'...And So They Went Out': The Lives of Adam and Eve as Cultural Transformative Story

by Vita Daphna Arbel

The phrase "and so they went out" is often used to describe the departure of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. Yet it also aptly describes the many versions of the stories of Adam and Eve as they began to circulate about the turn of the Common they too "went out", and the appearance of these stories in multiple versions and languages attests both to their widespread popularity and to their ongoing appeal in the ancient world. Nor is their appeal confined to antiquity-these stories continue to fascinate, and the various versions of the apocryphal "Books of Adam and Eve" have begun to command considerable attention in the academic world.

Thus far, the scholarly community has concentrated principally on the complex tradition-history of these texts, their date, provenance and language. But the process of the reshaping and transformation of the stories within the "Books of Adam and Eve" has not yet been thoroughly studied. This book sets out to redress this imbalance by focusing primarily upon conceptual, literary, and thematic issues. By making use contemporary critical methods such as literary-critical analysis, ritual theory, and social-scientific taxonomy, the book explores how these stories represent a profound transformation and reshaping of ancient attitudes to gender, body, sexuality, sin, social hierarchies, and human aspirations.

208 pages, Hardcover

First published April 15, 2010

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.