Is Lilith Just a Mythical Monster, or Is There Any Biblical Truth?

As a teen in the ‘90s and a fan of alternative music, I remember hearing about Lilith Fair. The brain-child of Sarah McLachlan, it was a festival of entirely female artists and female-lead bands. In the late ‘90s, artists like Sheryl Crow, Jewel, Fiona Apple, Joan Osborne, Lisa Loeb, and Meredith Brooks were at the top of their game and the concert was rather successful.

Little did I know that the name Lilith actually comes from a myth borrowed from the story of the Bible. I had never heard of this legend.

So, who was Lilith? Is she really in the Bible?

Who Was Lilith?

The promoters of Lilith Fair picked the name because Lilith is the symbol of feminine power. According to legend she was the first wife of Adam—but she refused to submit to Adam (or to God) and so she divorced him. There are variations to these legends, but the core is that Lilith was created out of the ground just as Adam. And because of this she demanded equality, which Adam rejected. As a response she abandoned him.

The most common myth is that Lilith then uttered God’s name, sprouted a set of wings, and flew off into the Red Sea. There in the wilderness she spawned a hundred demon babies. Adam, pining for his wife to return, complained to God of his loneliness. God then commissioned three angels to coax Lilith back to Adam. They tried to force her to return and threatened that she would lose her children if she did not. When she refused to return, she lost her babies. To enact revenge, Lilith went after human babies. Any boy that was 1 day old or a girl up to 20 days old was susceptible to her vengeance, and the only protection was for your baby to wear an amulet with the name of the three angels which originally confronted the demon woman.

As this legend grew, Lilith took on other roles and was ascribed blame for other maladies. She has been described as the devil’s wife, the serpent who tempted Adam and Eve, she seduces men, and haunts babies. One incantation bowl which has been discovered contains the name of Lilith and an inscription: “The evil Lilith, who causes the hearts of men to go astray and appears in the dream of the night and in the vision of the day. Who burns and casts down with nightmare, attacks and kills children, boys, and girls.”

Tracey Rich provides an apt summary and points to Lilith’s association with the night:

“Lilith is a character who appears in passing in the Talmud and in rabbinical folklore. She is a figure of evil, a female demon who seduces men and threatens babies and women in childbirth. She is described as having long hair and wings (Erub. 100b; Nid. 24b). It is said that she seizes men who sleep in a house alone, like a succubus (Shab. 151b). She is also mentioned in midrashim and kabbalistic works, in which she is considered to be the mother of demons. Her name probably comes from the Hebrew word for night (laila). She is similar to and probably based on a pagan demon named Lulu or Lilu that appears in Gilgamesh and other Sumerian and Babylonian folklore.”

But does any of this appear in the Bible?

Is Lilith in the (Christian) Bible?

There is only one place where the word or name Lilith appears in the Bible. In Isaiah 34:14 we read:

“Desert creatures will meet with hyenas, and wild goats will bleat to each other; there the night creatures will also lie down and find for themselves places of rest” (NIV)

“The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the wild beasts of the island, and the satyr shall cry to his fellow; the screech owl also shall rest there, and find for herself a place of rest” (KJV)

That which is translated “night creatures” and “screech owl” comes from the Hebrew word lilit. But this is far from evidence of Adam’s first wife. It could literally be a screech owl and have zero reference to a mythological figure such as Lilith.

Another place that some go to find Lilith is within the different account of creation in Genesis 1 and 2. In Genesis 1:27 we read that God created them “male and female he created them.” But in Genesis 2 we read that Adam was created first out of “dust from the ground” and it seems he spent some time alone before “a helper fit for him” was created from “the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made.” This difference has led some to conclude that perhaps these are two different creation narratives.

But it is this difference in the narratives that likely led to speculation in the Talmudic sources and Jewish folklore. Her name doesn’t seem to appear until about 400 AD, but the most extensive appearance that is still extant appears in the satirical Alphabet of Sirach. There was likely considerable oral tradition which gave rise to these stories, though. Some have speculated that her legend may actually come from The Epic of Gilgamesh, but that is increasingly suspect.

Was Lilith Real, or Is This Story Fictional?

There is nothing which should lead us to believe that the story of Lilith is anything more than folklore. Authorial intent matters and those who were writing these stories were clear that they were legends, myths, and folklore.

Was there another wife before Eve, though? Is there something to this story but the details have been muddied? Perhaps her name isn’t Lilith and she didn’t spawn demon babies—but why is there a different story in Genesis 1 and 2?

The difference between the two accounts is a bit like the difference between a montage scene in a movie and an important dialogue between main characters. Genesis 1-2:3 gives us the big picture of how God created the world. This is your montage scene. In a romantic comedy you might see several scenes of a couple enjoying each other’s company, and you are meant to conclude the couple are now in love. So here in Genesis 1 we are meant to conclude that God has created everything and it is good.

Genesis 2:4-25 centers in upon Adam and Eve. To continue with our illustration, this would be like the dynamic scene in the romantic comedy when the couple acknowledges their love for one another—this is the joyous moment before the relationship comes crashing down (only to find rescue in the end). At the end of Genesis 2 we should conclude that all is well and beautiful in the Garden.

This explains why in Genesis 1:27 the bare facts of “male and female he created them” are what is reported. That’s the montage. But when the author wants to center in on the creation of the man and his wife, we get more details. This does not imply that Adam had a second wife.

From this, we can conclude that in the biblical narrative there is no such creature as Lilith. Of course, one could accuse me of making an argument from silence—and I suppose none of this disproves the existence of Lilith anymore than it would definitively disprove the existence of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Yet, if one wants to solely make an argument from Scripture, you’d be hard pressed to concoct a creation story that Adam’s fire wife was a demon who ended up haunting babies. The Scripture is not only silent on this—it tells an entirely different story.

Why Is This Important to Know?

You could probably live your entire life and never be confronted with a teaching on Adam having a wife before Eve. And I suppose one could even believe some elements of this folklore and get along fine in a relationship with Jesus. Yet, it is important for us to get our theology from the Bible. The words of John Calvin are important here:

“Indeed, vanity joined with pride can be detected in the fact that, in seeking God, miserable men do not rise above themselves as they should, but measure him by the yardstick of their own carnal stupidity, and neglect sound investigation; thus out of curiosity they fly off into empty speculations. They do not therefore apprehend God as he offers himself, but imagine him as they have fashioned him in their own presumption. When this gulf opens, in whatever direction they move their feet, they cannot but plunge headlong into ruin.”

Having said this, I do believe there is some value in studying and engaging these myths and legends. The stories we tell do have an impact and do reflect elements of our culture. I do not think you can make an argument that the way the story of Lilith is framed tells us what God thinks about women. But it can, perhaps, tell us what certain segments of religious leaders throughout history believed about women.

At the end of the day, it is incredibly good news that there is not a demonic screech-owl like woman who has thousands of years of anger pent up towards our children. Yet, we are also confronted with the truth that we do have a roaring lion seeking to devour much in the same way as the Lilith legend sought to devour the children of men. Her story might be legend, but a very real conflict with The Accuser is very much attested to in the Scriptures. Thankfully the story of his defeat and our victory in Christ is the story which overshadows any story which might cause us fear.

Rest well, friends, “Lilith” has been defeated. 

Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Alexey_M