Armenian Apocrypha Relating to Adam and Eve

Legends about Adam and Eve are to be found in Jewish, Christian and Moslem sources. They develop the first chapters of Genesis in many and varied ways, reflecting the religious understanding of the different traditions. In this volume 29 new texts are presented for the first time from unpublished Armenian manuscripts. The Armenian texts are accompanied by translations, introductions and commentaries, in which their roots in more ancient Jewish and Christian literature are explored. These texts illustrate the rich development of Adam traditions in an oriental Christian tradition, with relationship to Greek, Syriac and Georgian sources. Their ramifications extend back into earlier Jewish traditions and they are keys to understanding many aspects of medieval Armenian culture.