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Mythic Aspects of the Process of Adam's Creation in Judaism and IslamAuthor(s): Leigh N. B. ChipmanSource: Studia Islamica, No. 93 (2001), pp. 5-25Published by: Maisonneuve & Larose

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Studia slamica, 001

MythicAspects of theProcess ofAdam's Creation

in Judaismand IslamInmemoriamava Lazarus-Yafeh

Introduction

Thispaper imstoexamine arious ales fhowGodcreated damfromclay as an exampleofmythopoeticctivityn Islam.Comparisonf theJewish,slamic ndGnosticmaterial elatingo thecreation fAdam n

these hree eligions ill how hatslam, ar romejecting yth utright,in fact tandsn themiddle f a continuum hoseextremesre Judaism(generally egardeds lackingnmyth) n theone handandGnosticism(generally egardeds highlymythical)n the ther.

Thestudyfmythasenjoyedenewedcholarlyttentionnrecent ears,and ntire ookshavebeendevotedothe iscussionfthe uestionWhat smyth?"' heres generalgreementhat mythn the omparative-religious(orcomparative-literary)ense s not lie or a fiction,heusualmeaningfmythneverydaypeech. eyond hat onsensus,onfusionndcontroversy

reign. he definitionfmythmost uited othepurposef this apers thatused nfolklore: sacred arrative hich xplains owtheworld ndhuma-nity eached heir resenttate.2 his definitionncompasseshetwo most

*This rticlesbased na chapterfmyMAthesis,MythicndGnosticspectsf he toryf he reationofMan, omparingidrashnd slamic iterature"TheHebrew niversityfJerusalem,999), upervisedyProf. avaLazarus-YafehndDr.MeirM. Bar-Asher.wouldike o hankr.Bar-Asheror iswillingnesso

beginupervisingthesis hat asnear ompletion,ndfor isunfailingelpfulnessndgood dvice ver ince.I would ike o hankavidCook ndLindaBarron, ho ead arlierraftsf his aper.

A note ntranslations:uotationsrom heQur'anuseR. Bell,TheQur'an:Translated ith critical e-

arrangementf he urahsEdinburgh,937-39). llother rabicmaterialsmy wn ranslation,sare itationsofHebrewmaterialhat onot pecificallyite translator.

I. Somesurveysf the ubjectreW.G.Doty,Mythography:heStudyfMythsnd RitualsTuscaloosa,1986);L. PattonndW.Donigereds.),MyAthndMethodCharlottesville,996), .Coupe,MythLondon,997).2. Incontrasto egends, hich renarrativesold s true toriesetnthe eriodfterhe reationf heworld

and ofolk ales,whichhe udienceealizes refictional.ee onthis .Dundes,MadnessnMethod,lus Pleafor rojectivenversion,"n:L. PattonndW.Donigereds.),Mythnd MethodCharlottesville,996), . 147.Folklore otif-numbersre aken rom.Thompson,otif-IndexfFolkLiterature,ev. d. Indianapolis,966).

5







LEIGH N.B. CHIPMAN

importantomponentsfanymyth: arrativendexplanation.eoplehave

always riedounderstandheworldnwhichheyive, ndmythsanexpres-sionofthis earch orknowledge hich s notnecessarilyistorical,ut anprovides with nswersoourbasic xistentialuestions.3hese nswersakethe ormf torieshat reregardedy he ultureellinghem s the asisforitsmannersndmorals. hey suallynvolve ighereings,nd ftencertainversion f themythwillbe preservedntheculture'scripturesrrecitedduring estivals. myths notnecessarilyn explanationn thesense ofmakingleareromethingot nderstood;ather,t s an nterpretation,par-ticular ayofperceivingheworld.

Islamhastraditionallyeen tselfs a religionasedondivinely-revealedlaw the hari'a),ratherhan nmyth.trivingoachieve pure ndperfectmonotheism,heguardiansfthe hari'aregarded yths a remnantfthepaganpast, ndstorytellersqussas)who xpandedndpassedon oldtaleswereoften egardedwith uspicion.4 owever, he commentatorsn theQur'anandHadithwereunable orefrainromxpandinghemythicle-ments ontainednrevelation,hile oets ndmysticsagerlyeaptnto heocean of ancientmythologicalraditionsnd nterpretedhemntheirwnways.Thispaperwill not tudyhemysticalradition;tspurposes tofindsparks fmyth ithin he raditionhatpparentlyas hostile o t.

A centralmethodologicalool n thishuntwillbe comparisonfearlyIslamic extswith ewishources. ntil ecentlyudaism as consideredheanti-mythiceligionar excellence. his viewwas most orcefullyxpres-sedby he enowned ible scholar . Kaufmann,ccordingowhom,srae-litereligion oes notmerelyppose myth,ut s unable o understandtsessence.5While he uestion fmythnJudaism as beencontroversialormany ears,more ndmore cholars re nowofthe pinionhatmythoesindeed xistwithin udaismossibly ue to a change ntheperceptionfmyth, hichsno ongereen s a talefromhe iographiesfthegods, utrathers a narrativehat tabilizes ndorganizeshevarious omponentsfa certainulture ithin he rameworkfmeaningndvalues.6

Much of thediscussion fmythnJudaism as revolvedbout he ha-racter fGod. t s appropriateo widen his iscussiono nclude he igureofAdam, heFirstMan,forhe is (paradoxicallyrnot)an almost uper-human eing,meant o serve s anexample ndparadigmor s,hischil-dren,nour ives. nthis ontext,t sworth oting. Schweid's ummaryof S. Hirsch's ormulationfJewishmythn hisReligionsphilosophieesJudentums:yth xists othwithinudaismndwithinaganism,ifferentincontent ut quivalentnpositionnd role.Paganmyths anexpression

3. A. Schimmel,ecipheringhe igns fGod Charlottesville,994),p. 125.4. TheEncyclopedia f slam,new ditionLeiden, 960-to ate), .v."Kass."5. Y. Kaufmann,sraelite eligionJerusalemndTel-Aviv, 954), assinm.6. I. Gruenwald,TheUnpreventableresence fMyth Opening ssay," n:H. Pedaya ed.) Eshel

Beer-Sheva : MythnJudaismBeersheba, 996),p. 3.

6







MYTHICASPECTS OFTHEPROCESS OF ADAM'S CREATION NJUDAISMAND SLAM

of naturalorceswhichubmito the lind onsistencyfFate,whileJewish

myths historical,xpressinghemoral ruthfhuman piritualxistence.Thus, he toryfCreation,he tories f thePatriarchsan all be seen asparadigmaticistoricalmythsxpressinghe aws of thehistoryf theJewisheople.7slam, oo, sesmyths a paradigmor istory,ith he er-iod of theProphetMuhammad nd thefirst enerationfMuslims ftentakingheplaceof theprimordialraofCreationnotherultures.8

Anothermethod fsearchingor he parks fmythakesus tothepre-Islamic eriod,ndtotheGnostic eligion.hisreligion,ossiblyheminim(sectarians) f theSages,flourishedn theMiddle East in the secondtofourthenturies E. It is a matterf some

controversys towhetherhe

Gnosticswereheretic hristians,ews rpagans.Their reationmythssimilar ospeculationsurrentlreadyn thefirstenturyCE, basedonGreek hilosophynd echoesof whichwe can find n thewritingsfPhiloJudaeus. hismyth erived, ltimately,rom hePlatonic reationmythappearingn theTimaeus,ombinedwithGenesis.Myths essential o theGnostic ystems,9nd certainmythiclementsn rabbinichoughtanbestbe understoods polemic gainstheGnostics. omeofthese deasreappearin theMuslimmaterialso beexamined ere.

Gnosticism as a religion omposed fmany ects andreligious ys-

tems.'0 hemain ource hat havedrawn ponn this aper s the ongver-sionof TheApocryphonfJohn,which ppearsncodices I and V oftheCopticGnostic ibraryncoveredtNag' Hammadi nUpper gypt. ear-son defines hiswork s a mythopoeticxegesisof textsfromGenesisconcerned ithAdam'screationGen. 1:26ff., en.2:7),a Gnosticynthe-sis of severalnon-Gnosticewish xegetical raditionselatingo thesetexts." n TheApocryphonfJohn, heDemiurge,hecreator odofthismaterial orld nd the on ofSophia Wisdom the owest piritualivinebeing), nnounceshat e s the nly od.As a result, heavenly oicepro-

claims hat There s Man andthe on ofMan,"andtheDemiurgendthe7. E. Schweid, De-MythologizationndRe-MythologizationfJudaismMyth nd Judaismn the

thoughtfKaufmann,uber ndBeck)," n: H. Pedaya ed.) EshelBeer-Sheva : MythnJudaismBeer-sheba, 996),p. 344.

8. Foran overview f slam'sattitudeomythndhistoryee M. Forward,Islam," n:J. HolmandJ.Bowkereds.),MythndHistoryLondon, 994),pp.97-118.

9. Gedalayahutroumsaonsiders nosticism'smportanceor hehistoryfreligionss itsbeing helastfloweringfmythichoughtnthe ncient orld nd anattempto reversehe rocess fde-mythologi-zation egun ytheprophetsf srael ndtheGreek hilosophers.ee G. Stroumsa,nothereed: StudiesinGnosticMythologyLeiden,1984),p. 1.

10.The questionwhether nosticism as infact separate eligion,r was merely tendencyhat

appearedna numberfreligionsndbelief ystemsn ateantiquity,s the ubject f debate. ee,on one

side: B. Pearson, Introduction",n idem.,Gnosticism,udaism nd Egyptian hristianityMinneapolis,1990),pp.6-9 andreferenceshere: . Layton, heGnostic cripturesNewYork,1987),pp.xxi-xxii;nthe ther:M.A.Williams, ethinkingGnosticism":nargumentordismantlingdubious ategoryPrin-ceton, 996).

I1. B. Pearson, Biblical xegesis nGnosticiterature,"n idem.,Gnosticism,udaismndEgyptianChristianityMinneapolis,990),pp.33-34.

7







LEIGH N.B.CHIPMAN

archons,eingswho akepartnrulinghisworld,revouchsafedglimpse

of theAnthropos,he piritualirstMan who s also the upreme od.TheDemiurgend rchonsecide ocreate dam n themage ftheAnthropos,and create theanimateAdam,"a non-materialeingwhichhas a soul(psyche) utnospiritpneuma).At this tage,Adam s incapable fmove-ment nd iesonthe round,ntil ophiapersuadesheDemiurgeobreathehisspiritntohim.Thus, hedivine park hat ophiastole n order ogivebirth otheDemiurge assesfrom im o Adam.The archonsmmediatelyunderstandhat hey avecreated being uperiorothemselvesnd mpri-sonhim n a materialody.12 In otherwords,Adam s composed fbody,soulandspirit, ith oth hebody ndsoulthe reationsf the orcesulingthisworld ndthroughhich eis enslaved o Fate.Within he oul s thespirit,lso called he spark," art fthe ivine owerwhich asfallenntoourworld nd thebodywas created o ensure hattremains ere.na stateofnon-salvation,he pirit ithinhe ody nd oul s not ware f tselfndisdepictedsparalysed,sleeporpoisoned; t doesn't now"i.e., -gnos-tic, s itwere).Awakeningndsalvationreachieved hroughnosis.

Legends bout hecreation f Adam arefoundnthreemaingenres fIslamic iterature:ur'anic ommentarytafsir), istoryta rikh)nd toriesof theprophetsqisas al-anbiya').Tafsirs usually connected ommen-

tary,nwhich heholy ext s systematicallynterpreted,entence ysen-tence, hrase yphrasend ometimesvenword yword.14Asrepresenta-tives f thisgenre, choseMuqatilb. Sulaymand. 150/767),'"Tabari d.310/923)'6and bn Kathird. 774/1373). As far s theMuslimhistorianswere oncerned,herewas no realdifferenceetweeneportinghe reationoftheworld,etalone that fAdam, ndreportingvents rom he ime ftheProphetnd ater bothkinds freportsakhbar)were onsideredis-tory. have dduced heversionsfthe arlyhistoriansabari,Mas'udi d.345/956)'andMaqdisi (fl.355/966)19 fthe reationf Adam later is-toriansended orepeat hese arly nes, tleastregardinghe hemes hatinterested e.Qisas al-anbiya', he tories f the pre-Islamic) rophets,sthenamegiven oa numberf works etellinghebiographiesfBiblicalprophetsincludingersonages ot egardeds such ntheBible but onsi-deredprophetsn Muslim radition),ew Testamentersonalitiesuch sJesus, achariah nd John heBaptist,ndprophetsrom hepre-Islamic

12. TheApocrvphonfJohnCodex I),pp.15-25= B. Layton,TheSecret ookAccordingoJohn,"nidem, heGnosticcripturesNewYork, 987), p.39-44).

13.H.Jonas,heGnostic eligionBoston, 963), .44.14.TheEncyclopediaf slamLeiden, 913-1936),.v. Tafsir."

15.Forhisbiography,ee TheEncyclopediaf slam, ew ditionLeiden, 960-), .v. Mukatil."16.For detailediography,eeF.Rosenthal,heHistoryf l-TabariAlbany, 989), ol.1,pp.5-134.17.Forhisbiography,eeE12, .v. IbnKathir."18.Forhisbiography,eeE12, .v. Mas'udi."19. Forhisbiography,eeE12, .v. Makdisi, utahhir.Tahir;" . Adang,Muslim ritersnJudaismnd

the ible Leiden, 996), .50.

8







MYTHICASPECTSOFTHEPROCESSOF ADAM'S CREATION NJUDAISMANDISLAM

Arabian radition,ogether ith therventsnwhich iousheroes r ene-

miesofGod werenvolved.20 hetwomost amousxpositorsfthis enreare theQisas al-anbiya'by Kisa'i2' and 'Ara'is al-majalisbyTha'labi(b. 1035/427).22

With egardotheJewishources,egends bout he reation fAdamare scatteredhroughoutabbiniciterature.referredo sources ppearingin Torah Shelemah23nd in the notes oGinzburg's heLegendsoftheJews,24naddition o a systematiceading fGenesisRabbah25ndPirqede-Rabbi liezer.26

The processof Adam's creation

Both nJudaismnd slam man s conceived s having spiritualnd amaterialomponent.he spiritualomponents what llowsmanto riseabovethebeasts.Here willexamine owJewishndMuslim ources es-cribe heprocess fAdam's creationnd fromwhatmaterials ewascrea-ted. (The processof embryonicevelopment,ftendiscussedby thesesourceswithin heframeworkf traditionsboutAdam's creation,27sbeyondhe copeofthis rticle.) here eems obe a "mainnarrative"fthe

creationfAdam fromlayand thebreathingf ife ntohisbody,whichappears n almost ll thesources xamined ere,while secondary arra-tives,"which renotpart fthemain ne, ppear rom ime o time.

20.EI2, vol.5,p. 180.21. Forpossibledentificationsfthis uthor,eeEI2,s.v."Kisa'i;" A. Schussmann,Stories fthe ro-

phetsnMuslim radition: ainly n thebasis ofKisasal-anbiya'byMuhammad . 'Abdallah l-Kisa'i,"(unpublishedh.D.diss.;Jerusalem,981),pp.6-8[inHebrew].

22. Forhisbiography,eeEI, s.v."Tha'labi."23. M. Kashered.),Humash orah helemahJerusalem,926),vol.1.24. L. Ginzburg,heLegends f heJewsPhiladelphia,909),vols. (text), (notes).25. GenesisRabbah s anexegeticalmidrashnthebook of Genesis. tcomprises artlyimple xpla-

nationsf words ndphrases,ndpartlyggadic nterpretations,ometimesnly lightlyelatedo the ibli-cal text. asedon thenames fthe agesandthe ventsmentionedherein,enesisRabbah susually atedto ater han 00CE, but ncludes arliermaterial.G. Stemburger,ntroductionotheTalmud nd Midrash

[Edinburgh,996], p.277-279)Citations fGen.Rabbah refrom .Neusner, enesisRabbah:TheJudaicCommentaryotheBookofGenesis.ANewAmerican ranslationAtlanta, 985),vol. 1.

26. Pirqede-Rabbi liezerrepresentshe rewrittenible"genre, etellinghe vents f theBible n acontinuousndcoherentashion. owever,tcontinuesopreserveertainlementsfmidrashe.g.,givingthenames ftraditionists;ot ttemptingoharmonize ifferentraditions).irqede-Rabbi liezer s dated

tothe ighthr ninthenturyE, and ontainsmany eferencesoMuslim ule.However,many ery ldtra-ditions,oo, represervedere; ossibly ompletehaptersavebeentaken ver rom arlierources lmostwithouthange. Stemburger,bid., p.329-330)CitationsfPirqede-Rabbi liezerarefrom. . Friedlan-der, irke e RabbiEliezer.TheChaptersfRabbiEliezer heGreat NewYork,1981).

27. TheQur'anicverses escribing dam'screation rom drop nutfa) elate oembryonicevelop-ment. ee,e.g.,16:4,23:14.

9







LEIGHN.B.CHIPMAN

The mainnarrative

The-mainarrativef he rocess fAdam's reationan bebrokenowninto maller arts,nd thustcan beseenthat llor someofa limited um-berofcomponentsppearnthe ources,with ccasional ariants:

(1) God orders hat ustfor he reation fmanbe broughtohim, ndEarth efusesvariants:. Gabriel lone ssent obringhedust; .Gabriel,Michael ndtheAngel fDeath resent; . theAngel fDeath lone s sent;d. Iblis s sent).

(2) Dust s taken rom arious laces variants:. Dust s taken romllthe arth; . Dust s taken rompecific laces;c. Dust s taken rom holyplace;d. The dust nfluences dam'sdescendants;. The dust sparticularlygood).

(3) Themoldingf manfrommud.(4) Anetymologicalegendwhy s thefirstman's nameAdam?(5) God createsAdamwithHis hands.(6) Adamremainsmmobile or ortyears.(7) During his ime,blis (= thedevil)threatens dam and enters is

body.(8) God forceshe oultoenter hebody.

(9) Thesoul/spirits breathednto hebodyvia thehead/nose.(10) Adamhastilyries o rise nd sunable o do so.(11) Adam neezes ndsays l-hamdi-allah.

Some of these omponentsrecommon oJewish ndMuslim ourcesalike, nd ome ppearnonly ne ofthese raditions,s the ollowingableshows:

Source 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

BT - a,b - -

JT - cGen.R - - - - + - +PDRE - a,c - - - + - - + - +MDHG - c,e - + - - - - +Jerah. a

Muqatil - c,d,e + - - - + + + +Tabari b, ,d a,d + + + + + - + + +Mas'udi b d + + - + + - - + +

Maqdisi - b,d + + + + - + + + +

Kisa'i b b,d - + - + + + + + +Tha'labi b d + - - + - + + + +

10







MYTHIC SPECTS FTHEPROCESS FADAM'S REATIONNJUDAISMNDSLAM

Abbreviations:T = Babylonianalmud;JT= Palestinianalmud;Gen.R = Genesis

Rabbah;PDRE =

Pirqede-Rabbi

liezer;MDHG= Midrash

ha-Gadol; Jerah. Chronicles fJerahmeel.29

(1) God orders hat ustbe broughthatHe maycreateAdamfromt;Earth efuses.

Thissubject,whichwasgreatlyeveloped yMuslim radition,oesnotappear nearlymidrashim,utonly n a relativelyatesource, he Chro-nicles fJerahmeel:

Godthen alledGabriel nd aidunto im: Go andbringMe dust romhefour ornersfthe arth,nd will reateman utof t."Gabrielhenwent o

gatherust romhe arth,ut he arth rove im way nd wouldnot llowhim o take ust romt.Gabrielhereuponaid:"Why, earth,ost hou othearkenothevoiceof theLord,whofounded hee pon hewaters ithout

propsndwithoutillars?"heearthepliednd aid: I amdestinedobecomea curse,nd obe cursedhroughan,nd fGod Himself oesnot ake he ustfromme,no-onelseshall ver o so."WhenGod saw thisHe stretchedorthHishand,ook f he ust nd reatedherewithhe irst an n the ixthay.

Here we havethemotif f the ngels' objectionothe reation fman,32

on the nehand, nd onthe ther,dditionalonfirmationhatGodhadnopartnersn the reation.Tabari ites hree ersionsfthismotifnhisTafsirall arerepeatedn

theTa rikh),ach withtsown ignificance.hefirstersionppearsn thecommentarynQur'an2:30:

[atraditionoing ack o bn Abbasd. 68/686)nd therompanionsofthe rophet:]..and hen od sentGabrielo the arthn orderobringmud romer,nd arthaid: MayGod avemefromou akingnythingfrom e rharminge." o hereturnedithoutakingnd aid: Lord,he

requestedour rotectionnd grantedtto her." odthenentMichael,andEarth equested od's protection,nd hegrantedttoher, eturnednd

28. Midrash a-Gadol s the argest ompilationfnidrashinznthePentateuchhat as survived.t sconsideredo havebeencomposedn Yemen nthe hirteenthenturyyDavid benAmram, ho ompiledthe nterpretationfevery erse ccordingo themidrashic,almudic ndgaonic raditions,ndespeciallyMaimonides'nterpretation,eavinghemogethernto singlewhole. Stemburger,ntroduction,. 354)

29.Jerahmeelen Solomonwas a scribe enownedor isaccuracy, hoprobablyived n taly rSpainduringhe leventhrtwelfthentury.e collated numberfminormidrashimo create "re-writtenible,"calledTheChroniclesfJerahmeel,rom he reationf heworld o the estructionfthe econdTemple.H.Schwartzbaum,Prologemon,"n:M.Gaster,heChroniclesfJerhameelNewYork, 971], p.3-9)

30.A1241.5.2? Man madefromlaybroughty Angel fDeath.Motif-numbersndingnare taken

from .M.El-Shamy,olkTraditionsf heArab World: Guide oMotif lassificationBloomingtonndIndianapolis,995).vol. 1.31. M. Gaster, heChroniclesfJerahmeelNewYork,1971),p. 15.32. A1217.1- Angels pposecreationfMan.A fuller iscussion fthe ngels'objectionoAdam's

creationwill appear n my rticle Adam nd the ngels: n examinationfmythiclementsn Islamicsources," orthcoming.

11







LEIGH .B. HIPMAN

saidwhatGabriel ad aid.Godthenent heAngel fDeath ndEarthasked or od'sprotectionndhereplied:MayGod aveme rometurningwithoutulfillingis ommand.""

This versionppearsnMas'udi,3"and nanextended orm,nKisa'i3?"andTha'labi.36n these ales, s inmany thers elatingo the reationfman, heres alsoreferenceo the uestion f death theAngel fDeath'sparticipationn the rocess fAdam'screationhows hatife nddeath reintertwined.isa'i evennotes hat heAngel fDeathreceived ispositiondue to hismerciless ithstandingfEarth'spleas."7

The second ersion, hichppearsnthe ommentaryn 2:31,goesbacktoIbn Abbas.Here t s told hatGod sent heAngelofDeath n thefirstplaceandhecarried uthismissionuccessfully.8 The thirdersion, hichappearsn the ommentaryn 17:61, lso goesback to Ibn Abbasand svery imilarothe econd ersion,xcept hatnsteadftheAngel fDeath,God sends blistobring imAdam'sdust."9his traditionndswith blis'refusalo bowdown o Adam ndprovidesnexplanationor blis'feelingofsuperiorityhe,having roughthedust oGod,tookpart n Adam'screation.In theGnosticmyth,heEarth er se does notparticipatenAdam'screation,ut he rchons,he ulersf theworld dentifiedith hefallen ngels ndwith atan'sband, re the nes whocreateAdam.)

Kisa'i tooreportsversionccordingo whichGod sentGabriel,MichaelandeventuallyheAngelofDeath, o takedustfromheEarth.However,Kisa'i adds anexplanationor arth's bjection:When blisheard fGod'splan ocreate new ndhonorablereature,e went own oEarth nd nci-tedhernottogivedustfor his reature,laiming hatGod was about ocreate being hatwould ebel gainst im nd ufferellfire.40Ironically,thiswouldbe Iblis' ownfate, ue to hisoppositionoAdam.)Thistale,which ndswith alf fthehandfulfdust roughtrom arth ytheAngelof Deathbeingplaced nParadise nd the ther alf nHell,deals not nlywith he

problemf death n theworld, ut lso with hequestion fpre-

destination:ll ofhumanity'sateswere lready oreordainedt Adam'screation.n the arallel ersioneportedyTha'labi, blisdoesnot ake artin the roceedingsndGod Himselfnformsarth hatHe is about ocreatefrom erbeings, ome ofwhomwillobeyHimand someof whomwillrebel.41

33.Tabari, ami'al-bayanan tawil vy l-Qur'an Cairo,1954),vol.1,p. 203 hereafter:abari, af-sir).cf. dem., nnales t-Tabari,d.M.J. eGoeje Leiden,1879;repr. 964), eries1,pp.91-92.

34. Mas'udi,Muruj l-dhahabwa-ma'adinl-jawahir,d.Ch.Pellat Beirut, 979).39.35. Kisa'i, Vitae rophetarum,d. I. EisenbergLeiden,1923),pp.22-23.

36.Tha'labi, Arais al-majalisCairo,1340AH),p. 18.37. Kisa'i,p.23.38.Tabari, afsir, ol.1,p. 214.39. Ibid.,vol.15,p. 116. Cf.Annales,eries1,p. 88.40. Kisa'i,pp.22-23.41. Tha'labi,p. 19.

12







MYTHIC ASPECTSOF THE PROCESSOF ADAM'S CREATION NJUDAISMAND SLAM

AccordingoSchwartzbaum,heres a connection and even parallel

- between his toryndthe ales bout he ands fangelswhoopposed hecreation ftheworld.One of themostwidespreadmythsells fthe rea-tion f theworld ya creator odwhoorderseveralmessengersusuallythree)odive nto heprimordialcean norder oretrieve ud rom he eabed. n most ases,the irstwomessengersail ndonly he hirducceedsincarryinguthistask, ndreturns ith hemudfrom hich he arthwillbecreated.42Whilenon-Semiticersions fthismytheal with he reationoftheEarth,heSemitic ersions eal with he reationf man.The basicidea common oall versionss that hemessengersf theCreator odhavetogatherlay/mud/dusttc.;while woof them ail, he hirds successful.Theauthorf themyth ishes oshowhowthe material"or he reationof Earthor of Man was gathered.43isa'i's version f thestory,whichemphasizeshe lose connectionetween heAngel fDeath ndthe rea-tion fAdam, xpresseshe deathat he ycleof ife nd death s eternal,with he mplicationhat eath snecessaryest he arth ecome vercrow-ded." Inthe gaddahappearingnGen. Rabbah8.4,the irstwobands fangels hat pposedAdam'screationreequivalentothe wo ingle ngelsappearingntheMuslimegend. he thirdand,whichupportshe reationofman, s equivalento the hirdngel,who ucceeds ncollectinghedust

required orAdam's creation.chwartzbaumonsiders hemidrashntheChroniclesfJerahmeeln attemptocompromiseetweenheTalmudictraditionf three andsofangels ndtheMuslim raditionf threeingleangels nvolved nAdam'screation.45

Schwartzbaumlso notes hat ntheBook of Enoch dated . 200 BCE -100CE), Raphael s the ord fSheol, heunderworlda point fsimilaritywithKisa'i's creationtory.nthe amewaythat he hirdngel,Azra'il,spraised yGodfor atheringust nd s rewardedybecomingheAngel fDeath, o Labbiel,whosebandagrees o the creation fAdam, s named

Raphaelndbecomes ordof

healingHeb. refu'oth;f.

refa'im shades,ghosts).he atemidrashmphasizes,n ccordance ith he almudicegend,that nly heopposingngelswereburned, hile heireaders, abriel ndMichael,were aved.This, oo, onforms ith heMuslim radition.6

(2) Dust s taken rom arious laces.47Both heJewishndtheMuslim raditionsgree hathe ust rom hich

Adamwascreatedwas taken rom he ntire orld. heydisagrees tothe42. H. Schwartzbaum,JewishndMoslem ources f Falasha reationmyth,"nR. Patai t l. (eds.),

StudiesnBiblical nd Jewish olkloreBloomington,960),p.41.43. Ibid.,p. 42.44. Ibid.,p.44.

45. Ibid.,p.49. For detailed iscussionfthese raditions,ee "Adam nd theAngels: n examinationofmythiclementsn slamic ources," orthcoming.

46. Schwartzbaum,Jewishnd Moslem ources," . 50.47.A1241.5 Man wasmade romarth roughtrom our ifferentplaces;A.1241.5.? - Physicalnd

personalityttributestemperament)re determinedycharacteristicsfthedust romwhich hefirstmanwas created.

13







LEIGH N.B. CHIPMAN

significancef this ndas tothe pecific lacesfromwhich hedustwas

taken.While heMuslim raditionsuoted bove ontinuey tatinghatheAngelofDeath/Iblisatheredustfromverykindof soil and ofeverycolor, nd thereforeuman eingshavedifferentharacteristicsndtheirskinhasdifferentolors, irqede-Rabbi liezertellsus that hedustwasindeed aken romll theworld ndwas of llcolors, ut he ifferentolorsbecame ifferentrgansnAdam'sbody,nd the ustwasgatheredromllovertheworld o that heEarth ould never efuse urial y claiminghatsomeone's ust ame from omewherelse.48Perhaps his s a reflectionfthedifferentealitiesonfrontinghevariousuthors:slamwasrequiredocopewith he apid bsorptionf onvertsrommany aces ndhad n deo-

logy fthe qualityf ll believers, hileJudaismfter he irstenturyEhad to dealwith state f exile andwanderings.dditionally,he epeatedidea that hequalities fthedustfromwhichAdam was createdsoilthatwassalty, ood, ockytc.)foreshadowhe haracterndqualities fhumanbeings oday,eems o ndicate beliefnpredestination.

Anotherroupf raditionsivedetails bout he laces foriginf he ustusedtomake ifferentrgansnAdam'sbody.The headortheheart suallyreceiveshehonorfbeing reated romoly ust, aken ither rom he andof srael49r from ecca.5oA sub-groupmphasizeshat hedustwas taken

fromhemost oly lace: he ltar ftheTemple rtheKa'ba,5respectively.(In eitherase,thiswouldbe thevery lace n whichAdamhimselffferedsacrificesoGod.)Kister ites dditionalraditionsf this ind ndconsidersthem form fpraise raditionsfada'il l-buldanrfada'il l-amakin).laceshavecharacteristicualities, hichnfluencehepeople iving here.Vadetsuggestshat hereredifferentategoriesfangelsfor achcountry,hileAdam s anabsolutexpressionfthe niverse53the deaofman s micro-cosm,whichwas heldby heGnostics,lso.

Finally, here re traditionshat mphasize hat he dust fromwhichAdamwas createdwasdust fhigh uality. Jewish raditiononnects his

to the dea that hedustwas taken rom heplaceof the ltar f thefutureTemple,55hileMuslim ources aise he ssuewithin he rameworkfdis-cussionsof themeaning f variouswordsdescribinghematerial romwhichAdamwascreated.56heclaim hat damwas created romhe inest

48.Pirqede-Rabbi liezer, .77.49. BT,Sanhedrin8a-b.50.Kisa'i,p. 24; Tha'labi,p. 19.51.Muqatil, ol.4,p. 522.52. M.J.Kister,Legends ntafsirnd hadith iterature:he creation f Adam nd other tories,"n

A. Rippined.),Approacheso theHistoryf he nterpretationf heQur'an Oxford,988),pp.101-102.

53.J.-C.Vadet, La cr6ationt 'investituree l'homme ans a sunnisme u la 16gende'Adam hezal-Kisa'i," tudia slamnica2 (1975),p. 30.54.Midrash a-Gadol, . 78.55.JT,Nazir .4, cf.Pirqede-Rabbi liezer, p.35, 38,65;Midrash a-Gadol, . 78.56.Muqatil, ol.2,p.428;Tabari, afsit; ol.14,pp.27-30; bnKathir,l-Tafsirl-kabirBeirut,966),

vol.4,pp. 159-160.

14







MYTHIC SPECTS FTHEPROCESS F ADAM'S REATIONNJUDAISMND SLAM

material,rom ust aken rom hemostholyplace,maybe aimedpolemi-

cally t Gnosticonceptsfthe ody s created ndactivatedydemons:nthis astconceptionheres complete emonizationf thebody,57hile nJewishndMuslim raditionhebody saffordedespect.

(3) Themoldingfmanfrommud.59Thisprocesss indeedmentionednJewish ourcese.g.Pirqede-Rabbi

Eliezer), utwhat ppears here s nomore han listofwhathappenednevery our ftheFridaynwhich ll ofAdam'shistoryakes lace:

Thedayhad welveours;nthe irstour e collectedhe ust orthebody f]Adam,nthe econdhour] e formedt nto mass,nthe hird[hour]He gave t tsshape, nthefourthhour]He endowedtwith reath,inthefifthhour] estood n hisfeet,nthe ixthhour] e calledthe ani-malsbytheir] ames,nthe seventhhour] ve was oinedtohim,nthe

eighthhour] heywere ommandedoncerninghefruitsf the ree,ntheninthhour] heywent pto[their]ouch s two nd descendeds four,nthe enthhour] hey ransgressediscommandment,nthe leventhhour]theywereudged, nthe welfthhour] heyweredriven orth,s it s said,"So he drove ut heman."Gen.3:24)"'

Incontrast, uslim ources ell muchmore etailed ndcomplex toryofa long ndmulti-stagedrocess uringhe ourse f which ust ecomesmud, hemud ermentsndstinks,ndfinallyries ndbecomeshard lay.Sometimesachstage astsfortyaysorforty ears.Thepurpose f thesetales s todemonstratehegreatnessfGod,whomolded hard ndunyiel-dingmaterial:

AfterwardsheAngelof Deathraised t = thedust) o Allahand Allahcommandedim o make t ntomud,ndhe fermentedt ndkneadedtwithbitternd sweetand

saltywateruntil t became

mud,thereforeheir

=human eings')qualities revaried"' .. Then He kneadedtwithAdam'smud, hen eft tfor orty ears ntil tbecame ticky,oftmud.ThenHe leftitfor orty ears ntil tbecame lay ikepotterytensils. ndthats the rymudwhichsnoisywhenyou triket with our and, hats, tproducessound, o that t wouldbe known hat hismatternvolved killedwork nd

poweral-san'wa-'l-qudra)ndnotnature ndcunningal-tab'wa-'l-hila),forndeed rymud snotflexiblend snot asilymolded.62

57.G. Filoramo, HistoryfGnosticismOxford,990),pp.91-92.58. For theGnostic ttitudeothebody, ndtomatterngeneral,ee P. Brown, heBody ndSociety:

Men,women nd sexualrenunciationnearlyChristianityNewYork,1988),pp. 106-112. owe this efe-rence o DavidCook.

59.A1241- Man created romlay earth).60. Pirqede-Rabbi liezer, p.77-78.61.Tha'labi,pp. 18-19.62. Ibid.,p. 19.

15







LEIGH N.B. CHIPMAN

This version, y Tha'labi, s themostdetailed, utMuqatil,Tabari,

Mas'udi andMaqdisi 3all referothisengthyrocess. hecreationf maninGnosticmyths,oo, sa multi-stagednd laboraterocess: irsthe rea-tion f the piritrom even lementsythe even rchons,he he reationofevery rgan nthebodybydemons,ndfinallyhedeterminingfthedemons esponsibleor ctivatinghebody.' Perhapsheuse of the xpres-sion tin azib stickyndsmellymud) s anechooftheGnostics'negativeattitudeowardhebody nd matter?

(4) Anetymologicalegend why sthefirstman'snameAdam?6'Midrashha-Gadolcitesthreeuggestionsor netymologyf Adam's

name, ummingpJewishraditionsnthismatter:R. Judah'says: He is

named] fter he arthadama)fromwhich ewas taken. . Eliezer67ays:Adam ashes efer), lood dam),bile mara).R. Joshua enQarha68ays:Becausehe s flesh ndbloodhe was calledAdam."' Thefirstptions theonly nefoundnMuslim ources:Adam eceived isnamebecausehe wascreated rom hecrustadim"7radama)7'oftheEarth.Gnosticwritingsalso know his tymology,hich hey robablyookfrom ewish ources:Adamwas so calledbecausehecrawled pon he arthadama).72

(5) God createsAdamwithHishands."7Among heearlyJewishources, hismotif ppears xplicitlynly n

Aboth e RabbiNathan.74an nothaving een reated yDivineWord utbyGod's Hands smeant oglorifyim ndraisehim boveallother rea-tures. his s sometimestatedxplicitlyas inthis radition,oing ack oIbnIshaq (d. 150/767): Allah createdAdamfromhecrust f the arth(adamat al-ard),fromticky lay,fromtinkingmud,withHis hand, norder ohonor im nd toglorify is matteramr)7' bove theother rea-

63.Muqatil, ol.1,p.97;Tabari, afsir, ol.1,pp.202-203;Mas'udi, 39;Maqdisi,Kitab l-bad'wa-'I-ta'rikh,d. Cl. HuartParis,1899),vol.2,pp.81-83.

64. The

Apocr.phonofJohnCodex I), p. 15,1.13-p. 9,1.6 (= Layton, p.39-43).

65. Z183.0.1 - Meaning fa name.66. R.Judah arEzekiel: Babylonianmora,d. 299 CE. Prominenteacher t the cademyt Pumbe-

ditha.Stemburger,ntroduction,. 88)67. R. EliezerbenHyrcanus: tannawho ived round he urn f thefirstenturyE, sometimesal-

ledR. EliezertheGreat. irqede-Rabbi liezer s attributedohim Encyclopedia udaica Jerusalem,1971],vol.6,pp.619-623).

68. R. Joshua enQarha: tanna f themiddle f the econd enturyE, the eacherfR.Judah hePrince. ayings ransmittedn his name remainly faggadicmaterialEncyclopedia udaica, ol. 10,pp.281-282).

69.Midrash a-Gadol, . 77.70.Thus nTabari, afsir, ol.1, . 214andvol. 15,p. 116;Mas'udi, 39:Maqdisi, ol.2,p.83;Kisa'i,

p. 23.71.Thus nTabari, afsir, ol.1,p. 208;cf.Annales,eries1,p. 93.72. TheHipostasis f heArchons,. 88,1. 16 = Layton, . 70).

73. A1210- Creation f ManbytheCreator.74. Aboth eRabbiNathan, d.S. Schechter,London, 887;repr. ewYork,1997),version ,ch.1,

p. 8.75.Amnranbe understoods thedivine ispensationndplanfor heworld ngeneral,ndhere, or

humanitynparticular.f.J.Baljon, The amnrfGod in theQuran,"Acta OrientaliaCopenhagen)3(1954): 7-18. thank avid Cookfor his eference.

16







MYTHIC SPECTS FTHEPROCESS F ADAM'S REATIONNJUDAISMND SLAM

tures"6 andsometimest s implicit,s inthis radition,hich ppearsn

Tabari'scommentaryn Qur'an,38:75-76 ndgoes backto 'Abdallahb.'Umarb. al-Khattab:Allahcreated our hings ithHis hand: heThroneand Paradise nd thePen and Adam. Afterwardsesaidtoeachthing e!and it was.""77n contrast, or the Gnostics,Adam's creationby theDemiurge,he reatorf thisworld,nd the ulingrchons,s in nowayasource fpride rhonor.Man is worthyfrespect nlydueto thedivinespark assed o himbySophia.78

(6) Adamremainsmmobileor ortyears.79Jewishnd slamic raditionsgree nsayinghat dampassed hrough

stage n which e was an nanimate,nliving odygolem).ThusGen.Rab-

bah,for xample,ays: 'AndHebreathednto isnostrils'Gen.2:7):Thisteaches hat e sethim pas an unformed ass Heb.:golem), illing pthespaceof theearth o thefirmament.henhe tossed hesoul intohim."80Muslim ources"' onnect his tage o a Qur'anicverse, 6:1: "Has therecomeuponman period ftimewhenhewasnothing orthmentioning?"Thistime s theperiodn whichAdamwas an nanimateody. omeadd tothedry escriptionhedetail hat he ngels eared im t this tage:

[a traditionoing ack o bn Abbas nd therompanionsf he ro-

phet:].. then llah reatedimwith ishands.. and reated imn theshape f man,ndhewas clay ody or ortyearsf he uration(mniq-dar) fFriday,nd hengels assed yhimndwerefraid henheyawhim. ndmore hanhe estbliswas fraid...82

Kisa'iandTha'labi ddthe lacewhere dam ay nthis tate: ewaspla-cednext o thegate fParadise,reciselynthe potwhere he ngels assedbydaily."3ha'labi lsosays hat hileAdamay nanimate,he ain f orrowfell n him or ortyears,nd he ains foyfor single ear. his s the ea-son,hesays, hatAdam'sdescendantsavemany orrows nd are drawno

pleasurendhappiness" yet nothernstancefthe oncepthatncidentsthat appenedo Adamduringiscreationnfluenceisdescendants.

AccordingotheGnosticmyth,dam ayon the roundfter he rchonscreated im.Althoughe hadananimate ody, e wasunable o moveuntiltheDemiurgeccidentallylewSophia's spiritpneuma)ntohim.5

76. Tabari, afsir, ol.1,p. 208.77. Ibid.,vol.23,p. 185.78. Filoramo,. 93.79.A2141.3 Man madefromlay mage ndvivified.

80.Gen.Rabbah, 4:4 Neusner, 56).81.Muqatil, ol.4,p.522;Tabari, afsir, ol.29, . 202.82. Tabari, afsir, ol. 1,p. 203;cf.Annales,eries ,pp.91-92.83. Kisa'i,p.25;Tha'labi,p. 19.84.Tha'labi, bid.85.TheApocqrphonfJohnCodex I),p. 19, 1. 0ff.= Layton,p.43-44).

17







LEIGH N.B.CHIPMAN

(7) During his ime,blisthreatensdam ndenters isbody.86This motif oes notappear n theJewishources, s

accordingo the

Jewishradition,atan = Iblis)enters he tory nly t a later tage.Muqa-til lreadyells hatblis ntered dam's laybody hroughis nus nd xi-ted hroughismouth,nd aid: "I am firendthiss hollow lay.Fire ver-comesclayand I willovercome his man]."87n thisway, blistries oconquer is fear f Adam ndtoshowhissuperiorityverhim.Tabari ndMas'udireporthat espiteblisfearing dammore han heotherngelsdid,he wouldhit rkickhim,nter im ndgoout fhim,ndthreatenim:

Ibliswould ome ndkick im,hen damwould ing thats,make

sound and hats [themeaningf]Allah'swordsfromlay ike ottery"(Q,55:14),ike omethinglown-uphatsnot olid.Afterhat,bliswouldenter ismouthnd xit hroughis nus nd nteris nus nd xithroughhismouth,hen oulday: You renothingbecause fhis ingingandyouweremade or othing!f am orule ver ou, willkillyou,nd fyou re orule verme, will ebelgainst ou.""

Kisa'i adds thatblis said that s Adam washollow,he wouldhave noescapefrom intafoodorwheat)8 perhaps foreshadowingftheway

bywhich blis would nsnare im?In contrasto theMuslim raditions,n theGnosticmythhearchons

express heir ear fAdam ndrevengehemselvesy mprisoningim nacorporealody nly fterpirit as beenbreathedntohim ndhe sno on-germerely claybody.Theblowingnofspiritpneuma) nablesAdam obegin omove, nd atthismomenthewatchingrchons ealize hat heyhave created being uperioro themselves Sophia's powerhasmovedfrom heDemiurge o Adam. n response,hearchons engefullyorceAdam down othebaseness fmaterialxistence: heyre-formim, outofthe gnorancefdarknessnddesire,ndtheir ounterfeitpirit... ndhe

became mortal uman eing.""90notherwords, heouter hellof matterthat nclosesAdam'sspiritwascreated t the econd tage,"9n contrastotheJewish ndMuslim oncept f thebodybeing reated irst.

Itwould eem hat hedifferencesn thismotif etweenheGnosticmythand the Muslim treatmentf it derivefrom hedifferenceetween heimportancefthe rchonsnthisworld nd blis' relativempotenceis-ai-

86.A.54.3.1 - Iblisrejects dam.87.Muqatil, ol.1,p. 97.88.Tabari, afsir, ol. 1,pp.201-202.Cf.Annales,eries

1,p. 90:Mas'udi,? 39.89. Kisa'i,p. 25.

90. TheApocrvphonfJohnCodex I), p. 19,1. 2-p.21,1.15 = Layton, p.44-45).91.Theremaybe a certainarallel o the oroastrianoncept f a double reationftheworld, irstn

thedimensionf the piritme^n6g)ndthenn the imensionf matterge^~g). ee S. Shaked,Thenotions

nimn6gndgFtign thePahlavi exts nd their elation oeschatology,"cta OrientaliaCopenhagen)3

(1971),pp.59-107

18







MYTHICASPECTS OFTHEPROCESS OF ADAM'SCREATION NJUDAISMAND SLAM

vis Allah.AccordingotheGnostics,hearchons reated hisworld, nd

withint,Man;accordingotheMuslim iewpoint,llah reatedheworld,not blis, ndevengavemankind eapons ordefense gainstblis. n theJewish ndMuslim cheme fthings,heworldwas created ya goodandbenevolentod- andtheproblems explaininghepresence f evil ntheworld; or heGnostics,nthe ontrary,heworld s allevilfromhe utset,and t snecessaryoexplain owa few lectmay till ometobe saved.92

(8) God forces he oultoenter hebody.93The idea that he oulentershebodyunwillinglyoes indeed xist n

Jewish radition,ut nrelation o Adam'sdescendantsatherhan ohehimself one ofthe ngelsforceshe oul to enter hebody fevery ew-

born hild.94n all theMuslim ources xamined ere, he oul s unwillingtoenterAdam'sbodybecause ts orifices recrampednd narrow. llahforcest oenter,aying:Asyou nterednwillingly,o shallyou ome utunwillingly."hisstorys not ited yTabari, ut ppearsnMuqatil"snd

Maqdisi,9 nd tseems ohavebeenuniversallyiked npopular ircles,sit sreportedoth yKisa'i"7 ndbyTha'labi,whoquotes nonymousear-nedmen s his source:

The'ulama' aid:When llahwantedobreathhe oul ntoAdam, e

orderedt ogo nto im,nd he oul aid:Adeep ntrance,dark ntrance.ThenHerepeatedis ommando he oul nd trepeatedtswords,nd oalso thirdime,ntilt he ourthime esaid: nternwillinglynd omeout nwillingly."9

It seemsthat his tory's urposes toexplainhumanity'sear f deathandstrugglesgainstt.Theremayperhaps e anechoof Gnosticismn thesoul's negativettitudeowardshebody. Tha'labidoes notmake hedis-tinction etween oul andspirithat heGnostic ystems o, accordingowhich oth

bodyndsoul

originaten the rchons nd

onlyhe

pirits of

heavenly rigin.)(9) Thesoul/spirits breathednto hebodyviathehead/nose.99The breath f ife hatGod breathedntoAdam s thephysicalmanifes-

tation fthespirituallementsnman.All thesources, othJewish ndMuslim, greethat he oul/spiritntered dam'sbodythroughhehead,while omeare more recise y statinghat hebreathnteredhroughhenose probablyecausewe do infact nhale hroughhenose.Midrash a-

92. Stroumsa,. 33.93. A185.12 Deityprovidesmanwith oul.

94. See Ginzburg,ol.1,pp.56-59 nd notes hereto.95.Muqatil, ol. 1,p. 97.96.Maqdisi,vol.2,p. 87.97. Kisa'i,p. 26.98.Tha'labi,p. 20.99.E703.1?- Soul creatednAdamfrom od's breath.

19







LEIGH N.B. CHIPMAN

Gadolexplainshis hoice, ayinghat hemouth,yes nd ars re ll iable

tobe the rgans f sin.Only henoserejects vilsmells nd s attractedogoodones, n the ameway hathe ighteouslee romin ndcleavetotheTorah.'"

The Muslim ources rom abarionwards dd that very rgan fthebody hat he pirit eached ecameflesh ndblood nd startedowork."'Kisa'i describeshefirsthingshatAdam saw and heard: And the piritentered romhe rown fhisheadto hiseyes, ndAdamopened hemndbegan o ook athisclay body nd couldnot peak, ndsawwrittenntheawning ftheThronesaradiqal-'arsh):There s no God butAllah andMuhammads theMessengerfGod ntruth.hespiriteached is ars nd

hebegan ohear he ngels'praisesn the ir"'02 Adam's firstxperienceswere onnectedo theworshipfGod. Kisa'i also states hathis ntirero-cess lasted ivehundredears.03

TheGnostic quivalentf thismotifs theDemiurge reathinghe piritintoAdam thushemistakenlyransfershepower fhismother,ophia,intoAdam ndcauseshim o be hissuperior.'"

(10) Adamhastilyries o rise nd sunable o do so.Thismotifppears nly nMuslim raditions,05which eporthat efore

the oul/spiritadtime opassthroughllparts fAdam'sbody ndchange

themnto lesh ndblood,hetried orise ndwas unable odo so. Thismotifseems obe aimed texplainingheQur'anic erses Man sapt obehasty"(17:11) and"Man was created f haste" 21:38), as one or both f theseversesnvariablyppears ogether ith t.Thiscouldalsobe anexpressionofMan'shelplessnessnthe ace fGod: Man candonothing ithout od'sassistancendguidance.

(11) Adam neezes ndsays l-hamd i-allah.Adam'sfirst eed s topraisehisCreator on this oint heJewishnd

Muslim raditionsreagreed:

Adamtoodnhis wo eet nd ooked panddown .. and aw ll thecreatureshatheHoly ne, lessed eHe,had reated,ndbeganopraisehis reator'same.07

And hepiritassedhroughim ntilt eachedis oes nd hentwan-ted o eave hroughhemut idnot ind nopening;hereforetreturnedtothehead ndwent ut hroughhenostrils,ndhe sneezed romhat,

100.Midrash a-Gadol, p.78-79.101.Tabari.Tafsir,ol.1,p.202.cf.Annales,eries ,pp.92-93;Maqdisi, ol.2,p.87;Tha'labi, .20.102.Kisa'i,p. 26.

103. bid.,p. 27.104.Filoramo,p.92-93.105.Muqatil, ol. 1,p.98; Tabari,Tafsir, ol. 1,pp.201-202;Mas'udi,A41; Maqdisi,vol.2, p. 87:

Kisa'i,pp.26-27;Tha'labi, . 20.106.A1319.9 Origin fsneezing: 1537- Origin f ocial

etiquette,107.Pirqede-Rabbi liezer, p.35-36.

20







MYTHIC SPECTS FTHEPROCESS FADAM'S REATIONNJUDAISMND SLAM

becauset efthroughhenostrils,nd aid: PraisedeGod al-hamdi-

allah)!" nd hat ashis irstpeech.08

Accordingo St. renaeus, ishop fLyons nthe econd enturyE, theGnostics elieved hat fterophia's pirit assed ntoAdam,he mmediatelyleft is reatorsndpraised damQadmon, isdivinerchetype.'"nthe ameway,AdamQadmia rAdamKasia,theFirstMan of thegnosticMandaeansect,0 neezes ndblesses he osmicighthatreated im nd similarhinghappenstthe ime f he reationf he irstuman.' We can earn romhisthat neofman'smostmportantunctionsstopraiseGod.This deacanalsobe foundnthewritingsf heNusayri-'Alawiteeligion,hich onsiderstself

tobe a splinterf the hi'a andcontainsmanyGnostic lements.n a proto-Nusayriwork,Kitab l-haft a-'l-azilla, heworld hat xisted efore urworlds described.here he ouls called zilla, hadows, r shbah, igures,andalternativelyights) newnothing,ot venwhothey hemselvesere,until llah aughthem. hefirstandmostmportant)hinghat llah aughtthemwastopraise ndglorifyim. 2 Inaddition,fter he reationfAdamin theworld fpre-existence,odmade covenant ith im ndhisdescen-dants fterhedivine ypostasisalledtheHijab (veil)hadtaughthemhattheres noGodbutAllah.3However,bookwrittennthenineteenthentury

bya Nusayriwho convertedoChristianity,aints very ifferenticture.There,he ouls ntheworld fpre-existencerepresenteds lightsnd tarsthat hought,ike he ngelsnorthodoxslam, hat obeingmore onorable(akram)han hemselvesouldpossiblye created. hismistake,nd he ddi-tional inofnon-recognitionf Alib. AbiTalib s the ncarnationfGod astheNusayrisonsiderim obe), ed toa severe unishment:heywere owe-red oa basedwelling-placedar iflaniyya),hereheywere lacednbodiesofflesh ndblood hayakil ashariyya).nly hosewho, n the uture,ouldidentifyhencarnationf Ali would e allowed oreturnothe pperegions;therestwould ontinueo be reincarnatedorever."'14Thesewords ndicate

clear elief hatman's urposenthisworldstoknow isCreatornd opraisehim.

108.Muqatil, ol. 1,p. 98.109. St. renaeus, gainst eresies1.30.6 = Layton, . 176).110.The Mandaeansre n ancientMiddleEasternect, till xistingn raq.Their eligionriginatesn

the irsthree enturiesf theCommon ra, nd ts ources re till hadowy. he Gnostic haracteristicsfthis ect nclude he eliefn the lluminationf the oulthroughnowledgef tsdivine rigin; cosmolo-

gical tructuref vil archons hose urposes topreventhe oul'sascensionhroughheheavenlypheresto be unitedwith he upreme od;a descriptionfAdam'screation imilar othat fSaturninus,nearlyGnostic eacher. on-Gnosticharacteristicsresupportfmarriagend complex itual,ncludingites f

baptism,hat re unknownnother nostic ects.Forfuller iscussion,ee theworks fE. Drower.111. E. Drower, heSecretAdamOxford, 960),pp.26,35.112. al-Mufaddal . Umayr l-Ju'fi,itab l-Haftwa-'l-Azillat,d.A. Tamer nd gn.-A.Khalif6Bei-

rut, 960),p. 30.113. bid.,p.31;cf.Kisa'i's descriptionf Adam's wakeningp.26).114.Sulaymanl-Adhani,l-Bakura l-Sulaymnaniyyvan.p.,n.d.),pp.59-61.

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LEIGH N.B.CHIPMAN

WithinhepaleofMuslim rthodoxy,isa'i andTha'labi tate xplicitlythatAdamwascreatedopraiseGod."15nthese raditions,hefirst

tahmnid(sayingPraised e God"- al-hamdi-allah)s almost lwaysinkedo nee-zing; hiss anetiologicalmyth, eantoexplainwhy nemustayal-hanmdli-allah fterneezing.

Secondarynarratives

(1) Adam s createdndrogynousIn Gnosticmythologicalystems,heAnthropos,hegod who is the

divinerchetype

fAdam nd nwhosemage

Adam screated,sandrogy-nous,bothmale and female.116Adam'scorporeal ody s also createdhisway,until e s divided nto wo a man nda woman.'7An echoofthesetalesmaybe foundn thefollowing idrashim,rom enesisRabbah:

SaidR. Jeremiahen leazar:WhenheHolyOne, lessed eHe, ameto create he irst an, emade im ndrogynous,s it s said Male ndfemalereatede themnd alled heir ameMan = Adam].'Gen. :2)"SaidR. Samuel arNahman:' "WhenheHoly ne, lessed eHe, reatedthe irst an, e createdimwithwo aces,henawed imnto wo ndmade back none ide nd back nthe ther.""'9

ThedifferenceetweenheGnosticmythnd hemidrashies nthe acthatthemidrash'surposestoresolve possibleontradictionnthe wo toriesfcreationn theTorah, etweenMale andfemalemadeHe them"Gen. 1:27)and Hetook neofhis ibs,"Gen. :21)withoutivingignificanceo he ri-ginal ndrogynousorm. nlike heGnosticmyth,hemidrash oes not onsi-der ndrogynyn dealperfectorm. rom his oint fview, heres nodiffe-rence etweensawedhim nto wo" nd "male ndfemalemadeHe them."Urbacheesthis sa definitexamplef a kind fkillingfmyth,"r an lto-

getheroulless

myth,"s no conclusions derivedromhe

rmidrash.'20ere

do see a mythicimension,orfno conclusions to be derived rom dambeingreatedtfirstsandrogynous,f nfact his asno ignificance,hen hybotheromentiont?ManymidrashimelatingoAdam aisehimbove he ta-ture f nordinaryan.AccordingoUrbach,21hesemidrashimppear nlyfromhe hirdenturyE, when heGnostic ectswere ctive. annot hesemotifs,ncludinghe reatmentfAdam's ndrogynousast, eseen s pole-mics gainst nosticism,nd/orts nfluence?

115.Kisa'i,p. 26; Tha'labi,p. 20.116.Filoramo,. 58.117.TheRevelationoAdam, . 64,11. 2ff.= Layton, .55).118.R.SamuelbarNahman: Palestinianmnorafthe urn fthe hirdenturyE; one ofthe oremost

transmittersf ggadahofhis time.Encyclopediaudaica, ol.14,pp.812-813).119.Gen.Rabbah, :2 (Neusner,3).120,E.E. Urbach, he ages: Their oncept.sndBeliefs Jerusalem,975).p. 228.121. bid.,pp. 228-230.

22







MYTHIC SPECTS F THEPROCESS FADAM'S REATIONNJUDAISM ND SLAM

Thismotif idnot ppearn theMuslim ources.

(2) Adam s created rom he ailbone.AccordingoMuqatil, thefirstrgan hatwas created n Man was thetailbone, fterwardsAllah] ssembled romttherest fhiscreationi.e.,the est fthe ody] ndthe astofAdam'sorgans obecreatedwasthe in-gernail. nd he arthwill onsumellofthe orpse'sbones, xcept or hetail bone- save the bones of theprophets and that heEarthwillnotconsume. rom t menwillbe reassembledntheDay of Resurrection."2The ideathat heres a bone nthebody hatnever ots nd fromwhichnew bodywill be created fter heResurrection,lso exists n Jewishsources,s shown ythefollowingtory,rom enesisRabbah:

Hadrian mayhisbones e pulverizedaskedR. Joshua enHana-niah,'23From hatointn he ody ill heHoly ne, lessedeHe,makemanproutp in he esurrection]n hege o ome?" esaid ohim: Hewillmake improutut f he utluz) f he pinalolumn."2

The dea ofthe uzwasknown,t east mongMiddleEastern ews, ntilmodernimes.125 did notfind n Jewish ourceson thebasis of the ndexof TheLegends ftheJews), hatAdamwas created rom is tailbone.

Conclusions

Comparisonf Jewish, uslim ndGnosticwritingshows hat n thesubject f theprocess f Adam'screation, uslim ourceshavea highermythicalontenthandoes themidrash.Most of thecomponents ithmythicignificancere more ommon rmorehighly evelopednIslam,and thereremythiclementshat xist nly n theMuslim ources.

Themythicdea that od ordershe arth osupply imwith ust or hecreationfManexists nly none atemidrashicource,while n theMus-lim ourcest sextensivelyeveloped, speciallynTabari ndthe isasal-anbiya' literature.egardinghe essenceof thisdust, hequestions hatinteresthemidrashnd theMuslim ources re different:hemainpointemphasizedyall Muslim ources,withoutxception,126s the nfluencef

122.Muqatil, ol.2,p.429.123. R. Joshua . Hananiah: tanna fthe irstndsecond enturies E andone of the eading agesof

thegenerationfer hedestructionf theTemple. amous or ispolemics gainst heChristiansEncyclo-pediaJudaica, ol. 10,pp.279-281).

124.Gen.Rabbah 8.3 Neusner,.295).Parallel ersions: ev.Rabbah18.1, cclesiastes abbah12.5.125.Drower,bid., . 29,n.5.126. ncludingbnKathir, hohas no narrativeiscussionfthe rocess f Adam'screation,resuma-

blyan expressionf hisunrelentingampaigngainst ny nterpretationhat oesnot tick losely o the

Qur'anic ext eeN. Calder, Tafsir rom abari o bnKathir: roblemsn thedescriptionsf genre,' n:

G.R. HawtingndA.-K.Shareefeds.),Approacheso theQur'an London,1993), . 124.

23







LEIGH N.B. CHIPMAN

thedust nthe haracteristicsf Adam'sdescendantsWe are ooking oranswers o the

question:Whyre

peopledifferent?

eanwhile,lmost ll

themidrashictories, hetherhey laim hatAdam's dustwastaken romall theworld rwhetherhey etailwhich lacesgavedust orwhich rgans,state hat t eastpart fthe ustwas taken romheplaceofthe ltar fthefutureemple herewe are ooking or n answer o thequestion:Whatmakesmanwhathe is? Is hisbodypure r defiled? heanswer uggestedby hese raditionss that hebody sholy ndworthyfrespect, certainlya point fpolemicwith heGnosticmyth, hich egardshebody s thework fthe vilarchons.

As notedbove, heMuslim ources evote great ealof ttentionothe

process fAdam'screation romstinking ud"byGod, nd to blis'entryintoAdam'sbodywhilehe wasstill nanimate.hemidrash oes not eemtohave n dea of struggleetween dam ndSatanbeforehe ormerasfullyonscious,whichs so conspicuousn theMuslim ources ndwhichadds notherimensionothe haracterfproudblis:Thesetraditionsiveus additionalnformationhat anexplainwhyhefelt uperioro Adam ndrefusedo bowdownbefore im. n theGnosticmaterial,here s noneedfor strugglentil dam s made onscious ythe ransferf the piritntohisbody upto that oint,heDemiurgendarchonsreclearly is uper-

iors.As for hebreathingfthe oul/spiritnto hebody, heMuslim ourcesdescribehe oul'spassage hroughhebody ndhowmuch imewasspentineachorgan descriptionshat ecomemore ndmore etailed s wegoforwardn time ndas we pass fromcholarlyopopulariterature.uchdevelopments not obe foundn themidrash,lthoughhemidrash oesraise question hatMuslim ourcesgnore:Whywas the oulbreathednthroughhenose?

OnlytheMuslim ources ellthatAdam tried o rise n haste ndwasunable o do so,and that e sneezed efore raising od although dam's

praiseof God is a detail hat ppears n themidrash s well).Themanydetails ndthe ong ales, ometimesitednseveral ersions, hichppearintheMuslim ources,ncomparison ith he horter,ometimesvenfrag-mentary,tories fthemidrash,ndicate ere ooa greatermythicalimen-sion n theMuslimmaterialxamined,atherhan ntheJewishmaterial.

Oneofthe ssues learly rising romhese raditionssthe onceptionfAdamas thepatternfmankind. dam's first eed was to praiseGod.Man's role s toknowGod's deedsand topraiseHim.This dea is expres-sed in all thesources,Jewish, nostic r Islamic, examinedhere. t is

alwaysrecountedhatAdampraisedGod,either onsciously r inadver-tantlye.g.by saying l-hamdi-allah fterneezing).As Adam s thepat-127.Cf.Hillel's commentshatf tatuesfkings,etup n the heatresndcircuses f theGentiles,re

considered orthyfrespectnd re leaned ndpolished, owmuchmore hould uman eings,reatednGod's image, ake areoftheir odies,which s thatmage Lev.Rabbah33.3).

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MYTHIC ASPECTSOFTHE PROCESSOF ADAM'S CREATION NJUDAISMAND SLAM

tern ndexampleforhisdescendants, e too,thechildrenfAdam, re

bound opraiseGod.In the amewaythat onsaresimilarotheir athers,nd whathappenstofathersnfluencesheirons, o are we all,Adam'schildren,nfluencednot nly yAdam's in as Christianityouldhave t)but y verythinghathe underwenturingheprocess f hiscreation ndimmediatelyfter.2The fact hatAdam'sexamplenfluences isdescendantss especially ro-minentnMuslim ources,where nemay lso findhints f belief npre-destination. otonlyAdam'sdeedsareto be imitatedyhisdescendants,but ven thedustfromwhichhewas created nd the vents hat ccurredprior ohisbeing ivenife ffecthe haracterfhisdescendants.f weare

ofdifferentace and color this s becauseAdam was created f differentcolored lays; f we meet nacquaintancendgreet imwith alam alay-kum this sbecauseAdamdidso; ifwe arecapableof earningnd ccep-tingGod's guidance it s becauseAdam wascapableof this.

LEIGHN.B. CHIPMANTheHebrewUniversityfJerusalem

128. or heGnostics,he rocessfAdam'sreations the ause fhumanity'sresentlight.

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LaroseMythic Aspects of the Process of Adam's Creation in Judaism and Islam - Leigh N. B. Chipman