u00a0<\/p>\n Estries possessed some very unusual characteristics.\u00a0 Although an estrie could be physically injured by a person, the injury could be undone if she was allowed to eat bread and salt that belonged to her assailant.\u00a0 Conversely, bread and salt also worked as an antidote to injuries inflicted by the estrie.\u00a0 The estrie reverted to trickery and deceit to obtain the bread and salt from their attackers.\u00a0 The creatures were capable of morphing themselves into different forms, and they were not easy to recognize.\u00a0 Sefer Hasidim records one case where an estrie assumed feline form.\u00a0 However, a certain Jewish man recognized her true identity and struck her.\u00a0 On the following day, a woman came to him and asked for some bread and salt.\u00a0 The man would have complied, had it not been for another who warned him of his folly.\u00a0<\/p>\n As with modern vampire lore, the demonic indwelling power of the estrie did not end with her physical death.\u00a0 For this reason, Rabbi Eliezer Rokeah stated that if the estrie had her mouth open when she was buried, she would continue to devour children for a year after her death.\u00a0 In order to prevent this, he ordered that her mouth must be filled with earth.\u00a0 Again the similarity with the Sotah and Lilith as the Serpent of the Garden is striking.\u00a0 Both these women in their dying curses were condemned to eat dust of earth, which also cursed their seed to death.\u00a0 Furthermore, the seed of both these women’s rivals, the innocent woman against the Sotah and Eve against Lilith, had their promised seed blessed.\u00a0<\/p>\n At this point, it is fascinating to list some of the striking similarities of estries with Lilith and the Sotah.\u00a0 At the very least, these imply that the rabbis who wrote on estries borrowed heavily from certain elements of Lilith and precepts of the Sotah trial.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n- The estrie was associated with birds and flight. She had great wings and talons.\u00a0 Likewise, Lilith is associated with birds and wings, and had great wings like a cherubim.\u00a0<\/li>\n
- Estries could transform between a normal human form and their birdlike monstrosities. Lilith underwent this same transformation at least once.\u00a0<\/li>\n
- The primary prey of estries was children. Alukah herself sought after children in revenge.\u00a0 Likewise, Lilith sought the children of Eve in revenge.\u00a0 This trait even extends to the Sotah, for the initial victim of her bitter water curses was her seed.\u00a0<\/li>\n
- The alukah\u2019s power was activated by unleashing her hair. Likewise, Lilith activated her powers by unleashing her hair.\u00a0 This similarity extends to the Sotah, for she had her hair unloosed as part of the trial ceremony.\u00a0<\/li>\n
- The alukah could be rejuvenated or brought back to life with the consumption of salt and bread from the hand of her assailant. This was nominally obtained by deceit.\u00a0 This reminds us of the revitalization of the bitter water curse in defiled Sotah at her second drinking from the hand of the priest.\u00a0 Her curse is revitalized when for the second time she consumes the bitter waters (characterized by salt) and her grain minchah (corresponding to bread) is rejected because of her deceit.\u00a0<\/li>\n
- The alukah could be constrained by an oath. Lilith was constrained by an oath.\u00a0 Likewise, the curse of a woman in a bitter water trial was constrained by an oath.\u00a0<\/li>\n
- One was warned not to say \u201camen\u201d to a prayer for an alukah\u2019s return to health. Similarly, the Sotah was warned not to say amen to the curses which would return unto her in a revitalized state at her second drinking.<\/li>\n
- The death or banishment of the demonic spirit indwelling an alukah was accomplished by filling her mouth with soil. So too, the end of the demonic indwelling spirit of a Sotah was accomplished through the filling of her mouth with dust of the earth in the bitter waters.\u00a0 Lilith as the Serpent of Eden was likewise cursed with eating dust.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
[1]<\/a> Eliezer Segal, Ask Now of the Days that are Past<\/strong>, University of Calgary Press, 2004.\u00a0 See also http:\/\/www.ucalgary.ca\/~elsegal\/Shokel\/011025_Vampires.html<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There is one final reference to Lilith in the Bible that is quite fascinating.\u00a0 It comes in Proverbs 30:15-16, which speaks of a demoness titled Alukah.\u00a0 Proverbs\u2019 heavily mystic passages speak of two types of barren women given over to the power of Alukah.\u00a0 To one woman, Alukah serves as a source of cursing and … Continue reading “3.22 Lilith as Alukah in Proverbs 30”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":8,"menu_order":21,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-271","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bitterwaters.com\/bw_12_21_2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/271","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bitterwaters.com\/bw_12_21_2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bitterwaters.com\/bw_12_21_2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bitterwaters.com\/bw_12_21_2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bitterwaters.com\/bw_12_21_2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=271"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.bitterwaters.com\/bw_12_21_2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/271\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":315,"href":"https:\/\/www.bitterwaters.com\/bw_12_21_2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/271\/revisions\/315"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bitterwaters.com\/bw_12_21_2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bitterwaters.com\/bw_12_21_2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=271"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}} | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |