Did you ever heard of Lilith? According to Hebrew mythology she is in fact the first woman created. Not as an extension of Adam, but the creation was dual, man and woman were one, almost a bisexual being. But then Adam *sigh, typically men* tried to dominate her, and she said in modern English "f*ck off, I'm leaving you", bravo Lilith! Then, Adam, being a whiny man, complained to God that he was lonely, and lo and behold, Eve was created, from Adam's rib. Now, Lilith naturally is every men's horror, she is nothing like a woman ought to be, no subduing for her, she is independent, and naturally, all kind of evil is attributed to her. Mythology gives her children of Adam [who had a fling with her while he was at odds with Eve], but she does not bear him human children, but demons. She then becomes the Queen of demons, and kills children in their early days. But, when a child is circumcised, this danger leaves. Because: "For Lilith when recognized/integrated as one's Self loses her destructive power, or rather the power is properly directed and recognized as fruitful." [from http://www.lilitu.com/lilith/lilit.html ] I find that an interesting statement, know thyself, analyze and acknowledge your dark side... So here, Evil gets another face. Not only Satan, but also the women who refuse to succumb to male authority. I don't think Eve was created as evil, just as stupid and naive. So, the patriarchal men of ancient times divided women in two sections, the evil ones that drew their own plans and refused to give headship, and the stupid naive ones that listened to evil if they were not properly controlled by their men. Gawd, honestly, what woman could ever listen to that crap without being nauseated by it [mea culpa...]. There is supposedly one reference to Lilith in the Bible. Isaiah 34:14 says Wildcats shall meet with hyenas, goat-demons shall call to each other; there too Lilith shall repose, and find a place to rest. here shall the owl nest and lay and hatch and brood in its shadow "The Hebrew word here is 'lilith'. Unfortunately, it is a hapax legomenon (a word that occurs only once in the Hebrew Bible) so we can't determine its meaning by comparison to other uses in the Bible -- we are forced to resort to cognate languages (Akkadian, Aramaic, Ugaritic, etc.), versions (early translations) or Jewish tradition to determine its meaning." [from http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~humm/Topics/Lilith/] And so if I open any of my bibles, her name does not come up... Interesting huh? I'd like to know more, any thoughts, insights, ideas?....
Lilith ?!
by Vivamus 22 Replies latest jw friends
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searchfothetruth
The early Gnostics believed that Lilith WAS Eve. They also believed that Lilith was the first created and then Adam.
The Hebrew Talmud says that Lilith was Adams first wife. She was known as Lil to the Sumerians and Lilitu to the Babylonians.
Hebrew tradition says that Lilith rebelled against Adam and his God and fled to a cave after eating her own child.
The Roman Catholic church suppressed the Gnostics, not least because they didn't believe in a middle man between themselves and God.
Thats all I can remember, but i'll try and dig up some references for you.
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jelly
I don’t have much to add here but I also find the different myths associated with Lilith fascinating. Maybe that’s why the bible has stuck around so long, so many good stories surround it.
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searchfothetruth
Jelly,
Too right. The most interesting 'stories' have actually been left out of the canon, I think it would have been stretching credibility a bit too far to ask people to believe some of them.
I have a copy of the 'book of Enoch' which by all criteria should be in the canon, but if you asked people to believe half the things in it you'd be fighting a loosing battle.
Very strange.
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no one
Viv, the Oct. 2001 issue of Bible Review magazine has an excellent article on Lilith. The mag is a series of articles analyzing different biblical concepts and not in promoting a particluar religion. Their latest issue (April) discusses the books of Enoch that was mentioned by search....
Would quote some of the Lilith issue for you, but unable to locate it at the moment.
You can order a back issue here: http://www.biblereview.org
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GermanXJW
The WTS tries to get rid of this superstition by attributing the term "lilith" to an ordinary bird.
*** it-2 pp. 499-500 Nightjar ***
NIGHTJAR
[Heb., li·lith´].
A creature appearing in the description of Edom's utter desolation and of the things inhabiting its ruins. (Isa 34:14) The Hebrew word has been variously translated as "screech owl" (KJ), "night-monster" (AS), "nightjar" (NE, NW), and "night hag" (RS), while The Jerusalem Bible prefers simply to transliterate the name as "Lilith."
Many scholars endeavor to show that the Hebrew term is a loanword from ancient Sumerian and Akkadian and that it derives from the name of a mythological female demon of the air (Lilitu). Professor G. R. Driver, however, considers the Hebrew word (li·lith´) to derive from a root word denoting "every kind of twisting motion or twisted object," even as the Hebrew word la´yil (or lai´lah), meaning "night," suggests a "wrapping itself round or enfolding the earth." Such derivation of li·lith´, he suggests, may likely point to the nightjar as both a nocturnal feeding bird and one noted for its rapid twisting and turning flight as it pursues moths, beetles, and other night-flying insects. As quoted by Driver, Tristram, the naturalist, described the nightjar as "becoming very active towards dusk, when they hawk about at great speed and with intricate turnings after their food."-Palestine Exploration Quarterly, London, 1959, pp. 55, 56.
The nightjar is almost 30 cm (12 in.) in length with a wingspan of 50 cm (20 in.) or more; its plumage resembles the owl's, being soft and delicately mottled with gray and brown. The soft wing feathers allow for noiseless flight. Its large mouth is evidently the reason for its also being called the goatsucker, an ancient legend holding that the bird sucked the milk of goats.
As to the likelihood of such a bird being found in the arid region of Edom, certain varieties of this bird are known to inhabit waste places. An Egyptian nightjar (Caprimulgus aegyptius) lives almost exclusively in the desert, occupying acacia groves and tamarisk bushes and seeking its food in twilight. Another (Caprimulgus nubicus) is found in desert fringes between Jericho and the Red Sea, hence in regions like that of Edom. -
gumby
Is the Sumerian Relief Lilith?
Extracted from a posting in alt.fan.kali.astarte.inanna
> On a Sumerian relief she is depicted as a naked woman having wings and claws. The connection between this relief and Lilith has been seriously questioned in some recent scholarship. The following comes from the entry on Lilith in the Anchor Bible Dictionary (Lowell K. Handy):
Two sources of information previously used to define Lilith are both suspect. Kramer translated ki-sikil-lil-la-ke4 as "Lilith" in a Sumerian Gilgamesh fragment. The text relates an incident where this female takes up lodging in a tree trunk which has a Zu-bird perched in the branches and a snake living in the roots. This text was used to interpret a sculpture of a woman with bird talons for feet as being a depiction of Lilith.
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Big Tex
Supposedly this is why there are two stories of creation. If you read Genesis 1:27-28: "And God proceeded to create the man in his image ... male and female he created them. Further God bless them and God said to them: 'Be fruitful and become many ..."
Then later there is another creation story. Genesis chapter two talks only of the man and how God interacted with man and how the man became lonely, etc. Gen. 2:18: "And God wnet on to say 'It is not good for the man to continue by himself. I am going to make a helper for him as a complement of him."
See the difference between the two stories? Supposedly the first story refers to Lilith and speculation was that she was naughty and got killed by God. Enter Eve, Adam's second wife. Personally I think the difference comes from two separate creation legends that the Jewish writers were trying to reconcile.
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searchfothetruth
BigTex,
I think your right. The Sumerian texts were written a long time before the Bible and all the way through the Bible, especially the creation, the flood and even Jesus, parallels can be made between the Sumerian writings and the Bible.
The Babylonians took a lot of their belief system from the Sumerians, and the Israelites were living in Babylon for a long time, maybe this is were they gat their 'history' from really.
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Vivamus
Big Tex, interesting you should mention that, I was just discussing the same topic with my mum, and she mentioned the same thing, Genesis has two different creation stories. I think you are right. Searchofthetruth, I did not know that Lilith was also mentioned in the Sumerian texts ... actually *hides head in shem* I know shocking little of the Sumerian texts....But, it's necer too late to learn. No One, thank you, I'll look for it. GermanJW, yeah, the word Lilith only appears once in the original biblical texts, and therefor its unsure what the correct translation is, I have several bibles and all of them have translated Lilith to an owl of sorts. The funy thing is that the NW translation does not turn the Leviathan into a known animal, but keeps it as a sort of mythological being, yet Lilith is turned into an owl .... Gumby, thank you for posting that artical. In fact, thank you all for your input, I'm finding this topic overly fascinating :)
