Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Kerry Shirts <shirtail AT cyberhighway.net>]

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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