Alukah (Hebrew: עֲלוּקָה ‘ălūqāh) is a feminine Hebrew word that means "horse-leech", a type of leech with many teeth that feeds on the throats of animals.[1] According to some biblical scholars, alukah can mean "blood-lusting monster" or vampire[citation needed]. Alukah is first referred to in Proverbs 30 of the Bible (Prov. 30:15).[2]

The most detailed description of the alukah appears in Sefer Chasidim, where the creature is understood to be a living human being, but can shape-change into a wolf.[3] It can fly (by releasing its long hair) and would eventually die if prevented from feeding on blood for a long enough time. Once dead, a vampire can be prevented from becoming a demon by being buried with its mouth stuffed with earth.[4]

The claim is that Solomon refers to a female demon named "Alukah" in a riddle that he tells in Proverbs [citation needed]. The riddle involves Alukah's ability to curse a womb bearing seed. Historically, Alukah has been closely associated with Lilith or thought to be her direct descendant. The name Alukah may, additionally, merely be another title for Lilith.[5]

R. E. L. Masters describes the 'Alukah as "a Hebrew succubus and vampire derived from Babylonian demonology."[6]

References

  1. ^ Kitto, John (1851). A Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature. Edinburgh: Robert Clark. p. 131.
  2. ^ "Proverbs 30". Holy Bible, New International Version. Biblica, Inc. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
  3. ^ "Sefer Hasidim". Princeton University Sefer Hasidim Database (PUSHD). Princeton University. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
  4. ^ Dennis, Geoffrey W. (2007). The Encyclopedia of Jewish Myth, Magic, And Mysticism. Llewellyn Worldwide. p. 271.
  5. ^ Wayne Biggs, Mark (2010). The Case for Lilith: 23 Biblical Evidences Identifying the Serpent as Adam's First Failed Wife in Genesis (PDF). Samson Books. pp. 15, 97–103.
  6. ^ Masters, R. E. L (1962). Eros and Evil: The Sexual Psychopathology of Witchcraft. The Julian Press. p. 181.
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