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LILITH AND ADAM?
On one level, Lilith is controversial because she’s a folklore character from a folklore take on the creation story from Genesis. Her story takes us directly into debates about mythology versus history, sacred texts, and non-sacred additions. This can become quite heated discussions, especially when it comes to debating the Bible’s accuracy. Lilith, a female demonic figure of Jewish folklore. Her name and personality are thought to be derived from the class of Mesopotamian demons and the name is usually translated as “night monster.†A cult associated with Lilith survived among some Jews as late as the 7th century AC. The evil she threatened, especially against children and women in childbirth, was said to be counteracted by the wearing of an amulet bearing the names of certain angels. In rabbinic literature Lilith is variously depicted as the mother of Adam’s demonic offspring following his separation from Eve or as his first wife. Whereas Eve was created from Adam’s rib (Genesis 2:22), some accounts hold that Lilith was the woman implied in Genesis 1:27 and was made from the same soil as Adam. Lilith is an extremely controversial figure within Jewish folklore. Lilith's name is not included in the creation story of the Torah or the Bible of today, but she appears in several midrashic texts. Her symbolism, history and literature are debated among Jewish scholars, feminists and other intellectuals. There are multiple origin stories for Lilith but the most popular history told views Lilith as the first wife of Adam. According to the "first Eve" story Lilith was created by God from dust and placed to live in the garden with Adam until problems arose between Adam and Lilith when Adam tried to exercise dominance over Lilith.