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Lilith Historiola in Jewish Apotropaic Texts

Publication |
2016

Abstract

The article focuses on reception of the female demon Lilith in Late Antiquity and on supposed origin of her name. It also seeks to explain the names of her main adversaries, the angels Senoy, Sansenoy and Semangelof.

The story of their origins attested in Alphabet of ben Sirach is introduced and compared with one Aramaic magic bowl containing a very similar story. The translation of one Hebrew amulet from Jewish Museum in Prague is additionaly presented because of its resemblance to the aforementioned texts and important features.

The author introduces to the reader a historiola theory of Ferdinand Ohrt and tries to apply it on these two translated incantations containing Lilith historiola.