Dear Dean:
This idea of Lilith as Adam's first wife is an ancient rabbinic myth. Lilith is not mentioned as Adam's wife in the Talmud or Midrash, but is mentioned as a night demon.
The earliest mention of this myth is found as part of the Epic of Gilgamesh of 2400 BC. In this source she is associated with Eden and is portrayed as fearsome.
There are many references to Lilith from ancient Hebrew mythic texts to the story of "Faust" by Goethe, to a poem by Robert Browning called, "Adam, Lilith, and Eve", published in 1883.
Other references include, among others:
- The Lilith Relief" (circa 2000 BC), a Sumerian terra-cotta relief which features Lilith as the primary figure. Lilith is identified as a succubus.
- Book of Raziel (circa AD 1100) This literary reference draws upon the Hebrew amuletic tradition of warding off Lilith during childbirth. This source associates Lilith with Adam and Eve.
- The Zohar (AD 1200) This central work of Jewish mysticism depicts Lilith in all of her various guises:
1) Lilith as "female of Samael." Seductive and beautiful, Lilith sleeps with men and then kills them. (Zohar I 148a-148b).
2) Lilith begets demons from her intercourse with sleeping men and inflicts diseases on them. (Zohar I 19b).
3) The story of creation (Lilith/Adam/Eve) is "resolved" by making Lilith Adam's first wife. (Zohar III 19a).
4) Lilith is described as a strangler and murderer of children. (Zohar I 19b).
- Hebrew Amuletic Tradition (circa AD 900-1800) Numerous archeological artifacts which focus on Lilith. Primarily used during childbirth to keep Lilith away, these were worn by the pregnant woman and/or hung on her walls. Some of these artifacts also draw on the facets of Lilith's identity as a succubus and as the first wife of Adam.
- Jutta (AD 1565) German play about Johanna, the granddaughter of Lilith and the woman who was allegedly elected pope (another myth, see The Truth about Pope Joan). As a backdrop to this plot, the existence of Lilith is explained.
Except in Browning's poem where Lilith is presented more positively, the common denominator of these various myths is that Lilith is presented as some form of demon, succubus, or even vampire.
Following is the basic myth: "Early theologians had a real problem with the status
of women in regard to Genesis. Here is this supposedly weak creature twisting Man around her finger and bringing death on the entire race. A 'logical' answer presented itself in splitting woman into the Madonna/whore dichotomy. There was even a Biblical basis for Lilith. Genesis 1:27 reads, 'So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.' Set opposite Genesis 2, in which Adam is created first and Eve is an afterthought to appease his loneliness, any see this as evidence that Adam had two wives. "Lilith is this first wife. Since she was made of the earth, like Adam, she became proud and refused to lie beneath him during intercourse. This violated the command to be fruitful and multiply, since she was not being impregnated. Some traditions hold that she was impregnated and bore demons from him. The evidence for this is the statement in Genesis 5:3 'Adam begat a son in his image,' implying there had been sons not in his image. He pushed the issue of her submission, and she uttered the Holy Name of God and flew away.
"Adam complained to God and he sent three angels to reason with her. They found her coupling with fallen angels near the Red Sea and bearing more demonic children. She refused to return but promised to spare Adam's children if the names of the angels: Sanvi, Sansanvi and Semangelaf were written near them. Even today, some parents will charcoal a magic circle with the words 'Adam and Eve barring Lilith' on the wall near their baby, and write the names of the angels on the door.
"Eve was created out of Adam as her replacement. Some say God let Adam try making the next one, but the creation was so horrible God destroyed it before even giving it life. An amusing Victorian story claims a dog ran off with Adam's rib and devoured it before God found him, so Eve was made using one of the dog's ribs.
"Lilith did not eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and hence is immortal. She was rewarded for service by Asmodeus, the demon of lechery, luxuriousness and evil revenge. She now rules one of the levels of Hell in the company of Namah, Machlath, and Hurmizah. Her power is over newborn children and women in childbirth. She may take boys up to the eighth day and girls up to the twentieth. She is also the mother of the Lilim or Lilot, the Djinn, and the succubui and incubi. Other Biblical references: Isaiah 34:14 'night hag' (NIV translates it as 'Desert creatures' and 'night creatures.' and Psalm 91 'terror by night'."
The bottomline to your question is that the myth does not come from the Talmud or Midrash, but is sourced in ancient rabbinic traditions and myths and other sources.
God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary