Life of Adam and Eve
The Life of Adam and Eve, also known in its Greek version as the Apocalypse of Moses (, "Apokalypsis Mōuseōs"; Hebrew: ספר אדם וחוה), is a Jewish apocryphal 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 Eve's version of the story. Satan explains that he rebelled when God commanded him to bow down to Adam. After Adam dies, he and all his descendants are promised a resurrection. The ancient versions  of the "Life of Adam and Eve" are: the "Greek Apocalypse of Moses", the "Latin Life of Adam and Eve", the "Slavonic Life of Adam and Eve", the "Armenian Penitence of Adam", the "Georgian Book of Adam", and one or two fragmentary Coptic versions. These texts are usually named as Primary Adam Literature to distinguish them from subsequent related texts, such as the "Cave of Treasures" that includes what appears to be extracts. They differ greatly in length and wording, but for the most part appear to be derived from a single source that has not survived. Each version contains  some unique material as well as variations and omissions. While the surviving versions were composed from the early 3rd to the 5th century AD, the literary units in the work are considered to be older and predominantly of Jewish origin. There is wide agreement among scholars that the original was composed in a Semitic language in the 1st century AD. Themes. The main theological issue in these texts is that of the consequences of the Fall of Man, of which sickness and death are mentioned. Other themes include the exaltation of Adam in the Garden, the fall of Satan, the  anointing with the oil of the Tree of Life, and a combination of majesty and anthropomorphism in the figure of God, involving numerous merkabahs and other details that show a relationship with 2 Enoch. The idea of resurrection of the dead is present and Adam is told God's son Christ will come at that time to anoint all who believe in him with the Oil of Mercy, a fact that has led many scholars to think part of the text is of Christian origin. The "Life of Adam and Eve" is also important in the study of the early  Seth traditions. Parallels can be found with some New Testament passages, such as the mention of the Tree of Life in Revelation 22:2. The more striking resemblances are with ideas in the Second Epistle to the Corinthians: Eve as the source of sin (), Satan disguising himself as an angel of light (), the location of the paradise in the third heaven (). In addition, there are parallels between Jesus' forty days in the desert and Adam and Eve's forty days in the rivers. No direct relationship can be determined between the New Testament and the "Life of Adam and Eve", but  the similarities suggest that Paul the Apostle and the author of 2 Enoch were near contemporaries of the original author of this work and moved in the same circle of ideas. The theme of death is also central to the text. While Adam is dying, Seth asks what it means to be ill, as he has no concept of it. Adam must explain to his children what dying and death means, and what to do with his body when he dies. Versions. Greek Apocalypse of Moses. The "Apocalypse of Moses" (literally, the "Revelation of Moses") is the usual name for  the Greek version of the "Life of Adam and Eve". This title was given to it by Tischendorf, its first editor, and taken up by others. In the text, Moses is referred to only in the first sentence as the prophet to whom the story was revealed. The "Greek Apocalypse of Moses" (not to be confused with the "Assumption of Moses") is usually considered to predate the "Latin Life of Adam and Eve". Tischendorf used four manuscripts for his edition: manuscripts A, B, C, and D. During the 20th century many other manuscripts have been found, of which E1 and  E2, which are similar to the Armenian version, merit special mention. Latin Life of Adam and Eve. The main edition of this Latin version (in Latin "Vita Adami et Evae" or "Vita Adae et Evae") is that of W. Meyer in 1878 based on manuscripts S, T, M of the 9th, 10th, and 12th centuries. Later, a new and extended edition was prepared by Mozley based mainly on manuscripts kept in England, of which the most important is manuscript A. Synopsis. The story begins immediately after Adam and Eve's banishment from the Garden of Eden and continues to their  deaths. Only the plot of chapters 23–24, 30–49, 51 is in common with that of the "Apocalypse of Moses", though with great differences in details. Chapters 15–30 ("Eve's Tale") of the "Apocalypse of Moses" have no parallel in the "Latin Life of Adam and Eve". The penance of Adam and Eve in the water can be found also in the later Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan. Slavonic Life of Adam and Eve. The Slavonic "Adam" book was published by Jagic along with a Latin translation in 1893. This version agrees for the most part with the Greek  Apocalypse of Moses. It has, moreover, a section, §§ 28–39, which, though not found in the Greek text, is found in the Latin Life of Adam and Eve. It includes also some unique material. Armenian Penitence of Adam. This Armenian version of the "Life of Adam and Eve" was first published in 1981 by Stone and is based on three manuscripts. It was probably translated into Armenian from Greek and takes its place alongside the Greek and Latin versions as a major witness to the Adam book. A different book is the Armenian "Book of Adam", which closely follows the text  of the Apocalypse of Moses. The content of the "Armenian Penitence of Adam" includes both the penances in the rivers (not found in the Greek version) and Eve's recounting of the Fall (not found in the Latin version). Georgian Book of Adam. The Georgian "Book of Adam" is known from five manuscripts in two recensions. The earliest is a 15th- or 16th-century of the first recension. The others are three 17th-century copies of the first recension a sole 17th-century representative of the second recension. The Georgian and Armenian versions share a common "Vorlage". Coptic fragments. There  is are two fragments of a Coptic translation of the Greek "Adam", one in the Sahidic dialect and another in Fayyumic. In 1975, O. H. E. Burmester reported a possible fragment of a Coptic Arabic version of the "Life of Adam and Eve" in the Hamburg University Library, but it has since gone missing. Modern editions. The "Adam and Eve Archive" is an ongoing project by Gary A. Anderson and Michael E. Stone to present all of the original texts in both the original languages and in translation. It contains English translations of the most important texts and a synopsis  guide that allows the viewer to easily jump from a section in one source to parallel sections in other sources.