High School/Junior High Sunday School Study Materials:
The "Testament of Solomon" is an "extracanonical" Old Testament story. In it, Solomon describes his enslavement of demons to build his famous temple. It has been called something of a "self-help" guide to fighting demonic activity, and dates from sometime between the first and third centuries. It is believed to be the oldest existing written work dealing with individual demons.
The "Acts of Paul and Thecla" is also extracanonical, but belongs in the New Testament. It reports some of the activities of Paul in his discipleship after Jesus's crucifixion and resurrection, and details the life of a young woman, Thecla, who takes Paul's preaching of asceticism to heart. Thecla's story was, in some historians' view, repressed largely due to the themes of chastity it emphasizes. Paul and Thecla, in these stories, are strict apocalypsists - they believe fervantly that the end of the world is near. That in mind, they preach simple living and the denial of pleasure to purify the soul. Early church leaders were concerned that Thecla's admirable strengths would influence Christian women to adopt chaste lives and refuse to marry and raise children.
Lilith is an infamous Biblical figure who appears in some translations as a demon, but where did she originate? The Alphabet of Ben Sira, dating from sometime between the 8th and 10th centuries (CE), includes a brief account of Lilith as Adam's original wife who refused to obey and postured herself as superior to him. Lilith's story is most likely an example of Hebrew Midrashic literature, and is not widely recognized.