In some Jewish folklore, such as the satirical
Alphabet of Sirach (c. AD 700–1000), Lilith appears as Adam's first wife, who was created at the same time (Rosh Hashanah) and from the same clay as Adam — compare
Genesis 1:27 (this contrasts with
Eve, who was created from one of Adam's ribs:
Genesis 2:22). The legend of Lilith developed extensively during the
Middle Ages, in the tradition of
Aggadah, the
Zohar, and
Jewish mysticism.
[2] For example, in the 13th-century writings of
Isaac ben Jacob ha-Cohen, Lilith left Adam after she refused to become subservient to him and then would not return to the
Garden of Eden after she had coupled with the
archangel Samael.
[3]
Interpretations of Lilith found in later Jewish materials are plentiful, but little information has survived relating to the
Sumerian,
Akkadian,
Assyrian and
Babylonian view of this class of demons. While researchers almost universally agree that a connection exists, recent scholarship has disputed the relevance of two sources previously used to connect the Jewish
lilith to an Akkadian
lilītu — the
Gilgamesh appendix and the
Arslan Tash amulets.
[4] (see
below for discussion of these two problematic sources) "Other scholars, such as Lowell K. Handy, agree that Lilith derives from Mesopotamian demons but argue against finding evidence of the Hebrew Lilith in many of the epigraphical and artifactual sources frequently cited as such (e.g., the Sumerian Gilgamesh fragment, the Sumerian incantation from Arshlan-Tash)."
[3]:174
In Hebrew-language texts, the term
lilith or
lilit (translated as "night-creatures", "night-monster", "night-hag", or "screech-owl") first occurs in a list of animals in
Isaiah 34:14, either in singular or plural form according to variations in the earliest manuscripts. Commentators and interpreters often envision the figure of Lilith as a dangerous
demon of the night, who is sexually wanton, and who steals babies in the darkness. In the
Dead Sea Scrolls 4Q510-511, the term first occurs in a list of monsters. Jewish
magical inscriptions on bowls and amulets from the 6th century AD onwards identify Lilith as a female demon and provide the first visual depictions of her.