The demoness Lilith (1)

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The Hebrew demoness Lilith derives from Mesopotamia.

Isaiah 34:14:
Lilith was originally a Sumerian female demon of the desolate steppe, the Sumerian word líl means ‘wind’. According to the Sumerian literary composition Gilgameš, Enkidu and the netherworld, Lilith lived in the trunk of the cosmic haluppu-tree. The name Lilith occurs in Isaiah 34:14, the Hebrew word was derived from the Akkadian lilītu, which is feminine form of lilu. Jerome translated the word in Vulgate as lamia, bringing it to a relation with the Mesopotamian Lamaštu tradition. The later forms of Lilith in the Rabbinic literature was portrayed as a creature with long, flowing hair and with wings. She was the queen of the līlīn, and is probably to be identified with Agrath bath Mahlath. She attacked pregnant women and babies, and caused impotence in young men. Jews and Christians wore amulets to ward off her influences. There were many legends about Lilith, particularly the notion that she was Adam’s first wife before Eve was formed from his rib. Adam left her as the result of a quarrel, and refused to be reconciled. As a judgement, one hundred of her children were condemned to die daily. The Jewish Kindbettzettel which hang up on the wall of a lying-in chamber, usually contained in its centre the Hebrew legend חוץ לילית “Get out, Lilith’, written in bold characters.

Sources (list of abbreviations) (source links will open in a new browser window)
Gilgameš, Enkidu and the Netherworld
Isaiah 34:14

Bibliography

Amar Annus

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