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| God chillin' like a villain...or, erm, perhaps the opposite, eh? |
Then the story takes a step back and explains the creation of man in more detail. Okay, now we're back on the sixth day.
"When the Lord God made the earth and the heavens--and no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth and no plant of the field had sprung up for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no man to work the ground but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground--the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being."
I know what you're thinking. Didn't god create vegetation back in Day 3? I didn't include the actual verse before, so here it is now: "Then God said, 'Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seeds in it, according to their various kinds.' And it was so. The land produced vegetation..."
Indeed, Grandpa Moses is at it again. (It brings new meaning to the Singing in the Rain lyric "Moses supposes erroneously".) And so, God needed man to work the fields before he sent rain to grow his veggies. It seems here man was destined to work.
After God created man (Adam), he put him in the Garden of Eden, where he made all kinds of trees, including the infamous tree of the knowledge of good and evil smack dab in the middle. Kind of a precarious location for a forbidden fruit. Come on God...couldn't you have hidden it or put a thorn bush around it or something? *Sigh*...But I guess it wouldn't be temptation then. So already I'm wondering God's intentions of even creating the tree, much less putting it in the center of the garden. God warns man explicitly, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."
After God warned Adam, he then went about to create a partner for him.
The Lord God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."
Then God gathered all of the beasts and birds for Adam to meet and name. He named each one, but alas, "no suitable helper was found".
So I'm wondering here what kind of helper Adam needed, why God and Adam were looking among animals to fill in the helper role, and exactly how the interviews went down.
Adam: So, umm...can you dig the ground?
Pig: Oink oink!
Adam: Ah, great! Okay, umm...can you fill in this void in my chest that tells me I am the only one of my species and that I'll never mate or have children?
Pig: ...oink?
Adam: Um, alright. I think we're finished here...I name you "Pig!". Now begone. Next!
So then God creates woman, first putting Adam under a deep sleep, then stealing one of his ribs and creating woman, who was named Eve (hence the word "Evening")
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| Maybe its been too long since I've had Chili's Baby Back Ribs, but this story makes me hungry. |
The chapter finishes with: "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame."
Now to address the issue that was bugging me in the end of the last post (and perhaps you too), about God having created man and woman first. And then later, in chapter 2, woman was created after man and from man. Does this mean there were two women?? Some interpret chapter one's mention of man and woman being created as simply a summary of the later events we learn about in the following chapter. But others, have created from this discrepancy -- the Lilith myth!
We all know this song as a Lullaby. And just thinking of it is making me sleepy actually (I'm writing this at 2am now). But where does the lullaby come from? Here's another famous, and older lullaby, called Brahms Lullaby.
Actually, Lullaby is a word derived from the words "Lilith Bye", which eventually became "Lullaby". Lilith, who is thought of to be a former Sumerian demon, or evil spirit, was known for taking the lives of infant children in their sleep (perhaps SIDS?). Thus, the "lulla-bye" was a incantation to wish the evil disease-bearing spirit, Lilith, goodbye.
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| Mesopotamian Lilith |
So here again, we see within the old lyrics themselves , the mother's comforting words her child (and probably to herself as well) that no harm will come while sleeping.
So how does the lullaby and a baby killing demon enter into the Adam and Eve myth? Well, because Genesis' dual creation account, Lilith, who once started as a Mesopotamian demon, later entered Jewish folk mythology thanks to The Alphabet of Ben-Sira, which is attributed to Ben Sira, a jewish scribe who wrote the Sirach, a deuterocanonical book (or one not quite accepted as 'legit' by the powers that be). However the Alphabet is thought of to be written from 700A.D. to 1000A.D., and is considered satircal in nature. Considering this was during the renown "Dark Ages" of Europe, I suppose someone felt inclined to spread the joy of comedy. Can't say I blame whoever it was. But either way, whether this work is credible or not, the influence it had and even has today is resounding. This version of the story of Lilith not only got in between the canon of one of the most important books of the Bible, but Lilith also made its way in between Adam and Eve, quite literally.
Soon afterward the young son of the king took ill. Said Nebuchadnezzar, "Heal my son. If you don't, I will kill you." Ben Sira immediately sat down and wrote an amulet with the Holy Name, and he inscribed on it the angels in charge of medicine by their names, forms and images, and by their wings, hands, and feet. Nebuchadnezzar looked at the amulet. "Who are these?"
"The angels who are in charge of medicine: Snvi, Snsvi, and Smnglof. (I have no idea how to pronounce these names! Though it would make a good Law Firm name.) After God created Adam, who was alone, He said, 'It is not good for man to be alone' (Gen. 2:18). He then created a woman for Adam, from the earth, as He had created Adam himself, and called her Lilith. Adam and Lilith began to fight. She said, 'I will not lie below,' and he said, 'I will not lie beneath you, but only on top. For you are fit only to be in the bottom position, while am to be in the superior one.' (Oh come on! What guy today would argue with his lover about the woman being on top?!) Lilith responded, 'We are equal to each other inasmuch as we were both created from the earth.' But they would not listen to one another. When Lilith saw this, she pronounced the Ineffable Name and flew away into the air. Adam stood in prayer before his Creator: 'Sovereign of the universe!' he said, 'the woman you gave me has run away.' At once, the Holy One, blessed be He, sent these three angels to bring her back.
"Said the Holy One to Adam, 'If she agrees to come back, fine. If not she must permit one hundred of her children to die every day.' The angels left God and pursued Lilith, whom they overtook in the midst of the sea, in the mighty waters wherein the Egyptians were destined to drown. They told her God's word, but she did not wish to return. The angels said, 'We shall drown you in the sea.'
"'Leave me!' she said. 'I was created only to cause sickness to infants. If the infant is male, I have dominion over him for eight days after his birth, and if female, for twenty days.'
"When the angels heard Lilith's words, they insisted she go back. But she swore to them by the name of the living and eternal God: 'Whenever I see you or your names or your forms in an amulet, I will have no power over that infant.' She also agreed to have one hundred of her children die every day. Accordingly, every day one hundred demons perish, and for the same reason, we write the angels' names on the amulets of young children. When Lilith sees their names, she remembers her oath, and the child recovers."
And so, because of a sex position dispute, and because Lilith demanded equal treatment (she is now regarded as a feminist icon), the first human couple broke up. Why couldn't they compromise and do it side-position, I wonder? In any case, this story goes to show not only this author's sentiment toward women, but also those whom adopted this tradition later on. And it could also be seen as a natural reaction (or even criticism) to the already patriachial values that had been held for so long. Although this idea of Adam and Lilith being the first humans didn't become very popular until the 17th Century, the myth of Lilith is more ancient than any of the Hebrew texts themselves, and her spirit has been as still is ever pervasive. It goes to show that even a dubious noncanonical script such as The Alphabet of Ben Sira can have wide ranging effects for future generations.
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| John Collier's painting of Lilith |
A few unanswered questions I have is: Since one hundred of Lilith's children are killed every day, who is fathering these children? Were the first batch of demon babies from Adam himself? And since according to Genesis, Adam and Eve parented all of mankind, then I suppose Lilith could be mating with their offspring as a form of revenge, or Lilith could be mating with the Devil, as well. But the former theory has a lot of support, actually. Lilith, is later known to be called the "seductress", and is associated later with witchcraft. She is known to lure weak men in with her power of sexuality. But also, in a Kabbalah account, there is another myth that states that there are two Lilths and that one procreates with a demon named Asmodeus.
However, we are getting too far away from the original Genesis story now. To me, Lilith is a very interesting character. And even Carl Jung makes a note of her as a powerful Terrible Mother archetype, and that her leaving Adam is a perfect symbol like losing a half of oneself, and how Adam needed her (or another woman) back to feel complete.
So, In short, ladies...you do not want to be refered to as a "Lilith".
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| By the Dutch modern artist Johfra Bosschart. |
In the next section, we will end our final look at the Genesis creation story with The Fall. Stay tuned!
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