Adne Sadeh

The "man of the mountains," the first man created by God before He created Adam. It resembled a human being but it was connected to the earth by a naval cord, upon which its life depended. It was confined to the radius of the cord, although at times it could grew to lengths of more than a mile. Adne Sadeh sustained itself from fruits and vegetables that grew in its vicinity. Occasionally it would snatch an animal which had approached too closely. It lived for a very long time until until it drowned in the Flood.

The Midrash Tanhuma tells of a traveler who encountered this creature, which was regarded as a vegetable rather than a man, and in the Ma'aseh Buch, a traveling rabbi was served what appeared to be a human hand but was in fact a vegetable that looked like a human hand.

References

Sources

  • Ginzberg, L. (1913). The Legends of the Jews, Vol. 1. Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society of America, pp.31-32.
  • Ginzberg, Louis. (1909). The Legends of the Jews, 7 volumes. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society of America.