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The Myth of Lilith – An Unexpected Ally Against Egalitarianism
An Unexpected Ally Against Egalitarianism?
For those who accept the Patriarchy as part of original creation, and not resulting from the Fall, we have found an unexpected ally. The Lilith Myth.
A brief history. Around 2000 B.C., Lilith originated in ancient Mesopotamian mythology as a class of demonic wind spirits and night demons known as lilītu. Sometime during the 8-10th centuries A.D., her legend was misappropriated by Rabbis. Lilith (wrongfully and unnecessarily) emerged in the satirical medieval text, The Alphabet of Ben Sira, to explain why Genesis features two diverse creation narratives.
• Genesis 1 is where male and female are created together. Lilith is Adam’s first wife.
• Genesis 2 has God forming Eve from from Adam’s rib. Eve is Adam’s second wife.
How does a pagan myth misappropriated by Jews support Patriarchy being part of Creation and not something following the Fall? There is more to the myth than a gap filler.
According to the rabbis, the mythological Lilith rebelled against God and her husband Adam. She refused Adam’s headship and demanded egalitarian equality. When Adam refused (a specific request), Lilith rebelled, said God’s secret name, sprouted wings, and fled the Garden of Eden, becoming a demonic succubus and infant killer.
In response to Adam being alone, when God made Eve, He formed her from Adam’s side and not from the dirt as He had with Lilith. This removed Lilith’s argument about equality based upon both being made from the same source material. Eve was to be a more submissive wife. Eve was to be the wife Lilith refused to be.
In modern literature, Lilith is hailed as an independent woman who refused to submit to patriarchal rule and is celebrated in feminism as a symbol of female equality, independence, and autonomy.
Therefore, surprisingly and tacitly, the Lilith Myth supports as God’s original plan the headship of Adam in both Creation narratives. Patriarchy was part of God’s Creation in Genesis 1, and in Genesis 2.
Unwittingly, Egalitarianism supports Lilith.
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