Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan
Encyclopedia
The Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan is a Christian
pseudepigraphical
work found in Ge'ez
, translated from an Arabic
original and thought to date from the 5th or 6th century AD.
It is a late part of the broad family of Old Testament Pseudepigrapha literature which includes the Life of Adam and Eve
, Apocalypse of Adam
, Testament of Adam
and Books of Adam
.
. It was first translated into English by S. C. Malan from the German of Ernest Trumpp. The first half of Malan's translation is included as the "First Book of Adam and Eve" and the "Second Book of Adam and Eve" in The Lost Books of the Bible and the Forgotten Books of Eden
.
The Books mentioned below were added by Malan to his English translation; the Ethiopic is divided into sections of varying length, each dealing with a different subject.
, and end with the testament and translation of Enoch
. Great emphasis is placed in Book 1 on Adam's sorrow and helplessness in the world
outside the garden
.
In Book 2, the "sons of God" who appear in are identified as the children of Seth
, and the "daughters of men" as women descended from Cain, who successfully tempt most of the Sethites to come down from their mountain and join the Cainites in the valley below, under the instigation of Genun son of Lamech
. This Genun, as the inventor of musical instruments, seems to correspond the Biblical Jubal
; however he also invents weapons of war. The Cainites, descended from Cain the first murderer, are described as exceedingly wicked, being prone to commit murder and incest. After seducing the Sethites, their offspring become the Nephilim
, the "mighty men" of Gen. 6 who are all destroyed in the deluge, as also detailed in other works such as I Enoch and Jubilees
.
Books 3 and 4 continue with the lives of Noah
, Shem
, Melchizedek
, etc. through to the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus
in AD 70. The genealogy from Adam to Jesus is given, as in the Gospels, but including also the names of the wives of each of Jesus' ancestors, which is extremely rare.
is a Syriac work containing many of the same legends; indeed, as Malan remarks, a whole body of stories expanding upon the Old Testament is found in the Talmud, in the Koran, and in other late antique texts.
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
pseudepigraphical
Pseudepigraphy
Pseudepigrapha are falsely attributed works, texts whose claimed authorship is unfounded; a work, simply, "whose real author attributed it to a figure of the past." The word "pseudepigrapha" is the plural of "pseudepigraphon" ; the Anglicized forms...
work found in Ge'ez
Ge'ez language
Ge'ez is an ancient South Semitic language that developed in the northern region of Ethiopia and southern Eritrea in the Horn of Africa...
, translated from an Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
original and thought to date from the 5th or 6th century AD.
It is a late part of the broad family of Old Testament Pseudepigrapha literature which includes the Life of Adam and Eve
Life of Adam and Eve
The Life of Adam and Eve, also known, in its Greek version, as the Apocalypse of Moses, is a Jewish pseudepigraphical group of writings. It recounts the lives of Adam and Eve from after their expulsion from the Garden of Eden to their deaths. It provides more detail about the Fall of Man, including...
, Apocalypse of Adam
Apocalypse of Adam
The Apocalypse of Adam discovered in 1945 as part of the Nag Hammadi library is a Gnostic work written in Coptic. It has no necessary references to Christianity and it is accordingly debated whether it is a Christian Gnostic work or an example of Jewish Gnosticism...
, Testament of Adam
Testament of Adam
The Testament of Adam is a Christian pseudepigraphical work extant in Syriac and Arabic. The earliest manuscript is dated to the 6th century, but the text is 4th century AD in origin, probably composed in Edessa...
and Books of Adam
Books of Adam
The Books of Adam is a collective name of several apocryphal books relating to Adam and Eve.*The Book of Adam or "Contradiction of Adam and Eve", denigrated as "a romance made up of Oriental fables" by the 1913 edition of the Catholic Encyclopedia. It was first translated from the Ethiopian version...
.
Editions and translations
It was first translated from the Ge'ez Ethiopic version into German by August DillmannAugust Dillmann
Christian Friedrich August Dillmann was a German orientalist and biblical scholar.-Life:The son of a Württemberg schoolmaster, he was born at Illingen. He was educated at the University of Tübingen, where he became a pupil and friend of Heinrich Ewald, and studied under Ferdinand Christian Baur,...
. It was first translated into English by S. C. Malan from the German of Ernest Trumpp. The first half of Malan's translation is included as the "First Book of Adam and Eve" and the "Second Book of Adam and Eve" in The Lost Books of the Bible and the Forgotten Books of Eden
The Lost Books of the Bible and the Forgotten Books of Eden
The Lost Books of the Bible and the Forgotten Books of Eden is a collection of 17th Century and 18th Century English translations of some Old Testament Pseudepigrapha and New Testament Apocrypha which were assembled in the 1820s, and then republished with the current title in 1926.-History of the...
.
The Books mentioned below were added by Malan to his English translation; the Ethiopic is divided into sections of varying length, each dealing with a different subject.
Content
Books 1 and 2 begin immediately after the expulsion from the Garden of EdenGarden of Eden
The Garden of Eden is in the Bible's Book of Genesis as being the place where the first man, Adam, and his wife, Eve, lived after they were created by God. Literally, the Bible speaks about a garden in Eden...
, and end with the testament and translation of Enoch
Enoch (ancestor of Noah)
Enoch is a figure in the Generations of Adam. Enoch is described as Adam's greatx4 grandson , the son of Jared, the father of Methuselah, and the great-grandfather of Noah...
. Great emphasis is placed in Book 1 on Adam's sorrow and helplessness in the world
World (theology)
-Christian views on the World:In Christianity, the concept connotes the fallen and corrupt world order of human society. The world is frequently cited alongside the flesh and the Devil as a source of temptation that Christians should flee...
outside the garden
Garden
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials. The most common form today is known as a residential garden, but the term garden has...
.
In Book 2, the "sons of God" who appear in are identified as the children of Seth
Seth
Seth , in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, is the third listed son of Adam and Eve and brother of Cain and Abel, who are the only other of their children mentioned by name...
, and the "daughters of men" as women descended from Cain, who successfully tempt most of the Sethites to come down from their mountain and join the Cainites in the valley below, under the instigation of Genun son of Lamech
Lamech
Lamech is a character in the genealogies of Adam in the Book of Genesis. He is the sixth generation descendant of Cain ; his father was named Methusael, and he was responsible for the "Song of the Sword." He is also noted as the first polygamist mentioned in the Bible, taking two wives, Ada and...
. This Genun, as the inventor of musical instruments, seems to correspond the Biblical Jubal
Jubal (Bible)
Jubal is an individual mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, in .- Family :Jubal was a descendant of Cain, the son of Lamech and Adah, and the brother of Jabal, and half-brother of Tubal-cain and Naamah...
; however he also invents weapons of war. The Cainites, descended from Cain the first murderer, are described as exceedingly wicked, being prone to commit murder and incest. After seducing the Sethites, their offspring become the Nephilim
Nephilim
The Nephilim are the offspring of the "sons of God" and the "daughters of men" in Genesis 6:4, or giants who inhabit Canaan in Numbers 13:33. A similar word with different vowel-sounds is used in Ezekiel 32:27 to refer to dead Philistine warriors....
, the "mighty men" of Gen. 6 who are all destroyed in the deluge, as also detailed in other works such as I Enoch and Jubilees
Jubilees
The Book of Jubilees , sometimes called Lesser Genesis , is an ancient Jewish religious work, considered one of the pseudepigrapha by Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox Churches...
.
Books 3 and 4 continue with the lives of Noah
Noah
Noah was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the tenth and last of the antediluvian Patriarchs. The biblical story of Noah is contained in chapters 6–9 of the book of Genesis, where he saves his family and representatives of all animals from the flood by constructing an ark...
, Shem
Shem
Shem was one of the sons of Noah in the Hebrew Bible as well as in Islamic literature. He is most popularly regarded as the eldest son, though some traditions regard him as the second son. Genesis 10:21 refers to relative ages of Shem and his brother Japheth, but with sufficient ambiguity in each...
, Melchizedek
Melchizedek
Melchizedek or Malki Tzedek translated as "my king righteous") is a king and priest mentioned during the Abram narrative in the 14th chapter of the Book of Genesis....
, etc. through to the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus
Titus
Titus , was Roman Emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death, thus becoming the first Roman Emperor to come to the throne after his own father....
in AD 70. The genealogy from Adam to Jesus is given, as in the Gospels, but including also the names of the wives of each of Jesus' ancestors, which is extremely rare.
Textual origin
The Cave of TreasuresCave of Treasures
The Cave of Treasures, sometimes referred to simply as The Treasure, is a book of the New Testament apocrypha.-Origin:This text is attributed to Ephrem Syrus, who was born at Nisibis soon after AD 306 and died in 373, but it is now generally believed that its current form is 6th century or...
is a Syriac work containing many of the same legends; indeed, as Malan remarks, a whole body of stories expanding upon the Old Testament is found in the Talmud, in the Koran, and in other late antique texts.
See also
- Life of Adam and EveLife of Adam and EveThe Life of Adam and Eve, also known, in its Greek version, as the Apocalypse of Moses, is a Jewish pseudepigraphical group of writings. It recounts the lives of Adam and Eve from after their expulsion from the Garden of Eden to their deaths. It provides more detail about the Fall of Man, including...
- Apocalypse of AdamApocalypse of AdamThe Apocalypse of Adam discovered in 1945 as part of the Nag Hammadi library is a Gnostic work written in Coptic. It has no necessary references to Christianity and it is accordingly debated whether it is a Christian Gnostic work or an example of Jewish Gnosticism...
- Testament of AdamTestament of AdamThe Testament of Adam is a Christian pseudepigraphical work extant in Syriac and Arabic. The earliest manuscript is dated to the 6th century, but the text is 4th century AD in origin, probably composed in Edessa...
- Books of AdamBooks of AdamThe Books of Adam is a collective name of several apocryphal books relating to Adam and Eve.*The Book of Adam or "Contradiction of Adam and Eve", denigrated as "a romance made up of Oriental fables" by the 1913 edition of the Catholic Encyclopedia. It was first translated from the Ethiopian version...
External links
The First Book of Adam and Eve and the Second Book of Adam and Eve, Malan's translation as modernized by Dennis Hawkins:- From Project Gutenberg: First Book
- From Blackmask: First Book and Second Book
- From Dubjockey: First Book and Second Book
- From GoogleBooks: Complete translation, including Books 3 and 4
- From Live Search Books