I’m sure we’re all overly familiar with Lilith and the tale of Adams first wife. But I’ve found one reference in a book that says there is a “myth” that she was the second wife. The first wife was an Al, (apparently cousin to the Djinn and such) made of fire, and Adam would not touch her because she was not like him. If anybody can find any additional information on this (I’m looking through the mounds of boxes of books right now, trying to find the reference above) please help!
“And you can call me Al…”
Never heard of it. It’s likely to be apocryphical, even if it is a genuine period myth.
Despite years of bottom-dragging literature, history, and mythology I have never heard anything close to this. Might the “reference book” been a fantasy novel or short story collection?
There’s another story, which occurs in Hebrew mythology. You can see it here.
This is a brief excerpt from it:
According to the website that’s a later story, though I’m not sure when it was first told.
The book wasn’t fiction. It’s called a field guide to demons fairies fallen angels and other subversive spirits. The Hebrew myth sounds kind of close. I’ll keep checking.
I couldn’t get the link to work.
A *NON-*fiction “Field Guide” to demons, fairies, and angels?!? :dubious: Does it have an order form in the back for pixie dust? I could use some of that.
It could be a non-fiction look at the history of myths. I don’t think it is actually presenting itself as an actual fieldguide, but then again, I could be wrong…
This sounds more Arabic than Hebrew to me. In Arabic mythology there are three classes of beings: Beings of Light, Fire and Clay. The first remained true and became angels. The second rebeled and became demons. And third are the decendants of Adam.
I am not familiar with this Al in the OP, but it sure sounds similar to several other creation era Arabic myths, in particular the fall of the beings of fire.
You might be surprised about what some people consider fact about such creatures. Several years ago I attended a very interesting therapy conference in Sedona, AZ (I’m a mental health therapist). All seemed to be going well, until lunchtime the third day. One woman who had been very vocal and forceful (she insisted on being part of EVERY demonstration during the conference) took the podium before everyone left for lunch. She announced several things, including an upcoming trip to the British Isles for anyone interested. This trip was taking place because the king of a fairy colony over there had finally given permission for humans to meet the little people inhabiting his kingdom. She stated that normally they would keep themselves invisible, but would become visible to meet everyone making the journey that one time. There were two groups of people in the room that day: those of us who stood there incredulously listening to this with our mouths hanging open, and those who rushed up to get an application form. I took note of those among the latter group and studiously avoided them that afternoon. That creeped me out.
Actually on another messageboard I’m really starting to change my previous beliefs about what some people consider “fact”.
As to your story, I just have to say-is there a mental disorder that the lady is suffering from?
Are you sure that Al was the name? Is there any possibility that it was al SOMETHING-OR-OTHER? With the reference to djinn, I agree with Bartman that it sounds vaguely Arabic–and “al” is a definite article in Arabic, prefixing many words and some names.
The Encyclopedia Mythica article on Allat says
And gives Other names as
Allatu
Al-lat
A web search of “al-Lat” with “Adam” turns up, in the first page ot two, either discussions of Islamic history or legends in which the goddess and Adam are discussed separately or Fundamentalist Christian (and one Hindu) attacks on Islam. I did not find a reference to the legend in the OP.
Other searches were no more successful. I have a vague memory of reading a story in which Adam is brought a succession of potential helpmeets between the animals and Eve, and one of them might have been a daemon separate from Lilith, but I have no memory of the details and do not remember whether the story I read was from the Midrash, from Islamic lore, from Gnostic tales, or simply invented as a story.
Despite the font, I keep reading ‘the first wife was an AI’, i.e. a robot (don’t get them wet, and never ever feed them spinach.)
At least we’re not using typewriters; he could have been married to steak sauce.
Ok, ok…not “non-fiction” but yes, a study of the myths of ancient pasts. I really don’t think it intends itself to be an actual field guide, but after reading about the trip to the British Isles, I could definately be wrong!
But as far as I can tell, there is just the two letters AL. A being of fire. Thanks for all the input so far, guys.
It’s a far stretch, but the only thing I can come up with is that since this is a being “made of fire”, then it could be referring to the fallen archangel Mastema, who tempted Abraham on Mount Moriah. He was made of fire, and apparently “joined” himself with Lilith so that she could escape mortality. Far stretch, yes, but at least it has to do with Lilith/Adam.
What really makes no sense is the “Al” part of the story. Never heard of it. A google search brought up this weird rant about some ALIM formula where
AL = Satan/Eve, IM = Adam/Lilith
but the whole page really makes no sense to me.
Tobin’s Spirit Guide, perhaps? (I’ll be interested to see what anyone can dig up on all of this.)
i need to get one of those. There is a guy with a goat’s head and three legs who always calls me a wanker that lives in a tree in our yard. I should look him up in the book.
*…God tried again, and let him watch while he built up a woman’s anatomy: using bones, tissues, muscles, blood and glandular secretions, then covering the whole with skin and adding tufts of hair in places. *
That sounds like some the product of some tongue-in-cheek humour writer, if you ask me… Adam’s woman is just a normal flesh-and-blood person, and because he knows this, he’s disgusted by her (as he presumably wouldn’t be if he were presented with a ready-made Barbie-doll woman).