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Legends of Old Testament Characters (1); From the Talmud and Other Sources
Legends of Old Testament Characters From the Talmud and Other Sources - 1 Author:Sabine Baring-Gould Volume: 1 General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1871 Original Publisher: Macmillan Subjects: Bible Talmud Legends, Jewish Legends, Hebrew Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of ... more »this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. Excerpt: II. ADAM. I. THE CREATION OF MAN. Certain of the angels having fallen, God made men, that they might take their vacated places. According to the most authoritative Mussulman traditions, Adam was created on Friday afternoon at the Assr-hour, or about three o'clock. The four archangels -- Gabriel, Michael, Israfiel, and Asrael -- were required to bring earth from the four quarters of the world, that therefrom God might fashion man. His head and breast were made of clay from Mecca and Medina, from the spot where later were the Holy Kaaba and the tomb of Mohammed. Although still lifeless, his beauty amazed the angels who had flocked to the gates of Paradise. But Eblis, envious of the beauty of Adam's as yet inanimate form, said to the angels : " How can you admire a creature made of earth ? From such material nothing but fragility and feebleness can come." However, most of the angels praised God for what He had done. The body of Adam was so great, that if he stood up his head would reach into the seventh heaven. But he was not as yet endowed with a living soul. The soul had been made a thousand years before, and had been steeped all that while in the sea of light which flowed from Allah. God now ordered the soul to enter the body. It showed some indisposition to obey; thereupon God exclaimed:" Quicken Adam against your will, and, as a penalty for your disobedience, you shall leave the body sorely against your will." Then God blew the spirit against Adam with such force that it entered his nose, and ran up...« less