Lilith
/ˈlɪlɪθ/
noun
Origin
Akkadian
līlu — night
Overview
Meaning Now
- A figure in Jewish mythology, developed in the Babylonian Talmud as Adam's first wife who left Eden and became a night-demon.
- A night-spirit or screech owl in ancient Mesopotamian and Semitic folklore.
Literal older meaning
of the night
Language path
Sumerian → Akkadian → Hebrew → English
Earliest form
līlītu
Earliest period
3rd millennium BCE
Journey
Lilith originated as a class of Mesopotamian storm demons (Lilitu) associated with the night, wind, and infertility. In later Jewish tradition, specifically medieval midrashic texts like the Alphabet of Ben Sira, she was reinterpreted as a rebellious primordial woman who refused to submit to Adam, eventually becoming a demonic entity associated with the abduction of infants.
Evolution
- c. 2000 BCE
Līlītu
“night-spirit”
A Sumerian class of demons or spirits of the wind.
- 8th century BCE
Līlīth
“nocturnal phantom”
Appearance in Isaiah 34:14.
- c. 700 CE
Lilith
“Adam's first wife”
Elaborated in the Alphabet of Ben Sira.
Connections
Word parts
līl
root
night
-ītu
suffix
feminine agentive
Related across languages
Hebrew
לִילִית
night-spirit
Akkadian
līlītu
female night demon
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External references use DefinedTerm semantics.