lilith

Lilith

These are the actual sources for Lilith:

Lilith in Gilgamesh and the Huluppu Tree (2000 BC approx)

Once upon a time there was a huluppu-tree, perhaps a willow; it was planted

on the banks of the Euphrates; it was nurtured by the waters of the

Euphrates. But the South Wind tore at it, root and crown, while the

Euphrates flooded it with its waters. Inanna, queen of heaven, walking by,

took the tree in her hand and brought it to Erech, the seat of her main

sanctuary, and planted it in her holy garden. There she tended it most

carefully. For when the tree grew big, she planned to make of its wood a

chair for herself and a couch.

Years passed, the tree matured and grew big. But Inanna found herself unable

to cut down the tree. For at its base the snake 'who knows no charm' had

built its nest. In its crown, the Zu-bird -- a mythological creature which

at times wrought mischief -- had placed its young. In the middle Lilith, the

maid of desolation, had built her house. And so poor Inanna, the

light-hearted and ever-joyful maid, shed bitter tears. And as the dawn broke

and her brother, the sun-god Utu, arose from his sleeping chamber, she

repeated to him tearfully all that had befallen her huluppu-tree.

Now Gilgamesh, the great Sumerian hero, the forerunner of the Greek

Heracles, who lived in Erech, overheard Inanna's weeping complaint and

chivalrously came to her rescue. He donned his armor weighing fifty minas --

about fifty pounds -- and with his 'ax of the road,' seven talents and seven

minas in weight -- over four hundred pounds -- he slew the snake 'who knows

no charm' at the base of the tree. Seeing which, the Zu-Bird fled with his

young to the mountain, and Lilith tore down her house and fled to the

desolate places which she was accustomed to haunt. The man of Erech who had

accompanied Gilgamesh now cut down the tree and presented it to Inanna for

her chair and couch. (33,34)

Lilith in the Dead Sea Scrolls

4QSongs of the Sage / 4QShir

4Q510 frag. 11.4-6a // frag. 10.1f

And I, the Sage,

declare the grandeur of his radiance

in order to frighten and terrify

all the spirits of the ravaging angels

and the bastard spirits,

demons, Liliths, owls and [jackals...]

and those who strike unexpectedly

to lead astray the spirit of knowledge....

The Testamanent of Solomon has a reference to a Lilith type creature:

And I, Solomon, did as she enjoined me, and restrained myself because of the

wisdom dwelling in me, in order that I might hear of her deeds and apprehend

them and manifest them to men. And I sat down and said to the demon, 'Who

are thou?' And she said, 'I am called among men Obizuth, and by night I

sleep not, but go my rounds over all the world and visit women in

childbirth. And divining the hour I take my stand, and if I am lucky I

strangle the child. But if not, I retire to another place, for I cannot a

single night retire unsuccessful. For I am a fierce spirit of myriad names

and many shapes. And now hither, now thither, I roam. And to westering parts

I go my rounds. But as it now is, though thou hast sealed me round with the

ring of God, thou has done nothing. I am not standing before tee, and thou

wilt not be able to command me. For I have no work other than the

destruction of children and the making of their ears to be deaf, and the

working of evil to their eyes, and the binding their mouths with a bond, and

the ruin of their minds, and paining of their bodies'

There are also four references in the Talmud approx 400 AD

1) "One may not sleep in a house alone, and whoever sleeps in a house alone

is seized by Lilith." (Shab. 773: v1. pt1, 151b --- footnote "The night

demon.")

2) "She grows long hair like Lilith . . ." ('Er. 698: v1, pt2, 100b ---

footnote "A notorious female night demon."]

3) "I saw how Hormin the son of Lilith was running on the parapet of the

wall of Mahuza. . . ." (BB. 290: v3, pt2 -- footnote to Hormin "a demon;" to

Lilith "a female night demon")

4) "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. So it was also

taught: R. Jose stated, It once happened at Simoni that a woman aborted the

likeness of Lilith, and when the case came up for a decision before the

Sages they ruled that it was a child but that it also had wings. . . ."

(Nid. 166: v6, 24b -- footnote to Lilith "A female demon of the night,

reputed to have wings and a human face.")

Note - there are NO references to any idea Lilith was Adam's first wife at all at this stage. In fact, many of the texts speaks of Liliths!

The modern Lilith legend comes in the later Mediaeval "The Alphabet of Ben Sira" (800-1200 AD?), and no earlier. It was only after this text was circulating, that amulets against Lilith began to be used by Jews.

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 angels 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' (Genesis 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 immediately 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 I am to be 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 angels 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." (Stern and Mirsky, eds. 183- 184)

What do today's Jews make of Lilith. This is what one of the main sites says (confirmed in others):

"It is important to note that the Alphabet of Ben Sira is not a traditional rabbinical Jewish source. It is not part of the Talmud, nor is it considered to be a midrash. It is not entirely certain what Ben Sira is, but it appears to be a satire or parody, possibly even an antisemitic one. It tells many stories about biblical characters envisioned in non-traditional, often unflattering ways, often with slapstick humor at the expense of traditional heroes. To treat The Alphabet of Ben Sira as a reflection of traditional Jewish thought is like treating Cervantes' Don Quixote as an accurate depiction of chivalry, or Mel Brooks' Blazing Saddles as a documentary of the American West. "

(http://www.jewfaq.org/women.htm#Lilith)