The Genesis of Perfection: Adam and Eve in Jewish and Christian Imagination

Abstract

This text covers the earliest Jewish and Christian readings of the story of Adam and Eve. For these ancient interpreters, the tale of human beings cannot be understood outside the larger context of Scriptures' drama about our common human destiny. Creation and redemption are ultimately inseparable. The perspectives of Judaism and Christianity about our common human condition - the problem of evil, the nature of sexuality and the question of sin and forgiveness - are illustrated in this text through an examination of the biblical text that allows the story of Genesis to intersect with each of our own stories.