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The Bible mentions a number of supernatural beings, starting with the most commonly known ones - God, angels, spirits, but there are also ones that appear less often, like witches (Witch of Endor), or giants (Nephilim).

Is there a comprehensive list of supernatural beings that appear in the Bible along with descriptions of what they are?


As for defining supernatural, lets assume anything that is not part of the natural world, that is, grounded in reality outside of religion. Humans are natural, animals are natural, people worshipping other gods (like wiccans or baalists) are natural, people performing miracles (like Witch of Endor) are supernatural, just like angels, half angels, spirits, etc. In the end, anything not conforming to natural laws is supernatural.

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What 'natural' laws do you speak of? You will have to make an arbitrary distinction because science does not make an absolute judgment on the topic. –  RiverC Feb 10 '12 at 21:24
@RiverC en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laws_of_nature - natural laws, as in being part of the natural world (as opposed to the supernatural) are also known as physical laws - laws that can be objectively observed, tested, scrutinized and are refutable under possible conditions. Examples of supernatural feats going against natural laws would be levitation, telekinesis, precognition, teleportation, astral projections, transmutation and so forth. –  ThePiachu Feb 10 '12 at 22:52
Marginally related: Were the Nephilim in Genesis 6 aliens? –  Jon Ericson Feb 10 '12 at 23:51
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2 Answers 2

The definition of supernatural is pretty important here. If it refers to anything that is not in the physical world, then angels and demons could be considered supernatural. If it refers to anything outside the scope of common experience to modern society, then the Nephilim could be considered supernatural.

Perhaps a good definition for supernatural would be anything that is outside the physical universe of time, space, and matter. In that case, only God is supernatural, since even angels and demons seem to exist within the physical universe. Most often, they are hidden from our view, but not always.

If the definition is expanded to refer to any beings for which earth is not their home, then angels and demons are added to the list.

Witches exist today. They are people who practice certain rituals and such. They are not supernatural themselves, but they seek to facilitate demonic powers, which can be considered supernatural. So, the powers they seek to use are supernatural, but they themselves are natural.

The Nephilim could very well be normal human beings. It is really speculation to firmly classify them one way or the other, since we just aren't told enough about them.

So, God is supernatural. Angels and demons could also be considered supernatural, and this would include the Seraphim, Cherubim, and other angelic beings mentioned in Scripture. Outside of that, I don't really know of any beings that are considered supernatural.

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Re your point on witches: a Christian prayer of intercession is also just as much an appeal to the supernatural. I have also heard it argued that what might be referred to as "witches" today is not really the same meaning as the Biblical witch/sorceress term. And many "witches" would retort tht is has nothing to do with demonism. –  Marc Gravell Feb 9 '12 at 18:14
Just a thought on additions: there are a number of other resurrections in the Bible, and (separately) the dead walking the streets post-crucifixion (Matt 27). These all sound like supernatural-esque beings - albeit as a side-effect. –  Marc Gravell Feb 9 '12 at 18:25
Some people writing the Bible tended to demonise other people they did not agree with. Such was the case of people worshipping Ba‘al Zəbûl (High Lord), turning it into a derogatory Beelzebub (Lord of Flies) as Hebrews considered him a false idol. Probably it was the same case with biblical "witches" who probably were just pagans worshipping their own gods. Same thing happens today with religious fanatics saying that Harry Potter readers worships the Satan and what not, it's just defamation. –  ThePiachu Feb 10 '12 at 5:47
@ThePiachu You are presuming that the Bible has its origin with men rather than God. The Bible does not present itself that way. 2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:20, Psalm 119. That idea is only one option. The other option is that there really is a God and that witches really are messing with demonic powers. Just claiming that the Bible has its origin with men and not God certainly does not make it so in the least bit. –  Narnian Feb 10 '12 at 14:06
Do you have a source for "even angels and demons seem to exist within the physical universe?" Because my immediate impression is that in the Bible they (normally) do not inhabit our physical universe, but only in special circumstances are they within our physical realm. –  Flimzy Feb 11 '12 at 13:41
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Here are some supernatural beings mentioned in the Bible that I could find, along with named examples if such appeared for the less common beings:

  • God, angels and people performing miracles in the name of God appear throught the Bible.

  • Fallen angel in form of Lucifer was mentioned in Isaiah 14.

  • Satan, possibly a separate entity from Lucifer, was very prevelant in the Book of Job.

  • The Beast, that is either Lucifer, Satan, or a separate entity was described in the Book of Revalation.

  • Divinators, observers of time, enchanters, witches, charmers, mediums, familiar spirits, wizards, necromancers - all are mentioned in Deuteronomy 18:10-11.

  • Most nootable witch mentioned in the Bible was Witch of Endor, that was able to communicate with spirits and conjure them - 1 Samuel 28:3-25

  • Most notable sorcerror mentioned was Simon Magus - Acts 8:9-24. He used sorcerry, as well as was able to bewitch the entire city of Samaria.

  • A number of evil spirits or devils were mentioned throught the Bible, most notable was Legion from Mark 5. He was described as having supernatural strength.

  • Giants, or Nephilim (half-angels, half-men), Anakims, etc. - They were mentioned in Genesis 6:4, but also appear in other places. Most probably they were just big people, but given the origin of Nephilim, can still be considered supernatural.

  • Dragons/sea serpents/leviathans - they are refferred to several times, most notable mention appeared in Isaiah 27:1.

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Strike the last: Unicorns in the Psalms? –  Jon Ericson Feb 10 '12 at 23:52
Deleted. Too bad some people take KJV as a literal word of God and would hold is as evidence that they existed. –  ThePiachu Feb 10 '12 at 23:56
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