A TALE OF TWO SISTERS: THE IMAGE OF EVE IN EARLY RABBINIC LITERATURE AND ITS INFLUENCE ON THE PORTRAYAL OF LILITH IN THE ALPHABET OF BEN SIRA

Headnote

The purposes of this paper are (1) to outline the early Jewish traditions concerning Lilith, so as to provide the backdrop for (2) the reconstruction of the main elements of her image in the Alphabet of Ben Sira (ABS), which contains the most elaborate variant of the Lilith-myth. The latter in turn will be (3) confronted with the early rabbinic traditions concerning Eve, so as (4) to present the role of Lilith in unburdening Eve of her problematic past, on the one hand, and (5) to acknowledge the role of Eve in elevating Lilith to the position of the "prototypical" Jewish femme fatale, on the other. The conclusions are that (1) the image of Lilith in the ABS draws upon the traditions that arose around Eve in the early rabbinic literature, (2) the main difference between the two lies in Lilith's far more defined and unambiguous portrayal in the ABS, and (3) one of the functions of Lilith in the ABS is to promote the positive image of Eve.

According to various dictionaries and encyclopedias, Lilith is an ancient female goddess incorporated into the mythology of Judaism and Christianity, in which she is regarded as Adam's first wife, who rebels against her husband and turns into a demonic seducer and child-stealer.1 This assertion needs at least two additional remarks. First, the ancient sources are rather laconic when it comes to Lilith, and the elaborate variant of the myth occurs only in the medieval Alphabet of Ben Sira (henceforth: ABS). Second, a careful reading of the ABS reveals that it relies heavily upon earlier traditions that are only secondarily attached to Lilith. Surprisingly and somewhat counterintuitively, a significant number of these motifs seem to originate from the rabbinic legends that arose around the figure of Eve, who appears to be not only "older" than Lilith but also even more "sinful." The purposes of this paper are therefore: (1) to outline the early, pre-ABS Jewish traditions concerning Lilith so as to provide the backdrop for (2) the reconstruction of the main elements of her image in the ABS. The latter, in turn, will be (3) confronted with the early traditions concerning Eve, so as (4) to present the role of Lilith in unburdening Eve of her...