lilith

Androgyne Adam

18; and they say that Adam's first wife was named Lilith, but she was expelled from Eden, and after her expulsion Eve was created.

Abraham Ecchellensis gives the following account of Lilith, and her doings:—"There are some who do not regard spectres as simple devils, but suppose them to be of a mixed nature, part demoniacal, part human, and to have had their origin from Lilith, Adam's first wife, by Eblis, the prince of the devils.

They gave to Adam a wife, formed of clay, along with Adam, and called her Lilith; resting on the Scripture, 'male and female created He them:' but when this woman, on account of her simultaneous creation with him, became proud and a vexation to her husband, God expelled her from Paradise, and then said, 'It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help meet for him.' 

"But Lilith, after she was expelled from Paradise, is said to have married the Devil, by whom she had children, who are called Jins.

Lilith

Lilith is first mentioned in ancient Babylonian texts as a class of winged female demons that attack pregnant women and infants.

The Anunnaki fashioned Lilith from dust and placed her in the garden alongside Adam.

Disagreeing with Adam, Lilith chose to depart the Garden of Eden.

Lilith

Lilith is first mentioned in ancient Babylonian texts as a class of winged female demons that attacks pregnant women and infants.

From Babylonia, the legend of “the lilith” spread to ancient Anatolia, Syria, Israel, Egypt and Greece.

In Jewish folklore, Lilith emerges as a highly controversial figure.

Numerous origin stories surround Lilith, with the most prevalent narrative depicting her as Adam’s initial spouse.

According to the “first Eve” account, God fashioned Lilith from dust and placed her in the garden alongside Adam.

However, conflicts arose when Adam attempted to assert dominance over Lilith.

One version recounts Lilith’s refusal to assume a subservient position during intimate relations, asserting her belief in equality as both were created from the earth’s dust. Disagreeing with Adam, Lilith chose to depart the Garden of Eden.

Upon Lilith’s departure, Adam informed God, prompting the dispatch of three angels – Senoi, Sansenoi, and Sammangelof – to retrieve her.

Discovering Lilith in a cave, bearing children, the angels urged her to return, but she steadfastly declined.

Male children are at risk of Lilith’s wrath for 8 days after birth (until circumcision) and girls are at risk for 20 days.

Although Lilith stole children’s lives in the night, she agreed not to kill the children who had amulets of either of the three angels.

Lilith had many children, instead of seeing her as a person, it’s more likely that the name ‘Lilith’ referred to a classification or (sub)group of humans or a bloodline.

The other three were Lilitu (Lilith), the she-demon; Ardat Lilli (or Lilith’s handmaid), who visited men at night and bore them ghostly children; and Irdu Lilli (apparently Ardat Lilli’s male counterpart), who would visit women at night and make them pregnant.

The 4,000-year-old Sumerian epic poem Gilgamesh describes Lilith (there called Lillake) as building a house in a huluppu or willow tree that had grown on the banks of the Euphrates River since the days of Creation.

Lilith had made her home in between the other two creatures.

The hero Gilgamesh, seeking to rescue the tree for the goddess, slew the dragon with a bronze axe, whereupon the Zu-bird fled with its young into the mountains, and a terrified Lilith tore down her house and escaped into the desert.

Lillake (Lilith): In the middle part of the tree, Lillake (an early form of the figure known later as Lilith) established her dwelling.

The figure of Lillake (or Lilith) in this context is significant because it represents one of the earliest mentions of a female demon or spirit associated with wilderness and desolation.

Over time, the character of Lilith evolved in various mythologies and folklore, especially in Jewish traditions, where she became known as a demoness and a figure associated with the night and unholy powers.

In this account, Lilith is described as refusing to assume the ‘missionary position’ during sexual intercourse with Adam and consequently leaving him: ‘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.” ’According to this account, Lilith uttered the name of God (a sign of great power), took flight in the air and left the Garden of Eden, flying to the Red Sea coast, which she made her new home.

One of these mates was Lilith or the Qarinah, who, as we shall see later, bore numerous jinn offspring.