Lilith's Appearance
Lilith's appearance is disputed. The Akkadian name of Lilith is "Lilitu". The term Lilitu is derived from the root "lil", which means "wind", or "invisible force", and the ending "itu", which indicates an affiliation. Lilith is therefore an invisible force.
The word "Ki-sikil-lil-la-ke" is an alternative term for Lilith. In the myth Inanna and the Huluppu tree, this term is used to describe the being that lives in the Huluppu tree alongside the serpent and the eagle. The word "Ki-sikil" literally means "young woman" and "lil" means "wind" or "invisible force". This probably means that Lilith is an invisible demon who can take the form of a young woman.
However, an alternative translation of the term "Ki-sikil-lil-la-ke" is "night owl" or "screech owl". This translation stems from the fact that it is difficult to imagine a young girl living in a tree and the belief that Lilith, like the eagle and the serpent, should have an animal form. However, this explanation is not tenable: Lilith does not live in the Huluppu tree because she likes to live in trees, but because this tree is the gateway to the netherworld for her.
In summary, Lilith is probably an invisible demon who can take the form of a young woman.
Lilith's Duties as a Demon
Lilith is a demon who lives in the Huluppu tree. According to the myth Enki and Ereshkigal, the Huluppu tree serves both as a gateway to heaven and as a gateway to the netherworld. Since the eagle can transport people to heaven and the serpent has the task of guarding the tree, it stands to reason that Lilith's task is to transport people to the netherworld.
Lilith's Personality
As mentioned above, Lilith is probably a demon with powers to kill people and transport their souls to the netherworld. The fact that Lilith can assume the form of an innocent young woman suggests that she accomplishes this through deception. The reason why she did this is probably that either the soul or the body of the person was needed by the gods.
The Career of Lilith
The possibility of translating the syllable "lil" as "wind" suggests that the first mention of Lilith is in the Myth of Etana, which takes place shortly after the Flood, i.e. around 2850 BCE:
"In the crown [of the Huluppu tree] the eagle [Anzu] settled, at its root the [Usumgallu] serpent. Every day they watched the wind beasts [the Liliths]."
The second mention of Lilith in Sumerian mythology can be found in the myth Inanna and the Huluppu tree, which takes place during Gilgamesh's lifetime, around 2600 BCE. There it is confirmed that the Huluppu Tree was occupied by an eagle, a serpent and Lilith. When the Huluppu tree was felled, Lilith fleed into the mountains.
