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Who is Lilith?

Many people vaguely recall her as the first woman before Eve, and she was made of the dust of the Earth just as Adam was. According to "Jewish Mysticism", she got in a fight with Adam because she wanted to be on top during sex and demanded equality, and Adam was also mad that she was not being submissive, and didn't help him much with caring for the creatures in Eden. God saw this, and then kicked Lilith out of Eden before creating Eve. Lilith then became a demoness and some believed she was the serpent that tricked Eve, not Satan. Some people also remember her as the wife of Satan as well. There are many different variations and roles of Lilith, but it varies from culture to culture.

Because of Lilith's "story", many people, including some feminists and neo-pagans, claim that this was a "lost" part of the Bible, and Judeo-Christians have a female-hating God that does not care for free-willed women. Some even go so far as to pray to Lilith and see the serpent as a sign of wisdom, not evil (though serpents have had a similar meaning in other pagan cultures). They also call Lilith as "the first feminist", again claiming God condoned female oppression.

However, let's look at the facts:

1) Lilith can be dated back to Sumeria, where she was a dark goddess and demoness. Although she was sexual and wild, she certainly did not represent "female rebellion", especially in a time when the women of that society were under the control of male family members. She did have her own rights concerning business affairs, but in the end the patriarch of the family (her husband) was lord and master, and could even sell her if needed. She was punished with death for adultery while the man was forgiven; if she was barren, the man could leave her without having any care for her; if she didn't want any more children, she was put to death. Not really the ideal society to create a feminist heroine when men controlled religion. www.theology.edu/sumer.htm

2) The Hebrews were always surrounded by pagans during their existence. You had the Egyptians, the Greeks, the Philistines, the various Mesopotamian cultures, etc. It is not unknown that throughout their history, the Jews would turn their back on God and start worshiping foreign idols and deities. Considering they were surrounded by non-Jewish cultures, they had easy access to it. It would make sense for some Jews to demonize any pagan idol that would become popular.

3) Lilith is mentioned in Jewish writings, yes, but she was never mentioned as the first woman; she is said to be a succubus, a female demon and sexual predator. She was never mentioned to be Adam's first wife until relatively recently (late middle ages). From Judaism 101:

Lilith is a character who appears in passing in the Talmud and in rabbinical folklore. She is a figure of evil, a female demon who seduces men and threatens babies and women in childbirth. She is described as having long hair and wings (Erub. 100b; Nid. 24b). It is said that she seizes men who sleep in a house alone, like a succubus (Shab. 151b). She is also mentioned in midrashim and kabbalistic works, in which she is considered to be the mother of demons. Her name probably comes from the Hebrew word for night (laila). She is similar to and probably based on a pagan demon named Lulu or Lilu that appears in Gilgamesh and other Sumerian and Babylonian folklore.

In recent years, some women have tried to reinvent Lilith, turning her into a role model for women who do not accept male domination or a rival goddess to the traditions that they think are too male-biased. For example, a number of female musical artists participated a concert tour called "Lilith Fair" a few years ago, and the name "Lilith" was clearly chosen to represent female empowerment.

This revisionist view of Lilith is based primarily on a work called the Alphabet of Ben Sira, which portrays Lilith as Adam's first wife who was rejected because she wanted to be on top during sexual intercourse. Lilith was replaced with Eve, a more submissive second wife. The complete story is presented here. Many modern commentators describe this as part of the Talmud or midrash, or at least a traditional Jewish source, and claim that this story reflects the traditional rabbinical understanding of the roles of men and women. Feminists reject the negative characterization of Lilith's actions in this story. They claim Lilith was a hero who was demonized by male-chauvinist rabbis who did not want women to have any sexual power.

Actually, Ben Sira is a much later medieval work of questionable authorship. Ben Sira appears to be a satire or parody, possibly even an antisemitic one. It tells many stories about biblical characters envisioned in non-traditional, often unflattering ways, often with slapstick humor at the expense of traditional heroes. Frankly, to treat Ben Sira as a reflection of traditional Jewish thought is like treating Cervantes' Don Quixote as a treatise on chivalry, or Mel Brooks' Blazing Saddles as a documentary of the American West. See this scholarly critique of the use of Ben Sira to turn Lilith into a feminist hero.

From here: www.jewfaq.org/women.htm

4) Does God truly hate women? No. Does He suppress them? No again. I would explain this in depth for those who hold staunchly to a liberal and secular view, but this stamp here pretty much covers it for me: rebivaleska.deviantart.com/art… The only thing I don't agree with is the claim that the woman would have to marry her rapist. She only married the guy or received the bride price if it was consented. If it was rape, then he was stoned.

5) Many people will point out that in the beginning of Genesis, in Genesis 1:27 (KJV) it says: "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created he him; male and female created he them."

They say that since it mentions both a man AND a woman in the beginning, and the next chapter shows Adam being alone, then it means that something was missing: and that something is Lilith. However, we can not assume that there was an amount of time spent before Adam met Eve, and that Lilith was there beforehand.

Eve was created on the sixth day; she is not mentioned in Genesis 1, but that doesn't mean she wasn't there. Adam wasn't mentioned by name either, along with specific animals and plants, but that doesn't mean there was a man before Adam, or that certain creatures don't exist! What I'm getting at is this: Genesis 1 is just a general account of what was created on which day; the names of the man and woman are not relevant because Genesis 2 is there to give us more information on them. In other words, Genesis 2 gives us a more in-depth account of what happened on the sixth day, and the days following afterwards.

With that in mind, and with the information I provided, Lilith was never in the Garden of Eden. She was never a part of biblical history. She was never a wife to Adam. Saying otherwise is ignoring historical evidence and shows a lack of knowledge of ancient religion.

If you worship her, then hey, you worship her; freedom of religion is a wonderful thing. Just worship her knowing her history, because the Sumerians of yesteryear would never recognize the type of Lilith you uphold with great esteem today.

And that's how I awkwardly end an article. Go me.

Description
Who is Lilith?

Many people vaguely recall her as the first woman before Eve, and she was made of the dust of the Earth just as Adam was. According to "Jewish Mysticism", she got in a fight with Adam because she wanted to be on top during sex and demanded equality, and Adam was also mad that she was not being submissive, and didn't help him much with caring for the creatures in Eden. God saw this, and then kicked Lilith out of Eden before creating Eve. Lilith then became a demoness and some believed she was the serpent that tricked Eve, not Satan. Some people also remember her as the wife of Satan as well. There are many different variations and roles of Lilith, but it varies from culture to culture.

Because of Lilith's "story", many people, including some feminists and neo-pagans, claim that this was a "lost" part of the Bible, and Judeo-Christians have a female-hating God that does not care for free-willed women. Some even go so far as to pray to Lilith and see the serpent as a sign of wisdom, not evil (though serpents have had a similar meaning in other pagan cultures). They also call Lilith as "the first feminist", again claiming God condoned female oppression.

However, let's look at the facts:

1) Lilith can be dated back to Sumeria, where she was a dark goddess and demoness. Although she was sexual and wild, she certainly did not represent "female rebellion", especially in a time when the women of that society were under the control of male family members. She did have her own rights concerning business affairs, but in the end the patriarch of the family (her husband) was lord and master, and could even sell her if needed. She was punished with death for adultery while the man was forgiven; if she was barren, the man could leave her without having any care for her; if she didn't want any more children, she was put to death. Not really the ideal society to create a feminist heroine when men controlled religion. www.theology.edu/sumer.htm

2) The Hebrews were always surrounded by pagans during their existence. You had the Egyptians, the Greeks, the Philistines, the various Mesopotamian cultures, etc. It is not unknown that throughout their history, the Jews would turn their back on God and start worshiping foreign idols and deities. Considering they were surrounded by non-Jewish cultures, they had easy access to it. It would make sense for some Jews to demonize any pagan idol that would become popular.

3) Lilith is mentioned in Jewish writings, yes, but she was never mentioned as the first woman; she is said to be a succubus, a female demon and sexual predator. She was never mentioned to be Adam's first wife until relatively recently (late middle ages). From Judaism 101:

Lilith is a character who appears in passing in the Talmud and in rabbinical folklore. She is a figure of evil, a female demon who seduces men and threatens babies and women in childbirth. She is described as having long hair and wings (Erub. 100b; Nid. 24b). It is said that she seizes men who sleep in a house alone, like a succubus (Shab. 151b). She is also mentioned in midrashim and kabbalistic works, in which she is considered to be the mother of demons. Her name probably comes from the Hebrew word for night (laila). She is similar to and probably based on a pagan demon named Lulu or Lilu that appears in Gilgamesh and other Sumerian and Babylonian folklore.

In recent years, some women have tried to reinvent Lilith, turning her into a role model for women who do not accept male domination or a rival goddess to the traditions that they think are too male-biased. For example, a number of female musical artists participated a concert tour called "Lilith Fair" a few years ago, and the name "Lilith" was clearly chosen to represent female empowerment.

This revisionist view of Lilith is based primarily on a work called the Alphabet of Ben Sira, which portrays Lilith as Adam's first wife who was rejected because she wanted to be on top during sexual intercourse. Lilith was replaced with Eve, a more submissive second wife. The complete story is presented here. Many modern commentators describe this as part of the Talmud or midrash, or at least a traditional Jewish source, and claim that this story reflects the traditional rabbinical understanding of the roles of men and women. Feminists reject the negative characterization of Lilith's actions in this story. They claim Lilith was a hero who was demonized by male-chauvinist rabbis who did not want women to have any sexual power.

Actually, Ben Sira is a much later medieval work of questionable authorship. Ben Sira appears to be a satire or parody, possibly even an antisemitic one. It tells many stories about biblical characters envisioned in non-traditional, often unflattering ways, often with slapstick humor at the expense of traditional heroes. Frankly, to treat Ben Sira as a reflection of traditional Jewish thought is like treating Cervantes' Don Quixote as a treatise on chivalry, or Mel Brooks' Blazing Saddles as a documentary of the American West. See this scholarly critique of the use of Ben Sira to turn Lilith into a feminist hero.

From here: www.jewfaq.org/women.htm

4) Does God truly hate women? No. Does He suppress them? No again. I would explain this in depth for those who hold staunchly to a liberal and secular view, but this stamp here pretty much covers it for me: rebivaleska.deviantart.com/art… The only thing I don't agree with is the claim that the woman would have to marry her rapist. She only married the guy or received the bride price if it was consented. If it was rape, then he was stoned.

5) Many people will point out that in the beginning of Genesis, in Genesis 1:27 (KJV) it says: "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created he him; male and female created he them."

They say that since it mentions both a man AND a woman in the beginning, and the next chapter shows Adam being alone, then it means that something was missing: and that something is Lilith. However, we can not assume that there was an amount of time spent before Adam met Eve, and that Lilith was there beforehand.

Eve was created on the sixth day; she is not mentioned in Genesis 1, but that doesn't mean she wasn't there. Adam wasn't mentioned by name either, along with specific animals and plants, but that doesn't mean there was a man before Adam, or that certain creatures don't exist! What I'm getting at is this: Genesis 1 is just a general account of what was created on which day; the names of the man and woman are not relevant because Genesis 2 is there to give us more information on them. In other words, Genesis 2 gives us a more in-depth account of what happened on the sixth day, and the days following afterwards.

With that in mind, and with the information I provided, Lilith was never in the Garden of Eden. She was never a part of biblical history. She was never a wife to Adam. Saying otherwise is ignoring historical evidence and shows a lack of knowledge of ancient religion.

If you worship her, then hey, you worship her; freedom of religion is a wonderful thing. Just worship her knowing her history, because the Sumerians of yesteryear would never recognize the type of Lilith you uphold with great esteem today.

And that's how I awkwardly end an article. Go me.