Satyrs

Satyrs appear in the laws governing Israelite sacrifice as beings to whom people had been making offerings. Their brief mention links unauthorized sacrifice with religious misdirection and the centralization of worship at the tent of meeting.

Mention in the Sacrificial Law

The LORD commands that Israelites bring animals intended for sacrifice to the entrance of the tent of meeting and present them to the priest. The priest is to dash the blood against the altar and make the fat smoke as an offering to the LORD.

Within this instruction, the text prohibits further sacrifices to Satyrs, saying that the people had gone astray after them. The ban is framed as a lasting statute for their generations, not as an incidental comment about ritual practice.

Worship and Community Boundaries

The passage places the prohibition alongside rules requiring Israelites and resident strangers to bring burnt offerings and sacrifices to the tent of meeting. Failure to do so carries the penalty of being cut off from the community. The rule therefore defines authorized worship by both its recipient, the LORD, and its prescribed place.

Satyrs are not described or given individual roles in the narrative. Their significance here is limited to their place in a forbidden form of sacrifice: turning to them is presented as a departure from the worship and communal obligations established by the law.