Creation by emission: reconstructing Adam and Eve in the Babylonian Talmud in light of Zoroastrian and Manichaean literature
This study attempts to broaden the Judeo-Christian prism through which the rabbinic legends of Adam and Eve are frequently examined in scholarship, by offering a contextual and synoptic reading of Babylonian rabbinic traditions pertaining to the first human couple against the backdrop of the Zoroast...
| Published in: | The journal of Jewish studies |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Print Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Centre
[2015]
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| In: |
The journal of Jewish studies
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| RelBib Classification: | BC Ancient Orient; religion BF Gnosticism BH Judaism HB Old Testament |
| Further subjects: | B
Manichaeism
B Adam Biblical person B Pre- and early history B Eve B Talmûd bavlî B Rabbinical literature B LIFE of Adam & Eve B Manichaeans B Zoroastrian literature B Zoroastrianism B Talmud |
| Summary: | This study attempts to broaden the Judeo-Christian prism through which the rabbinic legends of Adam and Eve are frequently examined in scholarship, by offering a contextual and synoptic reading of Babylonian rabbinic traditions pertaining to the first human couple against the backdrop of the Zoroastrian and Manichaean creation myths. The findings demonstrate that, while some of the themes and motifs found in the Babylonian rabbinic tradition are continuous with the ancient Jewish and Christian heritage, others are absent from, or occupy a peripheral role in, ancient Jewish and Christian traditions and, at the same time, are reminiscent of Iranian mythology. The study posits that the syncretic tendencies that pervaded the Sasanian culture facilitated the incorporation of Zoroastrian and Manichaean themes into the Babylonian legends, which were in tu rn creatively repackaged and adapted to the rabbinic tradition and world-view. |
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| ISSN: | 0022-2097 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: The journal of Jewish studies
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