Lilith: a night demon threatening children, women in childbirth and sleeping men? Lilith: the Biblical first wife of Adam?
Lilith -- or, in Akkadian, Lilitu -- is a name that appears (as Lilitu) in ancient Sumerican and Babylonian sources as a demon or evil spirit. The name first appears in the Hebrew scriptures in Isaiah, part of a list of spirits and unclean animals. A Greek female demon, Lamia, has sometimes been identified with Lilith.
To the end of the ancient period, Lilith is described in Jewish sources as a long-haired demon who flies and who threatens children and also women in childbirth. Lilith is sometimes also connected with male nocturnal emissions. In this connection, the Talmud mentions Lilith with conceiving evil spirits with Adam during his nighttime dreams, during a time Adam separates from Eve after they are expelled from the Garden of Eden.
It is not until the medieval period that Lilith is identified as the first wife or mate of Adam. The human creation story in Genesis, told several times, is unclear about whether Adam's wife was created with him or after him. Could that mean two different wives? A text from 700-1000 CE, The Alphabet of Ben Sira, is the first text we have that makes that connection with Lilith.
Later Renaissance, Romantic, Victorian and later authors and painters take up this version of the Lilith story, combining the dangerous demon with the pre-Eve wife of Adam. Modern revivals of pagan religion have claimed Lilith as a goddess.
In the 1970s, Jewish feminists retold the story again, making Lilith more representative of a woman refusing to submit to her husband and striking out on her own.
- More: The Feminist Lilith
Because of that feminist connection, the name Lilith has also been used for:
- Lilith Fair: a touring festival of female singer-songwriters
- Lilith Magazine: a Jewish feminist quarterly magazine
- Lilith: A Feminist History Journal: an academic journal of women's and feminist history
More Lilith
About Lilith (Overview) | Lilith in Ancient Sources | Lilith in Medieval Sources |Modern Depictions of Lilith | The Feminist Lilith
