But in early Jewish thought, represented by targumim and possibly 3 Baruch, along with translations of the Hebrew Bible such as the Peshitta and Vulgate, the se’īrīm were understood as demons.
[5] Thus Isaiah 13:21 predicts, in Karen L. Edwards's translation: "But wild animals [ziim] will lie down there, and its houses will be full of howling creatures [ohim]; there ostriches will live, and there goat-demons [sa’ir] will dance."
Similarly, Isaiah 34:14 declares: "Wildcats [ziim] shall meet with hyenas [iim], goat-demons [sa’ir] shall call to each other; there too Lilith [lilit] shall repose and find a place to rest.
[9] Due to the connection to wild animals (jackals, ostriches, hyenas), there are regarded as metaphorical images of life-threatening beasts outside civilized areas.
[10] Such wild animals settling in ruined areas such as Babylon and Edom reinforces them as a symbol of divine judgement and chaos.