One of the more persistent extrabiblical legends concerning the creation of woman is the so-called “Two Eves” theory, which posits that Adam had a wife prior to Eve, commonly identified as Lilith. This notion finds its fullest early expression in the Alphabet of Ben Sira, a medieval Jewish text dating to roughly the 8th–10th centuries AD. In this account, Lilith is portrayed as Adam’s first wife who refused to submit to him, asserting equality on the grounds that both were created from the earth. She subsequently fled Eden, invoking an ineffable name of God, and was replaced by Eve. Lilith is then transformed into a demonic figure who preys upon newborns and women in childbirth, a myth that eventually merged with Babylonian demonology and found a place in later Kabbalistic and occult traditions (Patai, 1990).

While elements of the Lilith myth draw loosely from earlier rabbinic texts such as Genesis Rabbah, these midrashim do not present Lilith as a literal first wife of Adam. The fully developed narrative in Ben Sira and later mystical literature represents a significant departure from the biblical text and is grounded in folklore, myth, and speculative theology, not divine revelation.

This theory is in direct contradiction to Scripture. Genesis 2 presents a unified and orderly account of the creation of woman: “And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man” (Genesis 2:22). The definite article “the woman” (הָאִשָּׁה) points to a singular, divinely appointed companion, not one of a sequence. Eve is the only woman mentioned in the Genesis creation narrative, and she alone is identified by name as “the mother of all living” (Genesis 3:20), a title that excludes the possibility of a previous female progenitor. The apostle Paul confirms the order of creation: “For Adam was first formed, then Eve” (1 Timothy 2:13).

Theologically, the Lilith myth introduces serious doctrinal errors. It implies that God’s original design for woman failed and needed revision, which is an affront to the perfection of His creative wisdom (Deuteronomy 32:4). It also subtly endorses rebellion against divinely ordered roles by valorizing Lilith’s rejection of submission. In later feminist reinterpretations, Lilith has been recast as a symbol of female autonomy and defiance against patriarchal norms, further distancing the myth from biblical truth and moral clarity.

In sum, the “Two Eves” theory is a folkloric fabrication that undermines the biblical doctrine of creation, the unity of the human race, and the complementary design of male and female. It must be firmly rejected by those who hold to the authority, sufficiency, and inerrancy of Scripture.