Lailah

THE ONE ANGEL IN THIS BATCH WHOSE JOB IS A QUESTION. She does not decide the fate of the drop; she carries it up and asks. She is also, with the Shekhinah and Eisheth, one of only three female figures added here, against nine already held — and the corpus's three existing female records are all demon queens.

Domains

• conception
• pregnancy
• the night
• the fate of the unborn

Sources

• Reference treatment of Lailah: an angel in some interpretations in the Talmud and in later Jewish mythology, associated with the night and with conception and pregnancy; according to Talmudic exposition the name of the angel 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?'; Midrash Tanhuma also details how Lailah is in charge of conception.
• Midrash Tanhuma