Abstract
Sir 49,16 surprises the reader, because it provides a picture of the father of humanity which is different from the one we know from Genesis. Usually, this verse is explained as a reference to Adam's condition before he sinned, but this is unconvincing. The present article develops the alternative thesis that Sirach is referring to a tradition about the first man which is different, and probably more ancient, than the one we have in Genesis, a tradition concerning a glorious first man living in the garden of God. It is possible to mention some biblical and non-biblical passages as witnesses of this tradition: the Animal apocalypse in I Enoch 83–90, some texts belonging to the Qumran corpus (1QS, CD and 1QH), as well as Ez 28,11–19 and Job 15,7f. In later tradition this picture of a glorious Adam came to be neglected, and he became, from the apostle Paul on, the first sinner, blamed for the corruption of the present aeon.
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