Résumé
Résumé de The Forgotten Books of Eden
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The full book, start to finish.À qui s’adresse-t-il ?
For readers curious about how the Bible was read and retold in the ancient world, and anyone who loves legends of Adam and Eve, journeys through the heavens, and tales of wisdom.
De quoi parle ce livre ?
This book is an anthology of ancient writings that grew up around the Old Testament but were left out of most Bibles. It was put together in the early twentieth century from English translations made a few decades earlier. The texts inside have no single author. They were written by unnamed Jewish and Christian writers over many centuries, in Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, Syriac, Ethiopic, Arabic and Old Church Slavonic.
What you get is a tour of how ancient readers filled the gaps in Scripture. What happened to Adam and Eve after Eden? Where did Enoch go when he walked with God? What did Jacob's twelve sons say on their deathbeds? Each text answers in its own way, and each was valued by particular communities. In this summary we move through the main groups of texts in turn, starting with the book of the collection that is closest to Eden itself, the story of Adam and Eve.
Dans ce résumé
- 1A shelf of texts, not one bookFree
- 2Adam and Eve live on after Eden
- 3Enoch is lifted through the heavens
- 4Twelve sons give their last words
- 5Diverse traditions shaped stories about the Bible
- 6Why they stand outside most Bibles
Point clé 1 sur 6
A shelf of texts, not one book
The first thing to grasp is that this is a gathering of separate works. Each one has its own date, language and history. They share a loose link to the world of the Old Testament, and many were written by Jews in the centuries around the time of Jesus or by early Christians who built on Jewish stories.
The word apocrypha is often used for such writings. It comes from a Greek word meaning hidden, though the books were never truly hidden. Many circulated widely in their day. Some were copied for centuries in monasteries and churches, and a few were read aloud in worship.
The collection was assembled in the 1920s from translations made in the nineteenth century by scholars working from manuscripts in several languages. It also means some of the scholarship behind the notes has since been revised, and newer editions often date and group these works differently.
Because the pieces differ so much, it helps to read them as a library with several rooms. One room holds stories about the first humans. Another holds visions of heaven. Another holds the last words of famous ancestors. We will walk through these rooms in order.
That’s 1 of 6 key points.
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Go deeper: the whole of The Forgotten Books of Eden
The full book, start to finish.About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- FormatseBook, large-print eBook, audiobook, 15-minute summary; paperback, hardcover and large print at cost
- LanguagesEnglish and 14 other languages
Questions about The Forgotten Books of Eden
What is The Forgotten Books of Eden about?
It is an anthology of ancient Jewish and early Christian writings linked to the Old Testament. It includes tales of Adam and Eve after Eden, Enoch's journey through the heavens, the last words of Jacob's sons, and ancient hymns and wisdom tales.
Are the Forgotten Books of Eden in the Bible?
Most are not in the Bibles used by Jews or by most Christian churches. Communities came to different lists of Scripture over time. Some related books, such as First Enoch, are kept in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.
Who wrote the Books of Adam and Eve?
Nobody knows. They are anonymous works that survive mainly in Ethiopic and Arabic and probably rest on earlier Christian writing. Scholars usually place them in the early centuries of the Christian era, though the exact dates are debated.
What does Enoch experience in the heavens?
It tells how Enoch is lifted through the heavens and shown the secrets of creation. He witnesses the heavenly court, with its angels who sing.
Is The Forgotten Books of Eden hard to read?
Taking one work at a time, such as Adam and Eve or Enoch, makes it easier to follow, and the stories themselves are direct.