Is Lilith biblical? The first wife of Adam?

Is Lilith biblical? The first wife of Adam? Truth or fiction? 

It is the belief of many Christians that the first humans created by God were Adam and Eve. The Bible tells us that Adam and Eve were the first man and woman created in Genesis 2. Adam created of the dust and Eve created from his (side/rib) 

However, there is a belief held by some people, including some professing Christians that Eve was not in fact the first woman created, nor was she Adam’s first wife. Before God created Eve, from Adam’s rib, he had already created a wife for Adam from the dust, just as he had formed Adam from the dust. Her name being Lilith. Unlike Eve who was created after Adam, Lilith was apparently created at the same time as Adam, equal and not subordinate to Adam, made from the same substance as Adam, but the pair argued over who was to be the dominant one. Apparently despite being made equal in every way they both wanted dominance over the other.  It is claimed that Lilith became stronger and wiser than Adam and Lilith after using God’s name was banished. Adam became lonely and God created Eve. This time not from the dust and not equal. What is also evident when you look at the many websites and youtube videos that make the claim that Lilith is real, is that there is actually not one specific story. The story is embellished by many of these sites and videos in order to cause “shock” factor. Of course the more shocking the story the more views they are likely to get.  Many of these embellishments are added by the individual who has created the site or video or they have simply copied the embellishment of someone else.  One such embellishment actually asserts that Lilith and Lucifer are linked. It is also alleged that the Catholic Church hid this truth as to allow male dominance in the church.

But here we are interested in truth not shock factor. 

The story is not found in the Bible but proponents of the theory claim that it is alluded to in the book of Genesis. They claim that there are 2 different stories about the creation of Adams’s wife and that in fact, they are indeed 2 separate creations.

Lilith having being created along with Adam in Genesis chapter 1

Genesis 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

God creating man in his image, he created them male AND Female. So here both the man and woman were created at the same time on day 6. 

In chapter 2 we get Adam being formed before the woman. The woman being formed from the rib of Adam after Adam could not find a help meet for himself amongst the animals.

Genesis 2:18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. 19 And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. 20And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.

Genesis 2:21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; 22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.

23And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.

So there we have it. 2 separate creations of woman, Lilith at the same time and Eve later after Adam had been placed in the garden of Eden which was after the creation of the first woman.

But is this really the case? The answer is no. When we actually analyse the text and the evidence for Lilith we will see that the claim simply doesn’t hold up.  

While it might at face value, without any understanding or actual evaluation of the scriptures, appear that there are 2 different creations,  people who claim this, miss the fact, either deliberately, which is nothing short of dishonest or through a lack of study,  that in Genesis 2 we are also given the details of the MAN being formed of the dust.

Genesis 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

And so, if Genesis 1 and 2 are separate creations then as well as a woman being created in both, a man is also created in Genesis 1 and 2 

Notice that in Genesis 1, there is no formation from the DUST …..

Genesis 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

Yet this is usually completely missed. Those asserting this myth as reality almost always claim that both Adam and Lilith were created from the dust together. 

So those who make this claim have a problem. If man and woman were already created in Genesis 1 and the woman in Genesis 2 is a different woman than the woman stated as being created in Genesis 1 then based on the exact same argument the man formed in Genesis 2 must also be a different man than the man created in Genesis 1. The man in Genesis 2 is named as being Adam. The man created in Genesis 1, therefore,  cannot be Adam in this understanding as Adam would not be created until the second creation in Genesis 2. So if Eve is not the woman of Genesis 1 but this is actually Lilith, then we must ask WHO is the man of Genesis 1? Not only would he not be mentioned in the Bible, but we would not have any extra biblical sources for the name of this man either. Lilith would not be the first wife of Adam, but an unnamed man of which we know nothing about. 

It simply is illogical and disingenuous to claim otherwise.

But some will go to Genesis 5 where we are again told about the creation of Adam and the woman. 

Genesis 5: 1This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him; 2Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created. 

So if this now has Adam being named as created in the first creation alongside the woman, we end up with 2 creations of Adam. Whichever way the assertion is made, it simply cannot work. 

In reality Genesis 2 is simply the retelling of Genesis 1 but in more detail. Genesis 1 is the headline Genesis 2 simply goes back and tells a more in-depth version of the creation of man and woman.

Genesis 2:4 These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens, 5 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. 6 But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. 7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

Genesis 2 tells us this is when God created the heavens and the earth. Adam and Eve were created on the same day, but not at exactly the same time. 

So the Bible doesn’t actually support the theory in the way that some people think that it does.

There is, however, one verse in the Bible that is claimed by those that assert Lilith, that references Lilith directly.

Isaiah 34:14 And desert creatures will meet with hyenas, and goat-demons will call out to each other. There also Liliths will settle, and find for themselves a resting place. ISV

The translation liliths is found in very few versions of the Bible.

The Hebrew word is

לִּילִ֔ית lî-lîṯ,. Those Bibles that have Lilith have simply transliterated the Hebrew word.  
lî-lîṯ,, while the actual meaning may not be be 100% clearly defined, most understand the reference to Lilith to either be some kind of desert dwelling animal or demon.

The KJV translates the Hebrew as screech owl

Isaiah 34:14 The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the wild beasts of the island, and the satyr shall cry to his fellow; the screech owl also shall rest there, and find for herself a place of rest.

The NIV uses night creatures

Isaiah 34:14 Desert creatures will meet with hyenas, and wild goats will bleat to each other; there the night creatures will also lie down and find for themselves places of rest.

And ESV goes with night bird

Isaiah 34:14 And wild animals shall meet with hyenas; the wild goat shall cry to his fellow; indeed, there the night bird settles and finds for herself a resting place.

The NASB has night monster

Isaiah 34:14 The desert creatures will meet with the wolves, The hairy goat also will cry to its kind; Yes, the night monster will settle there And will find herself a resting place.

Rabbi Rashi understood this reference to mean a female demon

“lilith The name of a female demon.”
Rashi on Isaiah 

The Targum to Isaiah renders it demons 
14 And there shall meet one another, martens and wild cats, and demons, each shall sport with its companion: verily dryads shall dwell there, and they shall find rest for themselves.
Targum Jonathan on Isaiah 

The Greek Septuagint reads devils 

Isaiah 34:14 And devils shall meet with satyrs, and they shall cry one to the other: there shall satyrs rest, having found for themselves a place of rest.

Interestingly 

It must be noted even if it does mean night demon it cannot automatically be inferred that this is a reference to the supposed woman of Genesis 1. It could only be claimed that there was a demon called a lilit. There is no reference to any woman and certainly not that this demon was once a woman who was created alongside and once had any kind of relationship with Adam. This is all read back into Genesis.

So as we see if this is a reference to Lilith then she or it was considered a demon or a animal and not the wife of Adam, or even human.

This is exactly what we see from the earliest Hebrew writings where she is mentioned the Babylonian Talmud. Lilith is referenced 4 times within these writings which were not written until around the 3rd through to the 6th centuries AD. What we must note is that this is a rather long time after Genesis had been compiled and actually post biblical times as already stated. She does not exist in Jewish literature before The Babylonian Talmud. 

There is no connection between her and Adam recorded in the Babylonian Talmud in any way. She is simply depicted as a demon and NEVER as Adam’s first wife or having been the first Eve.

So lets have a look at these references. 

It was taught in a Baraita that the three additional curses are: She grows her hair long like Lilit, a demon; she sits and urinates, like an animal; and serves as a pillow for her husband during relations. Erubin 100b

Rab Judah citing Samuel ruled: If an abortion had the likeness of Lilith26 its mother is unclean by reason of the birth, for it is a child, but it has wings. So it was also taught: R. Jose stated, It once happened at Simoni27 that a woman aborted the likeness of Lilith, and when the case came up for a decision before the Sages they ruled that it was a child but that it also had wings

Niddah 24b

Rabbi Ḥanina said: It is prohibited to sleep alone in a house, and anyone who sleeps alone in a house will be seized by the evil spirit Lilith.

Shabbat 151b

Rabba said: I have seen the one called Hurmin, son of Lilith, when he was running on the pinnacles of the wall of the city of Meḥoza, and a horseman was riding an animal below him but was unable to catch up to him. Once, they saddled for him two mules and they stood

Bava Batra 73a

Lilith may appear in the dead sea scrolls where she/it is mentioned alongside other types of evil spirits. 

“all the spirits of the destroying angels, spirits of the bastards, demons, Lilith, desert howlers”

scrolls 4q510 and 4q511 

The earliest attestation of lilith being the human first wife of Adam comes from the Alphabet of ben Sira which is dated somewhere between 700 and 1000 AD and most modern scholars believe this to be closer to the latter age.  I shall also point out that there are 4 versions of this story in print. 

The part of the writing in reference, of which most scholars believe the author is actually unknown, is made up of 2 lists of proverbs 22 in Aramaic and 22 in Hebrew which are arranged alphabetically hence the name Alphabet of.  It is largely considered a satirical piece of work.

The passage that refers to Lilith is found in the 15th letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

Soon afterward the young son of the king took ill. Said Nebuchadnezzar, “Heal my son. If you don’t, I will kill you.” Ben Sira immediately sat down and wrote an amulet with the Holy Name, and he inscribed on it the angels in charge of medicine by their names, forms, and images, and by their wings, hands, and feet. Nebuchadnezzar looked at the amulet. “Who are these?”

“The angels who are in charge of medicine: Snvi, Snsvi, and Smnglof. After God created Adam, who was alone, He said, ‘It is not good for man to be alone’ (Genesis 2:18). He then created a woman for Adam, from the earth, as He had created Adam himself, and called her Lilith. Adam and Lilith immediately began to fight. She said, ‘I will not lie below,’ and he said, ‘I will not lie beneath you, but only on top. For you are fit only to be in the bottom position, while I am to be the superior one.’ Lilith responded, ‘We are equal to each other inasmuch as we were both created from the earth.’ But they would not listen to one another. When Lilith saw this, she pronounced the Ineffable Name and flew away into the air. Adam stood in prayer before his Creator: ‘Sovereign of the universe!’ he said, ‘the woman you gave me has run away.’ At once, the Holy One, blessed be He, sent these three angels to bring her back.

“Said the Holy One to Adam, ‘If she agrees to come back, fine. If not, she must permit one hundred of her children to die every day.’ The angels left God and pursued Lilith, whom they overtook in the midst of the sea, in the mighty waters wherein the Egyptians were destined to drown. They told her God’s word, but she did not wish to return. The angels said, ‘We shall drown you in the sea.’

“‘Leave me!’ she said. ‘I was created only to cause sickness to infants. If the infant is male, I have dominion over him for eight days after his birth, and if female, for twenty days.’

“When the angels heard Lilith’s words, they insisted she go back. But she swore to them by the name of the living and eternal God: ‘Whenever I see you or your names or your forms in an amulet, I will have no power over that infant.’ She also agreed to have one hundred of her children die every day. Accordingly, every day one hundred demons perish, and for the same reason, we write the angels names on the amulets of young children. When Lilith sees their names, she remembers her oath, and the child recovers.” (Stern and Mirsky, eds. 183- 184)

Now, there are some obvious things that need to be pointed out here. 

First, it clearly has Lilith being the woman that was created when God said it is not good for the man to be alone , which is found in Genesis 2, the supposed second creation of the woman NOT in Genesis 1. But we know from the Bible that Eve was that woman created in Genesis 2 and there is no woman created from the dust alongside Adam in that chapter. So the story has Lilith being created in Genesis 2 not Genesis 1 which simply does not work. 

Secondly, unlike how it is often claimed, that it was Adam who wanted to be superior and that Lilith refused to allow him to be and so rebelled against him, we see that it is actually Lilith, who claims herself that they are equal, is the one that wishes to be dominant. She says that the man is only fit to be beneath and that she is superior, contradicting her own statement of being equal. 

Thirdly, Lilith is stated as having flown up into the air. Wait, what? Where did the ability to fly come from? No human can fly. Humans do not have the ability to fly. Nowhere are we told that Adam and the woman were able to do this.  This alone demonstrates that the story cannot be based on reality. It is asserted by many who retell this story that she immediately grew wings after saying the name of God. The text does NOT say that she immediately grew wings. This claim is simply another addition to the story through necessity. Some do claim that by stating Gods name she actually tried to be dominant over God himself, which of course is also further embellishment.  

Then we get the  statement that if she does not come back, God proclaims that 100 of her children must die everyday. What children are these? There are no children at this point. Only Adam and Lilith. 

God sends angels to bring her back although she refuses, but we get the information that they find her in the sea, where the Egyptians were to drown later in Exodus. This then gives us the location that Lilith was in the area of what is now known as Egypt when they find her. 

Then Lilith states she was only created to cause illness in infants. Did God really create Lilith, to be the wife of Adam but with the sole intention that she would cause illness in infants? Really? 

Lilith agrees that 100 of her children can die each day, and then we are told that 100 demons die each day. This means that it is Lilith, who creates demons as her children. Clearly this Lilith is NOT a human woman despite allegedly being created as such from the ground alongside Adam. The story has no basis in the text of Genesis or the Bible. Myths and legends of demons from other cultures such as found in the Sumerian story called “the descent of Inanna” have become mixed with the supposed 2 creations of Genesis 1 and 2 and have amalgamated and grown into the story that it is today. 

There are a few references to Lilith and Adam in the Zohar (13th Century) , although they are without doubt based upon the story found in the Alphabet of Ben Sira

Yalqut Reubeni, B’reshit 34b

In the beginning the Holy One, blessed be He, created Eve, and she was not flesh but the scum of the earth and its impure sediments, and she was a harmful spirit [i.e., Lilith]. And the Holy One, blessed be He, took her away from Adam and gave him another in her stead. (Patai81:453)

Zohar 1:34b

When the letters of the name of Adam, descended below, together in their completeness, the male and the female were found together, and the female was attached to his side, until God cast a deep slumber upon him and he fell asleep. And he lay in the place of the Temple below. And the Holy One, blessed be He, sawed her off him, and adorned her as they adorn a bride, and brought her to him…. In an ancient book I found that this [refers to] the primeval Lilith who was with him and conceived from him, but was not a helpmeet for him…. (Patai81:454)

Zohar 3:19

Come and see: There is a female, a spirit of all spirits, and her name is Lilith, and she was at first with Adam. And in the hour when Adam was created and his body became completed, a thousand spirits from the left [evil] side clung to that body until the Holy One, blessed be He, shouted at them and drove them away. And Adam was lying, a body without a spirit, and his appearance was green, and all those spirits surrounded him.    In that hour a cloud descended an pushed away all those spirits.    And when Adam stood up, his female was attached to his side. And that holy spirit which was in him spread out to this side and that side, and grew here and there, and thus became complete. Thereafter the Holy One, blessed be He, sawed Adam into two, and made the female. And He brought her to Adam in her perfection like a bride to the canopy.    When Lilith saw this, she fled. And she is in the cities of the sea, and she is still trying to harm the sons of the world. (Patai81:455)


There are other passages where Lilith is referred to as having nothing whatsoever to do with Adam but rather she is simply a demon and is often referenced alongside Samael, king of the demons (which is probably where the link to Satan comes from.) 

R. Ya’aqov and R. Yitzhaq

Samael resembles the form of Adam, and Lilith the form of Eve. Both were born in an androgynous form, corresponding to the form of Adam and Eve: below and above, two twin forms. And Samael and Grandmother Eve [i.e., Lilith], who is the Northerner, are emanations from beneath the Throne of Glory. And the sin [of Adam] caused this evil. (Patai81:453)

Zohar 1:19b

After the primeval light was hidden, a husk was created for the brain, and that husk spread out and brought forth another husk which was Lilith. And when she emerged, she went up and went down towards the little faces, and wanted to attach herself to them and be shaped after them, and did not want to depart from them. But the Holy One, blessed be He, removed her from there and placed her down below.    When He created Adam, in order to perfect this world, as soon as Lilith saw Eve affixed to the side of Adam, and saw in them the beauty of the Above, and saw their perfect image, she flew off from there and wanted, as before to attach herself to the little faces. But the guardians of the gates of Above did not Let her. The Holy One, blessed be He, rebuked her, and cast her into the depths of the sea, and she remained dwelling there until Adam and his wife sinned. Then the Holy One, blessed be He, brought her up from the depths of the sea and gave her power over all those children, the little faces of the sons of man, who are liable to punishment because of the sins of their fathers. And she went and roamed the world.    She approached the gates of Paradise on earth, and saw the Cherubim guarding the gates of Paradise, and sat down facing the Flaming Sword, for she originated from that flame. When that flame revolved, she fled. And she roams in the world, and finds children liable to punishment, and caresses them, and kills them. And all this is because of the diminishing of the moon which reduced its light….    When Cain was born, she could not attach herself to him. But later she approached him and bore spirits and winged demons. For 130 years Adam had intercourse with female spirits, until Naamah came. Because of her beauty the sons of God went astray after her, ‘Ussa and ‘Azael, and she bore from them, and from her spread evil. spirits and demons in the world…. (Patai81:454f)    And she goes and roams the world at night, and makes sport with men and causes them to emit seed. And wherever men are found sleeping alone in a house, they [these spirits] descend upon them and get hold of them and adhere to them and take desire from them and bear from them. And they also afflict them with disease, and the men do not know it. And all this is because of the diminishing of the moon. (Patai81:461)

Bacharach, ‘Emeq haMelekh 23c-d

And the Serpent, the Woman of Harlotry, incited and seduced Eve through the husks of Light which in itself is holiness. And the Serpent seduced Holy Eve, and enough said for him who understands. An all this ruination came about because Adam the first man coupled with Eve while she was in her menstrual impurity — this is the filth and the impure seed of the Serpent who mounted Eve before Adam mounted her. Behold, here it is before you: because of the sins of Adam the first man all the things mentioned came into being. For Evil Lilith, when she saw the greatness of his corruption, became strong in her husks, and came to Adam against his will, and became hot from him and bore him many demons and spirits and Lilin. (Patai81:455f)

Did the Catholic church hide the information? 

While I certainly am not a Catholic the claim that the Catholic Church removed Lilith from the Bible is complete nonsense. To make this claim there would need to be clear evidence of them doing so. This would require the discovery of a Bible or Hebrew manuscripts that included the story and at least someone from history attesting to the story and or the removal of this story from the Bible….NONE of which exist. The ONLY attestation of this story comes from the Alphabet of ben Sira or works that followed it. The idea of Lilith being anything other than a demon before this time is simply assumption and has no historical evidence whatsoever. There are NO writings from any culture or time period before this writing that claim Lilith was anything other than a demon. NEVER is she mentioned by any culture or time period before this writing as having anything to do with Adam or being the first female. It requires taking a story from a  writing which first appeared during medieval times and inserting it into a scripture that existed some 2000 + years earlier. There is simply no viable reason to do so. Those that claim otherwise do so contrary to the available evidence either through their own desire to keep this belief or through a lack of knowledge.

This Lilith is simply an amalgamation of an ancient ANE mythical demon and someone trying to explain the presumed contradiction between Genesis 1 and 2 that isn’t actually a contradiction at all.

Lilith was NOT the first woman created, Eve was just as the Bible states.

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