Forming Femininity in Antiquity: Eve, Gender, and Ideologies in the Greek Life of Adam and Eve

by Vita Daphna Arbel

In Forming Femininity in Antiquity, Vita Daphna Arbel investigates depictions of the emblematic Eve that are embedded in one of the most influential accounts of Adam and Eve after the Hebrew Bible, namely the apocryphal Greek Life of Adam and Eve ( GLAE ) from antiquity. Treating the figure of Eve as a culturally constructed representation of ''woman,'' Arbel examines a crucial transformative stage in the literary and conceptual discourse of Eve, with a focus on several pivotal issues that have not been looked at in previous scholarship. She offers a nuanced analysis of the GLAE's multifaceted and at times contradictory portrayals of Eve and, by extension, women. She also situates these depictions in the hybrid Greco-Roman cultural world in which they emerged, and discusses the extent to which they both reflect and construct contemporaneous overlapping and competing concepts and norms regarding Eve/women's standing, role, authority, and realms of experiences. Finally, Arbel
examines how the GLAE's representations of Eve/women resonate with later Jewish and Christian traditions, which often characterize the figure of Eve in accordance with views that are embedded in the GLAE , rather than in Genesis.

252 pages, Hardcover

First published December 23, 2011

About the author

Vita Daphna Arbel is Professor Emerita in the Department of Classical, Near Eastern, and Religious Studies at the University of British Columbia, where she taught for over two decades. A specialist in biblical and early Jewish literature and mysticism, her research explores themes of gender, mythology, apocalypticism, and esotericism in texts such as the Hekhalot literature and the Greek Life of Adam and Eve. She holds a PhD in Religious Studies from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and is internationally recognized for her contributions to the study of early Jewish mysticism and cultural transformations of biblical figures, particularly Eve. Arbel has authored and edited numerous influential books, including Forming Femininity in Antiquity and Beholders of Divine Secrets, and has served on editorial boards and in scholarly societies such as the Society of Biblical Literature and the Enoch Seminar. Her work often bridges ancient traditions with feminist and literary perspectives, offering fresh insights into the roles of women, angels, and divine figures in religious imagination. Arbel has presented widely at international conferences and led interdisciplinary initiatives on mysticism and angelology. Her current projects focus on femininities in the Song of Songs and visionary traditions in antiquity. As a teacher and scholar, she is admired for her ability to illuminate the mystical and mythic dimensions of ancient texts while engaging critically with modern interpretations. Through her extensive scholarship and mentorship, Arbel has shaped contemporary understandings of early Jewish mysticism and gendered religious narratives.