Testament of Adam Sebastian P. Brock Beth Mardutho: The Syriac Institute Syriaca.org: The Syriac Reference Portal Jean and Alexander Heard Library, Vanderbilt University The International Balzan Prize Foundation George A. Kiraz Sebastian P. Brock Aaron M. Butts Lucas Van Rompay Ute Possekel Daniel L. Schwartz David A. Michelson Data cleaning, editorial proofreading, and TEI editing by Ute S. Posssekel Data cleaning and initial valid TEI encoding by David Michelson XSLT transformations by Winona Salesky Data cleaning, editorial proofreading, TEI schema, and TEI encoding and editing by Daniel L. Schwartz Conversion to semantic XML by George A. Kiraz Electronic Edition Version 1.5 Published by Gorgias Press LLC, 954 River Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854 USA www.gorgiaspress.com for Beth Mardutho: The Syriac Institute Published with the collaboration of Syriaca.org: The Syriac Reference Portal Published and hosted with the collaboration of the Jean and Alexander Heard Library, Vanderbilt University

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2016-09-22-16:00
Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage: Electronic Edition George A. Kiraz Sebastian P. Brock Aaron M. Butts Lucas Van Rompay Ute Possekel Daniel L. Schwartz David A. Michelson Data cleaning, editorial proofreading, and TEI editing by Ute S. Posssekel Data cleaning and initial valid TEI encoding by David Michelson XSLT transformations by Winona Salesky Data cleaning, editorial proofreading, TEI schema, and TEI encoding and editing by Daniel L. Schwartz Conversion to semantic XML by George A. Kiraz Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage Sebastian P. Brock Aaron M. Butts George A. Kiraz Lucas Van Rompay Piscataway, N.J. Gorgias Press for Beth Mardutho: The Syriac Institute 2011 Copyright ©2011 by Beth Mardutho: The Syriac Institute ISBN: 978-1-59333-714-8
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Testament of Adam https://gedsh.bethmardutho.org/Testament-of-Adam http://syriaca.org/bibl/547 538 work An ‘apocryphal’ book dealing with Adam; the root of which lie in Jewish traditions; probably composed in Syriac.

The Testament of Adam is one of a considerable number of ‘apocryphal’ books dealing with Adam; though its roots lie in Jewish traditions, it is definitely a Christian composition, and was probably composed in Syriac, where it is attested in three recensions. It consists of three parts, the ‘Horarium’ on the hours of the night and day at which different parts of creation offer praise to God; the prophecies of Adam, foretelling the flood, the birth, passion, and death of Christ, and the end of the world (these are recorded by Seth and buried in the ‘cave of treasures’); and an account of the hierarchy of angels. The ‘Horarium’ is found in Greek, but this was probably translated from the Syriac third recension. The whole work is also known in Arabic, Ethiopic, and Georgian; in all these it is incorporated into the Cave of Treasures. According to Samuel of Ani (12th cent.) it was translated into Armenian by ‘Nestorians’ in the late 6th cent., but only the ‘Horarium’ survives of this. Excerpts are also found in Coptic. The date of the work (Robinson suggests 3rd cent.), and the nature of its relationship to the Cave of Treasures, remain unclear.

Sources A.-M.  Denis, Introduction à la littérature religieuse judéo-hellénistique, vol. 1 (2000), 36–41. J.-C.  Haelewyck, Clavis Apocryphorum Veteris Testamenti (1998), 8–12. M. Kmosko, Testamentum Patris nostri Adam (PS I.2), 1307–60. G. J.  Reinink, ‘Das Problem des Ursprungs des Testamentes Adams’, in SymSyr I, 387–99. S. E.  Robinson, The Testament of Adam (1982). (ed. and ET of Syriac and Greek texts)
Sebastian P. Brock