Lilith Facts
Lilith is a controversial female figure from the Jewish Midrash, which is a text that sought to explain inconsistencies and add meaning to confusing passages in the Old Testament. The Midrash indicates that Lilith was the first wife of the Biblical figure Adam. God replaced her with Eve when she refused to submit to Adam's male authority, according to Dr. Christopher L.C. E. Witcombe from Sweet Briar College.
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Lilith and Adam
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Midrashic literature indicates that God created Lilith from the dust of the earth, just as he had created Adam, and Lilith believed that she and Adam were equals. As a result, she refused to lay underneath him during sexual relations because she felt that he was attempting to exert authority over her. When he attempted to force her, Lilith flew into a rage. She spoke God's magic name, flew into the air and deserted Adam.
The Return
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Adam complained to God about Lilith's insolence, and God sent the angels Semangelof, Senoy and Sansenoy to find Lilith and bring her back. The angelic beings located her in a region near the Red Sea, where she was busy giving birth to approximately 100 demonic offspring each day. The angels ordered her to return to Adam and threatened to kill her demon children if she did not comply. She, in turn, swore to take the lives of human infants as her revenge. Lilith was angered even further when she returned to Adam and discovered that God had already replaced her with Eve.
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Origin
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The story of Lilith may have originated in Sumeria or Babylon. A legend dating to around 3500 BCE portrayed Lilith as a demonic female spirit that caused problems during labor and delivery and killed newborn babies. She bears a resemblance to a serpent goddess from Libyan folklore, named Lamia, who seduced young men and killed small children. Another female demonic entity named Lamashtu caused miscarriages, killed young children, and devoured men. Parents protected their children from these spirits by making them wear special amulets inscribed with the names of the three angels that pursued Lilith by the Red Sea.
Rationale
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Witcombe suggests that Lilith was created as a way to explain misunderstood phenomena. People in the Middle Ages, for example, did not understand nocturnal emissions and feared that lustful female spirits were having sex with them in their sleep and using their seed to create more demons. Earlier societies blamed Lilith for miscarriages and child deaths, and they blamed Lilith's demonic offspring for the evil they saw in the world around them. Lilith may also represent female empowerment, since she refused to submit to Adam's authority.
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