Adult Education Blog

On 10/24 we will discuss The Life of Adam and Eve: 

• Life of Adam and Eve (ספר אדם וחוה)

  • Expands on the life of Adam and Eve after the expulsion from Eden, including Eve’s perspective. All known manuscripts date to well after the 2nd Temple period, and different versions have been found in several languages, none of them Hebrew or Aramaic. Yet some units of writing within the book indicate to scholars that the work has a Jewish origin centuries before the oldest extant manuscript and that it was probably written in a Semitic language, though precisely which one remains as uncertain as its date.

  • Translation of the critical Latin manuscript can be found here. The Latin version seems to have the most Christian influence in the authorial and editorial layers.

  • Translations of the Slavonic manuscript can be found here. The Slavonic includes more of Eve's perspective but skips the "Second Temptation" found in other manuscripts.

  • Translation of the Armenian manuscript can be found here. The Armenian version also has distinct Christian overtones and additions, but at least does not mention Christ specifically. It contains more about Satan and the distinction between Satan the fallen angel and the Serpent/Beast that may be more colloquially associated with "The Devil".

  • Translation of the Georgian manuscript can be found here. Very similar to the Armenian version, though it includes "Angelic Liturgy" and a more expansive telling of Adam's funeral.

  • Translation of the Greek manuscript can be found here. This one is framed differently. Known as the Apocalypse of Moses, it is told as part of the revelation to Moses on Mount Sinai, but contains a lot of the same story beats as the other Life of Adam and Eve manuscripts. It quotes a little more directly from the canonized text of the story of Adam and Eve. Like the Georgian manuscript, it gives some more voice to the angels than some of the other manuscripts.