“The Voice of Your Wife”: Why an Ancient Interpreter Chose to Voice Eve with a Testament

What is it about?

Why was Adam punished first for "listening to the voice of his wife" and only secondarily for eating from the forbidden tree? What was it that Eve said to Adam that resulted in this divine punishment? Genesis 2-3 does not supply an answer to these questions because in Genesis, Eve says nothing to Adam. The two never have a conversation. In a first-century CE document known as the "Testament of Eve" found in the Greek "Life of Adam and Eve," an ancient author provided Eve's missing speech in the form of an expansive, first-person retelling of the biblical story of the Garden of Eden. In this retelling, an elder Eve tells her children and grandchildren how the Devil deceived her into serving as his mouthpiece in order to get Adam cast out of Paradise. Eve then remembers in great detail how she called out to Adam "with a loud voice," saying, "listen to me!" The Testament of Eve ascribes to the privileged memory of the elder Eve a version of the transgression narrative that clarifies the voice of Eve as Devil inhabited, poison laced and standing in opposition to God's commandments. At the same time, the silence of the biblical Adam, who was found guilty of "listening," is explained and rectified. By voicing Eve with a testament, an ancient author provided an innovative answer to the question, "Why was Adam punished for listening to the voice of his wife?"

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Photo by Benjamin Wong on Unsplash

Photo by Benjamin Wong on Unsplash