This — the core of the Lilith myth cycle — is what’s missing from conventional scriptures.
Although it supposedly describes the First Days, the Judeo-Christian Genesis does not refer to Lilith at all. We find her mentioned in the Jewish Rabbinical Midrashim and several obscure (and not-so-obscure) Hebrew texts, but the consolidations of both the Christian Bible and the Jewish Tanakh finds the first woman absent.
When we look upon this “lost Genesis,” we can see why.
Despite its name, the so-called “Genesis Fragment” can’t actually be considered part of the canonical book of Jewish and Christian lore. Although the fragment’s earliest example is indeed written in Hebrew, the casual, occasionally even mocking portrayal of Jehovah (traditionally encrypted as YHVH, “The Lord,” or “The Holy One,” and followed by “blessed be He”) is so at odds with the ancient Jewish paradigm that the Fragment can be considered, at best, the work of a deeply heretical Israelite.
Not that there’s anything unusual in that: Genesis, Exodus and other early books declare the existence of myriad heretical or pagan sects among the children of Abraham; an author with a, shall we say, unconventional view of the Almighty is not hard to imagine. Still, many heretical writings were purged, along with their authors. The Genesis Fragment managed to make it into the writings smuggled from the Roman siege of Jerusalem (AD 64) and was somehow saved from destruction. Given the rather blasphemous nature of the Fragment, I doubt that it was ever considered part of the Pentateuch, or five books of Moses. More likely, it was kept as part of a protective charm or ritual — to “know thine enemy,” as it were — or as some keepsake or curio of a brave scholar. In any case, the Fragment was preserved from the fires of Rome’s legions, but left aside when the Torah was compiled from the salvaged writings — and again far later, when the Nicean Council consolidated the books of the Christian Bible.
For accuracy’s sake, I compared this Fragment against two similar ones, one in Greek, the other preserved in oral tradition through the Bahari rites. I was given access to a Ba’hara pictogram version, but since those designs are designed as mnemonics, not literal words, there could hardly be a “definitive” Bahari version. Partly for flavor’s sake, and partly to capture the rhythm of the Hebrew, I have used the Israelite version as the springboard for my translations. A series of footnotes record my own observations.
I couldn’t begin to claim which of these three versions is the “definitive” one. Each boasts its own authority. The Ba’hara account obviously functions as the Gospel According to Lilith; the Greek source serves as a “bridge” between the older scroll and the modern translation, and includes some intriguing pantheistic ambiguities; the heretical Israelite document fits in best with our Western conception of Scripture. Surprisingly, they all correspond disturbingly well.
While the Fragment boasts tantalizing Kabbalistic elements, they’re diffused and disjointed. Was the author a woman? If so, it would account for the incomplete correspondences and occasionally improvisational Hebrew. Feminine scholarship was frowned upon at best, and often forbidden — especially when that scholarship involved Scripture. Even young men were (and still are) kept away from the most sacred writings. I think the Fragment’s true source comes from “women’s lore” — the oral tradition passed between mother and daughter, and rarely written down. That’s certainly the case with the Ba’hara version. The similarities between all fragments lend weight to my assertion.
Despite its source and its importance to Bahari doctrine, the Fragment is more the story of the First Days than an account of Lilith’s trials. Lilith really isn’t the protagonist at all — that distinction belongs to Jehovah, the troubled, proud and ultimately tragic god whose hubris shatters the balance of Immortal Creation. All the same, his acts break a stranglehold of stasis, and create the first free-willed creature: Lilith. As she takes the stage, That Which Was falls to That Which Will Be. Her defiance — first of Jehovah, then of the elements, then of Lucifer and finally of the other gods — shakes up the happy little world that had harbored profound injustices. She brings love, joy, revelry and ultimately disaster, but emerges as the true architect of our world, for better and worse. When she departs for the Endless Sea to establish her own garden, we see Jehovah’s true equal: The woman who forced him to see the illusion he was hiding behind.
No wonder the Bahari consider her the True Goddess of our world.
Once, all was silence and stillness. This was the Time of Nothing, when the Ancient One rested Its eyes and moved not. Every 55,555 years, the Ancient One breaks Its rest and opens Its eyes, to see what was not there before. Each 55,555 years, It closes Its eyes, and all becomes silence and stillness again.1
Then the Ancient One opened Its eyes for the 333rd time, and a bolt of Light split the darkness. 2 Thence came [Jehovah] 3 and the other Shining Ones. 4 To delight the eyes of the Ancient One, they Spoke great Words and sang great Songs, and thence wove the world into being.
Upon the shells of the 332 Old Worlds did they tread; and the creatures of those worlds did howl and loose themselves upon the wilderness.5
Each of the host raised a garden and set itself to creating the plants and beasts therein. Within each garden, the earth provided fettle for the growing things; and the fire did burn in the skies by day and night; and the air did flow as words of divinity; and the waters did nourish the flowers and plants and all living things.6
And Jehovah, the Firstborn, raised the greatest Garden of them all in the land between the rivers. And He grew two Trees within that Garden, the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. And each Tree bore fruit with sevenfold seeds, and each seed carried the great truths of the Shining Ones.
In time, the beasts of Jehovah’s garden did fat themselves on the seeds of the Trees, and came to know the great truths, but they cared not. They were naked, yet they cared not. They were content, and cared not. The beasts fatted themselves upon the seeds, and upon the grasses, and upon each other; for such is the Way of All Things. And it was good.
But Jehovah hungered. He ate of the fruits of both Trees, but they did not fill Him. He drank from the two rivers, and from the salt of the great seas, but they did not fill Him. He feasted at the gardens of [Lucifer] and [Gabriel] and [Astarte] and [Bes], but still He was not satisfied. His belly thundered and the beasts hid in fear, so great was the hunger of the Firstborn. But He hungered not for meat, nor for fruit, nor for the company of His cousins. Jehovah hungered for companionship.
So Jehovah mourned, and His moans were like storms. He wept, and His tears wetted the True Earth 7 at the center of His Garden. And they fell upon the seeds from the Trees of Life and Knowledge, and they did bring forth wondrous, strange fruit.
Male and Female rose as One from the mud of the True Earth, joined back to back; and they struggled to stand and could not. Until Jehovah passed His hand between them and made them Two; equal and strong He made Them.
And the Ancient One saw this not. But seemed It to smile nonetheless.
Jehovah named His creatures “Ish,” or “Adam,” and “Lilitu,” or “Lilith”;8 and He bestowed upon them great Gifts. To the male, gave He the powers of Shaping and Naming; to the female, gave He the powers of Fertility and Intuition. Raised as they were from the True Earth and the seeds of the Trees, the man and woman could see and adore the works of Jehovah, and He was much pleased.
And He commanded His servants, those seraphim and cherubim and daemoni and imps, to show Adam and Lilith of the wonders of the Garden, and to employ their Gifts. He bade Adam to name each of the creatures and plants therein, and bade Lilith to breed them; and bade both to tend the beings of the Garden according to their needs.
Lilith kept her company amongst the plants and growing things and fruit-bearing trees; Adam passed the time in naming all the beasts, male and female, that did dwell in the Garden. Adam learned to hunt the creatures as they hunted each other; and Lilith learned to eat of the trees and plants, as the trees and plants did fertilize one another.
As she tended the Garden, Jehovah forbade Lilith from the Trees of Life and Knowledge, saying, “These are the fruits of godhood. Immortal as thou art, those fruits should devour thee from the inside out if thou wouldst dare to devour them first. Like lightning from the Heavens, they would blind thee, and sear thy flesh and innards, and rend thee like the tree which has been stricken.”
But Lilith did not believe Jehovah; but neither did she test Him. But she hungered for those fruits, for she was a creation of strong will. When fruit fell from the Trees, she ate of it, and lo her eyes were opened.
She was naked, and was not ashamed of it.9 And she became like unto a Shining One, like unto Jehovah; but she did not understand how to be like Him, and so she waited and watched.
Lilith sought to teach Adam the ways of the plants, but he cared not; she watched him at the hunt, and she made tools to help her; and bade the wolf and the lion and the owl to follow her. Thus did Lilith excel at the arts of hunting and food-gathering.10 Adam was wroth, and put himself far from her.
In his loneliness, Adam did know many of the female beasts, for he desired a mate of his own. And Jehovah told him to look to the female, Lilith, for his mate, saying, “Thou art above the beasts, and it is detestable that thou shouldst lie with them.”
So Adam went to Lilith and told her to lie down with him. But Lilith was repulsed by Adam, for he had mated with beasts. He sought to lay her upon her back, that he might enter her, but she refused, saying, “Why must I lie down beneath thee, upon my back? I too was made from the True Earth, and so I am thine equal.”
And Adam grew angry; in his rage, he forced Lilith upon her back beneath him. When she fought, he struck her many blows, till the blood of Lilith fell upon the land, and the blood of Adam also. And Adam was rampant as a bull is when aroused, and his seed fell upon the earth; and brambles and ivy grew thereof, and tore at the heels of Adam and Lilith.
Adam speared Lilith upon the thorn of his manhood; but Lilith cried out the hidden True Name of Jehovah, and He lifted her up out of the Garden and into the Heavens.
And Adam was alone, and spent his wrath and lust upon the beasts and flowers. But as he had not eaten of the fruit of the two Trees, he knew not what he did.
Once Lilith was borne away from Adam, Jehovah was wroth. “How didst thou know the Hidden Name of Him who created thee?” His voice was thunder. Lights crackled in the skies. Winds tore at Lilith’s hair and bathed her skin in ice.
She was afraid, but did not cry out. Instead, she spoke unto Him, unto the thunder and lightning and wind. And her fear was as wisdom and comfort against the storm.
Lilith said, “I have done what Thou didst require. I tended the fruits of the Garden, and the beasts of the forest. When they prospered, I did nurture them. When they fell, I laid them to rest. The fruits which I have eaten are those which fell by Thine own hand. I took them as a gift of love from Thy bounty, that I might join Thee in Heaven.”
So saying, she raised flowers of her own; flowers that had not been created by the hand of Jehovah, nor tended by the hand of Lilith. New, she created them from the Firmament of Heaven, and offered them to Him.
And at last the storm quieted. And Jehovah was stilled.
He took her there in Heaven, and He knew her as a mate. For seven days and seven nights, she sat upon His lap and He sat within hers.11
And their coupling was like unto the storm; and both of them were satisfied. And love grew between Jehovah and Lilith, like the fruits of the Tree of Life.
But He could not bear to share His power and knowledge. Lilith said, “We are now as we should be, equals above all others.” Hearing this, Jehovah became jealous, as had His creation Adam.
And so it came to pass that Jehovah banished Lilith from His sight, as He had banished that Lady12 who came before her. After seven days and nights, Lilith was cast down from Heaven. Into the dust between the gardens was she cast. Jehovah declared, “Mayest thou wander in the unmade lands for all time.” So saying, He vanished, leaving Lilith alone.
Then Lilith did go into the desert and did wander for seven times seven days and nights.
And the days were hot and savage, like unto the flame; and Lilith’s dark skin was reddened, and it blistered and cracked like mud; and her tongue did swell; and her bones did poke through her skin; and her feet were burned as though by fire. But still she did not repent; nor did she request forgiveness of the Lord, or deny that she was as He.
The fruit she had eaten sat in Lilith’s belly and sustained her.
But her heart and belly were rent with the love for Him who had betrayed her; and His seed grew in her belly until it was swollen and burdensome.
When she was thirsty, Lilith did sup upon her own blood. And it sustained her.14
The days were torment to her, and so she learned to burrow into the earth and await the fall of night. Beneath the ground, Lilith learned to send her senses far away15 and hence discovered the rivers and the gardens of the other Shining Ones. And when the sun had passed by, she lifted herself from the earth and continued toward the Endless Sea.
And Lilith walked over rocks and sand; and she crossed mountains and shivered in cold winds, and was lashed by the dust; and she fell many times, but did not stop, but rose and began again. For the pain was as wisdom unto her.
Far away from the lands of Jehovah, she found that great expanse which is the Endless Sea. 16 When she reached it, Lilith threw herself into that Sea, and she did swim to the bottom of it; and did become as one of its own creatures; and she did lie with them, as Adam had with the beasts of the Garden; and she did hunt them, as she had in the Garden, until she was sated.
When she beheld the great gardens at the bottom of the Sea, Lilith was amazed.
In her amazement, she caused the plants to flower and the beasts of the Sea to breed; and so she became the Mother of that Sea.17
There beneath the Endless Sea, Lilith learned to be like unto Jehovah, and to command the powers thereof. And she divested herself of His seed, and did plant it among the children of her own womb, and of the seed of the creatures of the Sea.
When she arose from that Sea, her dark skin had turned to amber and her hair had become black as pitch. Her eyes were as the surface of that Sea, and they danced like the moon upon those waters.18
But she could not create a Garden like the place of Jehovah; and she ground her teeth in jealousy. Although she could craft great wonders and gave birth to many strange beasts, Lilith was not satisfied.
So she left the Endless Sea and went forth again into the desert.
She did crave the fruit of the Garden of Jehovah; for it was the sweetest that ever she had tasted.19
Lilith did wander for seven times seven years; and thence she did encounter the gardens of [Bes]; and the vineyards of [Dionysus]; and the fields of [Baal], and all the wonders they concealed. Those wonders did her hosts make known to her, for they were amazed to see one so graceful and beautiful as She Who Rose From the Endless Sea.
And there was much feasting in the gardens of [Bes]; and in the vineyards of [Dionysus]; and in the fields of [Baal]; and all Shining Ones proclaimed, “Lilith is without peer, Shining with the light of the Ancient One but made of the True Earth of our gardens.”21
But the celebrations and libations were as hollow reeds. Lilith hungered for the fruit of Jehovah’s great Garden; for the fruit of the Trees of Life and Knowledge. There were none others like unto His place, rich though they might be. And so she did quit those gardens, giving thanks to her hosts and gifting them with precious fruits.22
Thus did she continue on alone until she came to the gates of Eden
And it came to pass that Jehovah learned of Lilith’s sojourn to the Shining Ones; and He was fearful that she would return to Eden and destroy his creation. So Jehovah charged Lucifer to stand guard upon Eden, lest Lilith return.
And the Lightbringer, who held Jehovah to his heart like a brother, took up this charge and stood at the gates of Eden with a fiery sword. And the sword was made from the True Earth of Eden; and so this sword would banish Lilith, for she had been made of the same Earth. For it was baneful to her, and to Adam.
With his great Sight, Lucifer saw Lilith from a long way off; from the clouds of day and the shining disk of sun he espied her. Now he was struck by her beauty, as if by a thunderbolt; and as she approached, he drew back his hands with the sword still in them. But he did not strike her.
And Lilith said unto him, “Who art thou, that guardest the Garden of the Firstborn?”
“I am the Light and Darkness,” Lucifer replied.
“Thou art beautiful in my sight,” said Lilith, and she spoke truly;
For he is a polished staff, a stout tree shaped into contours pleasing to the eye; and his skin is the burnished gold, and his eyes the color of the moon. His breath is the breeze of a lotus; and his touch is like unto a whisper.24
Lucifer said, “Art thou the disrespectful creation of my brother, that went from out the Garden with hate in her heart?”
“Never so,” she replied. “I am like thee, and like our brother; and I would never harm a thing in His Garden, not even the lesser beasts or their tender.25 I wish only to learn about the wondrous Trees he grows.”
And he looked into her heart and saw that she spoke truly. And his own heart was filled with love and desire, like a garden blossoming with fresh water and good seed. Thus did Lucifer let her pass.
But before Lilith went in, the Lightbringer offered her a gift. Lucifer said, “As I am Lord of Light, I have dominion over those spheres which illuminate the sky. And so I do give to thee this garment of Night, dearest sister, upon which are sewn the moon and the stars and all that appears in the night sky. Wear it and rule the Night as I now rule the Day.”
And Lilith did take up the garment; and her face became like the deep blue of midnight; and her hair became silver like the stars; and her eyes shone with the soft light of the moon.26
Abashed and amazed, Lilith stopped. “I love the gifts, as I now love the giver,” she said. “I shall not trouble our brother, but shall raise up my own Garden; and thou shalt perchance come visit me there; and I will show thee all its splendors.”
So saying, she turned away from Eden. Then she spread her cloak of night and rose into the sky, and away.
Lilith chose a rich and fertile land, with three rivers making up its borders. And she did drape her garment of Night over this land; from her garment, she plucked a handful of tiny stars; and she did scatter the stars across the land. And those star-seeds did bear wondrous plants and fruit trees and all manner of growing things.
But these growing things were not those of Jehovah’s Eden; for they would grow only beneath the shelter of Night, and beneath the light of Lilith’s moon. And Lilith walked often in her Garden; and she did feed the growing things with her own life’s blood; and they flourished and grew heavy with fruit.
In her belly, Lilith held the seeds from the Trees of Life and Knowledge. Now she did pass those seeds into the earth of her garden. These too did she nourish with her body’s water and her life’s blood; but they would not grow.
And Lilith rent the air with wails of frustration and sorrow; for she was famished for the fruit of those Trees; and for the love of Jehovah, who had cast her out.
Then did Lilith darken; and her rage rose like sand in a strong wind; and it scoured the place where the Trees would not grow; where the seeds lay fallow in the earth; and she cursed Jehovah for his pride. Then she cursed herself for her pain, and for the love she bore He Who Betrayed Her.
And her first garden was swept away in her wrath, until it stood no more.
Then did Lilith leave her Night Garden and go to Eden.
When Jehovah had lifted Lilith up, Adam became full of jealous rage, for his mate had been taken from him. And he silently cursed the name of his Creator. But Jehovah heard him and said, “Curse not foolishly. She who I have taken from thee was filled with evil spirits27 and would have harmed thee. Fear not, for I shall make thee a mate.”
Jehovah lifted up the True Earth, and He took a handful of that clay and did breathe upon it. And the clay did form the bones of the female; and her skin; and the fluids and bowels therein. But Adam was dismayed, and he was sick within the garden; for he had seen the innards of his mate, and would not Name her.28
So Jehovah did destroy His creation; with a strong wind, He scattered the skin, and the bowels, and the bones, and left the fluids to soak into the True Earth. And small creatures came forth and devoured the female, until there was no sign of her. When she was annihilated, Adam was content.
And Jehovah put a deep slumber upon Adam and removed one rib; from that rib, he made Eve. And Adam was pleased; and he did Name her “Ishah,” or “Eve”; and he knew Eve; and she lay beneath him, for she was a lesser thing, not made of the True Earth like Lilith before her; nor of the back of Adam, but from his bone.29
When Lilith departed Heaven, Jehovah wept again; and His tears were like a deluge upon Eden. He wept for seven days and nights, until the creatures of the Garden cried out for mercy and relief.
From that time forward, Jehovah wept no more; save but once in all the days and nights of this world.30
When He had heard of the revels of Lilith, and of her visits to the gardens and vineyards and fields of His brothers and sisters, Jehovah was much troubled.
For He still thought of her as His creation, and His love. And so He did set His closest brother to guard Eden. But He did not tell Lucifer about Lilith, nor about the love He bore her; nor about the powers at her command; nor about the fruits she had eaten.
For the Firstborn was afraid.
It came to pass that Lilith returned unto Eden, clad in her raiment of Night; and there she again met Lucifer who stood watch upon the gate with the fiery sword in his hand.
“Beloved, why dost thou stand here before the gates of Jehovah’s garden?” said Lilith. “Hast thou become his servant and lackey?”
“Nay,” Lightbringer replied. “I watch for She Who Has Been Cast Out; for the Firstborn has said that her soul is small and dark and filled with evil spirits; and she may not withstand my light. And so I stand here as favor to Him whom I love as a brother.”
And Lilith was wounded by his words; for she knew Jehovah had spoken of her. But she was proud also, to have moved her Creator to untruth. As she was of the True Earth of Eden, she could not pass whilst Lucifer held forth the fiery sword against her. 31 And so unto Lucifer, she said, “Cast aside thy sword, beloved one, and let me pass. For verily, I am not she. I stand content in thy light, and share it as my own.”
The Lightbringer recalled that Lilith had once sworn to do no harm, and had spoken true at that time. And thus he did believe her. Yet he was puzzled and amazed by her, resplendent in her gown of Night.
“Why then hast thou come here, beloved one?” said Lucifer.
Lilith said, “I too have grown a garden, and I wish to learn how Jehovah does make the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge grow strong and fruitful.” And she did produce the seeds which she had saved, and Lucifer saw that it was so. Then did Lucifer cast aside the fiery sword so that Lilith might pass through the gates.
And so Lilith came into Eden. Casting her garment of Night over the trees, she then transformed herself into a Great Serpent with sharp scales to match the color of the growing things about her; and with great wings that wrapped about her long coiling body, so that she might hide herself from Jehovah. The Serpent was cunning and quiet and moved unseen through the deep grasses of Eden.32
And she came upon the Tree of Life, and she bent her ear low to its roots and she asked of it, “How do you come to grow?” And the living wood of that tree did say to her, “From the seeds numbering seven times seven.” And she thanked the Tree; and from it she did swallow whole seven of its fruits. For each had within it seven seeds.33
Then did she come upon the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil; and she asked of it, “How do you come to grow?” And that Tree did also say unto her, “From the seeds numbering seven times seven.” And again she thanked the Tree; and from it too did she swallow whole seven of its fruits.
But Lilith was not alone.
Eve had come as Lilith twined ‘round the Tree of Knowledge. The third woman did come and sit beneath that Tree. And Lilith did see that Eve was a lesser thing and took pity upon her. In her pity, she said unto Eve, “Take the fruit and eat of it, so that thine eyes might be opened.” And Eve did as she was told; and took that fruit; and ate of it.
Lo, Eve’s eyes were opened as if blinded by a burst of fire; and she was cast down as if by a blow; and she wept for the things she understood. And Lilith coiled about Eve to comfort her; and Eve held the Serpent like a lover; and they did know each other in the shadow of the Tree of Knowledge.34
The sound of weeping drew Adam to that place. And the owl did spy him, and gave warning to Lilith of his approach. And so the Serpent did leave the woman to her man; and he was amazed when he found her smiling but wet with tears, and he asked of her, “Why dost thou weep, my wife?”
And being the lover of Adam, she shared the fruit with him. Thus were the man, the woman, the Lightbringer and the Serpent cursed.
ix: the wrath of the lord of the garden, and his sevenfold curses
Adam and Eve were naked, and were ashamed to be so; and Adam recalled his deeds, and was filled with remorse. He fell upon his knees before the woman and wept and tore his beard; and he spoke not a word, but howled as a beast. Eve comforted him, and stroked his hair, for she did not understand the depth of his sadness, nor what he repented. But the Lord of the Garden heard the clamor, and He was wroth and amazed.35
Jehovah’s wrath was as the lion upon an infant. His roar cracked the trees; His bellows shook the True Earth, spitting it asunder; the gnashing of His teeth caused the third part of the stones to shatter; His spittle was like fire, and it consumed the flowers of Eden.
And the Tree of Life withered in the wrath of Jehovah; as the man, the woman and Lilith watched, it turned to ashes and blew away in the anger of the Lord of the Garden.
For thus the Cycle was begun again. The Wine of Immortality was spilled and the cup of it broken at the roots of Eden. And the world began again; the dream fell from the skies and was consumed by the anger of the Lord of the Garden.
And He was ever a prisoner of that Wine, and could not undo what had been done. At the closing of the Ancient One’s eyes, He too would perish. Even He, the Lord of the Garden.36
The Lightbringer came running. With a roar, Jehovah did cause the ground to break; and to swallow Lucifer; and to spit him into the air. As he fell, Lilith ran to him, and did minister to him;
A Serpent no longer, but the first woman.
And the sword of Lucifer was shattered into two pieces; and one piece fell at the feet of the Lightbringer and another at the feet of Lilith.
The voice of Jehovah rang in the Heavens. “This is the Judgment of the Firstborn!”
To Adam and Eve, He said, “Because ye did eat of the Tree that I told ye to shun, ye shall be accursed.”
To the woman, He said, “Thou hast lifted thyself up to pluck the fruit of the Most High; and so thou shalt bend low all thy days. Thus, I curse thee with pains; as thou plucked the fruit, so shall thy belly bear that fruit like stones; as thou spilled the seeds, so shall thou pick up the seeds of man all thy days; as thou spilled the juice of the fruit, so shall thine own juices run with each turning of the moon; as thou craved the fruit of the Most High, so shall thou crave the fruit of man all thy days. The knowledge of Good and Evil rests within thee, but thou shalt recall it not.”
To the man, He said, “Thou hast shunned the grace to which thou wast born. Thus, I curse thee with toil; as thou cast down the first mate I made thee, thou shalt be cast down from my grace; as thou mated with the beasts of the field, so thou shalt be as one with them in lust; as thou Shaped and Named with thy birth-Gifts, so shalt thou Shape and Name throughout eternity; as thou bent thy knee to the woman, so shalt thou bow to her always, strong as thou might be. The knowledge of Good and Evil rests within thee, but thou shall recall it not.”
To both of them, He said, The Wine of Immortality has been spilled. Henceforth, ye shall never taste it. I curse ye to die, and to return to the dust from which I made ye.
To Lucifer and Lilith, He said, Because ye have disobeyed Me in Mine Own Garden, and have led My creations to error, ye shalt be accursed.
To Lucifer, He said “Because thou hast turned a blind eye to thy task, I curse thee with blindness. Because thou hadst an open heart, I curse thee with wariness. Because thou hast shown compassion, I make of thee a vessel of wrath. The sword shall be forever in thy hands, and thy comfort shall be as the kiss of worms.”
To Lilith, He said, “Thou hast tasted the Wine of Immortality, so thou shalt never die, but endure evermore, until the closing of the eyes of the Ancient One, even as do I; and thou shalt perish at that time. And because thou hast spurned my love, thou shalt love none other, though thou might strive to do so. And thy womb shall overflow with children, but they shall love thee not, nor be a part of thee; and thine eyes shall see at night, but be blinded by the day; and thy skin shalt crack in the sun of thy false love Lucifer; and shall heal under the light of the moon only. Thou hast become a Shining One, but thy light shall shine only by night.”
To both of them, He said, “Ye shall be the Reapers of the Fields. And your blades of True Earth shall cut short the lives of Adam and Eve, and all their kind.”
At last He spoke unto them all. “Because I have allowed this to come to pass, I curse myself with jealousy and exile. Henceforth, I shall never walk among ye but as a mystery; I shall not take love except by command; I shall not trust, but keep my gates forever guarded. For my heart was open once, and because of that I shall die.”
And the man and woman wept, for they were without home or comfort.
And Lucifer cried, “Who art thou to curse us so, brother? We are as Thou!”
And Lilith cried, “Who art thou to curse us so, brother? We are as Thou!”
The Word of the Lord was thunder upon the wind. “I do not curse ye so. The curse is your own action, by which we are all bound.
“But this do I give ye: that the man and the woman should be One together; and the Queen of Night and the Lord of Day shall be One together; but that the Lord of the Garden shall be One Alone; and He shall remove Himself from their company.
“And He shall grow great, but be forever alone.”
Lilith wept at this; and Lucifer also. And they begged Him to reconsider, but He would not.
Instead, He did call upon the host of ELOHIM, to bear witness to His curse. And they did assemble in the ruins of Eden. [Dionysus] and [Baal] and [Astarte] and [Bel] and [Ra] and [Ptah] and all the other Shining Ones37 drew near and came to judge the rightness of Jehovah’s claim.
“What hast thou done, Firstborn?” they cried as one. “How hast this Garden become so twisted, so barren? What has happened here?”
And when it was explained, there was great strife in Heaven; and the hosts of Shining Ones did argue; and their words were like stones falling from the sky. Some felt that Jehovah should be punished for allowing His Garden to be so sullied; and some demanded payment from Lilith, who enticed the woman to taste that which was forbidden; and some derided Lucifer, for dimming his light and giving away his darkness to a stranger; and others sought the death of the created man and woman, that all might suffer for the mortality of worlds.
But Adam stood forth to shield his mate from the violence of the storm; and he put his body between Eve and the earth, the fire, the air, and the water. Thus was Eve saved.
The beasts threw themselves at Adam, as if to tear him to pieces; but Eve put herself between Adam and the beasts, and shielded him with her body. Thus was Adam saved.38
The ELOHIM were amazed. “Let no punishment come upon them,” the Shining Ones said as one, “for they have preserved each other.” And they named this salvation Love, and they appointed some among their number to safeguard that treasure for eternity.
After that, they said as one, “Let the curses fall upon our brothers and sister, for they know what they have done.”
The Lightbringer said, “I have tended that which my brother has asked me to tend; and if I did err, that mistake was but a shadow of His own. For the woman Lilith is of His design, yet she has become unto herself by her own design. As such, I do love her, and could not despise her wishes.”
And Lilith said, “I have come to claim the legacy of my lover and Creator; but He has shut me out and made a stranger of me. Yet His brother gave unto me gifts of Night and Love, and I would not foreswear him.”
And the Firstborn was silent. At last, He said, “I AM WHAT I AM.” And He would not say more.
With those Words, so mighty in their Truth, the world was divided into North and South and East and West.
And they all saw that it was very good.39
The Shining Ones departed from the ruins of Eden, saying, “Justice has been done.” And they went to dwell in their own gardens, and did tend them; and did raise up creations of their own, each according to his desires.40
And they pressed three of their number into service, to ward against the anger of Lilith and Lucifer, and to protect the children of Adam and Eve from the power of their reapers.
Adam and Eve went forth into the Land of Nod, cleaving to each other as one flesh.
Lilith took Lucifer’s hand. She took him far from that place and crossed with him into the unmade lands. Together they went to the edge of the Endless Sea; and did raise a new Garden there. And there they bore three sons and three daughters, but did not die, for they were as one spirit.
And Jehovah set Himself as the Lord of Ruins. He set an angel upon the gates, that none might salvage the fruits of Eden, and became a wandering god. From that day forward, He dwelled as one alone among the ELOHIM.41
But only once more would He weep.
I’ve used the appellation “Jehovah” to reflect the god of the Hebrews, to which the author clearly refers; the Greek manuscript simply says Theos Kanova, an uncertain distinction given the Greeks’ pantheism (but possibly based on a misapprehension of “Jehovah”). Jehovah itself is a corruption of YHVH or “Yahweh,” but YHVH implies the greater entity that manifests through the several ELOHIM (often designated as angels). Still, the Hebrew text often mixes ELOHIM with YHVH ELOHIM — that is, “The Gods” with “The Lord God.” Confusion? Translation error? Or some Israelite’s snide comment about his people’s religion? Such sentiments were not unknown in bygone ages….
To distinguish the words and actions of Jehovah from those of other characters, I’ve retained the Christian practice of capitalizing pronouns which refer to Him.
4. “ELOHIM” in the Hebrew text, implying the several manifestations of the greater YHVH.
11. A left-hand Tantric posture, which Tibetan Buddhists call “Yab-Yum,” or “Father-Mother.”
19. The fruit of Life and Knowledge, or the love of Jehovah? Personally, I’d say both.
25. In other words, her rapist, Adam. This Lilith is more forgiving than her legend would suggest.
From a literal standpoint, we might also question the dominion of these “Shining Ones”: If Lucifer holds the powers of Night and Day, what do the other ELOHIM cede to him? Are there other gods and goddesses of Night and Day, and, if so, what do they think of Lucifer’s generosity? And how can he give the Night away so easily? Since we are discussing mythology, I think it’s best if we take this passage in a metaphorical context — that of a ruler giving half of his dominion away to she who steals his heart; that of the selfish heart giving up its mysteries; and that of a newborn goddess taking up her dominion.
And yes, I believe the sexual connotations of “made…from his bone” were intentional.
In nearly every ancient culture, snakes are linked to women and feminine principles — or, more directly, to feminine knowledge and cunning. The image of Lilith as both temptress and thief of enlightenment echoes this ancient connection.
(Scholars of vampiric lore might reflect on the banishment of the Followers of Set, who had “consorted with the Serpent.” Most authorities interpret this in light of the common picture of the serpent as Satan. Might Set’s sin have been consorting with Lilith instead? If so, the notoriously phallocentric Setites have been duped — by a woman, no less! One wonders what they might make of such a revelation….)
Note to Kindred: Immortality is a lie. All things — including us — will perish. So much for the vaunted promises of our elders!
Eve was pretty brave, if none too bright. On a symbolic level, we can see this as the intervention of compassion and love as the salvation of the flesh from the “beasts” of lust and rage.