Jackals: Zoological Creatures / Wilderness Demons in Scripture
The biblical theme of jackals presents a striking blend of natural and supernatural imagery. According to the Bible, jackals appear both as zoological creatures inhabiting desolate landscapes and as symbolic participants in the wilderness realm associated with judgment, ruin, and the spiritual “counter-human world.” In biblical theology, jackals become a lens through which Scripture communicates both the physical devastation of cities and the spiritual forces that inhabit places left empty of human life. The Christian view of jackals in the Bible therefore includes their zoological identity as nocturnal scavengers and their symbolic use as eerie markers of divine judgment, cosmic disorder, and the encroaching wilderness outside God’s ordered creation.
1. The meaning of איים (ʾiyyîm) and its place in Scripture
The Hebrew noun איים (ʾiyyîm), often translated “jackals,” appears in Isaiah 13:22, Isaiah 34:14, and Jeremiah 50:39. Its origin is debated. Some scholars connect it to Egyptian terms for “dog” (jw, jwjw), suggesting a wild canine similar to the Arabian jackal. Others relate it to a Hebrew root meaning “islander, beach-demon, goblin,” a term that can describe ghostlike wilderness beings rather than a zoological species. This ambiguity explains why ancient translations (LXX, Vulgate) sometimes rendered the word as hybrids, satyrs, or wilderness spirits.
The biblical usage does not resolve the ambiguity; instead, it uses the ambiguity on purpose. In some contexts, jackals clearly function as animals. In others, they appear alongside tannîm, ṣiyyîm, and śeʿîrîm—creatures associated with desolation, wilderness demons, or non-human forces linked to divine judgment. The Bible’s treatment of jackals therefore spans zoology, poetry, prophecy, and theology.
2. Jackals as zoological creatures in the biblical landscape
The Bible frequently uses jackals in their familiar animal sense. As nocturnal scavengers, jackals thrive in abandoned places where carrion and human refuse would accumulate. These natural traits explain why biblical authors associate them with:
Ruins and desolate cities (Isaiah 13:22; Jeremiah 9:11).
Nighttime howling, an eerie sound often linked to lamentation.
Carcasses and destroyed landscapes, where they gather in packs.
Regions where human life has disappeared, giving the jackal free rein.
The zoological reading appears most clearly in Isaiah 13:22, where jackals parallel tannîm (“jackals” or “wolves”). Both are wild canines that inhabit devastated land. Their presence signals the absence of human society and the reversal of civilization. This use aligns with biblical geography: the Near East contained several wild canine species—including the golden jackal and Arabian wolf—which roamed ruins, wadis, and open plains.
3. Jackals as participants in the wilderness realm of judgment
More striking is the symbolic use of jackals. In Isaiah 34:14 and Jeremiah 50:39, jackals appear in catalogues of wilderness beings that include:
ṣiyyîm (“wild desert beasts”).
śeʿîrîm (“satyrs,” goat-demons).
Lilith (in Isaiah 34:14’s textual tradition).
Ostriches, another emblem of desolation (Jeremiah 50:39).
This symbolic cluster reflects a biblical worldview in which uninhabited places become the territory not only of wild animals but of forces representing chaos, curse, and the absence of divine order. The wilderness in Scripture often symbolizes spaces beyond the boundaries of human habitation where Israel’s God has withdrawn blessing or protection. In such places:
Human culture collapses.
The land reverts to pre-creation disorder.
Beings outside normal human experience appear (symbolically or literally).
Judgment replaces flourishing (Isaiah 34; Jeremiah 50–51).
The ambivalence of jackals—both natural and otherworldly—further supports their role in portraying places where God has handed a land over to curse. The Bible’s use of jackals therefore becomes a theological statement: judgment turns cities into wilderness, and wilderness becomes a stage for unclean beings, wild animals, and spiritual symbols of chaos.
4. Jackals and the theme of exile, ruin, and divine judgment
The prophetic books make especially vivid use of jackals as indicators of judgment. Several passages illustrate this:
Isaiah 13:19–22 — Babylon will fall, and jackals will inhabit its palaces.
Jeremiah 9:11 — Jerusalem becomes a heap of ruins and a haunt of jackals.
Jeremiah 50:39 — In the fall of Babylon, desert creatures, wild goats, and jackals take possession.
Lamentations 5:18 — Mount Zion lies desolate, with jackals prowling over it.
Psalm 44:19 — Israel laments being crushed in a place of “jackals.”
Micah 1:8 — The prophet wails like jackals as judgment comes on Samaria.
In these texts, jackals are not merely animals; they are emblems of a world unmade. When God withdraws his sustaining order, the land devolves to chaos, and jackals—creatures of the night and wasteland—roam freely. The biblical theology of jackals therefore intersects closely with the theme of creation reversal. Their presence signals that something has returned to the “formless and void” condition of Genesis 1:2.
5. Jackals, demons, and the counter-human world
Isaiah 34, one of the strongest depictions of divine judgment, uses a list of beings—ṣiyyîm, ʾiyyîm, śeʿîrîm—to portray Edom’s devastation. This passage intentionally blurs the boundary between wild beasts and supernatural beings. Its purpose is not zoological classification but theological communication.
The key themes include:
A land abandoned by God becomes spiritually inverted.
Where humans refuse God’s presence, dehumanization results.
Where covenant order collapses, anti-human forces appear.
The wilderness becomes a symbolic anti-Eden.
The symbolic jackal is thus part of a larger biblical motif: the wilderness is inhabited by beings representing chaos, impurity, and the undoing of God’s good order. In this sense, jackals in prophetic judgment scenes point beyond themselves to the unmaking of creation.
6. Covenant theology, Gospel hope, and the wilderness transformed
According to the Bible, the wilderness is not only a place of judgment but also a place God promises to reclaim in the future. Jackals, as representatives of the wilderness realm, appear again in texts of hope:
Isaiah 35:7 — Jackals’ lairs become springs of water.
Isaiah 43:20 — The beasts of the field, including jackals, will honor God when he restores Israel.
Isaiah 51:3 — The wilderness becomes Eden-like when God comforts Zion.
In this vision, the wilderness—and the creatures that inhabit it—becomes a theater of restoration. In prophetic language, even jackals will “honor” God when he renews the land.
This fits within a larger biblical-theological pattern:
Creation → ordered, good, flourishing.
Judgment → wilderness, ruin, jackals.
Redemption → restoration, new creation, renewed land.
In the Christian view, the Gospel extends this hope to the whole cosmos. The one who cast out demons, brought life from death, and stilled the storm also ushers in the new creation. In the age to come, the wilderness itself will be renewed, and the places once associated with jackals—symbols of curse and chaos—will be transformed under Christ’s reign.
7. Jackals within the broader biblical symbolism of animals and spirits
Jackals function within a network of symbols in Scripture:
Lions represent both danger and royal power.
Serpents represent deception, curse, and spiritual rebellion.
Goat-demons (śeʿîrîm) appear in wilderness contexts of impurity (Leviticus 17:7).
Ostriches symbolize abandonment and desolation.
Tannîm (dragons, jackals, wolves) blend animal and mythic imagery.
Jackals occupy a distinctive place in this system: they represent both the literal wildlife of ruined places and the symbolic forces of the counter-human world. The biblical writers exploit this ambiguity to powerful effect.
8. How jackals contribute to biblical theology
Jackals help Scripture communicate truths about:
The consequences of human sin — ruin, decay, wilderness.
Divine judgment — cities become desolate.
Cosmic order — creation groans when covenant is broken.
Hope of renewal — the wilderness will one day blossom.
Jackals therefore play a small but meaningful role in the broader biblical story: from Eden lost, to wilderness judgment, to the promised restoration of all creation.
Bible verses about jackals, wilderness, and desolation
“Jackals shall cry in their palaces, and wild dogs in their pleasant houses” (Isaiah 13:22).
“The wild beasts of the desert shall meet the jackals” (Isaiah 34:14).
“It shall never again be inhabited… but wild animals and jackals shall dwell there” (Jeremiah 50:39).
“Zion has become a desolation… jackals prowl over it” (Lamentations 5:18).
“You have crushed us in the haunt of jackals” (Psalm 44:19).
“I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins, a lair of jackals” (Jeremiah 9:11).
“I will wail like the jackals” (Micah 1:8).
“The desert shall rejoice and blossom” (Isaiah 35:1).
“The beasts of the field will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches” (Isaiah 43:20).
“New heavens and a new earth” (Isaiah 65:17).
