frostymama

Background info: My mother was visiting Saturday and told me that she has seen a show on the discovery channel (while at my sister's house) about the Bible that had disturbed her a little bit. This started a big discussion between us and somehow "Lillith" came up. She had never heard of Lillith and I think it upset her a bit when I showed her the verse in Isaiah.

I felt really bad about upsetting her so I told her that I would try to find out some more information about the Lillith myth. Right now I am trying to work my way through Enoch and Tobit, but I figured I would see if anyone here knows the answers.

Here is what she wants to know:

*Would the Lillith myth have been widely known in the 1st century?

*How would it have differed from the "Adam's-first-wife-turned-night-demon" story that I showed her?

*Would she have been viewed by the general population as a mythical or historical figure?

Hazel-rah

I'm at work and not at liberty to find all the great websites on the topic, but Lilith is a product of Hebrew midrashim--those great, peripheral works written to explain gaps and contradictions in the Old Testament.

The Lilith myth as Adam's first wife, I think, came from Ben Sira. So, whenever that was would be the birth of that myth.

Lilith is also an evolution of a Babylonian goddess/demon (Lilit? Can't remember), which is where the baby-killing aspect comes from. Mythical convergence brought them together.

The quote in Isaiah differs depending on your translation. Some choose "Lilith," some say "screech owl." As the Babylonian deity was associated with screech owls, that's where the mix-up comes from--similar to the whole Lucifer-Morning Star thing.

If no one else steps in and does my homework for me, I'll get you more info when I get a break.

spin

I couldn't find anything tangible for a Lilith tradition, though the following, taken from here, may be of interest:

This may be of interest, as could this.


spin

brighid

http://www.lilitu.com/lilith/ - The Lilith Shrine

It seems Lilith or lilitu originated in Mesopitamia and was a female demon or wind spirit. (She is mentioned in the Epic of Gilgamesh) http://www.webcom.com/~gnosis/lillith.html

The Lilith myth was widely known in the 1st century, but from what I understand, not in as much detail as we have in later Judaic mythology.

It seems around the 2nd century she took on the "whore" aspect (in the Haggadah)

In Sumerian tradition she was a tree spirit that was driven out of Inanna's Hallupu Tree by Gilgamesh.

It seems in all traditions she is some sort of demon or wind spirit (demon wind is one translation of her name.)

She fully evolves into a child-stealing, blood sucking, sperm draining, succubi in Jewish mythology and this is where we see her at the 1st wife of Adam (Lilith, consequently is immortal and has wings like cheribum, as well as magical powers and is able to call upon the secret name of God.) She would not submit to an inferior position and when Adam tried to rape her she fled to the Red Sea where she had sex with demons. Adam, being the whiney, insecure piece of crap that he was, complained to God and asked that his "helpmate" be brought back. She refuses to go back to the man who attempted to rape her and live a life in submission, and therefore is cursed by God to have 100 of her demon children killed per day. It is after this curse for her insolence that she begins praying on the children of man to avenge the children the Judaic God kills every day, as well as preying upon men in their sleep and draining them of their seed.

God then creates Eve to be submissive to Adam (from his rib and not from the dust of the Earth like Adam and Lilith) because Adam's poor ego couldn't handle a strong, independent woman who didn't take kindly to being raped.

Brighid

brighid

The Ben Sira is considered to be an unreliable source, and some see it as "anti-rabbinac" propaganda.


Brighid

Dean Anderson

I assume you mean Isiah 34:14...

Wow, that must be the verse in the Bible with the most variant translations...

...becomes...

So we have... &yym (Wild Cats/Demons/Wild Beasts Of The Desert/Ziim/Beasts Of The Waste Places) meeting with `yym (Jackals/Monsters/Wild Beasts Of The Isle/Aiim/Wolves)...

Then the vsjyr (Hairy Ones/Satyr/Goat/Evil Spirits/Wild Goat) will call for it's fellows...

And... lylyt (The Night-Monster/Lamia/Screech-Owl/Night-Owl/Night-Spirit) will also rest there.

It's a good job that this text is innerrant and divinely inspired, otherwise I might get the impression that some of these translators were just guessing...

They can't even decide whether the passage is a mundane one about wild animals or a supernatural one about demons/lamia/satyrs!

spin

I had looked through these claims and found that there is no substance to this "widely known" myth in the 1st century claim.

The later Hebrew tradition -- quite late -- seems to work of the folk etymology linking lilith to LYL meaning night, which doesn't seem to be directly related to that known in Mesopotamian sources as lilitu and variants.


spin