Key Takeaways
In Jewish mythology and folklore , Lilith is a raven - hairy devil who preys on incapacitated newborn infants and seduce unsuspicious piece , using their " wasted seed " to spawn hordes of demon babies . Although her name only appear once in the Hebrew Bible , over the centuries Lilith has been cast asAdam’srebellious first wife , the soul mate of Samael the demon Billie Jean Moffitt King , and more recently as a feminist icon . So , which is therealLilith ?
Long before Judaism take her , Lilith - same demonswere haunting the nightmares of ancient Sumerians , Assyrians and Babylonians . Male and distaff fiend calledliluandliliturespectively appear in the Sumerian Epic ofGilgamesh , and the Mesopotamian goddessLamashtuwas a winged devil that torture women during childbirth , caused miscarriage and stole breastfeeding infants .
What these various " L"-named look had in common was a sinister desire to affect at humans when they were most vulnerable , peculiarly pregnant women and newborns , in a pre - scientific age when infant and maternal mortality rates were wrenchingly gamy .
" To me , these ancient account accredit the limits of our power to control the world and ruminate a desire to make these terrible effect seem less random , " articulate Laura Lieber , a prof of spiritual subject area at Duke University . " The pandemic is a reminder that there are sure affair – malady in especial – that are a whodunit , why certain people are afflicted and why others are spar . "
One ancient tabletrecovered in Syria and dated to the 7th 100 B.C.E. includes a scarey supplication to be spared the ire of the black - wing daemon : " O flyer in a dark chamber , go away at once , O Lili ! "
Lilith as Adam’s First Wife
The Canaanites , Hebrews and Israelites doubtless absorb some of thelilitu / Lamashtudemonology , although the only mention of a " lilith " in the Hebrew Bible ( get it on as the Old Testament in Christianity ) appears inIsaiah 34:14 , in which the prophet describe a barren wilderness put waste by God ’s net judgment :
" The word ' lilith ' is sometimes translated as a screech bird of night , " says Lieber , " which is get in touch to the fact that in Ancient Near easterly mythology , devil goddess often had wings and razz ft . "
Some early rabbinical reviewer on the Hebrew Bible wonder , however , if Lilith had n’t made a secret appearance in the Book of Genesis . Upon close reading , there look to be two disjoined accounts of how God created the first man and adult female . In Genesis 1 , God make both man and woman at the same time – " male and female He created them " ( Gen. 1:27 ) . In Genesis 2 , however , God first created Adam " from the dust of the earth " and then remove one of Adam ’s rib to constitute Eve ( Gen. 2 : 21 - 22 ) .
Was the unnamed woman created in Genesis 1 someone other than Eve ? And was it Lilith ? This challenging interrogative sentence likely circulated in Jewish mythology and folklore for hundred . Then , in the ninth century C.E. , we get the first full - blown discussion of Lilith as Adam ’s unruly first wife .
The infamous account appears in " The Alphabet of Ben Sira , " a satiric and borderline dissident Jewish text edition from the Middle Ages that poked fun at biblical figures and incorporated elements of popular folklore .
According to Ben Sira , the first fair sex created alongside Adam in Genesis 1 was indeed Lilith , and she and Adam " immediately set out to altercate . " When Adam insisted that Lilith " rest beneath " him during sex , she was n’t have it , replying , " You lie beneath me ! We are both equal , for both of us are from the earth . "
Lilith storm off , pronounce the " indefinable name of God " and fly by . God sent three angels after Lilith named Senoy , Sansenoy and Semangelof , who require that she return . By that gunpoint , she had already catch some Z’s with Samael , chief among the demons , and vowed that she would not harm the human offspring of Adam and Eve if they wrote her name on a protective amulet during childbirth . Otherwise , she ’d have dominion over new-sprung human babies during the first weeks of their life .
" What we get from Ben Sira is a desire to pull out together different threads of all of the extant traditions surround Lilith , " say Lieber , and also an explanation for a childbearing ritual to protect against sudden infant death that had already been in practice session for centuries .
Anti-Lilith Amulets and Incantation Bowls
Long before " The Alphabet of Ben Sira " was in circulation , Judaic households were using protective amulets to guard off Lilith and other infernal child - thief . Between thefifth to 8th centuries C.E. , the most popular form of anti - demonic auspices was something called an incantation bowling ball .
These ceramic bowls were fashioned by " Jewish virtuoso " in Babylon to entrap a specific fiend associated with a specific illness or condition . Like the traditional biblical practice of fasten amezuzahon the doorposts of a house , Jewish families expecting a baby would bury one of these magical conjuration bowls under their front door to block introduction by otherworldly baby abductor .
" These sorcerous roll were a crisscross between amezuzahand Aladdin ’s lamp , " says Lieber , adding that they were used by non - Jews as well .
As incantation bowls fell out of favor , Jewish fellowship purchased metal or newspaper amulets inscribed with the epitome of a bounce Lilith and prayer for godlike aegis , including to Senoy , Sansenoy and Semangelof . Lieber says that you may still bribe anti - Lilith amulets in some Jewish communities .
From Outcast to Feminist Icon
The rabbinic commentaries and Judaic folktales surrounding Lilith all portrayed her as a wild , fallen woman cursed for her sin of insubordination . Since Lilith was unable to have her own human children , she not only stole unprotected infants , but seduced men in their sleep and took their seminal fluid ( an ancient account of " nocturnal emission " ) .
The Babylonian Talmud , an ancient source of Jewish legal philosophy , tell : " It is forbidden for a man to catch some Z’s alone in a house , lest Lilith get clutches of him . " It ’s believed that Lilith expend the steal " seed " to saturate herself with multitudinous demon baby . Lieber says that some Hasidic folktale tell of courtyard competitiveness between human being and demon materialization over an inheritance .
It was n’t until the recent twentieth C that feminist writers and activists began to reinterpret the Lilith myth , not as a monition against becoming an uncontrollable , " wanton " woman like Adam ’s first married woman , but as a role model for a dissimilar kind of distaff existence . In 1972 , the writer and filmmaker Lilly Rivlin published agroundbreaking article about LilithinMs.magazine , and the Jewish women’s liberationist magazineLilithlaunched in 1976 .
" [ S]elf - sufficient woman , inspired by the women ’s drift , have adopted the Lilith myth as their own , " wrote Rivlin in the 1998 book " Which Lilith ? " " They have transform her into a distaff symbol for autonomy , sexual choice , and control of one ’s own fate . "
" Lilith is apowerfulfemale , Aviva Cantor Zuckoff write , in the first proceeds of Lilith magazine . " She beam strength , assertiveness ; she refuses to cooperate in her own victimization . By acknowledge Lilith ’s uprising and even in apprisal of her vengeful activity , myth - makers also recognise Lilith ’s power . "
Lilith has also show up in boob tube shows as diverse as " The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina , " " Frasier " and " Scooby - Doo ! Mystery Incorporated , " as well as lent her name to the Lilith Fair , a enormously successful all - female music festivalco - founded by Sarah McLachlan . It tour America for three summers , 1997 to 1999 and was in brief revived in 2010 .
FAQs
Yes , Jewish households used protective amulets and incantation bowl to guard off Lilith and other demonic baby - stealers .
In modern feminist interpretations , Lilith is see as a symbol of autonomy , intimate choice and restraint of one ’s own luck .
