Fascinating Lilith, Adam’s First Wife Whom No One Wants To Talk About

Adam’s first wife wasn’t Eve, but demon Lilith.

Lilith, a character evolving throughout the years, began as a she-demon which is common to many Middle Eastern cultures.

Appearing first in the book of Babylonian Talmud and incantation bowls found in old Iran and Iraq, she is described as an evil being and a threatening identity toward childbirth and reproductive aspects.

The Alphabet of Ben Sirach describes Lilith as Adam’s first wife and the one who disobeyed God and contented her equality with Adam.

Lilith also appears in the kabbalah as an evil impression of the feminine aspect of God.

Till the late 20th century, the she-demon Lilith had a fearsome reputation, someone who murders and kidnaps children and seduces men.

The rise of the feminist movement in the 60’s changed the perception of Lilith from someone who is the pure embodiment of evil to being a model of independent women.

Seizing upon Lilith’s assertion of equality, Jewish feminists reclaimed Lilith as the symbol of self-determination, independence and sexual deliverance. Let’s dig into what know about her further:

Nothing Found in Bible Regarding Lilith

Lilith, who claims to be equal to Adam, has only been mentioned once in the bible — but not directly by her name.

Lilith is mentioned in Isaiah 34:14 by many different names: night monster, nocturnal creature, or even night bird. The terms vary depending on the translation of the bible that one is reading.

A nocturnal creature who will haunt the destroyed kingdom of Edom is mentioned in the book of Isaiah; many biblical scholars believe this passage is directly talking about Lilith. The legend of Lilith continued to grow in ancient Judaism.

Believing Lilith And Adam Are Equal

Lilith is believed to be the first wife of Adam. According to Genesis 1, Lilith was created from the same soil as Adam, and this meant for her that they both were equal.

Equality problems were the reason that distanced both Lilith and Adam.

Performing the desired tasks for Adam became a big no for Lilith, and thus Lilith impolitely refused to be submissive and subservient to Adam. Ultimately, Lilith left Adam and the comforts of the Garden of Eden.

The Dead Sea Scrolls

In the mid-’90s, a collection of 800 scrolls washed up on the west bank of The Dead Sea, and today these texts are known as the Dead Sea Scrolls.

The writing of the scrolls is not only biblical but also includes Hebrew, Greek prayers, Aramaic, legal documents and apocryphal works — some of these scrolls of the dead sea interestingly discuss Lilith.

Lilith is associated with the demons in these scrolls and referred to “Song for a Sage ‘’ used for exorcism.

Her Rule Beside Satan

The core book of kabbalah, also known as Zohar, characterizes Lilith as a dark temptress.

The people who follow this book believe that Lilith bores demonic children by “nocturnal emission” of men and kills children by strangling them.

Zohar also describes Lilith as ruling besides Satan, and she can take the form of a human being to seduce men.

In another narration, Lilith disguised herself as Queen of Sheba to attract King Solomon, but her disguise was exposed when someone saw her in her monstrous form.

First Feminist

Lilith is considered not only an embodiment of evil in most religions but also the first Feminist.

Considering her the first Feminist is that she left Adam for her freedom and desires, and she never wanted to bow down to Adam’s will.

During the feminist movements in the 1970s, Lilith became a modern-day feminist. During this movement, women started fighting and protesting for their rights, just like Lilith did.

Women demanded that they should have the right to decide what is best for their future and make choices according to that.

The Reason For Unexplainable Woes

God punished Lilith by ending the lives of her first hundred children, and Lilith confessed that she was created only to cause sickness to infants.

Interestingly, Jewish people use amulets above the bed to protect their children from Lilith — besides the amulets, she would spare any child named after certain angels.

It is believed she hovers over boys for eight days and girls for twenty days. Because of this, Lilith faced blame for the death of infants and was considered a symbol of sadness and unfortunate events.

Serpent In The Garden Of Eden

We know from the story that Adam and Eve were expelled from Paradise and that woman has been blamed ever after for this sinful act of accepting the fruit — but who is that woman?

According to some texts and paintings, the serpent in the Garden Of Eden was Lilith. An image in Sistine Chapel portrays “The Fall Of Man”.

The illustration shows a woman with the body of a human and the tail of a serpent wrapped around the tree — this painting is often referred to as a representation of Lilith. Some Kabbalah texts also describe Lilith as a serpent of the Garden Of Eden.

Final Words

Lilith is a controversial figure throughout history, a character in which some believe and some don’t, some admire, and some fear that Lilith will be in the spotlight now and then.

So, this interesting information about Lilith was collected for you to decide who she was!

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