Lilith is a character in Jewish mythology, first mentioned in the Babylonian Talmud, who is related to a class of female demons in Mesopotamian texts.
The 9th century Alphabet of Ben Sira says that Lilith was Adam’s first wife, who was created at the same time as Adam, and from the same earth. This contrasts with Eve, who was created later from one of Adam’s ribs.
The legend of Lilith was later greatly developed during the Middle Ages, in the tradition of Aggadic midrashim and the Zohar. According to The Treatise on the Left Emanation, a work by Rabbi Isaac ben Jacob Alfasi ha-Cohen of Spain (13th century), Lilith left Adam after refusing to be subservient to him, mated with the archangel Samael, and then refused to return to the Garden of Eden. The Zohar says that she and Adam were very happy until Adam one day tells her that he has to go off and name the animals. Lilith is furious, and ‘howls like a dog’. She pleads with Adam to take her, too, so that she too can name the animals. Adam refuses and orders her to stay by the Euphrates. Thereupon Lilith invokes Asmodeus, the king of demons. In medieval Jewish folklore, Lilith is the consort of Asmodeus, the king of demons. Lilith and Asmodeus were thought to create demonic offspring endlessly, and Lilith was portrayed as a infant-killing witch.
There may already be a reference to Lilith in the Book of Genesis. While the second chapter describes the creation of Eve from Adam’s rib, the first chapter indicates that a woman has already been made : “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him, male and female created he them.”
According to Kabbalistic mysticism, Lilith was not created by God, but arose out of one of the ten attributes (sefirot) of God that at its lowest manifestation has an affinity with the realm of evil.
In Luciferianism, Lilith is the consort of Lucifer, and when they mate, they form an androgynous being. This being is the famous Baphomet, or the Goat of Mendes, whom the Knights Templar were alleged to have worshipped. Lilith is said to be the actual mother of Cain, as opposed to Eve.
Lilith finds a mention in Goethe’s Faust: the First Part of the Tragedy.
Faust: Who’s that there?
Mephistopheles: Take a good look. Lilith
Faust: Lilith? Who is that?
Mephistopheles: Adam’s wife, his first. Beware of her. Her beauty’s one boast is her dangerous hair. When Lilith winds it tight around young men She doesn’t soon let go of them again.
Ultimately, the legend of Lilith is an illustration of the disruptive and destructive effects of unchecked female sexuality.
 |
| Lilith by John Collier, at the Southport Atkinson Art Gallery |
The legend of Lilith was later greatly developed during the Middle Ages, in the tradition of Aggadic midrashim and the Zohar. According to The Treatise on the Left Emanation, a work by Rabbi Isaac ben Jacob Alfasi ha-Cohen of Spain (13th century), Lilith left Adam after refusing to be subservient to him, mated with the archangel Samael, and then refused to return to the Garden of Eden. The Zohar says that she and Adam were very happy until Adam one day tells her that he has to go off and name the animals. Lilith is furious, and ‘howls like a dog’. She pleads with Adam to take her, too, so that she too can name the animals. Adam refuses and orders her to stay by the Euphrates. Thereupon Lilith invokes Asmodeus, the king of demons. In medieval Jewish folklore, Lilith is the consort of Asmodeus, the king of demons. Lilith and Asmodeus were thought to create demonic offspring endlessly, and Lilith was portrayed as a infant-killing witch.
There may already be a reference to Lilith in the Book of Genesis. While the second chapter describes the creation of Eve from Adam’s rib, the first chapter indicates that a woman has already been made : “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him, male and female created he them.”
According to Kabbalistic mysticism, Lilith was not created by God, but arose out of one of the ten attributes (sefirot) of God that at its lowest manifestation has an affinity with the realm of evil.
In Luciferianism, Lilith is the consort of Lucifer, and when they mate, they form an androgynous being. This being is the famous Baphomet, or the Goat of Mendes, whom the Knights Templar were alleged to have worshipped. Lilith is said to be the actual mother of Cain, as opposed to Eve.
Lilith finds a mention in Goethe’s Faust: the First Part of the Tragedy.
Faust: Who’s that there?
Mephistopheles: Take a good look. Lilith
Faust: Lilith? Who is that?
Mephistopheles: Adam’s wife, his first. Beware of her. Her beauty’s one boast is her dangerous hair. When Lilith winds it tight around young men She doesn’t soon let go of them again.
Ultimately, the legend of Lilith is an illustration of the disruptive and destructive effects of unchecked female sexuality.
No comments:
Post a Comment