Who Is Lilith? The First Woman in Jewish Mythology

Most people think Lilith is a medieval invention, a folk demon invented to explain infant death. The truth is older and stranger: she begins in Mesopotamia, surfaces in a single cryptic line of the Hebrew Bible, and by the 10th century CE has become Adam's first wife, a queen of demons, and one of the most theologically loaded figures in all of Jewish tradition.

Lilith in the Bible

Lilith appears only once in the Hebrew Bible, in (Isaiah 34:14), where she is mentioned among the wild creatures that will inhabit the ruins of Edom. The passage is brief and cryptic, but it planted the seed for centuries of mythological elaboration.

Lilith as Adam's first wife

The most famous Lilith story comes from the Alphabet of Ben Sira, a medieval text (8th-10th century CE). According to this account, God created Lilith from the same earth as Adam, not from his rib, as Eve was later created (Genesis 2:22). When Adam tried to assert dominance over her, Lilith refused, saying: "We are equal, for both of us were created from the earth."

When Adam insisted, Lilith spoke the ineffable Name of God and flew away from the Garden of Eden. God sent three angels, Senoy, Sansenoy, and Semangelof, to bring her back, but she refused to return. Read the full account in Lilith Becomes God's Bride and Lilith: Adam and the Fires of Gehenna.

Lilith in the Zohar

In kabbalistic literature, particularly the Zohar, Lilith takes on a much darker role. She becomes the consort of Samael (the angel of death) and the mother of demons. She is associated with the sitra achra, the "other side," the realm of evil and impurity in kabbalistic cosmology. The pairing of Samael and Lilith is explored at length in Samael and Lilith.

The Zohar describes Lilith as a seductress who preys on men who sleep alone, and as a threat to newborn children. This led to the widespread practice of placing amulets with the names of the three angels (Senoy, Sansenoy, Semangelof) in nurseries to ward her off. See also Lilith's Children and The Two Liliths.

Lilith today

In modern times, Lilith has been reclaimed as a feminist icon, a woman who refused to submit to male authority and chose freedom over paradise. The Jewish feminist magazine Lilith takes its name from her, and she appears frequently in contemporary Jewish art and literature. The question she poses has not aged: what does it mean to demand equality when the system was built before you spoke?

Explore all texts about Lilith in our database: search for Lilith, or browse related stories like Lilith and Elijah and Lilith Rises from the Deep. Watch our short on Lilith: The Woman the Bible Deleted. See it on Instagram.