This book provides the most thorough and systematic analysis of early Jewish interpretations of Adam currently available. With detailed exegesis Levison demonstrates that each early Jewish author painted a unique portrait of Adam by utilizing Adam to express a particular, preconceived theological Tendenz. This study therefore displaces the notion that a unified Adam mythology existed in early Judaism with the recognition that each author readily adapted the early chapters of Genesis according to specific needs and aims. Alongside an introduction which surveys studies of early Jewish interpretations of Adam and studies on the Adam cycle, this book contains analyses of all relevant passages from Sirach, Wisdom of Solomon, Philo, Jubilees, Josephus, 4 Ezra, 2 Baruch, Apocalypse of Moses and Vita Adae et Evae. This monograph is an indispensable tool for both Old and New Testament studies, providing a variety of early Jewish examples of biblical exegesis from c. 200 BCE to 135 CE, as well as insight into the milieu within which Paul and other early Christian writers formulated their own unique interpretations of Adam.
- ISBN10 1322343268
- ISBN13 9781322343266
- Publish Date 1 January 2015 (first published 1 December 1988)
- Publish Status Active
- Out of Print 12 May 2015
- Publish Country US
- Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
- Imprint Bloomsbury Academic
- Format eBook
- Pages 260
- Language English