The Lilim, more often called lilin in scholarly writing, are night spirits of Jewish folklore and demonology, described in later tradition as the offspring of Lilith. They appear in Aramaic incantation bowls, the Talmud, the Targums and medieval Kabbalah, where they are feared as threats to sleepers, mothers and newborns. Their story is inseparable from the development of the Lilith legend.
Lilim at a glance
| Also known as | Lilin (plural of lilit/lilith); lilim in popular English usage |
|---|---|
| Tradition | Jewish folklore, Talmudic demonology, Kabbalah |
| Associated figure | Lilith, and in Kabbalah her consort Samael |
| Key sources | Aramaic incantation bowls, Babylonian Talmud (Eruvin 18b), Targums, Zohar, Emeq haMelekh (1648) |
| Earlier background | Mesopotamian lilu and lilitu wind and night demons |
| Protection | Amulets naming the angels Sanoi, Sansanoi and Semangelof |
Name and background
The word lilin is a plural built on lilit, the name of a female night demon. Scholars usually connect the group with Mesopotamian demons called lilu, lilitu and ardat lili, spirits associated with wind, night and the harming of women and children. Popular folk etymology linked the name to the Hebrew laylah, night, and this association shaped how the demons were imagined.
The spelling "Lilim" is common in English-language occult books, games and fiction, while academic studies of Jewish magic generally prefer "lilin." Both refer to the same broad class of beings: male and female night spirits understood as akin to Lilith, and in later tradition as her children.
The line between Lilith as an individual and liliths as a category is not always sharp in the sources. Incantation bowls, for example, speak of many liliths, male and female, and even of a king of the liliths, suggesting that the name first described a type of demon before it attached to a single famous figure.
Lilith in early sources
Lilith herself is not a character of the Hebrew Bible. The word lilit occurs once, in Isaiah 34:14, among creatures that will haunt the ruins of Edom, and translators have rendered it variously as screech owl, night monster or Lilith. The Dead Sea Scrolls include the "Songs of the Sage," protective hymns that name liliths among harmful spirits, which is one of the earliest clear Jewish references.
The Babylonian Talmud mentions Lilith in several passages. It describes her with long hair and wings and warns that a man should not sleep alone in a house lest Lilith seize him (Shabbat 151b). The famous tale of Lilith as Adam's first wife, created from the same earth and refusing to submit to him, comes much later, in the satirical medieval work known as the Alphabet of Ben Sira, usually dated between the eighth and tenth centuries.
The birth of the Lilim
The idea that demons descended from Adam appears in the Talmud. Eruvin 18b states that during the 130 years in which Adam was separated from Eve, he fathered spirits, demons and lilin. Later sources developed this into the claim that Lilith, or female spirits like her, bore these beings from Adam's involuntary emissions, and that such spirits continued to prey on sleeping men.
In the Alphabet of Ben Sira, Lilith flees Eden, and three angels sent after her extract an oath: she may harm newborns, but not where she sees their names or images. The story adds that a hundred of her children die each day. Kabbalistic literature greatly expanded these themes. The Zohar and related texts pair Lilith with the demonic prince Samael, and the seventeenth-century Emeq haMelekh describes the demonic offspring conceived with Adam as sorrowful beings. In these writings the Lilim became a whole class of night spirits linked to sexual temptation, much like the Christian incubus and succubus.
Incantation bowls and amulets
Much of the best evidence comes from everyday magic rather than theology. Hundreds of Aramaic incantation bowls from Sasanian Mesopotamia, dating roughly from the fifth to the seventh centuries CE, were inscribed in spirals and buried upside down, apparently to trap demons. Many name male and female liliths, and some use the legal formula of a bill of divorce to send the lilith away from a household.
From the Middle Ages onward, Jewish families hung amulets in the birthing room and near cradles. These often named the three angels Sanoi, Sansanoi and Semangelof, sometimes with the words "Adam and Eve, out Lilith," to protect mother and child during the vulnerable days after birth. Such customs show that belief in Lilith and her brood was a practical concern about childbirth, illness and sleep, not only a matter of myth.
Legacy and interpretation
Modern scholars read the Lilim tradition as a way pre-modern communities explained infant death, sickness, nocturnal fears and erotic dreams. Today Lilith has been reclaimed by some Jewish feminists and Neopagans as a symbol of independence, while the Lilim appear widely in fantasy fiction, role-playing games and popular occult literature, often loosely detached from their Jewish sources.
Within traditional Judaism, attitudes to demons range from literal belief in some circles to rationalist dismissal inspired by Maimonides. Readers interested in related figures can consult entries on Kabbalah, Abaddon and exorcism.
Related entries
On The Mystica today: Protection symbols
Frequently asked questions
Who are the Lilim?
The Lilim, or lilin, are night demons of Jewish folklore. Early sources treat them as male and female spirits similar to Lilith, while later legend makes them her children, often fathered by Adam during his separation from Eve. They were feared as dangers to sleeping men, women in childbirth and newborn babies.
Is Lilith mentioned in the Bible?
Not as a character. The Hebrew word lilit appears once, in Isaiah 34:14, among creatures that will inhabit a ruined land, and it has been translated as screech owl, night creature or Lilith. The story of Lilith as Adam's first wife comes from the medieval Alphabet of Ben Sira, not from Scripture.
How did people protect themselves from Lilith and the Lilim?
In late antique Mesopotamia, people buried inscribed incantation bowls in their homes to trap demons. In later Jewish communities, amulets naming the angels Sanoi, Sansanoi and Semangelof were hung around birthing rooms and cradles. Prayers, psalms and the mezuzah were also regarded as sources of protection.
Sources and further reading
This entry replaces an article from the original Mystica encyclopedia (online since 2001). It was rewritten from the sources above by The Mystica Editorial Team under our editorial standards. Last reviewed: September 30, 2026.