ADAPA RECONSIDERED: LIFE AND DEATH IN CONTEXTUAL PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

In all ages of civilization, men have challenged the brutal reality of death with two unconquerable dreams: one the hope of longevity, long life, and the other the illusion of immortality, of eternal life. Let us see first what the Bible has to say on the second of these two subjects, and then try to retrace our steps to the older lands of the Fertile Crescent and their traditions. However, far be it from me to survey all the twenty-four books of the Bible or all the vast literature of the cuneiform and hieroglyphic sources. I will confine myself instead to a type of expression common to the whole ancient world, namely epic literature.