I wasn’t planning to delve into the Bible so soon and I wouldn’t want to. What we are looking at is, apart from it, a question: Why isn’t Lilith in the Christian Bible? Ah. You don’t want to miss this, do you?
It’s okay that there are Christians who don’t know the name Lilith, but since you are here, I guess you do. But what do you know about Lilith? What is it about? If significant and related to Judeo-Christianity, why don’t we find it discussed in the Bible?
If you are interested in finding answers to the above questions, I was too. Therefore, we will divide the discussion into two main sections. First, we will deal exhaustively with the questions about Lilith, and then, we will consider why the character isn’t given credence in the Bible. So, let me know when you’re ready.
Previous Read: Why Is Netflix Removing Christian Movies?
Who is Lilith?
Hmmm… Lilith, who are you? Well, the name Lilith first appeared in the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Huluppu Tree, a reconstruction of an ancient Sumerian poem and Mesopotamian mythology dated to around 2000 BCE.
In the myth, Lilith, or Lilitu, is described as a Mesopotamian demon who invaded the tree in the garden of the goddess Inanna in Uruk, in the form of a serpent. More so, Lilith is seen as a desert demon whose legend has taken different forms, with the identity of a female being or entity.
Generally, the personality is thought to have originated with ancient Babylonian demons who are classified as Lilu, and she was identified as Lilith, the Queen of the demons.
The name Lilith has survived through several tales, even in collaboration with biblical creation stories in what is called the Midrash of Lilith in Jewish traditions. Her association with evil, darkness, and monstrous activities is wildly fascinating, as is her relationship with a being called Lucifer and Adam in Genesis.
To Lucifer, Lilith is identified as his female companion, and in the case of Adam in Genesis, she is addressed as his first wife. But wait! Didn’t the Bible say that Adam’s wife was Eve? Yet Lilith was Adam’s first wife? You mean Adam had two wives, and the Biblical tale accounted for only one of them? If true, why isn’t Lilith in the Christian Bible? Let’s see.
What Happened to Lilith?
I remember saying I wouldn’t be delving into the Bible, but at this point it seems we have to get in there. Also, our intended two sections will take an addition as we look at what happened to Lilith. Our focus will be on the Jewish folklore involving Lilith, aligning with the creation stories found in the Bible.
The book of Genesis begins with a narration of Elohim bringing things into being, probably from nothing. It is the Jewish account of how things were created in six days, giving an explanation to the existence of human beings from a progenitor.
In General 1:26, we see Elohim discussing the creation of man.
“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 birds of the sky, and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’”
According to General 1, the decision to make man came after all the earth and the things in the sea, the sky, and on the earth were made, and man was to exercise domination over them. In verse 27, it is recorded that man was fashioned after Elohim, and that man was male and female.
“God created man in his own image. In God’s image he created him; male and female he created them.”
From Him To Them
From him to them comes the foundation of Lilith in Jewish folklore in line with the creation story in the Bible. The idea goes that Adam and Lilith were the male and female created according to Genesis 1:27 and given equal rights in verse 28. They were blessed and given dominion over all that was made before them.
“God blessed them. God said to them, ‘Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’” Genesis 1:28.
The narrative followed that they were commanded to eat from every tree that bore fruits, and likewise, the animals were allowed to eat what we call vegetables today. Then God saw that everything was good, and that brought the sixth day and that of Genesis 1 to an end.
The first three verses of Genesis 2 speak to the seventh day, and God chose that day for resting from all the work that was done in the previous days. Then, from the fourth verse comes another creation narrative, relatively shorter and seemingly different in detail from the first. We shall look at that in another article, so we don’t go farther from what brought us here.
The story of Lilith is drawn from the first instance of creation, where Elohim brought male and female into being and they lived together until the male wanted the female to submit to him but she refused.
More so, in line with the second instance, in Genesis 2:7, where the man was made from dust. It is assumed that in the same fashion as the first, the man, as male and female, was made from the dust of the ground and came alive by the breath of the God Yahweh.
“Yahweh God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” Genesis 2:7.
They were planted in a garden in Eden, and so when the male wanted to exercise authority over the female, she left him alone and went away from the garden. And when Yahweh God saw that the man was alone, Yahweh decided to make him a helper to complement him.
So the God Yahweh made every animal from the dust of the ground and presented them to the male to name them, and he gave names to them all. But unfortunately, he couldn’t find a helper to complement him from among all the animals.
Therefore, Yahweh God made him fall into a deep sleep and did surgery on him; Yahweh took a rib from the man and made a woman out of it. Then he presented her to him, who was asleep, and seeing her, “The man said, This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken out of man,” Genesis 2:23.
Difference between Eve and Lilith
At that point, it is drawn that Adam finally got a replacement for his first wife, Lilith, in the person of Eve, who was made from his bone and flesh and will be subject to him. This appears to be against the first idea of Lilith being made with Adam in similar ways, but am I missing something? What could it be? Oh! Got it.
Here is the difference between Eve and Lilith: Eve was made from Adam and subservient to him, while Lilith was made from the dust in the same way Adam was and was equal to him.
Do you know what happened when Lilith left the Garden of Eden? It seems Adam asked God to help bring her back, and some angels were sent to search for her and bring her back. They searched and found her, but unfortunately for the angels, she refused to return. Therefore, she was banned from the garden.
One might say she developed wings and fled from the garden, and another would say that she was found with a child or children, suggesting that she had intimacy with Adam before scooting the garden. Either or both, she decided to become the enemy of progress for the advancement of human beings by taking the role of a monster committing pedicide and inflicting pain on the children of Adam.
One might say that she led many astray through seduction, turned into the angel of death, and killed them. And so she is associated with sexuality, marriage, childbearing, and family life. Depending on which tale you read, she could be depicted in a good light.
But looking at Lilith in relationship with Adam and Eve, I think it provides another explanation for why there is evil and suffering as she plays the antagonist in the case where Adam is viewed as the protagonist. But if Eve were to meet with her and realize that she was the first of her kind who refused to be subservient and was convinced to join her, another angle we would go.
It boils down to one thing: did any of those tales really take place in this world? Or was it in a world other than this? If yes, how do we know if it’s true? What if people like myself made it all up? How about that?
Why isn’t Lilith in the Christian Bible?
Now, to the question, why isn’t Lilith in the Christian Bible? There are two ways to look at it, and with that, the answer depends on what angle we approach the question.
The word Lilith appears in the Bible in the book of Isaiah 34:14. It says, “The wild animals of the desert will meet with the wolves, and the wild goat will cry to his fellow. Yes, the night creature shall settle there and shall find herself a place of rest.”
The Night Creature, also Night Monster, is a translation for Lilith. According to the Lexham English Bible (LEB), Isaiah 34:14 reads:
And desert creatures shall meet with hyenas, and a goat-demon shall call to his neighbor; surely there Lilith shall repose, and she shall find a resting place for herself.
Though the term appears in Isaiah, its genuine connection to the personality, who is absent in the creation story as told, is unclear. Consequently, the question, “Why isn’t Lilith in the Christian Bible,” applies in this case.
The biblical creation stories, with the fall of man through the flood and others, have theological connotations and a special message of salvation, as a backbone to make sense of eternity for many Christians. Bringing Lilith in there may not work well for many people, even so when it concerns the inerrancy and infallibility of scripture.
The idea of Lilith could be rejected by many Christians without any consideration and by others after some consideration. It could be considered a possibility by those who may take the Genesis creation stories as Jewish mythology and are open to other myths.
However, there are some reasons why I think Lilith did not make it into the Christian Bible.
- Her roles as the Queen of Demons, First Eve, and Equality with Adam didn’t resonate with the tradition of the people.
- Her story in connection to Adam and Eve was foreign at the time, not worthwhile, or a later development.
- She did not appear in the creation stories, according to the Torah or Hebrew Bible.
- It wasn’t meant to be.
Whatever suffices, you can rest assured that Lilith and her tales have spread too long to lose grip on the minds of people across different religious backgrounds. Its root appears very old, and her mention in Isaiah might as well give some Christians food for thought.
As for me, I think it’s time to take a break and get something else started. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section.
