Demonology: Who Is Lilith?
Lilith is mentioned only once in the Bible — in Isaiah 34:14, where the Hebrew word לִילִית (lilit) is translated as the “screetch owl”.
In the verse Isaiah prophesizes that Lilith would be one of the demonic nocturnal creatures who would haunt the destroyed kingdom of Edom.
This Hebrew word for the demoness Lilith is thought to be from the root word לִילִ which stands for “night” or “gloom”. In Arabic and Akkadian this word stands for “night” as well.
However, it is believed by some researchers that the name Lilith comes from the Sumerian lil which means “air”, and in some cuneiform inscriptions the terms lilitu and lilit stand for the disease-bearing wind spirits (source).
According to the same source, the first time that we find this demon mentioned is at around 3,000 BC, as a class of Sumerian storm spirits called lilitu:
The Lilitu were said to prey upon children and women, and were described as associated with lions, storms, desert, and disease. Early portrayals of lilitu are known as having Zu bird talons for feet and wings. Later accounts depict lilitu as a name for one figure and several spirits. Similar demons from the same class are recorded around this time frame. Lilu, a succubus, Ardat lili (“Lilith’s handmaid”), who would come to men in their sleep and beget children from them, and…
