The evolution of Lilith: Tracing Lilith’s development in popular culture through the lens of classical reception

Introduction

While looking at archaeological findings and textual history can be informative about the origin of elements of culture and folklore, ancient sources are not necessarily representative of how those elements are interpreted and utilized today. Tellings and retellings of stories throughout the centuries result in changes to those stories, and changing values inform how people deliberately shift representations of certain moral and ethical stances. In this paper, the evolution of Lilith is traced, following her journey from the pinnacle of evil to an icon of feminism and LGBTQ+ rights, through the theoretical lens of classical reception.

Classical reception

Classical reception is a sub-field of the discipline of Classics that deals with how works and concepts from antiquity are interpreted, used, and adapted in later periods, including contemporary interpretations and art (Martindale). The theory is grounded in Stuart Hall’s reception theory, a communications theory that stipulates that messages are not merely linearly transmitted from a sender to a receiver, but that messages are first encoded by a sender and then de-coded by a receiver, with both the sender and receiver utilizing their personal assumptions, biases, and understandings to interpret the message (Hall). Classical reception thus applies the lens of reception to the ancient world, analyzing how the modern world de-codes messages, such as texts and concepts, from antiquity – in other words, how people interpret those concepts given modern assumptions and understandings – and then re-codes those interpretations into new messages, such as through books and other forms of media.

While Classical reception tends to deal with reception of Greek or Latin concepts, it provides a useful theoretical lens for looking at how Lilith, as a figure from Jewish culture dating back to at least the medieval period (Ben Sira), is understood in modern culture.

Lilith

Traditional sources

While aspects of Lilith can be traced back much further, including potential ancient Mesopotamian sources that evolved into aspects of Lilith, Lilith as a single, coherent character can be traced back to at least the medieval period (Ben Sira). Lilith is a demoness, depicted as being a female spirit that both kills newborn children and their mothers as well as seducing and sexually assaulting men. Incantations and amulets to protect newborn children from Lilith continue to remain in use today (Lilith class handout).

Alphabet of Ben Sira

While not mentioned in Biblical sources, Lilith features in aspects of Jewish folklore as the first wife of Adam, the first man (Clay). In Genesis, the first book of the Bible, we find two different accounts of the creation of humankind. The first account is found in Genesis 1:26-30, during the account of the six days of creation, and describes men and women being created simultaneously:

וַיִּבְרָ֨א אֱלֹהִ֤ים ׀ אֶת־הָֽאָדָם֙ בְּצַלְמ֔וֹ בְּצֶ֥לֶם אֱלֹהִ֖ים בָּרָ֣א אֹת֑וֹ זָכָ֥ר וּנְקֵבָ֖ה בָּרָ֥א אֹתָֽם׃

And God created humankind in the divine image,

creating it in the image of God—

creating them male and female.
(Genesis 1:27, Revised JPS 2023 translation, via Sefaria)

The second account is found in Genesis 2:4-25, and describes how Adam was initially created as the first man, and then only later was Eve created, out of Adam’s rib:

וַיִּ֩בֶן֩ יְהֹוָ֨ה אֱלֹהִ֧ים ׀ אֶֽת־הַצֵּלָ֛ע אֲשֶׁר־לָקַ֥ח מִן־הָֽאָדָ֖ם לְאִשָּׁ֑ה וַיְבִאֶ֖הָ אֶל־הָֽאָדָֽם׃

And the ETERNAL God fashioned the side that had been taken from the Human into a woman, bringing her to the Human.

(Genesis 2:22, Revised JPS 2023 translation, via Sefaria)

In order to resolve the conflicting accounts, different interpretations have been suggested; one of the methods for explaining the discrepancy can be found in The Alphabet of Ben Sira (Ben Sira and Nebuchadnezzar, 4), which tells the story of Lilith, allowing us to interpret the first version of the story as referring to Adam and Lilith, and the second as referring to Adam and Eve. According to the story, Adam demanded that Lilith be underneath him; Lilith refused, insisting instead that as they were both created from the earth, they should be equal. Lilith then fled to the sea, and informed angels sent by God to bring her back that she was created to harm babies, accepting in return that a hundred of her demonic children would die every day. Afterwards, in order that Adam not be left alone, Eve was created out of Adam’s rib.

Other Jewish sources

Other traditional stories about Lilith, including in Kabbalistic sources such as the Zohar, continue to depict Lilith as an entirely evil being, including sexually attacking Adam, procreating demons with Cain, attempting to attack Jacob, becoming the wife of Ashmadai (the king of the demons), and even becoming the consort of God after the destruction of the Jewish Temple, as a degradation of God (Patai). For centuries, all conceptions and depictions of Lilith were wholly negative and focused entirely on the harm that she supposedly caused to humans.

Later sources

Outside of traditional sources, however, the figure of Lilith has appeared in later secular and philosophical works, and, in the contemporary period, has increasingly been used in modern re-interpretations through various types of media, such as comic books, video games, and cultural mentions (Dennis & Dennis; Clay; McDermott & Blackstone).

Lilith in the 19th and early 20th centuries

Cultural creations in the 19th and 20th centuries continued to depict Lilith as an evil being, including as a temptress. Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s poem "Body’s Beauty" (1868) describes Lilith as a "witch" while describing her physical beauty, which she uses to entrance men. John Collier’s painting Lilith (1887), based on Rossetti’s poem (Bosch & Mancoff), portrays a young, blonde Lilith, the snake from the Garden of Eden intertwined around her, further associating Lilith with sources of evil.

At the same time, however, the first seeds of a different way of looking at Lilith were being planted. The American poet Ada Langworthy Collier’s poem "Lilith: The Legend of the First Woman" (1885) explores a different way of looking at Lilith, portraying her in a much more sympathetic light. Collier writes in her preface to the poem, after quoting classical sources about legends of Lilith, that she is well aware that her depiction of Lilith departs from the traditional views, and is comfortable with that decision:

The poet feels quite justified in dissenting from the statements made in the preceding extracts, and has not drawn Lilith as there represented—the bloodthirsty sovereign who ruled Damascus, the betrayer of men, the murderer of children. The Lilith of the poem is transferred to the more beautiful shadow-world.

(Collier, Ada L., "Preface", "Lilith: The Legend of the First Woman, via Project Gutenburg)

Collier’s depiction of Lilith takes her refusal to submit to Adam, and, instead of condemning that refusal as an act of evil, depicts Lilith as sacrificing paradise in the Garden of Eden for her own independence and freedom. The wording choices in the poem reflect Collier’s sympathetic depiction of Lilith; Lilith is described as "the Fairest one" (Collier, Book I), an epithet that both refers to her beauty as well as hinting towards her ideological stance of refusing to submit to Adam, on the premise that Adam and Lilith were created equal and both given dominion over the Garden. Adam insists that Lilith submit to him, claiming "Know, Lilith, I alone rule Paradise" (ibid), a position that Lilith views as unfair and cannot accept, leading to Lilith forever abandoning Paradise in exchange for her freedom. Lilith is thus associated with women demanding equal rights, at around the time that the women’s suffrage movement was developing in the United States.

Other works utilized the figure of Lilith as well during the time of the women’s suffrage movement, such as presenting the more traditional view of Lilith as negative commentary on women’s rights and demands for equality. The 1920s melodrama play Lilith presents a Lilith character, who is shown to be beautiful but evil, sending child-like characters to their death, and is described as being similar to a snake (McDermott & Blackstone). The play makes multiple references to women being not on equal terms with men, with Lilith being the only character to challenge that idea; and by the end of the play, Lilith has been humiliated and then killed, showing that the play’s attitude towards women’s rights is distinctly negative (ibid).

Contemporary views of Lilith

Jewish feminism

Contemporary depictions of Lilith in modern culture have continued to associate Lilith with women’s rights and feminism. The Jewish feminist Judith Plaskow’s "The Coming of Lilith" (1972) tells the story of God creating Adam and Lilith on equal terms, from the same dust, with Adam then attempting to control Lilith. Lilith refuses, utters the name of God, and then leaves; Adam complains to God, who then creates Eve. Eve submits to Adam, but eventually meets Lilith and learns her story; the two form a bond of sisterhood, and their unity is presenting as frightening both Adam and God. "The Coming of Lilith" takes the story of Lilith, and, like Ada Collier’s "Lilith", presents Lilith’s refusal to submit as a positive rather than a negative; the implication is that Eve represents all women, who will one day realize that they were created from the same dust as Adam – i.e., are equal to men – and will demand full equality, with that demand worrying Adam – representing men – and God, who represents tradition. God is shown to be confused, but says "I must become who I will become" (Plaskow) – an explicit reference to God’s self-description in Exodus 3:14 as "I am who I am", but modified to recognize that change is necessary.

"The Coming of Lilith" is an example of modern interpretations affecting how older encodings, such as The Alphabet of Ben Sira, are decoded in light of changing values later on, and then re-encoded with those later values into derivative works, with those works then affecting how people decode the original work. "The Coming of Lilith" was one of the first works to reimagine Lilith in a Jewish feminist context, but was hardly the last.

The Jewish feminist magazine Lilith launched four years later (Dennis & Dennis, pp. 77-78), continuing Lilith’s association with Jewish feminism. In its inaugural Fall 1976 issue, in an article titled "The Lilith Question", Aviva Cantor Zuckoff directly quotes the account of Lilith found in The Alphabet of Ben Sira, and argues that Lilith is a symbol of standing against tyranny. She points out that Lilith is a symbol of determination and commitment; Lilith willingly sacrifices Paradise in order to gain freedom and equality. She is also a symbol of knowledge, as she is able to use the name of God in order to escape. Zuckoff further ties the negative story of Lilith to the Jewish Exile after the destruction of the Temple, linking Jewish men’s fear of losing their masculinity as a result of the Exile to a story of Lilith, developed by men, that reinforces the idea that women must be subservient to men. However, that same story, meant to reinforce women as inferior, can then be used as an example of women rightfully fighting for equality (Zuckoff).

Popular culture

Lilith has also been portrayed in modern popular culture and entertainment, such as comics. For instance, Marvel Comics first explored the story of Lilith in 1974, with the story "Lilith: The First Vampire" appearing in Vampire Tales 4 (Dennis & Dennis, pp. 81-84). The story differs significantly from earlier depictions of Lilith in its storyline, adapting Lilith as the daughter of Dracula rather than as a being created on par with Adam, the first human. As the daughter of Dracula, Lilith takes revenge on men who have harmed women, including a male catcaller as well as Dracula himself (ibid). In that vein, Marvel’s Lilith continues the trend of using portrayals of Lilith to make feminist points and arguments, later confirmed by the authors to be intentional (ibid).

Since Lilith as a singular figure originates in Jewish folklore, it is natural that she would appear in contemporary Jewish Israeli culture as well. The development of understanding Lilith’s story in a more positive light can also be found in contemporary Israeli works; Yehuda Agus’s Midrash Lilith (2011) is one example, in which Lilith leads an army against God, and the book explains that Lilith is only seen as evil because she rejected God’s absolute sovereignty, much as she rejected Adam’s authority over her (Shapiro, pp. 136-137).

Lilith as a queer icon

Lilith as a feminist icon also became Lilith as a queer icon (associated with the LGBTQ+ community). Jacqueline Lapidus’s poem "Eden" (1990) imagines a lesbian encounter between Lilith and Eve in the Garden of Eden, with Adam aware of their encounter but too cowed by the women to object. It has also been pointed out that envisioning Lilith as engaged in lesbian sexual activity can be traced back to more ancient sources; since Lilith was associated with the snake that tempted Eve, and that the encounter between Eve and the snake was thought of as sexual, it follows that their encounter must have been lesbian (Clay, p. 21; Shapiro, p. 135). Lilith has also been associated with the transgender community; justifications for that association have been made based on accounts of incantation bowls that mention Lilits taking the form of either men or women, and an account from the Zohar about Lilith switching gender based on the gender of her victim (Clay, p. 25). Anecdotal accounts also indicate that "Lilith" is a popular name for transgender women to pick for themselves (Reddit), further showing how Lilith as a figure has been adopted by the LGBTQ+ community as an icon to be identified with.

Conclusion

We can see, therefore, that Lilith has undergone a stark evolution in her portrayals and reception, particularly in the late 20th century and early 21st century. From a relatively obscure figure of Jewish folklore, portrayed as an embodiment of evil who hunts down children and adults alike, she has today evolved to be a symbol of feminist and queer empowerment. Her evolution reflects a parallel development in societal norms amid growing normalization of women’s rights and queer rights, providing an example of how our cultural understanding of myths and legends evolves as the surrounding culture evolves, affecting how we think about stories and cultural elements that we have inherited from the past.

AI usage statement

No form of generative-AI was used in writing this paper.

Works Cited

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