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Lailah (angel)
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Lailah (angel)
Lailah (Heb. לַיְלָה, Laylāh, meaning "Night") is an angel in some interpretations in the Talmud and in some later Jewish mythology, associated with the night, as well as conception and pregnancy.
"Lailah" is the same as the Hebrew word for "night" laylah (לילה). The noun for "night" in the Semitic languages is derived from the tri-consonantal root: L-Y-L, also found in Arabic laylah "night" (Arabic: ليلى).
An angel named Lailah is not mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. The identification of the word "night" as the name of an angel originates with an interpretation of Genesis 14:15 found in the Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 96a. This passage, relating to Abraham's night attack on the four kings led by Chedorlaomer, reads: "And he divided himself against them by night, he and his servants, and smote them". Rabbi Yochanan interprets this to mean that Abraham attacked with the help of an angel called "night". This interpretation is supported with reference to Job 3:3, which reads: "And night [lailah] said: A male child is brought forth".
In Niddah 16b, the interpretation of rabbi Hanina ben Pappa (3rd century AD) posits that Lailah is an angel in charge of conception who takes a drop of semen and places it before God:
For R. Hanina b. Papa made the following exposition: The name of the angel who is in charge of conception is 'Night', and she takes up a drop and places it in the presence of the Holy One, blessed be He, saying, 'Sovereign of the universe, what shall be the fate of this drop? Shall it produce a strong man or a weak man, a wise man or a fool, a rich man or a poor man?'
According to this exposition, the only thing God is not asked to decide is whether the child will be righteous or wicked, allowing it to have free will.
Midrash Tanhuma also details how Lailah is in charge of conception (לַמַּלְאָךְ הַמְּמֻנָּה עַל הַהֵרָיוֹן). As in Niddah 16b, God decrees everything about the unborn child's fate except whether it will be righteous or wicked, since this is a choice the individual has to make for themself.
The angel is also mentioned in Zohar Chadash 68:3, again described as being in charge of conception and pregnancy.
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Lailah (angel)
Lailah (Heb. לַיְלָה, Laylāh, meaning "Night") is an angel in some interpretations in the Talmud and in some later Jewish mythology, associated with the night, as well as conception and pregnancy.
"Lailah" is the same as the Hebrew word for "night" laylah (לילה). The noun for "night" in the Semitic languages is derived from the tri-consonantal root: L-Y-L, also found in Arabic laylah "night" (Arabic: ليلى).
An angel named Lailah is not mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. The identification of the word "night" as the name of an angel originates with an interpretation of Genesis 14:15 found in the Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 96a. This passage, relating to Abraham's night attack on the four kings led by Chedorlaomer, reads: "And he divided himself against them by night, he and his servants, and smote them". Rabbi Yochanan interprets this to mean that Abraham attacked with the help of an angel called "night". This interpretation is supported with reference to Job 3:3, which reads: "And night [lailah] said: A male child is brought forth".
In Niddah 16b, the interpretation of rabbi Hanina ben Pappa (3rd century AD) posits that Lailah is an angel in charge of conception who takes a drop of semen and places it before God:
For R. Hanina b. Papa made the following exposition: The name of the angel who is in charge of conception is 'Night', and she takes up a drop and places it in the presence of the Holy One, blessed be He, saying, 'Sovereign of the universe, what shall be the fate of this drop? Shall it produce a strong man or a weak man, a wise man or a fool, a rich man or a poor man?'
According to this exposition, the only thing God is not asked to decide is whether the child will be righteous or wicked, allowing it to have free will.
Midrash Tanhuma also details how Lailah is in charge of conception (לַמַּלְאָךְ הַמְּמֻנָּה עַל הַהֵרָיוֹן). As in Niddah 16b, God decrees everything about the unborn child's fate except whether it will be righteous or wicked, since this is a choice the individual has to make for themself.
The angel is also mentioned in Zohar Chadash 68:3, again described as being in charge of conception and pregnancy.