Origin: Alphabet of Ben Sira

Having now examined the Bible and Talmud, we arrive at the Alphabet of Ben Sira which holds perhaps the quinessential story of Lilith. The text is dated between the 8th and 10th centuries of the common era and tells several stories in the form of aggadah with some elements of midrash in the text. There is a bit of a frame narrative two it: the biblical Ben Sira is in the court of Neubacanazzar (please ignore spelling mistakes regarding that name!) and as the text progresses Ben Sira relays various folk tales to the king. What follows is from the book Rabbinic Fantasies: Imaginative Narratives in Hebrew Literature and their translation of the relevent portion of the Alphabet of Ben Sira.

Soon afterward the young son of the king took ill, Said Nebuchadnezzar, "Heal my
son. If you don't, I will kill you." Ben Sira immediately sat down and wrote an
amulet with the Holy Name, and he inscribed on it the angels in charge of
medicine by their names, forms and images, and by their wings, hands, and feet.
Nebuchadnezzar looked at the amulet. "Who are these?"
"The
angles who are in charge of medicine: Snvi, Snsvi, and Smnglof. After God
created Adam, who was alone, He said, 'It is not good for man to be alone' (Gen.
2:18). He then created a woman for Adam, from the earth, as He had created Adam
himself, and called her Lilith. Adam and Lilith began to fight. She said, 'I
will not lie below,' and he said, 'I will not lie beneath you, but only on top.
For you are fit only to be in the bottom position, while am to be in the
superior one.' Lilith responded, 'We are equal to each other inasmuch as we were
both created from the earth.' But they would not listen to one another. When
Lilith saw this, she pronounced the Ineffable Name and flew away into the air.
Adam stood in prayer before his Creator: 'Sovereign of the universe!' he said,
'the woman you gave me has run away.' At once, the Holy One, blessed be He, sent
these three angles to bring her back.
"Said the Holy One to
Adam, 'If she agrees to come back, fine. If not she must permit one hundred of
her children to die every day.' The angels left God and pursued Lilith, whom
they overtook in the midst of the sea, in the mighty waters wherein the
Egyptians were destined to drown. They told her God's word, but she did not wish
to return. The angels said, 'We shall drown you in the sea.'

"'Leave me!' she said. 'I was created only to cause sickness to infants. If the
infant is male, I have dominion over him for eight days after his birth, and if
female, for twenty days.'
"When the angels heard Lilith's
words, they insisted she go back. But she swore to them by the name of the
living and eternal God: 'Whenever I see you or your names or your forms in an
amulet, I will have no power over that infant.' She also agreed to have one
hundred of her children die every day. Accordingly, every day one hundred demons
perish, and for the same reason, we write the angels' names on the amulets of
young children. When Lilith sees their names, she remembers her oath, and the
child recovers."

This text is the defining story of Lilith and includes several elements from the earlier texts examined in this blog. Her association with children, emphasized in the Talmud (Niddah 24b) is explained in full here. It also seems to corroborate with the information from Erubin 18b with the idea of demons and Lilith's demonic children.

Aside from the correlations with previous information we are finally given a definitive history of who Lilith was and what she's like. It's the first time the idea that she's the first wife of Adam is confirmed and moreover it shows that she is an immensely independent woman. Many feminists have read this story and have identified Lilith as a prototypical feminist, adopting her as a symbol of feminism. Obviously this was not always the case, but reasons for this are their own study.

From here on out most literary texts draw on this story of Lilith to tell their own versions of the character. That is the main purpose of this blog, although it may derail from time to time.

Next: Goethe and Lilith

Origins: Talmud

Lilith is mentioned several times in the Talmud.

"Rab Judah citing Samuel ruled: If an abortion had the likeness of Lilith its
mother is unclean by reason of the birth, for it is a child but it has wings." -Niddah 24b

This is a very short mention, but it suggests several things. It enforces the idea that Lilith has wings, which becomes a very important part of her later mythology, especially with the Alphabet of Ben Sira. It also associates Lilith with demonic children or perhaps a birth defect, enforcing the idea that she holds some sort of power over newborn children.

"[Expounding upon the curses of womanhood] In a Baraitha it was taught: She
grows long hair like Lilith, sits when making water like a beast, and serves as
a bolster for her husband.” -Erubin 100b

This passage occurs over a discussion of marriatial commitment and the idea of polyandry. Lilith has often been associated with having many lovers, and this seems to reinforce that idea. It also places an emphasis on Lilith's long hair, which is also a defining feature of Lilith in later mythology.

"R. Hanina said: One may not sleep in a house alone [in a lonely house], and
whoever sleeps in a house alone is seized by Lilith.” -Shabbath 151b

Now here is a very important aspect of the stories associated with Lilith: she uses the nocturnal emissions of men in order to spawn her demonic offspring. This is the first mention of such an idea and is monumental to her mythological development. Moreover, this indicates that such an attribute had already been assocaited with her when the Talmud was composed, suggesting that this tradition, as well as the others that have already been mentioned, had a long established tradition already.

"R. Jeremiah b. Eleazar further stated: In all those years [130 years after his
expulsion from the Garden of Eden] during which Adam was under the ban he begot
ghosts and male demons and female demons [or night demons], for it is said in
Scripture, And Adam lived a hundred and thirty years and begot a son in own
likeness, after his own image, from which it follows that until that time he did
not beget after his own image…When he saw that through him death was ordained as punishment he spent a hundred and thirty years in fasting, severed connection
with his wife for a hundred and thirty years, and wore clothes of fig on his
body for a hundred and thirty years. – That statement [of R. Jeremiah] was made
in reference to the semen which he emitted accidentally.” -Erubin 18b

The information given here is absolutely tantalizing and is the first real myth of Lilith that doesn't work off of assumed knowledge about Lilith. It places an emphasis on the idea that Lilith had demonic children with Adam, although she is never actually mentioned. However, it is safe to assume that this is indeed her, as there is no other figure in Jewish lore that would match the description and have the ability to bare such demonic children.

So, what, overall, can we learn about Lilith from the Talmud? We know that she's a villianous character and is associated with sex, sexuality and children. It seems that several portions of her common mythology were already in play as well. She is associated with children in a negative manner, she "siezes" men at night which suggests the later nocturnal emission stories and that she has wings. Much of the information is assumed prior knowledge. While this does not help to indicate the stories circulating about Lilith at the time the Talmud was being written, it does show that there was a strong belief in her and that there were tales of her circulating.

Next: The quintesential Lilith story

Origins: Isaiah 34:14

The first and only mention of Lilith in canonical scripture is found in Isaiah 34:14 which reads as follows:

Wildcats shall meet with
hyenas,
goat-demons shall call to each other;
there too Lilith shall
repose,
and find a place to rest.

-Isaiah 34:14, New Revised Standard

The term "Lilith" is not always translated as "Lilith." The original text reads as "lilitu" which does not seem to have a concrete translation. In Isaac Asimov's guide to the Bible, he notes that "lilitu" is a loan word from Babylonian which eventually came to be known as "night." Other translations replace "Lilith" with "screech owl" or "night hag," and in the case of the Latin Vulgate the word becomes "lamia." Lamia, as it turns out, is a Greek mythological figure who eventually becamse a child killer. This echoes the story of Lilith and in later mythology, the two became associated and occasionally synonymous with each other.



Converging mythologies aside, what does the only canonical mention of Lilith in scripture indicate? In the context of chapter 34, Isaiah is primarily focused on the oncoming judgement of the Lord. The animals listed before Lilith as well as Lilith herself are said to inherit a desolate Earth after divine judgement. Lilith is cast out of the holy land and the grace of God, a clear sign of rejection.

This information suggests that there was some sort of mythology behind Lilith when Isaiah was written, but what that story is has been omitted from the text. Perhaps the writer assumed the audience knew the story of Lilith and there was no need for elaboration. What we can glean from this mention though is that she was viewed as a negative figure from a very early point.



Next: Talmudic mentions

Introduction

Welcome. This is a blog decidated to my senior thesis concerning the mythological history of Lilith in comparison to the fictional literature using Lilith as a character since the Romantic period. It is generally focuses on literary items, but will also include some paintings and any audio or film portrays of Lilith as well.

Why Lilith?

Lilith is an intriguing figure who has undergone a startling transformation since her inital conception. For an immensely long time she was considered to be a demonic figure, acting as a temptress, succubus and child killer. However, she is now usually associated with feminist ideals and has garnered quite a modern following, especially in feminist Judaism. This is no easy task to follow and is not the focus of my thesis, but I do consider it to be a big factor in chosing the topic. What I find most interesting is comparing how literary and audio/visual works portray her when you look at the mythology they are derriving from.

This blog endevours to be updated once a week with research information, including documents from primary sources. It will be updated on Fridays.