Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Daladier Lima" <daladier AT elogica.com.br>]

Shalom Kerry

 

Very good your citations and conclusions, but the hebrew have other myths or demons mencioned by name (except the biblical mentions) ?

Otherwise, in the Talmud Lilith is cited? And in other rabinic books?

 

Daladier Lima

Brazil

 

 

----- Original Message -----

From: Kerry Shirts <shirtail AT cyberhighway.net>

To: Biblical Hebrew <b-hebrew AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>; 'Daladier Lima' <daladier AT elogica.com.br>

Sent: Sunday, July 23, 2000 1:01 PM

Subject: RE: Who is Lilith?

>
>
> ----------
> 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