Magic Inscription of Lilith Found on Human Skull: A Halloween story of the evil eye.

With Halloween less than two months away, it isn't too early to turn our thoughts to October 31 as Dr Stephen Yulish gives us a brief but insightful journey into the origins of the demoness Lilith from the Judeao-Christian perspective.

A recent issue of Biblical Archaeology Review, March/April 2009, vol. 35, no. 2, has a fascinating article by Dan Levene entitled Rare Magic Inscription on Human Skull. Levene describes this magic incantation which is inscribed in Aramaic, a Semitic Biblical language along with Hebrew and probably the language of Jesus, on a human skull. There have been 2000 bowls found with these magic incantations which date from the 3rd to the 7th century AD from Jewish communities in Babylonia and surprisingly they were made at the same time and from the same communities that also produced the most intricate, rational and complex legalistic accomplishment of Rabbinic Judaism, the Babylonian Talmud (compiled around 400 AD). This compendium of Jewish Oral Law by learned rabbinic scholars complimented, clarified and expanded the written Law of the Torah - the Pentateuch-the first five books of the Bible).

 

As Levene pointed out though, “belief in demons was widespread at this time among the Jews of this area as well as among other peoples.” Some would argue that the Jews, who were still in captivity in Babylon at this time, learned all of this from their pagan captors. They did influence King Solomon with all his pagan wives and practices. However, Lilith is first mentioned in the Biblical Book of Isaiah written around 700 BC. In Isaiah 34:14 she is called the night demon. Five hundred years later she is mentioned in the Dead Sea Scroll, Songs of the Sages. The later Zohar, the Bible of Jewish Mysticism, compiled in 1200 AD also mentions her.

 

At this time in history there was a high infant as well as a high birth mother mortality rate, and these were attributed to Lilith. Lilith was said to be roaming the earth looking for pregnant women and newborn infants to attack. Lilith emerges later on in the medieval period as the first mate of Adam in the Garden of Eden who refused to be subservient to him and subsequently as the wife of Samael (Satan).

 

In the Midrash (story, legend) Alpha Ben Sira written around 800 AD, Lilith’s origin is first discussed. She supposedly was the first woman created independently just like Adam but unlike Adam who was created from clean dirt (Hebrew-adamah), she was created from filth and sewage.

Read more: http://www.hearkenthewatchmen.com/article.asp?id=26