THE GNOSTIC BACKGROUND OF THE

RABBINIC ADAM LEGENDS

By ALEXANDER ALTMANN, Manchester

1. THE ANGELS OPPOSE THE CREATION OF ADAM

THE motif of the enmity of the angels towards Man

occurs frequently in Aggadic thought. The angels protest
against the creation of Adam. They object to the Torah
being delivered to Moses. They oppose the idea of the
Shekhinah dwelling in the Sanctuary. Their protest is
invariably expressed in the words, "What is man that Thou
art mindful of him, and the son of man that Thou thinkest
of him?" (Ps. 8.5).1
What is the background of this motif? We propose to
deal here with one aspect of it only: the angels' opposition
to the creation of Adam. From it light will be shed upon
the meaning of the other variations of the theme as well.
A number of sources motivate the attitude of the angels
by moral arguments. The future wickedness of man, the
angels contend, should cause God to desist from his scheme
to create Adam. In Tosefta Sota 6.5, it can be inferred from
God's answer to the angels that they mean to doubt his
moral integrity. In His reply, God foretells that at the
Red Sea, Israel will chant a Hymn of Glory which will give
an inspiration to the Angels. In Sanh. 38b, the angels are

' As to the sources, cf. later in the text. - In Midr. Ps. 8 and Yalk.
Ps. 8 the above quoted instances of the enmity of the angels appear
combined. R. Yehudah ha-nasi, the author of this Midrash, must have
used earlier tannaitic sources from which he compiled his Midrash.
The earliest passage in which the motif occurs is Tos. Sota 6.5. Comp.
L. Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews, V. p. 69 n. 12.
371
372 THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW

told about the future wickedness of man, especially of the

generations of the Flood and of the separation of peoples
whereupon they exclaim, "What is Man that Thou art
mindful of him?" In Gen. R. 8.5 which is the latest and
most elaborate of the passages concerned (the author is R.
Simon), the angels argue among themselves. They form
groups, and the angels of Love and Righteousness plead
for the creation of Man, whereas the angels of Truth and
Peace protest against it. The former contend that Man
will perform acts of love and righteousness, the latter that
he will be compounded of falsehood and full of strife.
If we examine these Midrashim more closely, we shall
find that the moral argumentation with which they justify
the opposition of the angels cannot be the original motive.
Otherwise God's reply would have been on the same level
of moral argument. Instead, God is said to have silenced
the protest of the angels either by consuming them by fire
(Sanh. 38b), or by casting the angels of Truth to the ground
(Gen. R. 8.5). In the Tosefta the "accuser" (mnopo) is put
in bondage (ri"pn, ',26 nL',rp lnop). A moral counter-
argument is also set forth by God, but it is all the more
remarkable that there is any need to fetter the opposing
angel. In some anonymous sources (Pes. K. B. 34a, Midr.
Ps. 8, Jalk. Ps. Tanh, ? 6, Num. R. 19.3, comp. all the
material Ginzberg 1. c.) the protest of the angels is given no
motivation at all. God's answer stresses Adam's wisdom as
superior to theirs. He will be able, God tells them, to give
names to all creatures. From these latter sources it appears
that the motive of the angels' opposition is pure enmity
towards man. Not the shadow of a moral argument is
put forward. Hence it becomes comprehensible that, in the
first mentioned sources, God inflicts punishment on the
opposing angels. We must put the two groups of sources
together in order to see that originally there was no moral
 THE RABBINIC ADAM LEGENDS-ALTMANN 373

argumentation, but a mythical conception

which the angels were hostile towards ma
punished by God. This original idea was la
moral coloring, but, as we have seen, the myt
are still apparent. Particularly the passage
shows unmistakable traces of mythical cha
took Truth, it says, and cast it to the gro
angels before God, "Master of the World, wh
despise Thy seal?" (Truth, according to the T
the seal of God.) God answers, "Let Truth ari
earth!" "Hence it is written," the Midrash concludes,
'Let truth spring up from the earth' " (Ps. 85.12).
The casting down from heaven of the angel of Truth
recalls the motif of the Fall of Satan and of the rebellious
angels which is familiar from the Adam Books. From this
particular trait light seems to be shed on the whole theme
of the enmity of the angels towards Man. In the Adam
Books Man is created by God in order to counteract Satan
and his associates amongst the angels. The whole purpose
of Adam's creation is directed against Satan, and this fully
explains the hostility of Satan towards Man. In one of the
Gnostic Adam legends edited by Preuschen (Nr. 3, p. 27 ff.)
we learn that after the creation of the world the angels
praise God, but the "impure Satan" (who is also called
Sada'el and, in a gloss, Beliar) does not want God to be
praised, because he wishes to be equal to God and his
throne to be like God's. Therefore, at God's command he
is cast down from heaven by Gabriel, Michael and nine
groups of angels. He falls down "like hail from the clouds."
God, then, wishes to replace Satan who was the ruler of
the lower world of animals, by another creature of similar
rank, but one who will not be likely to display the same
haughtiness as Satan. Therefore Man is to be made of
earth- The passage reads, "But the benignant God created
374 THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW

Man of earth because of the haughtiness of Satan." (The

argument "because the fallen angels filled the firmament"
seems to be a gloss.) Thus immediately after Satan has
been cast down from heaven, Adam is created. He is
apparently to take Satan's place as King of the lower
world, as Preuschen interprets the legend. (p. 53) His
creation, therefore, takes place just above Jerusalem, the
"place of the fallen angels"2 in order to humiliate Satan.
Satan's hatred of Adam, which later expresses itself in his
desire to seduce him into disobedience to God, is thus well
motivated. According to other sources such as Vita Adae
(11-17) and "Schatzhdhle" (ed. Bezold p. 4) the casting
down of Satan took place not before, but after Adam's
creation and was due to Satan's refusal to adore Adam.
Michael bids the angels in the name of God to pay homage
to Adam who was created in God's image, but Satan refuses.
In Vita Adae he says: "I was created before Adam. He
ought to adore me." In "Schatzhohle" he incites his asso-
ciates: "Do not adore nor praise him with the angels;
it beseems him to adore me, seeing that I am fire and spirit
and he only dust formed from a kernel of dust." He is
punished for his disobedience by his expulsion from heaven.
"He was cast down and fell to the ground, he and all his
group. On the sixth day, in the second hour, his fall took
place. And they were stripped of their garments of glory,
and his name was called Satana because he had "turned
away" (from the Hebr. lrw) from God, and Sheda because
he was cast down (from the Hebr. rnow); and Daiwa, because

2 That Jerusalem is abused as the "place of the fallen angels" illus-

trates the anti-Jewish tendency of this source which Preuschen has
identified with the doctrine of the Sethiani. It bears a most striking
resemblance to Mandaean Ginza where Jerusalem is called the place
of Ruha and the Seven. (Ginza, p. 338.) This contrasts with "Schatz-
hohle" (Bezold p. 4) where Jerusalem is said to be the "blessed place of
the creation and elevation of Adam."
 THE RABBINIC ADAM LEGENDS--ALTMANN 375

he had lost the garment of glory." (Schatzh

Satan hates Man. In "Schatzhohle" he exclaims: "Adam,
all my enmity, envy and pain is against and because of you,
seeing that because of you I have been expelled and
estranged from my glory which I enjoyed amongst the
angels in heaven and was cast down to the earth." Al-
though, in these latter sources, Adam was created before
Satan's fall and open enmity against him, his creation
still seems to have been an act on God's part against Satan.
Adam is intended to supersede Satan, as it becomes evident
later, when all the angels including Satan are asked to
adore him. Satan must therefore, from the outset, have
had a grievance against Adam. His fall is, at any rate,
directly connected with his opposition to Adam. A third
group of sources (Apoc. Mos. 15-30; Preuschen Nr. 1, p.
6 ff.) only superficially motivates Satan's enmity towards
Adam by referring to his envy of Adam's glory. But here,
too, Adam and Satan are diametrically opposed to each
other, as appears from the eschatological view that, in the
end, Adam will be placed upon the throne of his Seducer.
(Preuschen p. 21, similarly Apoc. Mos. 39.)
As we have seen, the enmity of Satan and his group of
angels towards Man is the dominating factor in the Books
of Adam. If we place the above quoted Midrashim against
this background of the Adam legends, no doubt can be left
that they reflect the same motif. Instead of Satan and
his group, it is simply the angels or certain angels who
oppose Adam's creation. In the angel of Truth we recog-
nize Satan. (The Tosefta calls the opposing angel niulp,
accuser, which is synonymous with Satan.) Like Satan
in the Adam legends, Truth is cast down from heaven. The
quotation from Ps. 85.12 ("Let Truth spring up from the
earth") is clearly God's answer and points to man who is
to be made of earth and is going to rise and replace Satan =
376 THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW

Truth.3 The enmity of the angels is thus a remnant of the

motif as it occurs in the Adam legends.
So far the interpretation seems complete. We have,
however, to call attention to the deeper mythological back-
ground of these legends and their reflection in the Midrash.
A clue to this mythological background is found in the motif
of the fettering of the accusing angel, which occurs in the
Tosefta. It has a parallel in Ethiop. Enoch (10, 4-5) where
God bids the angel Raphael to fetter Azazel (= Satan) and
to cast him down into the darkness. As one sees, this
passage contains both the motif of the fettering and that
of casting down. Moreover, the motif of darkness is
strongly emphasized: "Make a hole in the desert in Dudael
and throw him into it. Put beneath him sharp and pointed
stones and cover him with darkness. He shall dwell there
for ever, and cover his face so that he may behold no light."
From here, (comp. also 10.11), the relation to Mandaean
Gnosis becomes obvious. The fettering of Azazel-Satan is
a reflection of the fettering of the King of the Darkness, a
motif which very frequently appears in Mandaean litera-
ture (comp. Ginza 83 ff. 283 ff.) It is, therefore, safe to
assume that behind the figure of Satan both in the Book
of Enoch and in the Adam Books stands the figure of the
Mandaean Ur, or rather, generally, the Gnostic principle
of evil. It has already been suggested that the apocryphal
and apocalyptical figure of Satan is a dim reflection of the
Iranian Ahriman, the Babylonian Tidmat and the Egyptian
Seth.4 Troje. But we feel that, whatever the earliest mytho-

3 The strange conception of Adam growing out of the earth has a

parallel in the Iranian myth where Mahryag and Marynang, the first
pair, grow out of the earth like plants. Between them the Divine
power of light, which originates from Gayomard, grows out of the
earth too.
4 ADAM u. ZOE, Sitz.-Ber. Heidelberg. Akad. d. W., Phil.-hist. kl.
1916, 17 p. 39.
 THE RABBINIC ADAM LEGENDS-ALTMANN 377

logical sources may be, the figure of Satan has, in th

ture with which we are concerned, taken its life a
from the Gnostic principle of evil, whatever its nam
A proof for this is the identification of the fallen
with the "seven stars" in E. Enoch (18.11-21.10).
Azazel and the fallen angels are identical with Ur (o
and the Seven. (In a similar manner, Jalk. Joel
teaches that the planets which are the cause of ido
the world are to be beaten together with their ido
In the E. Enoch (10.8) the fallen angels are said to
source of all evil in the world.)
We may now go a step further. The motif of the
of Satan and his group of angels towards Man is n
else but a reflection of the enmity which in Gnosti
ture exists between the principle of evil and Pri
Man. In fact, this idea pervades the whole of G
including the Hermetica. It goes back even to the I
Gayomard myth. There the "evil spirit" (Ahrim
deadly opposed to Gayomard, the Primordial M
was created as the exponent of the light in its s
against darkness. (Comp. Reitzenstein-Schaeder, Stu
p. 214 ff., Christensen,6 p. 16 ff.) In Poimandres,
Demiurge who is opposed to the First Man (6 7
"AvOpo7ros). The Demiurge creates the seven spirits
planets, whereupon the Novs gives birth to his
son, the First Man, whom he creates in his own image.
This "AvOpworo also wants to be creative and enters the
sphere of the Demiurge. According to one tradition, the
Novs gives him the dominion over everything which has
been created. The seven planetary powers take to him
and endow him each with part of their own nature. Thus

s "Antiken Synkretismus"
6 "Le premier homme et le premier roi dans l'histoire legendaire des
Iraniens," Archives d'etudes Orientales, 1918, vol. 14.1.21.
378 THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW

the Demiurge becomes his enemy, full of envy and hatred.

He assumes more and more the r6le of a demonic power
against God and the First Man. Reitzenstein has shown
that throughout the Poimandres this motif of the enmity
of the Demiurge towards the First Man is of vital im-
portance. (Reitzenstein, Poimandres, pp. 46 ff.) In Man-
daean literature, Ptahil is the typical figure of Demiurge.
He has been misled into creating a world in conjunc-
tion with Ruha and the Seven, but they have deprived him
of his power as ruler of his world. He, therefore, decides
to create Adam in order to frustrate the evil designs of
Ruta. Adam is to be the ruler of the world. (Ginza p.
64 ff.) Again, man is created with the purpose of counter-
acting the evil powers which govern the world. Con-
sequently, Ruha and her helpers do all they can to destroy
man. They plan to capture and imprison Adam in their
world, (Ginza p. 113). They plot to kill him and to "cast
confusion into his party." "Let him have no share in the
world, let the whole world belong to us." (p. 122 ff.) It is
unnecessary to persue the parallels in other Gnostic writings
any further. It has become clear, we believe, that in the
Gnostic myth the enmity of the forces of darkness towards
Man is an organic and natural feature of the system. It
grows out of the basic idea of Gnosis: Man being a stranger
in the world of darkness which he is out to destroy and the
forces of which are out to destroy him. The sharp con-
trasts of the Gnostic myth have been blurred in the mono-
theistic system of the Books of Adam, but the outlines are
still there. The enmity of Satan towards Adam has its
source in the Gnostic myth.
We have travelled a long way in order to interpret the
above quoted Midrashim. But there can be no doubt
that behind these Midrashim there is not just a very vague
reminiscence of the Gnostic origin, but a clear and, prob-
 THE RABBINIC ADAM LEGENDS-ALTMANN 379

ably, direct influence. Ginzberg (Legends, V. p.

has suggested that the Midrashim which de
opposition of the angels to Man's creation ar
to combat "the Philo-Gnostic opinion, according to
which Man was, wholly or partly, created by the lower
powers, not by God himself." In opposition to this view,
he maintains, the Midrashim lay stress upon the fact that
the angels had nothing to do with Man's creation, which
they tried rather to prevent. We cannot agree with this
interpretation, because it does not explain the decisive
feature about these Midrashim: the enmity of the angels
and God's wrath against them. This can only be made
comprehensible by admitting that the Midrashim reflect
a basic idea of the Gnostic myth. Moreover, Ginzberg's
argument can be refuted by pointing to the fact that the
motif of the angels' enmity towards Man does not only
occur in connection with the creation of Man- to which
Ginzberg's theory refers - but in other connections as well.
The outstanding feature in the other passages where it
occurs is the protest of the angels against the coming down
from heaven of some Divine power. They object to the
passage of the Torah and of the Shekhinah from heaven
down to the earth. This strikingly recalls the familiar
Gnostic motif of the planetary powers not allowing the
downwards passage of the powers of light. It shows that
the protest of the angels has a decidedly Gnostic back-
ground, wherever this motif occurs.

2. THE ANGELS ADORE ADAM

The motif of the adoration of Adam by the angels

appears in three different forms and sources in rabbinic
literature. First, in Gen. R. 8.10 (parallels are Jalk. I
? 23, Isa. ? 394) where R. Hoshaya (p. A. 1) describes the
380 THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW

angels as having mistaken Adam for God and having

wished to exclaim "Holy" before him, whereupon God
caused a sleep to fall upon Adam so that they knew that
he was but man. R. Hoshaya uses a simile to illustrate the
mistake of the angels. "What does this resemble? A King
and a governor who sat in a chariot, and his subjects wished
to say to the King 'Domine' (Jalk. I ? 23, Isa. ? 394: to
recite a hymn, plm'nt, before him) but they did not know
which it was. What did the King do? He pushed the
governor out of the chariot, and so they knew who was the
King. Similarly, when God created Adam, the angels
mistook him (for a Divine being). What did God do?
He caused sleep to fall upon him, and so all knew that he
was man." The simile has its analogy in a passage in
Mekilta Ex. 16.2, where the situation at the Red Sea is
thus illustrated: "This resembles a King who visits a prov-
ince and is surrounded by a multitude of high-rank people,
warriors from right and left, in front and in the back of
him. Everyone present asks: Which is the King?, because
he is of flesh and blood like themselves. But when God
revealed Himself at the Red Sea, no one asked: Which
is the King? When they saw Him, they recognised Him
and opened their mouth and exclaimed 'This is my God,
I will glorify Him' (Ex. 16.2)." The resemblance of the
two similes suggests that the motif was a familiar one.
The particular trait of the governor whom the King pushed
out of his chariot seems to be borrowed from an actual

historic happening, of which the chronicles of the time

made frequent mention and which must have stirred
the imagination of the people in the East. When Galerius,
co-emperor of Diocletianus, returned from his unfortunate
expedition into Armenia, Diocletianus did not allow him
to sit at his side in the chariot, but let him walk for a mile
beside him. (Comp. Gibbon, II c. 13, Burkhardt, Diocle-
 THE RABBINIC ADAM LEGENDS-ALTMANN 381

tianus,7 p. 106, cited by B. Jacob, Genesis, p.

Hoshaya's Midrash thus consists of three part
angels wish to adore Adam. II. The simile is mad
King and the governor. III God causes sleep to f
Adam.

The second source, Pirke R. Eliezer c. 11, describes the

overwhelming impression the God-like Adam made upon
all creatures who felt that he was their creator and came to
bow before him. But Adam taught them to give all the
honor and glory to God who was their true creator. The
Midrash consists of two parts: I. The creatures adore
Adam. II. Adam and the creatures adore God. (Tanh.
"lnpD ? 3 end, goes back to Pirke R. El. The passage is
however, corrupt, as already noticed by oDl' yy ad loc.).
The third source is a Midrash preserved in the Sefe
.Hasidim (ed. Wistinetzki p. 290, cf. Aptowitzer, Simonsen
Festschrift p. 120, cited by Murmelstein,8 Ginzberg
p. 86, N. 37) which makes use of 2 Alphabet R. Akiba 5
(Jalk. I ? 20), where the angels noticing Adam's resemblanc
to God exclaim: "Are there two powers in the world?,"
whereupon God reduced Adam's size which had formerly
filled the whole universe. In the Sefer .Hasidim the angels
go a step further. They actually mistake Adam for God
and wish to exclaim "holy" before him, whereupon God
reduces his size. So far as the motif of the adoration is

concerned, the Midrash is therefore composed of two parts:

I. The angels wish to adore Adam. II. God reduces Adam's
size.

All the three recensions of the motif have, as we see,

7 It is difficult to decide whether or not the passage in Mekilta pre-

supposes the Midrashic motif of the angels' mistake and seeks to empha-
size the superiority of man to the angels. From Tosefta Sotah 6.5 it
appears that this is the underlying idea. In the same direction points
the reading rnni instead of -t1p in Midr. Koh. B. 6.10.
8 Adam, ein Beitrag 2. Messias lehre, WZKM 1928, p. 263.
382 THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW

part I in common. They differ only with regard to the

remedy of the angels' mistake, and mention in turn Adam's
sleep, his admonition to the angels, and his reduction in
size. No doubt, all the three sources have drawn from an
older common source which spoke of the adoration of
Adam by the angels.
The question arises as to the original form of this motif
and as to its source. It can hardly be assumed that the
motif originated from Jewish sources. It has no founda-
tion in biblical literature, despite the fact that there exist
passages such as Ps. 8.6 or Ez. 28.12 ff. which raise the
stature of man or Adam far above the familiar level.

Ps. 8.6 ("Yet Thou has made him but little lower than
Elohim and hast crowned him with glory and honour")
cannot have suggested the idea that is expounded in the
above quoted Midrashim, since it is clear from all ancient
translations (Septuagint, Peshitta, Targum) that the word
"Elohim" in this verse was understood to mean "angels."
The verse was interpreted to mean that man was placed
but little lower than the angels, an idea which was not
likely to suggest that man was to be worshiped by the
angels. Similarly, the mythical description of Adam to
whom Ezekiel (28.12 ff.) compares the King of Tyre cannot
have led to the Midrashic motif of the adoration of Adam,
since the passage only pictures Adam as an angel (cherub),
full of wisdom and perfect in beauty, but does not elevate
him above the rank of angel. R. Hama b. Hanina and
Mar Zutra deduced from that passage that God made
ten (eleven) canopies for Adam in the garden Eden ac-
cording to the number of jewels enumerated in Ez. 28.13.8a
The Pesikta (B. p. 36b.) stresses Adam's wisdom with
reference to Ez. 28.12 but we nowhere find that the mythical

8a B. B. 75a.
 THE RABBINIC ADAM LEGENDS-ALTMANN 383

colors of that passage have given rise to speculat

as the motif of the adoration of Adam implies.
In a very late Midrashic passage (R. Moses ha
first half of 11th century) we find the motif in a f
throws light on its origin. (On R. Moses cf. Zun
dienstl. Vortr., p. 287 ff., Neubauer, Tobit XX ff
Magazin f. d. Wiss. d. J. 1888.) As it frequently
a late apocryphal source either preserves a m
original, not yet Judaized form, or adopts it fro
sources in which the original form is preserved.
seems to be the case here. Through the influe
Koran, the original apocryphal motif re-enters
thought. (Comp. Geiger, Was hat Moh. etc. p.
Epstein, Eldad, p. 78, Magazin 1893 p. 251, L. Ju
Angels p. 67.) Even if the exposition of the motif
Raymundus Martin in his Pugio fidei 563 in the
R. Moses ha-Darshan has to be discounted as a fa
as Ginzberg (MGWJ p. 152) asserts, the Prague M
Bereshit rabbati (cf. Epstein) distinctly contains
in which God commands the angels to adore Adam. Cf.
Zuntz p. 291, Jung p. 66.) In Pugiofidei the passage reads:
"God said to the ministering angels: Bow before him
(Adam). The angels came and did according to God's
wish. The Satan was greater than all angels of heaven .....
And it came to pass that he did not wish to bow before
Him and did not listen to the voice of God, whereupon he
was cast down from heaven." The Prague MS does not
mention Satan, only God's command to adore Adam.
This apocryphal recension of the motif unmistakably
shows both the original form and the source of the idea.
In the Adam Books God himself demands that Adam be
adored by the angels. In "Schatzhdhle" the angels hear
the voice of God speak to Adam: "Behold, I have made
thee King, priest, prophet, master, head and guide of all
384 THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW

creatures. They shall serve thee and belong to thee. I have

given thee dominion over everything which I have created.
"When the angels heard these words, the passage continues,
they all bowed their knees and adored Him. (Bezold p. 4.)
In the Slavonic Book of Adam (Jagic p. 47) God tells the
angels to procede to Adam and pay homage to him, each
with his hosts (70 altogether). In Vita Adae Michael bids
the angels on behalf of God to adore Adam. (13-15) The
motif goes through the whole of Adam literature. (Comp.
Troje 1. c.31.1, Murmelstein l.c. p. 269.3, Bonwetsch, Nachr.
Gottinger Ges. d. Wiss. 1907, p. 37 ff., Bousset, Haupt-
probleme der Gnosis, p. 174.) It is interesting to find that
in the Mandaean Ginza some passages have to be regarded
as interpolations from an Adam Book. (Comp. Reitzenstein,
Das mand. Buch d. Herrn d. Grosse p. 10.3, regarding
Mani's acquaintance with the Adam literature cf.
Schaeder Urform9 p. 72.3). The passage reads: "After
Ptahil had created that world ......he summoned the
angels of the house that they should pay homage to
corporeal Adam and his wife Hawa in that world of dar
ness." (p. 242) The other passage appears in two recensio
with the same text: "Of the angels of fire some shall ser
Adam ...... The angels of fire came and submitted t
Adam. They came and bowed before him, and did not
deviate from his words. Only he, the wicked,.........
deviated from the word of his master, whereupon his
master laid him into bondage."'I
The motif has a clear and definite purpose in the Adam
literature. Troje has tried to interpret it as an answer to
the problem what place man occupies in the hierarchy of
the Hellenistic cosmos with its abundance of mediatory
beings. (Troje, 1. c. p. 26.) We feel that it is not the Hel-

9 U. Fortbildungen d. manich. Systems, Vortr. Bibl. Warburg IV.

Io Ginza 15.10 ff. =33.17; 16.1 ff. =34.18.
 THE RABBINIC ADAM LEGENDS-ALTMANN 385

lenistic conception of cosmos, but the Gnostic one w

underlies the Adam legends in general and the mo
the adoration in particular. The tension between
and Satan is but a reflection of the duality of the w
of light and darkness, of Primordial Man and Ruh
the Seven, and whatever their names may be in the v
systems of myth. In Mandaean Gnosis we hear th
hymns which Adam sings in honor of his father Ad
Ziba (the Primordial Man) cause the world of darkne
be alarmed. The fact that Adam recognises his co
part and origin in the world of light sets the process
deliverance in motion. (Comp. Ginza, p. 113.-For
Ophitic Gnosis see Iren. 30, 6.) Here the adoration of
Primordial Man has a significance that is bound up with
the whole trend of the myth. It is more than worship. It
is an act of self-redemption of man from the forces of dark-
ness. The motif is therefore to be regarded as an essential
and organic feature of the myth. In the Adam literature,
which is so decisively formed by Gnostic influences, the
motif of the adoration of Adam has likewise quite a natural
place within the structure of the legend. But the function
of the motif has changed according to the monotheistic
background. Adam, who takes the place of Gnostic Prim-
ordial Man, is no longer a Divine being but the King of all
creatures including the angels, and, indeed, not very far
from being deified.
Under Gnostic influence, rabbinic thought too, con-
ceived of Adam as a being of almost divine character. The
verse Gen. 3.22 ("Behold, the man is become as one of us")
was interpreted by R. Yehuda b. R. Simon: "Like the
Unique One of the universe." (Gen. R. 21.5). This view
is regarded as a difficult one (nrvp nyl) in Pes. Rab. (Fried-
mann 192a.) and explained as meaning to say that Adam
was intended to be immortal like God. (D'?3niy D"pl- 'n).
386 THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW

But the passage continues, "God intended making him the

ruler in his world and the King over all his creatures. God
said: 'I am King in the upperworlds (aliv:y lIn), Adam
be King in the nether-worlds (oDinnnr 'Lo).' " The analogy
to the Adam Books is obvious. The only difference is that
Adam's Kingship is not to be extended over the angels too,
as they belong to the upper-worlds. In the view of Pappias
(Mekilta Ex. 14.29, Gen. R. 21.5) the verse Gen. 3.22 means
to say that Adam was like one of the ministering angels
(nmt'n bnDD Inm), whereupon R. Akiba protested: "Let
that suffice thee, Pappias" (D'9 "-r).T" The reason that
R. Akiba so strongly disapproved of Pappias's exegesis can
easily be guessed. He wanted to obviate the Gnostic con-
ception of Adam as a Divine being. In Pes. R. (Friedmann)
192a the interpretation given by Pappias is recorded
anonymously. There it is explained as meaning to say
that Adam was like the angels only in so far as he was to be
immortal. One fully understands the adoration-motif only,
if one views it as a polemic against the Gnostic conception
of Adam in general and against the adoration-motif as it
occurs in the Adam literature in particular. The statement
that the angels mistook Adam for God and wished to adore
him becomes comprehensible only against this literary
background. Whereas the Adam Books tell us that the
angels were commanded by God to worship Adam, the
Midrashim, with the one apocryphal exception mentioned,
alter the motif by saying that it was due to a mistake that
the angels wished to adore Adam. The polemical tendency,

I Mekilta Ex. 14.29, Gen. R. 21.5 have the correct reading com-
pared with Shir R. 1.9 'noD which is corrupt, as a comparison with the
other Pappias-passages shows. Cf. Geiger, Urschrift p. 329, Bacher
A. T. I. p. 318 ff. Theodor p. 200. On Pappias see Bacher A. T. I.
281 ff., 317. It is noteworthy that all the explanations of Pappias
recorded in Mekilta and Gen. R. go along Gnostic lines, as shown by
Marmorstein, Religionsgesch. Studien I.
 THE RABBINIC ADAM LEGENDS-ALTMANN 387

which underlies this alteration, is clear. It is true, the

Midrash means to say, that the angels wanted to adore
Adam not because God wished them to do so, but against
God's wish and because of a tragic mistake. The mistake,
the Midrash continues, was corrected, and it was made
manifest that Adam was no God, but man. The subtle
polemic contained in this Midrash can be understood and
appreciated in its ironical sense only if we compare the
Midrash with its background in the Adam literature, and
recognize the fact that the original form of the motif is
adopted in its outline, but decisively altered in one vital
point in order to change the whole tendency of the motif.
It is surprising that the polemical purpose of the Midrash
was not discovered by the scholars who dealt with it
(Geiger, Was hat Mohammed aus dem Judenthum auf-
genommen? p. 100, Griinbaum, Ges. Aufs. p. 69ff. Neue
Beitrdge p. 56), except by Bacher (Agada P. A. 1., p. 102
N. 1.) But Bacher himself only vaguely suggests that R.
Hoshaya's Midrash is a protest either "against the deifica-
tion of man in the Christian dogma" or, "more probably
against the Divine honors conferred upon the Roman
emperors." Our interpretation shows that the adoration
motif goes back to the Adam literature and is used by
the above quoted Midrashim as a weapon against the
Gnostic implications of the Adam-conception as set out
in the Adam Books.

3. ADAM'S SLEEP

R. Hoshaya's Midrash (Gen. R. 8.9) concludes, "What

did God do? He caused sleep to fall upon Adam, and all
knew that he was man." What does it mean that by
falling into sleep Adam betrays his human nature? Ex-
planations are, of course, readily at hand. Sleep is a sign
 388 THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW

of mortality, the likeness of death. (Comp. Ginzberg 1.

V. p. 80 N. 25, p. 86 N. 37.) Troje has pointed to the
Pythagorean conception of Superman whose divine chara
ter expresses itself in freedom from sleep and want. (p. 26)12
The sleeping Adam thus exhibits his human nature.
seems, however, that there is more behind this motif
than the stress of Adam's human character. The simile
of the king and the governor who was pushed out of the
chariot suggests that Adam's sleep has a meaning similar
to the pushing of the governor out of the chariot. Other-
wise the simile would not fit in with the story. We believe
that both the simile and the motif of Adam's sleep convey
the same idea: that Adam had ceased to be the Adam
Kadmon of before, but had become the earthly, fallen
Adam, and that, accordingly, the Midrash refers to Adam
after his sin. In the passage of the Sefer IHasidim God
is said to have brought home to the angels that Adam was
no divine being, by reducing his size. According to all
rabbinic sources, the reduction of Adam's size took place
after his sin and was intended to be a punishment. It then
becomes obvious that both in the passage of the Sefer
.Hasidim and in the Midrash of R. Hoshaya God shows the
angels that Adam, whom they had mistaken for God, was
not the Adam Kadmon of before, but Man fallen down from
his height. Whereas before his sin, Adam's stature had
filled the earth up to the heaven, he was now reduced in
size and confined to the earth (according to the Sefer
.Hasidim) or (according to R. Hoshaya) pushed out of the
chariot (the chariot may be a symbol of the Divine Char-
iot, the Merkaba) and cast to the ground where he lay
asleep.
12 Troje reminds us that according to Reitzenstein, Hist. Monach.
91 ff. (Comp. also pp. 121, 155, 158, 160.1), Christian asceticism has
its roots in the tendency to deification by advocating the freeing one-
self from bodily want.
 THE RABBINIC ADAM LEGENDS-ALTMANN 389

To be asleep thus means: being in the state of

Adam, entangled in the bonds of this world. This is
exactly the idea of "sleep" in Gnostic symbolism, and it
seems to go back to the Iranian myth. Ohrmuzd causes
sleep to fall upon Gayomard, the primordial man. "Before
the adversary (Ahriman) came to Gayomard (and killed
him), Ohrmuzd caused sleep to fall upon Gayomard .......
When he woke up from his sleep, he saw the corporeal world
being dark as the night, and of the earth not as much as
the point of a needle was free from the penetration of the
harmful animals." Comp. Reitzenstein-Schaeder 1. c.
pp. 217, 221.) It is the important discovery of Schaeder
that the word Xva/ which is used in this passage means
sleep. (Comp. Reitzenstein-Schaeder 1. c. p 217.1, 351 ff.,
see also Schaeder ZDMG 79, 205). Sleep is here the expres-
sion of the powerlessness of Man in the face of the evil.
Even if we assume that Ohrmuzd brings sleep upon Gayo-
mard only in order to make death easier for him, as Schaeder
interprets (217.1), the fact remains that during Gayo-
mard's sleep the world and he himself become the victims
of evil and darkness. In Gnosis, sleep definitely becomes
synonymous with the entanglement of man in the world of
evil, his intoxication with the poison of darkness. The
soul is sunk into sleep. Adam, the head and symbol of
mankind, is asleep.13 In this sense, sleep is not merely
symbolical of, but identical with, death in its spiritual
meaning, i. e. death of the soul, forgetfulness of man's
divine origin. Accordingly, Gnosis endeavors to shake
man out of his sleep. "Do not slumber nor sleep, and do
not forget that thy master hath commanded thee." (Book
of John p. 225, Ginza p. 387.) "Life knew about me;
Adam who was asleep awoke." (Ginza 571.) "At the call
of the Messenger Adam awoke." (Book of John, p. 57.)
I3 Comp. H. Jonas, Gnosis u. Spaetantiker Geist, p. 113 ff.
390 THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW

"He awakened the master of the mysteries, Adam whom

had sown among the bodies. He awakened me from t
sleep which life had caused to fall upon my mind, He c
the seven mysteries (the evil powers of planets) into con
sion." (Ginza p. 577.)
We have another instance in Midrashic literature where
"sleep" occurs in this Gnostic sense. The passage concerned
has a direct bearing upon R. Hoshaya's Midrash and sup-
ports the interpretation we have offered. In Gen. R. 68.12,
R. Hiyya the Elder or R. Yannai (both are contemporaries
of R. Hoshaya) explain Gen. ibid. ("And behold the angels
of God ascending and descending") in the sense that the
angels ascended and descended on Jacob (:l)I4 "Some were
exalting him and others degrading him, dancing, leaping,
and maligning him. (in D'DimD 1 a'tp 13 D'trt). Is it thou,
they said, whose features are engraved on High? They
ascended on High and saw his features, and they descended
below and found him sleeping." He may be compared to a
king, the Midrash goes on explaining, who sat and judged
in a judgment chamber; people ascend the basilica and
find him sleeping; they go out to the judgment chamber
and find him judging. In a condensed form, the Midrash
has made its entrance into the Talmud (Hullin 91b.) where
it is said that the angels compared Jacob's image above
with the one below and that they wanted to endanger him
whilst he was asleep, but that God protected him. To
understand these passages we must bear in mind that
Jacob represents here the figure of Adam, the primordial
Man.'s The place where the dream of Jacob occurred is
14 John 1.51 has adopted the above Midrashic interpretation. Cf.
H. Odeberg, The Fourth Gospel, p. 35. It cannot have been derived from
the Septuagint which renders in by '?erl avirrs, "on it" (the ladder).
Cf. C. F. Burney, The Aramaic Origin of the Fourth Gospel, pp. 115-116.
5' The identity of Jacob (Israel) and Adam Kadmon is a mystical
motif which cannot be expounded here. Comp. b. Yeb. 61a; Kuzari I,
95.
 THE RABBINIC ADAM LEGENDS-ALTMANN 391

the place where Adam was created, namely, the p

future Temple and the centre of the earth. (Com
R. El. c. 12, Ginzberg MGWJ 1899 p. 68, Troj
28.2) The image (iqonin, ECK6bLOv) of Man,
engraved upon the Merkabah (Ezek. 1) bears th
of Jacob. But in his earthly existence, Jacob, w
for Man, is sunk into sleep, which means he h
forgetful of his image and counterpart upon
Throne. He is entangled in sin and in darknes
the angels accuse him before God. The words
(Gen. R. 68.12) allude to Satan. Other angels e
In these two groups we can easily recognise the
ing and the adoring angels who are familiar
Midrashim which we explained in the preced
ters. Adam being pushed out from the chariot a
asleep - the motif of R. Hoshaya's Midrash -
sumes a very striking significance. The simile m
Adam who has forgotten his image on the Divin
is, as it were, pushed out from the Chariot of t
He is asleep down below.'6

i6 Odeberg, 1. c. p. 36 interprets John 1.51 differently: t

and descending angels symbolise the connection of the e
with his celestial counterpart. About the influence of
symbol of sleep on medieval Jewish thought cf. I. Heine
Lehre von der Zweckbestimmung d. Menschen, Ber. jued
Breslau 1925, p. 43.