Few figures of demonology have had a history as long and changeable as Lilith's. A night spirit in ancient Mesopotamia, a desert creature in a verse of Isaiah, a long-haired demon in the Talmud, Adam's first wife in a medieval text, a literary and artistic icon in the modern age: Lilith has crossed the centuries changing her face. Her story is closely bound up with that of three angels, whose names were written on amulets.
The Mesopotamian roots
In the Mesopotamian tradition there were demons called lilu and lilitu, spirits associated with the wind and the night, considered dangerous above all for women and newborns. The precise relationship between these figures and the Jewish Lilith is debated, but the similarity of name and function has convinced many scholars of a continuity.
The only biblical mention
In the Bible the name appears only once, in chapter 34 of Isaiah. The prophet describes the desolation of Edom, reduced to a desert inhabited by wild animals, and adds that lilit will find rest there.
The translations of this term vary widely:
- some modern versions render it as «night creature» or «night spectre»;
- others translate it with the name of a nocturnal bird, such as the owl;
- the Latin Vulgate uses lamia, a figure of classical folklore who snatched children.
The context is that of an abandoned land, peopled by unsettling presences. Nothing in the verse hints at Adam.
The incantation bowls
In late antiquity the use of incantation bowls spread in Mesopotamia: earthenware bowls with Aramaic inscriptions arranged in a spiral. They were buried upside down under houses to trap hostile spirits. Many mention «liliths» in the plural, as a category of demons to be kept away from the house, the wife and the children. These bowls, now held in various museums, are direct evidence of the fears and daily practices of that world.
The Talmud
The Babylonian Talmud names Lilith in a few short passages:
- it describes her as having long hair;
- it speaks of beings with human form and wings, like her;
- it warns that one should not sleep alone in a house, because whoever does so may be seized by Lilith.
Lilith thus appears as a night demon linked to the dangers of solitude and sleep. She is not yet Adam's first wife.
The Alphabet of Ben Sira
The story best known today is found in a medieval text, the Alphabet of Ben Sira, probably written between the eighth and tenth centuries and often regarded as partly satirical. The story runs as follows:
- God creates Lilith from the earth, like Adam, and gives her to him as a wife;
- Lilith refuses to submit, claiming she is his equal because she was made of the same earth;
- she pronounces the ineffable Name of God and flies away, as far as the Red Sea;
- God sends three angels, Senoy, Sansenoy and Semangelof, to bring her back;
- Lilith refuses and declares that she was created to harm newborns;
- in the end she accepts a pact: wherever she sees the names or images of the three angels, she will do no harm.
In narrative form, the story thus explains a practice that already existed.
The amulets of the three angels
In Jewish tradition birth amulets spread bearing the names of Senoy, Sansenoy and Semangelof, often with their stylised figures, biblical verses and formulas. They were hung in the room of the mother and the newborn.
| Element of the amulet | Traditional meaning |
|---|---|
| Names of the three angels | a reminder of the pact in the story |
| Stylised figures of the angels | visible presence of the guardians |
| Biblical verses | protection entrusted to the sacred word |
| Name of the mother | personalisation of the amulet |
These objects are studied today as documents of religious history and folk art.
The Lilith of Kabbalah and the modern age
In Kabbalistic literature, starting with the Zohar, Lilith becomes a cosmic figure, consort of Samael and queen of the powers of the other side. In the nineteenth century she entered poetry and painting: Dante Gabriel Rossetti devoted a painting and verses to her. In the twentieth century some readings turned her into a symbol of female autonomy, reversing the original sense of the story.
How to read this story
The Studio Esoterico Cornelio regards the figure of Lilith as an example of how symbols build up in layers over time. Some criteria for reading:
- always distinguish the ancient source, such as Isaiah or the Talmud, from later elaborations;
- recognise in the bowls and amulets the expression of fears connected with birth;
- observe the role of the angels as guardians of the boundary between the house and the night;
- notice how each age has reread Lilith according to its own questions.
In short
- Lilith probably has roots in the Mesopotamian night demons called lilu and lilitu.
- In the Bible she appears only once, in Isaiah 34, as a presence in a desolate land.
- Incantation bowls and the Talmud describe her as a night demon to be kept away from the house.
- The Alphabet of Ben Sira makes her Adam's first wife and introduces the three angels Senoy, Sansenoy and Semangelof.
- The names of the three angels appeared on traditional birth amulets.
