Naamah or Na'amah ( he, נַעֲמָה; "pleasant") is a

demon A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in Media (communication), media such as comics, video ...

described in the

Zohar The ''Zohar'' ( he, , ''Zōhar'', lit. "Splendor" or "Radiance") is a foundational work in the literature of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah (the five ...

, a foundational work of

Jewish mysticism Academic study of Jewish mysticism, especially since Gershom Scholem's ''Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism'' (1941), distinguishes between different forms of mysticism across different eras of Jewish history. Of these, Kabbalah, which emerged in ...

. She originated from and is often conflated with another Naamah, sister to

Tubal-cain Tubal-cain or Tubalcain ( he, תּוּבַל קַיִן – ''Tūḇal Qayīn'') is a person mentioned in the Bible, in , known for being the first blacksmith. He is stated as the "forger of all instruments of bronze and iron". A descendant of C ...

In the Talmud

Talmudic The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...

- midrashic literature, Naamah is indistinguishable from the human Naamah, who earned her name by seducing men through her play of cymbals. She also enticed the angel Shamdon or Shomron and bore Ashmodai, the king of devils. It was later, in Kabbalistic literature like the Zohar, that she became an inhuman spirit.

Raphael Patai Raphael Patai (Hebrew רפאל פטאי; November 22, 1910 − July 20, 1996), born Ervin György Patai, was a Hungarian-Jewish ethnographer, historian, Orientalist and anthropologist. Family background Patai was born in Budapest, Austria-Hung ...

(1990). ''

The Hebrew Goddess ''The Hebrew Goddess'' is a 1967 book by Jewish historian and anthropologist Raphael Patai, in which the author argues that historically, the Jewish religion had elements of polytheism, especially the worship of goddesses and a cult of the mothe ...

''.

Wayne State University Press Wayne State University Press (or WSU Press) is a university press that is part of Wayne State University. It publishes under its own name and also the imprints Imprint or imprinting may refer to: Entertainment * ''Imprint'' (TV series), ...

In the Zohar

According to the

, after

Cain Cain ''Káïn''; ar, قابيل/قايين, Qābīl/Qāyīn is a Biblical figure in the Book of Genesis within Abrahamic religions. He is the elder brother of Abel, and the firstborn son of Adam and Eve, the first couple within the Bible. He ...

kills

Abel Abel ''Hábel''; ar, هابيل, Hābīl is a Biblical figure in the Book of Genesis within Abrahamic religions. He was the younger brother of Cain, and the younger son of Adam and Eve, the first couple in Biblical history. He was a shepherd ...

Adam Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...

separates from Eve for 130 years. During this time,

Lilith Lilith ( ; he, לִילִית, Līlīṯ) is a female figure in Mesopotamian and Judaic mythology, alternatively the first wife of Adam and supposedly the primordial she-demon. Lilith is cited as having been "banished" from the Garden of Ed ...

and Naamah seduce him and bear his demonic children, who became the Plagues of Mankind. She and Lilith cause epilepsy in children. In another story from the Zohar, Naamah and Lilith are said to have corrupted the angels

Ouza Samyaza ( he, שמחזי; arc, שמיחזה; el, Σεμιαζά; ar, ساميارس, '), also Shemhazai, Azza, Uzza, or Ouza, is a fallen angel of apocryphal Abrahamic traditions and Manichaeism who ranked in the heavenly hierarchy as the leade ...

and

Azazel In the Bible, the name Azazel (; he, עֲזָאזֵל ''ʿAzāʾzēl''; ar, عزازيل, ʿAzāzīl) appears in association with the scapegoat rite; the name represents a desolate place where a scapegoat bearing the sins of the Jews during ...

. The text states she also attracts demons, as she is continuously chased by demon kings Afrira and Qastimon every night, but she leaps away every time and takes multiple forms to entice men.

She makes sport with the sons of man, and conceives from them through their dreams, from the male desire, and she attaches herself to them. She takes the desire, and nothing more, and from that desire she conceives and brings forth all kinds of demons into the world. And those sons she bears from men visit the women of humankind, who then conceive from them and give birth to spirits. And all of them go to the first Lilith and she brings them up.

In other texts

A 1340

Kabbalistic Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and Jewish theology, school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "rece ...

treatise by Bahya ben Asher states Naamah is one of the mates of the

archangel Archangels () are the second lowest rank of angel in the hierarchy of angels. The word ''archangel'' itself is usually associated with the Abrahamic religions, but beings that are very similar to archangels are found in a number of other relig ...

Samael Samael ( he, סַמָּאֵל, ''Sammāʾēl'', "Venom/Poison of God"; ar, سمسمائيل, ''Samsama'il'' or ar, سمائل, label=none, ''Samail''; alternatively Smal, Smil, Samil, or Samiel) is an archangel in Talmudic and post-Talmudic ...

, along with Lilith, Agrat bat Mahlat and

Eisheth In Kabbalah, Eisheth Zenunim ( Heb. אֵשֶׁת זְנוּנִים, "Woman of Whoredom") is a princess of the Qliphoth who rules Gamaliel, the order of the Qliphoth of Yesod. She is found in Zohar 1:5a as a feminine personification of sin. In Jewi ...

Rosemary Ellen Guiley Rosemary Ellen Guiley (July 8, 1950 - July 18, 2019) was an American writer on topics related to spirituality, the occult, and the paranormal. She was also a radio show host, a certified hypnotist, a board director of the "National Museum of Mys ...

, ''The Encyclopedia of Angels'', 2nd editionJewish Encyclopedia demonology
/ref> It is stated

Esau Esau ''Ēsaû''; la, Hesau, Esau; ar, عِيسَوْ ''‘Īsaw''; meaning "hairy"Easton, M. ''Illustrated Bible Dictionary'', (, , 2006, p. 236 or "rough".Mandel, D. ''The Ultimate Who's Who in the Bible'', (.), 2007, p. 175 is the elder son o ...

took four wives in imitation to him.

References

*The

I 55a *

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

4:22 *

Robert Graves Captain Robert von Ranke Graves (24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985) was a British poet, historical novelist and critic. His father was Alfred Perceval Graves, a celebrated Irish poet and figure in the Gaelic revival; they were both Celt ...

and

, ''Hebrew Myths'' * E. S. Drower, ''The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran'', Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1937

External links

Lilith
by Alan Humm {{DEFAULTSORT:Naamah (Demon) Angels in Judaism Jewish legendary creatures Demons in Judaism Qliphoth Kabbalistic words and phrases Female legendary creatures