Lillith, What/Who is This Entity?

[Aras]

I am intrigued by Lillth (link contains Lillith (1982) by John Collier, a portrait depicting her in Eden naked)

I found this in my NRSV Bible (Isaiah 34:14)

Wildcats shall meet with hyenas
goat-demons shall call to each other;
there too Lilith shall repose,
and find a place to rest.
There shall the owl nest
and lay and hatch and brood in its shadow


But I find other translations are different, they alter the word Lilith, and I look in other places and notice words like Behemoth and Leviathon also altered as well as interchanging goat-demon and satyr.

The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the wild beasts of the island, and the satyr shall cry to his fellow; the screech owl also shall rest there, and find for herself a place of rest.

So I decided to look into it and found she is referenced in the Dead Sea Scrolls.

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 ******* spirits,
demons, Liliths, owls and [jackals...]
and those who strike unexpectedly
to lead astray the spirit of knowledge....

And while not the Bible you find references to Lilith and Lilin in various other religious texts such as the Kabbala and Talmud as well as a medieval book The Alphabet of Ben-Sira (though that is folk-lore I believe and not actually meant as truth)

So, I am confused on to what this entity is. Does anyone here have any other sources or opinions to add to the mix?

 

[icxn]

The Septuagint says:

13 And thorns shall spring up in their cities, and in her strong holds: and they shall be habitations of monsters, and a court of ostriches.
14 And devils shall meet with satyrs, and they shall cry one to the other: there shall satyrs rest, having found for themselves [a place of] rest.
15 There has the hedgehog made its nest, and the earth has safely preserved its young: there have the deer met, and seen one another's faces.
16 They passed by in [full] number, and not one of them perished: they sought not one another; for the Lord commanded them, and his Spirit gathered them.
17 And he shall cast lots for them, and his hand has portioned out [their] pasture, [saying], Ye shall inherit [the land] for ever: they shall rest on it [through] all generations.

Hmm...

 

[GraceInHim]

1. ANIMALS » Firstlings of » See SATYR

this is what i found in KJV

14The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the wild beasts of the island, and the satyr shall cry to his fellow; the screech owl also shall rest there, and find for herself a place of rest.

 

[Aras]

I don't think Lillith is supposed to be the Satyr. I think the Satyr would be the goat-demon in the translation I read. I would think Lillith would be the screech-owl.

Or am I reading it wrong?

 

[GraceInHim]

what I mentioned above - when you click on the link Satyr - this is what it says

1. A mythological creature, represented as half-man and half-goat (Leviticus 17:7)
2. R. V., margin) (2 Chronicles 11:15)

 

[Iollain]

Lexicon Results for sa`iyr (Strong's 08163)
Hebrew for 08163

Pronunciation Guide
sa`iyr {saw-eer'} or sa`ir {saw-eer'}

TWOT Reference Root Word
TWOT - 2274c,2274e from 08175
Part of Speech
adj, n m
Outline of Biblical Usage
adj

1) hairy



n m

2) he-goat, buck

a) as sacrificial animal

b) satyr, may refer to a demon possessed goat like the swine of Gadara (Mt. 8:30-32


this is the KJV

Isa 34:14 The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the wild beasts of the island, and the satyr shall cry to his fellow; the screech owl also shall rest there, and find for herself a place of rest.

 

[inGodsfootsteps]

Lilith according to some sources was said to have been Adam's first wife but she would not obey him so God cursed her. In some sources she is called the mother of Vampires, succubus, incubus and all manner of all things foul. She was an eater of children (possibly the first pedofile according to some sources.)

Liliths: those creatures who were spawned from Lilith.

 

[onikirimaru777]

http://www.deliriumsrealm.com/delirium/mythology/lilith.asp

Great link. It should answer any of your questions.

 

[EchelonForm]

The NIV uses 'Night Creatures' in place of Lilith.

The concordence says
"Outside the Bible a related Semitic wor refers to a 'Night Demon.'

Which sounds like a simplification of what Lilith is described as in some of the links provided.

It seem like the verse is refering to a demon....whether it is actually named lilith or it is using the story of lilith to descibe a similar demon I guess is up for debate.

 

[Aras]

http://www.deliriumsrealm.com/delirium/mythology/lilith.asp

Great link. It should answer any of your questions.

Thank you, I just have one question. What exactly is The Chapters of the Lesser Palaces?

 

[onikirimaru777]

I honestly couldn't tell ya. Alot of the sources the owner of the web site uses are vague and hard to pin down with only a fragment of the context. The Emanations of the Left Side (or something of that nature) is, apparently, a Kabbalist text, and one would need proper learning of Kabbalah to fully comprehend what the article is saying. *shrug* ah well.

 

[GraceInHim]

Lilith according to some sources was said to have been Adam's first wife but she would not obey him so God cursed her. In some sources she is called the mother of Vampires, succubus, incubus and all manner of all things foul. She was an eater of children (possibly the first pedofile according to some sources.)

Liliths: those creatures who were spawned from Lilith.

I heard this once - cannot say from who or where - but I do remember hearing Adam had a first wife - I dont think it is true because then why is Eve from his rib?

 

[Aras]

I heard this once - cannot say from who or where - but I do remember hearing Adam had a first wife - I dont think it is true because then why is Eve from his rib?

That theory is based on Genesis where it says God created man "male and female" a chapter before he took Adam's rib.

 

[GraceInHim]

That theory is based on Genesis where it says God created man "male and female" a chapter before he took Adam's rib.

hmmm you are right - never looked at that - I also heard she was constantly jealous and tried to get between Adam and Eve - do you know were the readings are at?

 

[SavedByGrace3]

Lillith, What/Who is This Entity?

errr...
Frazier's ex wife?

 

[Aras]

hmmm you are right - never looked at that - I also heard she was constantly jealous and tried to get between Adam and Eve - do you know were the readings are at?

The Alphabet of Ben-Sira

The link should explain it amply.

 

[Deep_MindQuest]

There is only one slight problem with this theory: The story of Lilith is not actually found in any authentic Rabbinic tradition. Although it is repeatedly cited as a "Rabbinic legend" or a "midrash," it is not recorded in any ancient Jewish text!
The tale of Lilith originates in a medieval work called "the Alphabet of Ben-Sira," a work whose relationship to the conventional streams of Judaism is, to say the least, problematic.

 

[Deep_MindQuest]

There is also a very strong relationship or kinship between them and the 'extant' or physical forms, such as some so-called 'cryptids' or unknown humanoids, which circumstantial and anecdotal evidence would indicate are the descendants of the same ancient races or specie which are 'demons' in the spirit world. They are interrelated, representing two aspects of one unseen kingdom or force that has haunted and plagued mankind for thousands of years. For instance, in the Torah/Bible, there are mentions of those physical beings in the wastelands and ruined cities, which are translated as "satyrs" in the King James version, but that represent a type of 'hairy humanoid' that today we might call Sasquatch, or maybe even El Chupacabras! In the same verses, there are mentions of Lilith herself, but her name is mistranslated as "owl" in the King James translation (the "owl" was one of the animals associated with Lilith), and as 'evil spirit' or something similar in other versions. These type of phenomena—demonic (spiritual) and 'monsters—' go hand-in-hand, which may account for some of the confusion of types and nature from time to time.

​

In fact, while Lilith was a "woman" of some pre-Adamic sort, she is also considered to also be an evil spirit, and in Hebrew/Babylonian traditions, is the mother of all succubae and incubae herself, or their spiritual progenitor. From ancient times to the present, esoteric tradition has held that she visits 'those men who sleep alone,' seduces them through their dreams for purposes of extracting sperm, or else assaults them in the form of a 'night terror,' 'old hag,' or 'sleep paralysis' episodes for the same purpose. From the sperm collected, she is said to engender a partially-physical, partially ethereal brood or race, called the 'Lilim' (Babylonian-Assyrian lilu/incubus and lilitu/succubus). These beings can be visible or invisible at will, physical or nebulous, and act out the same evils as their ancestress or mother. They are also the same entities that are sometimes glimpsed by the victims, often with a reptilian appearance, and sometimes with other forms, which can range from satyr or 'imp-like' (the modern 'gray alien abductor' similarity is apparent here), to attractive, hideous, hag-like, or horrid. One of the only defenses against the whole family, in ancient times at any rate (more effective spiritual protections have come about in the ensuing centuries), were amulets bearing the names of the three angels who, according to Hebraic tradition, punished Lilith for breeding with the demons of the underworld. Their names were Senoi, Sansenoi, and Samangeloph. http://home.earthlink.net/~mottimorph/Demonseed.html DEMONSEED: CHANGELINGS, HALFLINGS, AND HUMAN MONSTERSBy Wm. Michael Mott --- notice her feet!

 

[Deep_MindQuest]

no matter how you understand "Torah" the idea of a wife before Eve does not occur at all. This idea is a rabbinic tradition and is completely non-Biblical (and I would add, quite anti-Biblical). This first wife is referred to as "Lilith." is a basic myth.. it reminds me of the nephilim in Genesis and thruout the Bible