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Mythology: Jewish Mythology

"The Garden of Eden with the Fall of Man" by Peter Paul Rubens (figures) and Jan Brueghel the Elder (flora and fauna)

Passage of the Jews through the Red Sea by Ivan Ayvazovsky

The Fall of the Rebel Angels by Hieronymus Bosch

The first Jewish Dispersion

Jewish Diaspora in the Roman Empire

Migrations of Jewish peoples in the last 2000 years

Mythological Beings in Jewish Folklore

  • Angels- ("Messengers") supernatural beings that appear throughout the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), rabbinic literature, apocrypha and pseudepigrapha, and traditional Jewish liturgy as agents of the God of Israel. They are categorized in different hierarchies. Their essence is often associated with fire. The Talmud describes their very essence as fire. The four Archangels of the Talmud are Michael, Gabriel, Uriel, and Raphael
  • Alukah- "horse-leech", a type of leech with many teeth that feeds on the throats of animals. According to biblical scholars, alukah can mean "blood-lusting monster" or vampire
  • Bar Juchne- a colossal legendary bird from Jewish mythology which was believed to have a wingspan large enough to block out the sun.
  • Behemoth- a beast from the biblical Book of Job, and is a form of the primeval chaos-monster created by God at the beginning of creation
  • Chalkydri- or "brazen hydras" are mythical creatures mentioned in the apocryphal Second Book of Enoch from the 1st century CE, often seen as an angelic species. In the narrative, chalkydri dwell near the Sun alongside other flying elements referred to as phoenixes. Their appearance is mesmerizing, as they arise as creatures with the colors of the rainbow bearing the head of a crocodile and the feet and tail like that of a lion, each having twelve wings.
  • Demons- Supernatural beings believed to come from the nether world. Various diseases and ailments were ascribed to them, particularly those affecting the brain and those of internal nature. Examples include catalepsy, headache, epilepsy and nightmares.
  • Dybbuk- a malicious possessing spirit believed to be the dislocated soul of a dead person. It supposedly leaves the host body once it has accomplished its goal, sometimes after being exorcised.
  • Nephilim-  mysterious beings or people in the Hebrew Bible who are large and strong. The word Nephilim is loosely translated as giants in some translations of the Hebrew Bible, but left untranslated in others. Jewish explanations interpret them as hybrid sons of fallen angels.

Selected Works

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