Cave of Treasures

Book containing a re-narration of the biblical history from the creation of the world to Pentecost by an unknown author (incorrectly ascribed to Ephrem).

Book containing a re-narration of the biblical history from the creation of the world to Pentecost by an unknown author (incorrectly ascribed to Ephrem ). Parts of the Cave of Treasures were known to authors from the 6th cent. on. Internal evidence suggests that it was not composed before the 5th cent. (Leonhard; Ri assumes an earlier date). The ‘Cave of Treasures’ was written in Syriac, translated into Georgian and reworked in other languages. Its title refers to a legendary cave which is located near Paradise and which serves as the home as well as the place of burial and worship for the generations before the flood. For the time after the flood, the interest of the narrator shifts to Adam’s (secondary) burial place in Golgotha being the ‘center of the world’ (39.6–8) and the location of the important events of biblical history. The cave near Paradise is not mentioned any more. The text presents itself as esoteric lore and the only true background against which the Bible can be understood (43.13–4). It uses apocryphal traditions (e.g., the traditions on Adam and Eve) but also rewrites and expounds biblical texts and motifs. The ‘Cave of Treasures’ reconstructs the history of the OT by omitting the parts that are of paramount importance for Judaism, e.g., the time of Moses. The remarks on the Syriac language (24.11, 53.22–7) may betray the author’s interest in creating a distinctively Syriac version of biblical history.