SHE WAS MENTIIONED THROUGHOUT THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS. God created man in his image; in the divine image he created him. Male and female he created him. And he named the man “Adam†because he had come from the clay. Then God placed the man in the garden, in Eden in the East. And he formed out of the ground various wild animals and various birds of the air and every creeping thing. And these he brought before the man to name them. And whatever the man called each of them, that would be its name. And God gave man dominion over each named thing. But the man was lonely, for among all the created beasts, none was a fit partner for him. And so God divided Adam, male and female he divided him, into two whole beings he divided him. And the first, which was Adam, became male. And the second, which was female, was Lilith. And Lilith was the likeness and equal of man. And God told Adam and Lilith to go forth together in the garden. Lilith walked alongside Adam and saw the various wild beasts and the birds of the air and she called them by name. But the names which she spoke were not Adam's names. He grew wroth with her, as her names threatened his dominion over things. And so Lilith sought out things which the man had not named. To the secret, hidden things overlooked by Adam did she give names. The darkness after the sun frightened the man, and so he had shunned it, putting no name to what he feared. Lilith gave it a name, and she was frightened no longer. And she named the Night and the Moon and all the Stars of the Heavens, in addition to all the secret things. And over these things, did Lilith hold dominion. Then Adam sought to lie down with Lilith. He stretched her out on the ground beneath him, but Lilith sat up atop his thighs. At this Adam grew wroth and sought to lay her again upon the ground beneath him. Lilith wrestled with Adam and sought to lie with him side by side, as equals. Then Adam grew very wroth and Lilith withdrew to the other side of the garden. When God came seeking them both in the garden, he found only Adam. And God asked the man, “Where is Lilith whom I made for you out of your own being?†And Adam told God that Lilith had fought with him and refused to lie beneath him as he felt she should. “For do not all the wild beasts in the garden lie with their partners beneath them, the male atop the female?†So God went seeking Lilith. And he found her on the other side of the garden, beneath the Tree of Life. And God asked of Lilith, “Why have you disobeyed the man I have given you to?†And Lilith replied, “I have only refused to lie beneath him as a beast lies beneath its partner. I am no beast. Did not you create me yourself from Adam to be the equal of Adam?†And God was incensed with her boldness in speaking to him this way. And he cast her out of the garden and cursed her: “Because you have shunned the society of man, so will man and his descendents always shun you. Your desire will ever be for the company of man, yet his nearness will ever be loathsome to you. You will never find peace all the days of your life but you will be restless in your very heart. The night alone will comfort you, and to this with its shadows will you cleave. And you shall ever thirst for that blood which you begrudged the man, the blood of your maidenhead.†And so Lilith left the garden. And she wandered alone in the wilderness, east of the garden of Eden. And before long she found she was with child, from when she had lain with Adam. And when it was her time, she brought forth a son and a daughter, male and female in the image of Lilith and Adam. And God's curse had fallen to both of them. Then Lilith settled with her children in the land of Nod, east of Eden, and there she taught them all the secret things which she had lain claim to in the garden. And she taught them the names of the Night and the Moon and the Stars in the Heavens so they too could hold dominion over these things and no longer be afraid. And they dwelt in darkness, for the day was the dominion of the man. And then it came about that Adam and his wife Eve were cast from the garden. And they wandered in the wilderness, wailing that their God had punished them. And Eve bore two sons, the first Cain and the second Abel. And Cain was a tiller of the fields and Abel was a keeper of beasts. And God demanded sacrifices from both sons, so that they may offer up the fruit of their labors to him. And Cain brought forth the fruits of his harvest, and Abel slew a firstling from his flock. And God was much pleased with the blood of the firstling, and he looked with favor upon Abel for this. And Cain, seeing that God so savored the blood, drew his brother into a field and slew him and offered the blood up in sacrifice. And God grew wroth at Cain for murdering his brother and he made him to wander the earth all the days of his life. And neither would the fields yield up their harvest to him any longer. And he put a mark upon Cain's forehead, so that all would know him on sight. And Cain fled to Nod and encountered Lilith and her children living there. And Lilith looked kindly upon Cain, who had been made a wanderer like herself. And she took him in and taught him the secrets she had gained in the garden. And Cain learned the ways of Lilith and her children so that Lilith loved him as one of her own. And Cain took as his wife one of Lilith's daughters, and she conceived and bore for him a son. And Cain named his son Enoch. And thus through Cain was Lilith's line once more united with the children of man. And in time they lived uneasily among them, keeping separate in their hearts for thus was the curse that God had placed upon them. \n
Before I even heard this story I knew a couple different guys that didnt know each other that use to howl all night and every time we ask him is he ok they would say a female demon visited them every night almost and rape them. Thats weird. Speacially the part about her causing crib deaths. If its a male child she held sway over them for 8 days and 20 if female.
Interesting read guess I'll have to check these Dead Sea scrolls out myself "I experienced several more of these deeply euphoric moments on my rambles through forest and meadow. It was these experiences that shaped the main outlines of my world view and convinced me of the existence of a miraculous, powerful, unfathomable reality that was hidden from everyday sight" -Albert Hoffman-
When I was taking my anthropology of religion courses the professor covered Lilith and her origins. Way back in the mists of time Mesopotamia and Sumeria had a fertility/agricultural goddess by the name of Lilitu. In ancient semitic beliefs there was a male and female set of deities as well. Men and women had equal roles in society. Civilization was transitioning from an egalitarian culture into an agricultural one. Humans stopped migrating and settled down on farms and in small villages. This creates the accumulation of wealth and possessions. Things that other people covet. So it became necessary to defend those possessions. Thus civilization created organized defense units. The need for defense creates a hierarchy. Authority is given to those higher in rank. Successful individuals moved higher in rank. Men were better at defending homes and possessions so men were in charge of these units. Because of this gender equality was systematically destroyed. Slowly women began to lose more and more status in society as communities became more organized. Men were taking control of all positions of authority. Organized religion sprang up. As women sank in status so did Lilitu/Lilith's prominence as a co-deity until in religious texts she was made a Succubus or demon.
It always is with religion....a touchy subject it is......so i will tread softly. whether its true of false, man always alters religion to fit his own personal gain, so contradictions wiil happen. maybe not from 1 single person, but from various men altering the same book.
I think its saying lilith is responsible for life and death....and maybe womens equality........The serpent is still the serpent...I believe it was a mediphor.
This was a great story! Even if it's made up or untrue, it really speaks to the NOW and what's relevant to our lives and realities. Lilith represents a woman's ability to make her own decisions. I think you could take this as far as to say Lilith represents the ability for humans to interact in ways more complex than just male penis penetrating female vagina roles.
People find it funny when i say I believe in a god, but dont have a set religion. They think im a hipocrite when i refer to all religion as mythology and speak of it like it might be real, or might be false. lol. They say "if your an agnostic why are you denying your god..Why are you trying to sound like a atheist"....I find that to be the stupidest sh.t i ever heard lol. I try to explain to them that i dont just believe what is written, i am taking it all into consideration and is making up my own mind. I find this story fascinating also.
As an Orthodox Jew, ime, Lilith, or more properly Lilit in Hebrew, is taken one of two ways. Both midrash(explanations for things in the Torah that aren't explained in the book itself that may or may not be true.) Either people say that she was the serpent(being commanded by "Satan,") or that he was Adam's first wife(if you read the Genesis narrative it says that man and woman were created at the same time in G-d's image. People like to debate whether that was in the form of one hermaphroditic human, or a male and a female that Adam eventually became unhappy with(Lilith.) And often pieces of both. People pushing the Lillith/serpent theory usually say that it was motivated by her being scorned. Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum