6,509
edits
Difference between revisions of "Lilith"
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
no edit summary
Occultwiki (talk | contribs) |
Occultwiki (talk | contribs) |
||
| Line 12: | Line 12: | ||
In some [[Judaism|Jewish]] folklore, such as the satirical ''Alphabet of Sirach'' (c. 700–1000 AD), Lilith appears as Adam's first wife, who was created at the same time and from the same clay as Adam. The legend of Lilith developed extensively during the Middle Ages, in the tradition of Aggadah, the Zohar, and Jewish mysticism. For example, in the 13th-century writings of Isaac ben Jacob ha-Cohen, Lilith left Adam after she refused to become subservient to him and then would not return to the Garden of Eden after she had coupled with the [[Archangel]] [[Samael]]. | In some [[Judaism|Jewish]] folklore, such as the satirical ''Alphabet of Sirach'' (c. 700–1000 AD), Lilith appears as Adam's first wife, who was created at the same time and from the same clay as Adam. The legend of Lilith developed extensively during the Middle Ages, in the tradition of Aggadah, the Zohar, and Jewish mysticism. For example, in the 13th-century writings of Isaac ben Jacob ha-Cohen, Lilith left Adam after she refused to become subservient to him and then would not return to the Garden of Eden after she had coupled with the [[Archangel]] [[Samael]]. | ||
Interpretations of Lilith found in later Jewish materials are plentiful, but little information has survived relating to the Sumerian, Akkadian, Assyrian and Babylonian view of this class of demons. Recent scholarship has disputed the relevance of two sources previously used to connect the Jewish lilith to an Akkadian ''lilītu'' – the Gilgamesh appendix and the Arslan Tash | Interpretations of Lilith found in later Jewish materials are plentiful, but little information has survived relating to the Sumerian, Akkadian, Assyrian and Babylonian view of this class of demons. Recent scholarship has disputed the relevance of two sources previously used to connect the Jewish lilith to an Akkadian ''lilītu'' – the Gilgamesh appendix and the Arslan Tash [[amulet]]s. In contrast, some scholars, such as Lowell K. Handy, hold the view that though Lilith derives from Mesopotamian demonology, evidence of the Hebrew Lilith being present is scant. | ||
==Mesopotamian mythology== | ==Mesopotamian mythology== | ||
| Line 20: | Line 20: | ||
Kramer's translation of the Gilgamesh fragment was used by Henri Frankfort and Emil Kraeling in 1937 to support identification of a woman with wings and bird-feet in the disputed Burney Relief as related to Lilith. Frankfort and Kraeling identified the figure in the relief with Lilith. Today, the identification of the Burney Relief with Lilith is questioned. Modern research has identified the figure as one of the main goddesses of the Mesopotamian pantheons, most probably Ereshkigal. But the figure is more generally identified as the goddess of love and war. | Kramer's translation of the Gilgamesh fragment was used by Henri Frankfort and Emil Kraeling in 1937 to support identification of a woman with wings and bird-feet in the disputed Burney Relief as related to Lilith. Frankfort and Kraeling identified the figure in the relief with Lilith. Today, the identification of the Burney Relief with Lilith is questioned. Modern research has identified the figure as one of the main goddesses of the Mesopotamian pantheons, most probably Ereshkigal. But the figure is more generally identified as the goddess of love and war. | ||
The Arslan Tash | The Arslan Tash [[amulet]]s are limestone plaques discovered in 1933 at Arslan Tash, the authenticity of which is disputed. William F. Albright, Theodor H. Gaster, and others, accepted the amulets as a pre-Jewish source which shows that the name Lilith already existed in the 7th century BC but Torczyner identified the amulets as a later Jewish source. | ||
==Hebrew Bible== | ==Hebrew Bible== | ||
The word ''lilit'' (or ''lilith'') only appears once in the Hebrew [[Bible]], among a list of animals as part of a prophecy regarding the fate of Edom animals in Isaiah 34. | The word ''lilit'' (or ''lilith'') only appears once in the Hebrew [[Bible]], among a list of animals as part of a prophecy regarding the fate of Edom animals in Isaiah 34. | ||
The Isaiah 34:14 Lilith reference does not appear in most common [[Bible]] translations such as KJV and NIV. Commentators and interpreters often envision the figure of Lilith as a dangerous demon of the night, who is sexually wanton, and who steals babies in the darkness. In the Dead Sea Scrolls 4Q510-511, the term first occurs in a list of monsters. Jewish magical inscriptions on bowls and | The Isaiah 34:14 Lilith reference does not appear in most common [[Bible]] translations such as KJV and NIV. Commentators and interpreters often envision the figure of Lilith as a dangerous demon of the night, who is sexually wanton, and who steals babies in the darkness. In the Dead Sea Scrolls 4Q510-511, the term first occurs in a list of monsters. [[Judaism|Jewish]] magical inscriptions on bowls and [[amulet]]s from the 6th century CE onward identify Lilith as a female [[demon]] and provide the first visual depictions of her. | ||
The Septuagint translates both the reference to Lilith and the word for jackals or "wild beasts of the island" within the same verse into Greek as ''onokentauros'', apparently assuming them as referring to the same creatures and omitting "wildcats/wild beasts of the desert" (so, instead of the wildcats or desert beasts meeting with the jackals or island beasts, the goat or "satyr" crying "to his fellow" and lilith or "screech owl" resting "there", it is the goat or "satyr", translated as ''daimonia'' "demons", and the jackals or island beasts "onocentaurs" meeting with each other and crying "one to the other" and the latter resting there in the translation). | The Septuagint translates both the reference to Lilith and the word for jackals or "wild beasts of the island" within the same verse into Greek as ''onokentauros'', apparently assuming them as referring to the same creatures and omitting "wildcats/wild beasts of the desert" (so, instead of the wildcats or desert beasts meeting with the jackals or island beasts, the goat or "satyr" crying "to his fellow" and lilith or "screech owl" resting "there", it is the goat or "satyr", translated as ''daimonia'' "demons", and the jackals or island beasts "onocentaurs" meeting with each other and crying "one to the other" and the latter resting there in the translation). | ||