Old rabbanic tradition teaches that Eve was not Adam's first wife, rather a mysterious woman named Lilith who was thrown out of Eden before Adam and Eve were. This is a lyrical telling of that legend and what happens to Lilith as she encounters various demons outside the garden and what she says and does to Adam and Eve once they too are thrown out of the Garden of Eden. Now in larger print!

Lilith: The Legend of the First Woman by Ada Langworthy Collier. Lilith, The Legend of the First Woman is a 19th-century narrative poem in five books, written by the American poet, Ada Langworthy Collier, in 1885, and published in Boston by D Lothrop & Company. It has been reprinted several times in the 21st century. That Eve was Adam's second wife was a common Rabbinic speculation. Certain commentators on Genesis adopted this view, to account for the double account of the creation of woman, in the sacred text, first in Genesis i. 27, and second in Genesis xi. 18. And they say that Adam's first wife was named Lilith, but she was expelled from Eden, and after her expulsion Eve was created. Abraham Ecchelensis gives the following account of Lilith and her doings: "There are some who do not regard spectres as simple devils, but suppose them to be of a mixed nature-part demoniacal, part human, and to have had their origin from Lilith, Adam's first wife, by Eblis, prince of the devils. This fable has been transmitted to the Arabs, from Jewish sources, by some converts of Mohamet from Cabbalism and Rabbinism, who have transferred all the Jewish fooleries to the Arabs.

This edition of Lilith: The Legend of the First Woman contains illustrated depictions of the mythic Lilith, in her role within the garden of Eden. Collier uses poetry to detail an account of Lilith as an alternative narrative of the Book of Genesis. Originating from Rabbinic circles, the notion of Lilith was as Adam's first wife, with her expulsion taking place before God created Eve as her replacement. Drawing upon aspects of Jewish, Christian and Islamic law, Collier ably details Lilith's characteristics - she appears not as a malevolent demon or temptress, but as an intelligent being with a great capacity for affection. Owing to the interpretation being in verse form, we may observe an aesthetic description of the Garden of Eden and the circumstances of Lilith's arrival there. A fascinating interpretation of ancient myths, Lilith: The Legend of the First Woman is a worthwhile and intriguing read for those interested in Old Testament lore and Lilith as legend.

Lilith is the mythological seductress that has been repressed since Biblical times. She is the representative of the essentially motherless form of the feminine Self that arose as an embodiment of the neglected and rejected aspects of the Great Goddess. Written by a Jungian analyst, this material can help modern men and women come to terms with this aspect of the feminine within.

Eve was not Adam's first wife. That honor belongs to Lilith, who was created as Adam's equal. When he tried to dominate her, she uttered God's secret name and flew away. Lilith is mentioned in the Talmud, elaborated on in the midrash and in the kabbalah, whispered about in stories, and passed down from mother to daughter. In this anthology, a vivid, provocative, and enlightening sampling of Jewish women's written responses to the Lilith myth are offered. The editors have provided the space for contemporary women to link themselves to a tradition and participate in a sacred activity, thereby infusing energy into Lilith and creating a new tradition.