Lilin

The lilin (in Hebrew "the nocturnal ones") are the spirits that Jewish tradition makes the children of Lilith. The Babylonian Talmud (Eruvin 18b) relates that during the hundred and thirty years in which Adam lived apart from Eve he begot "spirits, demons and lilin"; the Alphabet of Ben Sira (8th-10th centuries) tells that Lilith, having left Adam for refusing to lie beneath him, bears a hundred demons every day and sees as many die every day; and the Zohar makes her the consort of Samael, from whose union the nocturnal brood is born. Behind all this stands the Mesopotamian lilitu, the female demon of the night wind from whom Lilith and her children functionally descend. The same Talmud (Eruvin 100b) attributes long hair and wings to Lilith, and tradition extends both traits to her offspring; in Shabbat 151b it is forbidden to sleep alone in a house, "for whoever sleeps alone is seized by Lilith". Isaiah 34:14 names Lilith among the creatures of the desolation of Edom, and the Vulgate translates her as "lamia": hence later exegesis read her whole lineage into that verse.

The lilin are hybrid, winged spirits, born of the union of a she-demon with a man or with a demon, and so they share in both natures: they have human form, they eat and reproduce like men, but they fly, pass through walls and know the future like the angels. They act at night and in swarms. Their preferred prey are sleepers left alone and children without protection: from the former they steal breath and strength and send them nightmares and dreams of seduction, the latter they sicken or kill in the cradle. Jewish and Mesopotamian tradition agree that the only effective defence is the word written on the amulet: where the safeguard is missing, the sleeper is at their mercy. Akin to them are other night demons that attack sleepers and newborns in neighbouring cultures, such as the Babylonian ardat-lili, the Ashkenazi estrie or the Greek gello, with whom they share function though not lineage. The Zohar and the Alphabet of Ben Sira insist that all their power comes from the illicit union that begot them, and that for this reason they are themselves a threat that perpetuates itself every night.

The Lilin are warded off by the amulets of Senoy, Sansenoy and Semangelof. These three angels, mentioned in the Alphabet of Ben Sira, grant protection against the nocturnal swarm. The amulets are usually placed in cradles or doors to safeguard children. Kabbalistic tradition indicates that the names of these angels invoke a spiritual barrier. Mesopotamian and Jewish sources agree that the absence of such safeguards leaves sleepers vulnerable. This method of defense symbolizes the triumph of divine order over chaotic nocturnal forces. The Zohar reinforces the power of these amulets in ritual contexts. Isaiah 34:14 and the Talmud complement the view of a threat that requires specific protection.