Lilith - her creation and rebellion (Alphabet of Ben Sira 23a-b)

Lilith - her creation and rebellion (Alphabet of Ben Sira 23a-b)

The figure of Lilith has been obscure, her story told and retold and sometimes made anew, with all being subject to numerous interpretations.

Here we will present the story of Lilith as told in the Alphabet of Ben Sira.



Alphabet of Ben Sira 23a-b

When the first man, Adam, saw that he was alone, God made for him a woman like himself, from the earth. God called her name Lilith (לילית), and brought her to Adam. They immediately began to quarrel. Adam said: "You lie beneath me." And Lilith said: "You li beneath me! We are both equal, for both of us are from the earth." And they would not listen to one another.

As soon as Lilith saw this, she uttered the Divine name and flew up into the air and fled. Adam began to pray before his Creator, saying: "Master of the universe, the woman that you gave me has fled." God sent three angels and said to them: "Go bring back Lilith. If she wants to come, she shall come, and if she does not want to come, do not bring her against her will."

The three angels went and found her in the sea at the place where the Egyptians were destined to drown.* There they grabbed her and said to her: "If you will go with us, well and good, but if not, we will drown you in the sea."

Lilith said to them: "My friends, I know God only created me to weaken infants when they are eight days old. From the day a child is born until the eighth day, I have dominion over the child, and from the eighth day onward I have no dominion over him if he is a boy, but if a girl, I rule over her twelve days."

They said: "We will not let you go until you accept upon yourself that each day one hundred of your children will die." And she accepted it. That would not leave her alone until she swore to them: "In any place that I see you or your names in an amulet, I will have no dominion over that child." They left her. And she is Lilith, who weakens the children of men...

*This is the place were Moses split the Red Sea and where he and the Israelites were followed by the Egyptians who drowned as the waters flew back in their place.

This was the story of Lilith and of her creation and rebellion as told in the Alphabet of Ben Sira.

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