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NOTHING BUT THE BIBLE > WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT THE MYTH OF LILITH


17 Jan 2009

Trish's question:

Did Adam have a second wife?

Don's answer:

The biblical answer to your question is “No.” I will elaborate, however, due to my suspicion that your question was spawned by the myth of Lilith.
 
According to Jewish folklore, Lilith was the first wife of Adam. She was expelled from Eden and replaced by Eve because of her refusal to submit to her husband. Afterward, she is alleged to have become a demonic spirit who haunts desolate places and attacks little children, in particularly little boys.
 
At least two Jewish traditions appear to have been instigated by the myth of Lilith. First, amulets inscribed with the names of a trio of supposed guardian angels—Senoy, Sansenoy, and Semangelof—are placed around the necks of newborn boys to protect them until they’re circumcised. Second, the hair of some little boys is not cut until they’re three years old. Hopefully, this will fool the dumb demon into mistaking the little boys for little girls.
 
Late in the 20th century, Lilith was adopted as a symbol of the feminist movement. For instance, Canadian singer and songwriter, Sarah McLachlan, named her all female concert tour and traveling musical festival “Lilith Fair.” Begun as a protest of male domination in the music industry, “Lilith Fair” ran from 1997-1999 in cities and towns all across North America.
 
Although the Talmud—the central text of Judaism, which consist of various and often contradictory rabbinic discussions of Jewish law—contains a few references to Lilith, there is no mention of this fanciful myth in the Bible. Some argue that Isaiah 34:14 refers to Lilith when it speaks of a desolated Edom being inhabited by “the screech owl” following the day of God’s vengeance (KJV). While the King James Version’s translation of the Hebrew in Isaiah 34:14 as “screech owl” is questionable, due to the fact that the meaning of the actual Hebrew employed in this verse is uncertain, there is no evidence whatsoever that this difficult verse lends any credence to the whimsical tale of Adam’s fictitious first wife, Lilith.
 
Don Walton