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  • From: Kerry Shirts <shirtail AT cyberhighway.net>
  • To: Biblical Hebrew <b-hebrew AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>, 'Daladier Lima' <daladier AT elogica.com.br>
  • Subject: RE: Who is Lilith?
  • Date: Sun, 23 Jul 2000 10:01:02 -0600




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From: Daladier Lima[SMTP:daladier AT elogica.com.br]
Reply To: Daladier Lima
Sent: Sunday, July 23, 2000 6:32 AM
To: Biblical Hebrew
Subject: Who is Lilith?

<<File: ATT00013.html>>
Is a mitologic figure?
What the importance of the term, in biblical hebrew?

Daladier Lima
Hebrew Student

The Hebrew word for "Screech Owl" in Isaiah 34: 14 is "liyliyth" a night
sceptre from the Hebrew word "layil" meaning night. Lilith was a female
goddess known as a night demon who haunts the desolate places of Edom
(Harris, Archer, Waltke, "Theological Wordbook of the O.T." Vol. 1, p.
479).

Godwin's Cabalistic Encycolpedia mentions that she was the queen of demons
and the wife of Samael, or Asmodai, and the first wife of Adam before Eve.
(p. 178).

In Babylonian Myth, she derives form Lilitu, and Isaac Asimov in his book
"Asimov's Guide to the Bible," Vol. 1, p. 546 notes that the Revise
Standard Version of the Bible adds on the significant line "there shall the
night hag alight." He also notes that according to the Rabbinic ideas, Adam
couldn't stand Lilith because she was such a shrew (laugh!). Merlin Stone
in her book "When God Was A Woman," noted that Adam didn't like Lilith
because she would not be sexually submissive to him, (p. 159).

Interestingly, Harris, et.al., notes that in Ugaritic literature Lilith
receives the sacrifices, and a hymn to her reads to "the veiled bride."
(Vol. 1, p. 479). The Babylonian Goddess Ishtar also went by this name.
Magical incantations appear to her in the Aramaic Magic Bowls also. And
instead of the mumbo jumbo that some scholars attatch to this idea of
Lilith being the screech owl in ancient Israel, Harris et. al., makes an
interesting point. In ancient pagan literatures animism fills reality with
spirits. Cf. the Hebrew "Reshep" - "pestilence," with Ugaritic "rshp" the
"god of pestilence." Cf. Hebrew "yam" - "sea," with Ugaritic the "god who
is prince Sea." So "lilit" might have been a real creature demonized in the
surrounding culture. (p. 479).

Richard Hinckley Allen in his book "Star Names: Their Lore and Meaning,"
noted that the star Algol, "the demon star," was called Lilith in the
Talmudic times, (p. 332).

Robert Graves in his book "The White Goddess," (p. 315) notes that when
Blodeuwedd has betrayed Llew, she is punished by Gwydion who transmorgifies
her into an Owl. But she had been an owl for thousands of years already.
This is the same owl that is on Greek coins of Athens as the symbol of
Athene, the Goddess of Wisdom, the same owl that gave its name to Lilith,
the first wife of Adam...etc.,

Raphael Patai has an incredible amount of information on her in his
wonderful book "The Hebrew Goddess," Chapter 10! Among other things, the
father of the hero Gilgamesh was a "lilitu-demon." Interesting to be sure,
this dating back to 2400 B.C. Perhaps the first mention of Lilith....

Monica Sjoo and Barbara Mor's book "The Great Cosmic Mother," notes that
Lilith is portrayed as a winged snake (p. 276), and this can be seen in
Anne Baring and Jules Cashford, "The Myth of the Goddess," p. 512, from the
"Speculum Humanae Salvationis," in Augsburg from 1470.

And of course, the Lily was the sacred symbol of Lilith taken from the
Sumero-Babylonian lotus, (Barbara Walker, "The Woman's Dictionary of
Symbols and Sacred Objects," p. 428)

So, anyway, there are some interesting things about her in legend and
myth......

Kerry A. Shirts






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