Adam and Eve, Life of

▪ Jewish literature

      pseudepigraphal work (a noncanonical writing that in style and content resembles authentic biblical works), one of many Jewish and Christian stories that embellish the account of Adam and Eve as given in the biblical Genesis. Biography was an extremely popular literary genre during the late Hellenistic period of Judaism (3rd century BC to 3rd century AD), and legends of biblical figures were numerous. But all surviving Haggada (folk stories and anecdotes) about Adam and Eve are Christian works and are preserved in a number of ancient languages (e.g., Greek, Latin, Ethiopic). Although all Aramaic and Hebrew texts have been lost, the basic material was presumably of Jewish authorship. Extant versions of the Life of Adam and Eve have consequently been used to reconstruct the supposed original, which was probably composed sometime between 20 BC and AD 70, because the apocalyptic portion of the work (chapter 29) seems to imply that the Herodian Temple of Jerusalem was functioning when the book was written. The book is primarily noteworthy for its imaginative retelling of the biblical story and for its inclusion of visions and angelology, both characteristic of Hellenistic (Hellenistic religion) religious writing. The detailed descriptions of the penances that Adam and Eve inflicted upon themselves after their expulsion from Eden suggest an ascetic influence.

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