LILITH. - A female demon, named only once in the Bible (Isa. 34:14), together with the monsters and animals that will inhabit the earth on the «day of Yahweh».
The name is by some connected with the Hebrew lajil (night); in Sumerian, however, lil has the meaning of wind and storm, and can also designate spirits and demons in general; in Sumerian one also finds lulu in the meaning of «licentiousness»; it would therefore be a demon that excites lust. In Babylonian and Assyrian demonology lili, lilitli and ardat lili are demons of lust. Lilitli appears to be of Semitic origin and surpasses ardat lili in importance. In the Talmud L. is represented as winged and with a human appearance. An evil demon, she works at night and lies in wait for men who sleep alone. Her figure develops greatly in the folklore of late Judaism and in Jewish mysticism. L. is the first wife of Adam, she too drawn from the dust. Replaced afterward by Eve, she takes revenge by bringing death to newborns. Against her harmful influences one defends oneself with amulets. Two different figures are also distinguished: an old L., wife of Samaele, and a young L., who is on bad terms with the former.
Bibliography5 worksS. A. Horodezky, Lilit, in Enc. Jud., X, coll. 972-74; L. Blau, Das altjüdische Zauberwesen, Strasburg 1898, p. 11; G. Furlani, La religione
BIBL.: S. A. Horodezky, Lilit, in Enc. Jud., X, coll. 972-74; L. Blau, Das altjüdische Zauberwesen, Strasburg 1898, p. 11; G. Furlani, La religione babilonese e assira, Bologna 1928, pp. 342-343; J. Bonsirven, Le judaïsme palestinien au temps de Jésus-Christ, I, Paris 1935, p. 243; A. Cohen, Le Talmud, Paris 1950, p. 329.
Zolli, Eugenio. “LİLİTh.” In Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. VII, coll. 1350–1351. Città del Vaticano: Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico, 1951. https://azioneromana.com/article/lilith.
MLA
Zolli, Eugenio. “LİLİTh.” Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. VII, Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico, 1951, coll. 1350–1351. Azione Romana, https://azioneromana.com/article/lilith.
BibTeX
@incollection{ec7_lilith,
author = {Zolli, Eugenio},
title = {LİLİTh},
booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica},
volume = {VII},
pages = {1350--1351},
note = {Cited by column},
publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico},
address = {Città del Vaticano},
year = {1951},
url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/lilith}
}
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