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| God the Father by Girolamo dai Libri |
The story of Adam and Eve is one of
the most renowned stories in world. It
is the story of the first man and woman, how they lost paradise, and how they became
mortal. Though the biblical book of
Genesis tells the most known parts of their story, there are other sources that
help to complete it. Two such sources, the Legend of the Jews by Louis Ginzberg
and the Forgotten Books of Eden
edited by Rutherford H. Platt, add significance to the tale that may not have
been quite so obvious through the book of Genesis alone. Throughout the story there is a theme of
loss. Adam loses a wife; Adam and Eve lose
Paradise in the form of the Garden of Eden; Adam commits suicide on several
occasions; Adam and Eve lose their sight as night takes over the day. What really stands out, however, is the
temporariness of those losses.
Folklore often cites Lilith as the
first wife of Adam. God created her from
the dust, just as he created Adam.
Unfortunately, Lilith loathed Adam and rebuked him. Her displeasure was so great that even three
angels could not force her to return to him.
Because of this, Adam lost his first wife and was alone again with no
one to share in all of God’s creation.
The Lord, however, saw Adam’s need for a companion and created Eve to
lessen the burden.
According
to the book of Genesis, the first man and woman disobey God’s one command; they
eat of the Tree of Knowledge. As a
result, the couple is kicked out of Eden and sentenced to mortality. From this point on in the reading, Adam
mourns this loss. Mercifully, God
promises Adam that he and his people will be readmitted into the Garden after a
period of time. Though the promise seems
to do little to console Adam, the loss is lessened by the eventuality of his return.
Despite
God’s promise, Adam’s anguish does not dissipate. He often throws himself to the ground from
great heights in attempts to repent.
Even after God tells him that the act is unnecessary and forgiveness
will be his, Adam still strikes himself down.
His many deaths last only a short while, as God returns him to his
living state time and time again.
Upon
multiple reassurances, Adam and Eve return to the cave where God had bade them
to live. Whenever night fell, the
darkness was so intense that they could not see. They cried out to God, begging to know why he
would punish them with blindness. Once
again, God reassured them and promised that the loss of light was only
temporary. Still, they wept and mourned
the loss. God promised them that the
night and the darkness were not punishments, but part of the day that He had
created, for he knew that man would disobey him. Soon, day broke and the darkness faded. Once again, Adam’s loss was only
temporary.
The
impermanence of loss throughout the storytelling speaks both to the mercy of
God and to the temporary nature of man.
This significance within the story is nearly impossible to find through
the book of Genesis alone, which focuses more heavily on the consequences of
disobedience than on mercy. With further
study into the mythology, however, the theme mercy and impermanence of loss become
much harder to ignore.
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