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Manichaean Adam Traditions

Ancient Manichaeans, echoing earlier Nazorean beliefs, did not accept the Old Testament as a divine message from the true God, nor did they view the Jewish sects who used it as on the Path. Although Manichaeans did not use the Old Testament or quote from it, they possessed a parallel tradition which shared many of the same biblical characters as the Jewish Bible. Unlike the Bible narative, and like the Nazorean Gnostic teachings of the Nag Hammadi, the Manichaean creation epoch speaks of the God that created man as being selfish and out of harmony with the higher God of Love and Life. These views are expressed in several Manichaean Adam fragments preserved by ancient commentators.

Then the abortions took counsel together and recalled the form(s) of the Messenger that they had seen and said, 'Where is the form(s) that we saw?' And Ashaqlu~n, son of the King of Darkness, said to the abortions: 'Oive me your sons and daughters, and I will make for you a form like the one you saw.' They brought (them) and gave (them) to him. He ate the males, and the females he gave to Nebrue1 his wife. Nebruel and Ashaqiun then united together, and she became pregnant from him and gave birth to a son, naming him Adam. She (again) became pregnant and bore a daughter, naming her Eve.

He (then) says that Jesus the Splendor approached the unsuspecting Adam and roused him from the sleep of death, that he might be delivered from the great spirit. As (when) one who is righteous discovers a man possessed by a strong demon and calms him by his skill, so likewise it was with Adam when the Beloved 0ne found him prostrate in deep sleep. He roused him and shook him and woke him, and chased away from him the deceptive demon, and bound apart from him the great (female) archon. Then Adam examined himself and recognized who he was, and (Jesus) showed him the Fathers on high, and (revealed to him) regarding his own self (i.e., Jesus's) all that into which he (i.e., Jesus) had been cast~into the teeth of leopard(s) and the teeth of elephant(s), swallowed by voracious ones and absorbed by gulping ones, consumed by dogs, mixed and imprisoned in all that exists, bound in the stench of. Darkness. He (Mani) says that he (Jesus) raised him (Adam) up and made him taste of the Tree of Life. Then Adam cried out and wept, and raised his voice loudly like a lion that roars and tears (prey). He cast (himself down) and beat (his breast) and said, 'Woe, woe to the one who formed my body, and to the one who bound my soul, and to the rebels who have enslaved me.

(Heading:) The Beginning of Sexual Reproduction According to the Teaching of Mani.
He (Mani) said, 'Then one of those archons, the stars, urgent force, desire, lust, and sin had sexual intercourse, and the result of their intercourse was the first man, who was Adam. That which produced this (was the union of) two archons, male and female. Then intercourse took place once more, and its result was the beautiful woman, who was Eve.'

He (Mani) said, 'When the five angels" saw the divine Light and Goodness which Desire had plundered and bound as captive within those two who had been born, they asked al-Bashir (= the Messenger), the Mother of Life, Primal Man, and the Living Spirit to send to this first-born creature someone to release and deliver him, to teach him knowledge and piety, and to deliver him from the satans.' He (Mani) said: 'They thus sent Jesus, along with (another) deity. They approached the two archons, confined them, and rescued the two who had been born.'

He (Mani) said: 'Then Jesus came and spoke to the one who had been born, who was Adam, and explained to him (about) the gardens (of Paradise), the deities, Gehenna, the satans, earth, heaven, sun, and moon. He also made him fear Eve, showing him how to suppress (desire) for her, and he forbade him to approach her, and made him fear to be near her, so that he did (what Jesus commanded). Then that (male) archon came back to his daughter, who was Eve, and lustfully had intercourse with her." He engendered with her a son, deformed in shape and possessing a red complexion, and his name was Cain, the Red Man. Then that son had intercourse with his ~ and engendered with her a son of white complexion, whose name was Abel, the White Man. Then Cain again had intercourse with his mother, and engendered with her two girls, one of whom was named Hakimat al-Dahr and the other Ibnat al-Hirs. Then Cain took Ibnat al-Hirs as his wife and presented Hakimat al-Dahr to Abel, and he took her as his wife.'
He (Mani) said: 'In Hakimat al-Dahr there was a residue of the Light of God and His Wisdom, but there was none of this (present) in Ibnat al-Hirs. Then one of the angels came to Hakimat al-Dahr and said to her, "Watch yourself, for you will give birth to two girls who will fulfill the pleasure of God." He had sexual intercourse with her and she gave birth because of him to two girls, and she named one of them (Rau)-Faryad and the other Bar-Faryad. When Abel learned of this, rage filled (him) and grief overcame him. He said to her, "From whom did you produce these two children? I think they are from Cain; it was he who consorted with you!" Although she described to him the form of the angel, he left her and came to his mother, Eve, and complained to her about what Cain had ~ He said to her, "Have you heard what he did to my sister and wife?" When Cain learned this, he went to Abel and struck him with a rock, killing him. Then he took Hakimat al-Dahr for a wife.'

Mani said: 'Then those archons and this al-Sindid and Eve were distressed at (the behavior) they saw (exhibited) by Cain. AI-Sindid then taught Eve magical syllables in order that she might infatuate Adam. She proceeded to act (by) presenting him with a garland from a flowering tree, and when Adam saw her, he lustfully united with her, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a handsome male child of radiant appearance. When al-Sindid learned about this, he was distressed and fell ill, and said to Eve, "This infant is not one of us; he is a stranger." Then she wished to kill him, but Adam seized him and said to Eve, "I will feed him cow's milk and the fruit of trees!"''' Thus taking him he departed. But al-Sindid sent the archons to carry off the trees and cattle, moving them away from Adam. When Adam saw this, he took the infant and encircled him within three rings. He pronounced over the first (ring) the name of the King of the Gardens, over the second the name of Primal Man, and over the third the name of the Living Spirit. He spoke to and implored God, may His name be glorified, saying, "Even though I have sinned before you, what offense has this infant committed?" Then one of the three (invoked deities) hurried (to Adam bearing) a crown of radiance, extending it in his hand to Adam  When al-Sindid and the archons saw this, they departed (and went) away.'

He (Mani) said, 'Then there appeared to Adam a tree called the lotus, and milk flowed from it, and he fed the boy with it. He named him (the boy) after its name, but sometime later he renamed him Shathil (i.e., Seth)  Then that al-Sindid declared enmity against Adam and those who were born, and said to Eve, "Reveal (yourself) to Adam; perhaps you may restore him to us." Then she made haste and seduced Adam, who lustfully united with her. When Shathil saw him, he admonished and rebuked him (Adam), and said to him, "Arise, let us go to the East, to the Light and Wisdom of God." So he left with him and resided there until he died and came to the Gardens (of Paradise)."Then shathil with Rau-Faryad and Bar-Faryad and Hakimat al-Dahr, their mother, practiced siddiqu~t, following one way and one path until the time of their deaths, but Eve, Cain, and Ibnat al-Hiris went to ~~henna.'

 Then that Az, the one who had been deceived, was filled with great anger. She began wishing (to take) step(s), and she thought, 'I shall form two creatures, male and female, corresponding to the two forms, female and male, of the god Narisah which I saw, so that they can (eventually) be my clothing and covering. I would control them and these [two creatures?] shall not be taken away from me, and I shall not let them experience deprivation and suffering."
 Then that Az was clothed with all those progeny of the demons that had fallen from heaven to earth; (actually) that male arch-fiend and female ~ [who] were lion-shaped, (and who) were lustful, wrathful, wicked, and thievish. And she (temporarily) made them her own covering and clothing; inside these she was lustful.

And even as formerly (when) Az herself in that blackness of hell, her own lair, had taught lewd behavior and sexual copulation to the demons and demonesses, wrathful demons, monsters, and arch-fiends, both male and female, so too Az again began teaching lewd behaviorand sexual copulation in the same way to those other monsters and arch-fiends, males and females, who had fallen from heaven to earth so that they would become sexually aroused, copulate by joining together their bodies, and give birth to dragon-children. Az could (then) take away and consume that progeny, and form from them two creatures, a man and a woman. ) Thus the monster and the arch-fiend, the male one and the female one, taught all (the others) lewd behavior and sexual copulations, and (those others) joined their bodies together. They gave birth to children and nurtured them. They (then) gave their own children to those two leonine arch-fiends, the male one and the female one, who were (serving as) clothes for Az, and (who were consequently) lustful. And Az (in their guise consumed their children, and those two monsters, the male one and the female one, became (even more) lustful and were impelled to copulate. They joined their bodies together, and (from) that mixture which clothed them (which) was from the children of the monsters and arch-fiends which she had eaten, she constructed and made in accordance with her own desire a body in male form, with bone(s), nerve(s), flesh, blood vessel(s), and skin.

And a soul was bound in that body, (the former deriving) from that light and beauty of the gods which had become mixed in the children of the monsters through the eating of fruit and bud(s). And in it (the body~ were arranged their (the monsters') desire and lust, lewd behavior and sexual drive, enmity and slander, envy and wickedness, anger and impurity, ill-humor and stupor, spiritual corruption and skepticism, stealing and lyin~ robbery and the doing of evil deeds, obstinancy and falsehood (?), (the urge for) vengeance and conceit (?), sorrow and grief, pain and ache, poverty and want, disease and decrepitude, stench and thievishness (?).
 And in correspondence with the (types of) speech and voice possessed by those monstrous abortions, from whom she had formed that body, she (Az) gave to that creature (those languages), so that it could speak and comprehend every kind of speech.

And (it was) in accordance with that male form of the gods (i.e., the male aspect of Narisah, or the Messenger) which she had seen in the vessel that she shaped and formed it (the first man). Moreover she (Azt bound to him (the first man) connection(s) and link(s) from above, from the sky-from monsters, arch-fiends, constellations, and planets-so that wrath, lust, and wickedness would rain down on him (the first man) from the monsters and constellations, and permeate his mind so that he would become more thievish, more monstrous, more greedy, and more lustful. And when the male creature was born, they named him 'the first human being, namely Gehmurd.

Then the two leonine arch-fiends, the male one and the female one again consumed some of the children of their colleagues, and they were filled (with the urges for) lewd behavior and sexual activity. And they joined their bodies together.

And that Az, who had filled them with those children of the monsters, the ones whom they had eaten, then shaped and formed in the same way another body, which was female, with bone(s), nerve(s), flesh blood vessels, and skin. And a soul was bound in that body, (the former deriving) from the light and beauty of the gods which had become mixed in the children of the monstrous abortions through (the eating of) fruit and bud(s). And in it (the body) were arranged their (the monsters') desire and lust, lewd behavior and sexual drive, enmity and slander, envy and
wickedness, anger and impurity, ill-humor and stupor, spiritual corruption and skepticism, stealing and lying, robbery and the doing of evil deeds, obstinancy and falsehood (?), (the urge for) vengeance and conceit (?), sorrow and grief, pain and ache, poverty and want, disease and decrepitude, stench and thievishness (?), and it was totally filled (with) evil belief and wickedness of every kind, more so than Gehmurd.

And in correspondence with the (types of) speech and voice possessed by all those monstrous abortions, from whom she had formed (that body), she (Az) gave to that female (those languages), so that she could speak and comprehend every kind of speech.

 And (it was) in accordance with that female form of the gods (i.e., the female aspect of Narisah, or the Maiden of Light) which she had seen in the vessel that she shaped and formed it (the first woman). Moreover she (Az) bound to her connection(s) and link(s) from the sky-from the constellations and planets-so that wrath, lewdness, and wickedness would rain down on her (the first woman) from the monsters and constellations, and permeate her mind (so that) she would become more thievish and sinful, lewd and lustful, and (thus) she (the woman) could deceive the man by lust. Then from these two creatures would be born (children) in the human world, and they too would be greedy and lustful, behave angrily, vengefully, and ruthlessly, and afflict water, fire, tree(s), and plants. They would worship greed and lust, accomplish the desire(s) of the demons, and would (finally) go to Hell.

 And when those two creatures, male and female, were born in the world, and had been nurtured and grew up, then Az and the demonic arch-fiends were extremely joyful. The ruler of the arch4iends assembled the monsters and arch-fiends, and (then) said to those two people, 'For your sake I have created earth and sky, sun and moon, water and fire, tree(s) and plants, and animals, so that you will be made happy in the world and rejoice and be glad, and will (then) do what I desire.

And (the ruler) appointed a dragon, monstrous and terrible, (as) guardian over those two children (the first human couple) in order 'to guard them and not permit anyone to lead (them) away from us, since these monsters and archfiends are afraid of the gods and fear that they (the gods) may come upon us and smite us or bind us, for these two children were formed and shaped after the form and shape of the gods.'

Then as that first man (Gehmurd) and 'the female one of the glories' (Murdiyanag), the first male and female persons, began living on earth, Az awoke in them. Rancor filled them, and they began to clog up springs, to injure tree(s) and plants, to be raging (?) on earth, and to be greedy. They were not afraid of the gods, and they had no knowledge (of) those Five Light-Elements which are distributed throughout the world, and (so) they constantly tormented them.