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The Book of Isaiah 34:14, describing the desolation of
Edom, is the only occurrence of Lilith in the Hebrew Bible:
Hebrew (ISO 259): pagšu siyyim et-iyyim w-sair al-rehu yiqra akšam hirgiah lilit
u-masah lah manoh
morpho-syntactic analysis: "yelpers meet-[perfect] howlers; hairy-ones
cry-[imperfect] to fellow. liyliyth reposes-[perfect], acquires-[perfect]
resting-place."
KJV: "The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the wild beasts of the
island, and the satyr shall cry to his fellow; the screech owl also shall rest
there, and find for herself a place of rest."
This passage refers to God’s day of vengeance, when the land will be transformed
into desolate wilderness. Thus, Lilith was known in ancient Israel of the 8th
century BC. The fact that she found a place of rest in the desert from this
passage seems to allude to the Sumerian Gilgamesh incident: after Lilith fled
into the desert, she apparently found repose there.
Schrader (Jahrbuch für Protestantische Theologie, 1. 128) and Levy (ZDMG 9. 470,
484) suggest that Lilith was a goddess of the night, known also by the Jewish
exiles in Babylon. Evidence for Lilith being a goddess rather than a demon is
lacking. Isaiah dates to the 6th century BC, and the presence of Jews in Babylon
would coincide with the attested references to the Lilitu in Babylonian
demonology.
The Septuagint translates onokentauros, apparently for lack of a better word,
since also the sair "satyrs" earlier in the verse are translated with daimon
onokentauros. The "wild beasts of the island and the desert" are omitted
altogether, and the "crying to his fellow" is also done by the ‘‘daimon
onokentauros.
In Horace (De Arte Poetica liber, 340), Hieronymus of Cardia translated Lilith
as ‘‘Lamia, a witch who steals children, similar to the Breton Korrigan, in
Greek mythology described as a Libyan queen who mated with Zeus. After Zeus
abandoned Lamia, Hera stole Lamia's children, and Lamia took revenge by stealing
other women's children.
The screech owl translation of the KJV is without precedent, and apparently
together with the "owl" (yanšup, probably a water bird) in 34:11, and the "great
owl" (qippoz, properly a snake,) of 34:15 an attempt to render the eerie
atmosphere of the passage by choosing suitable animals for difficult to
translate Hebrew words. It should be noted that this particular species of owl
is associated with the vampiric Strix of Roman legend. This possibly evolved
from the early 5th century Vulgate Bible of the Catholic Church, which
translated the same word as Lamia instead.[29] [30] [31]
et occurrent daemonia onocentauris et pilosus clamabit alter ad alterum ibi
cubavit lamia et invenit sibi requiem
—Isaiah(Isaias Propheta) 34.14, Vulgate
Later translations include:
night-owl (Young, 1898)
night monster (ASV, 1901; NASB, 1995)
vampires (Moffatt Translation, 1922)
night hag (RSV, 1947)
Lilith (Jerusalem Bible, 1966)
lilith (New American Bible, 1970)
night creature (NIV, 1978; NKJV, 1982; NLT, 1996)
nightjar (New World Translation, 1984).