The lurking lion

Urmahlullu (“untamed lion man”) is a mythical ancient Mesopotamian beast with a lion-centaur appearance. It was seen as a guardian spirit, and its image was used to ward against various malign demons, including the winged death demon Mukīl rēš lemutti and the lavatory demon Šulak.

Mukīl rēš lemutti, meaning “he who holds the head of evil,” was an ancient Mesopotamian winged leonine (lion) demon, a harbinger of misfortune associated with benign headaches and wild swings in mood, where the afflicted “continually behaves like an animal caught in a trap.”

Šulak is a “lurker,” a type of demon who lies in wait in places where a potential victim is likely to be alone, as in a lavatory. There the concern was: “Šulak will hit him!” Šulak is described in Akkadian sources as a “rampant,” or bipedal but otherwise normal looking lion. Protective amulets in the form of Urmahlullu, or cuneiform tablets inscribed with spells to ward off Šulak, were often buried in the doorways of lavatories, or in the foundations of the house, or deposited in drainage pipes.

Now compare this to what God said to Cain in Genesis 4:7: “sin is crouching at the door, and its craving is to dominate you; but will you get the mastery over it?” Or, as the Contemporary English Version has it: “and now sin is waiting to attack you like a lion. Sin wants to destroy you, but don’t let it!”

Clark’s Commentary notes that this language is “used to express the lying down of a quadruped at the door of his fold.”

The NET Bible notes: “Sin is portrayed with animal imagery here as a beast crouching and ready to pounce (a figure of speech known as zoomorphism). An Akkadian cognate refers to a type of demon.”

Similarly, the HarperCollins Study Bible has this note: “Sin is … personified here as a ravenous beast or demon, which the individual can and must control.”

Thus, this warning in Genesis 4:7 has a historical context in the ancient Near East of lion demons who tried to invade homes and bathrooms.

Lastly, this lion imagery is last seen in 1 Peter 5:8, where Satan is called “a roaring lion, seeking to devour someone.” Apparently, this aggressive demonic lion imagery was a known concept in the ancient world, haunting humanity from the dawn of time.

Link:

• Urmahlullu en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urmahlullu