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Lilith

Biblical
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Mythical first wife of Adam, often depicted as a demon or seductress

Detailed Definition
Lilith originates in Jewish folklore as Adam’s first wife who refused subservience and was replaced by Eve; later traditions cast her as a night demon who preys on infants and seduces men. Though not canonical in the Bible, she appears in mystical and poetic texts as a symbol of female independence, dangerous sexuality, or primal chaos. Modern poetry often reclaims Lilith as a feminist icon of rebellion and autonomy.
Example
Example in poetry:
In “The Witch of Atlas,” Shelley calls Lilith “the first of women”; George MacDonald’s Lilith portrays her as a dark, redemptive figure; In “Lilith,” Dante Gabriel Rossetti writes, “She waits for man’s last step”; Modern poets like Adrienne Rich reclaim Lilith as a feminist symbol: “She refused to lie beneath”; In Jewish mystical poetry, Lilith is “the night-hag who steals children”; Sylvia Plath references Lilith’s “black hair” and independence in “Lady Lazarus” as a figure of resurrection and defiance.
Additional Notes
Lilith originates in Mesopotamian demonology and Jewish folklore as Adam’s first wife who refused subservience, later becoming a night demon. Though absent from canonical scripture, she appears in the Alphabet of Ben Sira and Kabbalah. In poetry, she evolved from a symbol of dangerous female sexuality to a feminist icon of autonomy (e.g., in Rich, Plath, and Duffy). Rossetti’s “Body’s Beauty” contrasts her with Helen as a femme fatale. Students should trace her transformation across eras: medieval demon, Romantic seductress, modern rebel. Useful in gender studies, myth revisionism, and discussions of the monstrous feminine. Related terms: Eve, succubus, feminist reclamation.
Also Known As
First Wife of Adam Night Demon Seductress of Eden Queen of the Lilim Black Moon Lilith
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