A succubus is a demon or supernatural entity, in female form, that appears in dreams to seduce men, usually through sexual activity. According to religious tradition, repeated sexual activity with a succubus will form a bond between the succubus and the man. In modern depictions, a succubus is often portrayed as a beautiful seductress or enchantress rather than as demonic or frightening.
Do female demons exist? This probably isn’t a question that worries us today. From what we can tell, we shouldn’t mess with anything demonic. So why question the sex of demons, whether they come in male or female versions? It may not strike us as something to ask about.
However, medieval theologians such as Thomas Aquinas not only believed in the female demon known as the succubus (succubi, plural). Some suggested succubi had something to do with the giants known as the Nephilim that ran around the earth. But is the succubus in the Bible? In the Bible, should we distinguish between male demons (incubus, incubi) and female demons (succubus, succubi)? Does this have any effect on how we live today? We’ll explore these questions and more in today’s article.
What is a Succubus?
As mentioned before, a succubus is a female demon. Contrary to the male demon counterpart (the incubus), a succubus attempts to lure human males via sexual acts.
In Genesis 6, we encounter a group of giants who roam the earth. According to many theologians, these giants spawned from the unions of male demons (incubi) and human females to create a human-demon hybrid known as the Nephilim.
So what happens when a succubus and a human male bond? According to medieval theologians like Ludovico Maria Sinistari, demons cannot have sex with one another. So, they use humans to get the job done. We’ll cover more in the Nephilim section about how the succubi supposedly played a role in the Genesis 6 narrative.
We also know that many in medieval times believed that succubi played a role in sexual dreams that would happen at night. The word incubi (the male version of demons) means nightmare. So, it would make sense that the female counterpart, the succubus, could have something to do with dreams that take place.
According to the National Library of Medicine, “Succubus is understood as a Lilin-demon in female form or supernatural entity that appears in dreams to seduce men, usually through sexual activity.” Lilin is a term in Jewish tradition (taken from Lilith) for a demon that generally operates at night. The National Library of Medicine article goes on to say that people in medieval times would use demonic activity to explain psychological phenomena such as sleep paralysis or even schizophrenia.
So have we made up these female demons? Or does the succubus appear in the Bible?
Does the Bible Ever Mention a Succubus?
We never read any explicit verses that use the word succubus in the Bible. With that said, we can look at a few that may hint at demons tempting humans to do sexual acts. We know certain demons can tempt humans to become seductresses themselves, such as the Jezebel Spirit.
Most medieval theologians who believed in succubi would’ve pointed to Proverbs 2 as a passage that hints at succubi. An adulterous woman is described who leads men down the path of destruction “to the spirits of the dead.”
Matthew Henry states this likely represents a human rather than a demonic entity. But then again, angels appear as men in various parts of the Old and New Testaments (Genesis 19:3, Matthew 28:2). If demons, being fallen angels, have the same power as angels, they certainly could appear as humans as well. Satan does seek to destroy and deceive.
Apart from that passage above, we can only do guesswork about the nature of demons. After all, we often do not know the gender of good angels. Michael and Gabriel are the only angels mentioned explicitly in most Bibles seen today (Revelation 12, Luke 1). Those names belong to males, and we see no indication of female angels in the Bible, but the Bible doesn’t get a survey of the whole angel population.
In short, the Bible offers little evidence for the existence of the succubus. Still, we do have the passage in Genesis 6 to contend with. The passage about the Nephilim.
Did Succubi Sire the Nephilim?
As we mentioned, medieval literature maintained that demons could not have sex with one another. This may explain why we don’t see the Bible mentioning angel reproduction. This raises the question of how angels or demons could survive as a species, but it appears they cannot be destroyed except by God—hence, the fallen angels who meet their fate in the lake of fire (Revelation 20).
Nevertheless, some theologians argue that demons found another way to spawn offspring: through humans. Genesis 6 describes how the sons of men (demons) lay with human daughters, and their offspring were the Nephilim. Later the Bible refers to giants known as the Anakim, who are descended from the Nephilim. Perhaps the Anakim giants had descendants who were the Philistine giants like Goliath.
But did the succubus play a role at all in this narrative? According to Aquinas and Augustine, “demons could take the forms of incubi and succubi and have relations with human beings. This would allow them to acquire the cells needed for reproduction.” In other words, the succubus would take the seed from a man, and the incubus could plant it into a woman. This would result in non-demon-hybrid human babies.
In other words, Aquinas and St. Augustine believed that humans could create other humans through the help of demons. So a succubus wouldn’t create a giant-demon hybrid.
Why would they do this? The theologians don’t offer many thoughts about the why apart from the fact that demons love to control and love to pervert processes God has created. With that said, we have few arguments or evidence for the succubus outside of medieval literature. Even in medieval literature, succubi don’t appear to play much of a role in the Nephilim. There are few, if any, references to succubi siring incubi or Nephilim.
Succubus References in Literature:
We have seen names such as St. Augustine and Aquinas pop into the chat. So what literature (especially medieval literature) can we point to that mentions these types of demons?
1. City of God by St. Augustine
In St. Augustine’s City of God (finished in 426 AD), he admits the existence of succubi. Interestingly, he doesn’t believe that the Nephilim mentioned in Genesis 6 were giants. According to this article, though, he would’ve thought the Book of Tobit canonical, which leads us into the next book.
2. Book of Tobit
The Book of Tobit (written sometime in the third or second century BC) affirms the existence of the female demon known as the succubus. It’s worth noting that most Christians do not consider the Book of Tobin canonical Scripture outside Roman Catholic traditions. Although we do not personally attribute canonicity to the Book of Tobit, it can give us insight into medieval thought.
3. Summa Theologica by Thomas Aquinas
Summa Theologica (published in 1485) is Aquinas’ best-known work, a systematic guidebook for theologians to understand philosophy and religious doctrine. As mentioned earlier, Aquinas believed succubi could participate in the sexual process by acquiring men’s seeds and handing them off to incubi.
4. Zohar
Probably written in the 1200s, this is a Jewish mystical work popular in medieval times. In it, a character known as Naamah is introduced. She is the demon in charge of prostitution and a succubus.
5. Alphabet Ben Sirach
Written sometime between the sixth and eleventh century AD, this Jewish text compiles several proverbs (and commentary on those proverbs) with a story about a man named Ben Sira (allegedly the son of the prophet Jeremiah). Some scholars argue that Alphabet ben Sirach is a satire of religious literature. The book includes Ben Sira telling various stories, including the story of Lilith (more on her in a moment). She appears to have similar powers to Naamah, and although she doesn’t start as a demon, she later becomes a succubus.
Plenty of non-western works mention entities similar to succubi. One of these includes the Buddhist text Dharani Sutra of Amoghapāśa.
So, is a succubus ever mentioned in the Bible? Or did medieval theologians become a little too influenced by other worldviews? The evidence listed above and the prevalence of Lilith in medieval literature, suggest the latter. To finish our discussion, how does Lilith fit into discussions about succubi?
Was Lilith a Succubus?
Lilith never appears in the Bible. Jewish mythological literature describes her as Adam’s first wife, cast out of Eden for not following Adam’s authority and eventually becoming a succubus. Narratives about her change fit within the succubus narrative of demons approaching men at night to give them sex dreams.
Lilith did have a lot of sex—to the point where she produced hundreds of children. Alphabet ben Sirach describes her also having some control over human children. This further ties her to the characteristics of succubi. They like to control children in the most primal way: controlling the birth process.
What Can We Learn from this Information about the Succubus?
Granting that Lilith is a succubus, the fact we never see a succubus (or Lilith) in the Bible, only in legends and mythological content that were written centuries later, means we have nothing to worry about. So what can we take away from all of this?
First, we need to operate discernment based on the literature we read. If we can’t find it in the Bible, we need to pray and ask the Lord to help us in gray areas. Secondly, as Christians, we need to remember demons have no power over us. So, even if succubi exist, we need not fear them. Third, although exploring spiritual realms is fascinating, the Bible doesn’t dive into them in detail for a reason. As finite beings, we would find any spiritual beings strange and incomprehensible.
Most important, we have a greater mission here on earth: to spread the Gospel to all nations. Studying what the Bible clearly says about the spiritual realm can help us grow closer to God and provide the knowledge we need for our mission. However, we should never make speculation about the spiritual realm our priority. If we get caught up in speculations about knowledge outside the Bible, we’ll forget the real reason why God placed us here.
Photo Credit: Getty Images/chainatp
Hope Bolinger is an acquisitions editor at End Game Press, book editor for hire, and the author of almost 30 books. More than 1500 of her works have been featured in various publications. Check out her books at hopebolinger.com for clean books in most genres, great for adults and kids. Check out her editing profile at Reedsy.com to find out about hiring her for your next book project.
This article is part of our Christian Terms catalog, exploring words and phrases of Christian theology and history. Here are some of our most popular articles covering Christian terms to help your journey of knowledge and faith:
The Full Armor of God
The Meaning of "Selah"
What Is Grace? Bible Definition and Christian Quotes
What is Discernment? Bible Meaning and Importance
What Is Prophecy? Bible Meaning and Examples
