Lilith as Adam's first wife
A medieval reference to Lilith as the first wife of Adam is the anonymous
The Alphabet of Ben-Sira, written sometime between the 8th and 11th centuries. Lilith is described as refusing to assume a subservient role to Adam during
sexual intercourse and so deserting him ("She said, 'I will not lie below,' and he said, 'I will not lie beneath you, but only on top. For you are fit only to be in the bottom position, while I am to be the superior one.'"). Lilith promptly uttered the name of God, took to the air, and left the Garden, settling on the Red Sea coast. In this act, Lilith becomes unique in that she is not touched by Original Sin, having left the garden before Eve came into existence. Lilith also reveals herself to be powerful in her own right by knowing the name of God.
Lilith then went on to mate with
Samael and various other demons she found beside the
Red Sea, creating countless
lilin. Adam urged God to bring Lilith back, so three
angels were dispatched after her. When the angels,
Senoy,
Sansenoy, and
Semangelof, made threats to kill one hundred of Lilith's demonic children for each day she stayed away, she countered that she would prey eternally upon the descendants of Adam and Eve, who could be saved only by invoking the names of the three angels. She did not return to Adam.