The Adnei haSadeh (אַדְנֵי הַשָּׂדֶה, meaning "human-like wild creatures") is an animal or legendary creature mentioned in ancient Jewish texts.

Etymology

The word ' is a variation of ', i.e. "men of", while ' ("the field") can be used figuratively to refer to wildness, so the entire name ' can be translated as "wild men". In some texts the name is spelled ', following an expression in which seems to mean "wild animals".

Identity

The creature is mentioned briefly in a legal context in the

Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; , from the verb ''šānā'', "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first written collection of the Jewish oral traditions that are known as the Oral Torah. Having been collected in the 3rd century CE, it is ...

: :''Adnei hasadeh'' are ategorized asa wild animal. Rabbi Yossi says: hen dead they cause impurity in a tent like a person. The

Jerusalem Talmud The Jerusalem Talmud (, often for short) or Palestinian Talmud, also known as the Talmud of the Land of Israel, is a collection of rabbinic notes on the second-century Jewish oral tradition known as the Mishnah. Naming this version of the Talm ...

gives a more detailed description of this creature: :Yassi

rom Rom, or ROM may refer to: Biomechanics and medicine * Risk of mortality, a medical classification to estimate the likelihood of death for a patient * Rupture of membranes, a term used during pregnancy to describe a rupture of the amniotic sac * ...

Arki ays:it is a man of the mountain, and it lives from its navel and if its navel is disconnected rom the groundit cannot live. Rabbi Hama bar Ukva in the name of Rabbi Yossi ben Hanina: The logic of Rabbi Yossi is as follows: he Torah decrees impurity upon"anything which touches corpseupon the field" - his must apply to a creaturewhich grows upon the field. Some later sources elaborated on the Jerusalem Talmud's fantastic description. The Adne Sadeh was described as a wild

humanoid A humanoid (; from English ''human'' and '' -oid'' "resembling") is a non-human entity with human form or characteristics. By the 20th century, the term came to describe fossils which were morphologically similar, but not identical, to those of ...

beast living high up in local Jewish mountain ranges. Resembling a human being, the Adne Sadeh's life is maintained by a cord which connects its navel to the earth. It is confined to the radius of this cord, which can grow over a mile in length. If this cord is cut, the creature will die. Even though the Adne Sadeh normally feeds on local fruits and vegetables, travelers are warned about entering areas where its cord can reach, as the creature could seize the opportunity for fresh meat. In some sources, the adne ha-sadeh are seen as human-like beings whom

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

created before

Adam Adam is the name given in Genesis 1–5 to the first human. Adam is the first human-being aware of God, and features as such in various belief systems (including Judaism, Christianity, Gnosticism and Islam). According to Christianity, Adam ...

and were later wiped into extinction by the deluge of old. Other sources attempt to explain the "" in a scientific manner.

Sifra Sifra () is the Midrash halakha to the Book of Leviticus. It is frequently quoted in the Talmud and the study of it followed that of the Mishnah. Like Leviticus itself, the midrash is occasionally called Torat Kohanim, and in two passages ''Sifr ...

includes the creature in a list among other unusual animals such as the monkey and seal.

Ecclesiastes Rabbah Ecclesiastes Rabbah or Kohelet Rabbah (Hebrew: קהלת רבה) is an aggadic commentary on Ecclesiastes, included in the collection of the Midrash Rabbot. It follows the biblical book verse by verse, only a few verses remaining without commentary ...

list the animal along with monkeys, seals, porcupines, and other animals which are raised by humans despite not providing benefit to humans. According to R'

Israel Lipschitz Yisrael Lifschitz (; 1782–1860) was a leading 19th-century Ashkenazi rabbi, first in Dessau and then in the Jewish Community of Danzig. He was the author of the commentary "Tiferes Yisrael" on the Mishnah. Biography Lipshitz's father's nam ...

it is an

orangutan Orangutans are great apes native to the rainforests of Indonesia and Malaysia. They are now found only in parts of Borneo and Sumatra, but during the Pleistocene they ranged throughout Southeast Asia and South China. Classified in the genus ...

. According to

Malbim Meir Leibush ben Yehiel Michel Wisser (March 7, 1809 – September 18, 1879), better known as the Malbim (), was a rabbi, master of Hebrew grammar, and Bible commentator. The name ''Malbim'' was derived from the Hebrew initials of his name. He ...

it is an orangutan or

chimpanzee The chimpanzee (; ''Pan troglodytes''), also simply known as the chimp, is a species of Hominidae, great ape native to the forests and savannahs of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed one. When its close rel ...

. According to

Ze'ev Safrai Ze'ev Safrai (; born 1948, Jerusalem) is an Israeli Professor in the Department for Israel Studies in Bar Ilan University, as well as an author, lecturer and researcher of Israel in the Second Temple period, Second Temple era. His main project is ...

, the Mishnah may have in mind an ape or a tribe of wild uncultured human beings.Mishnat Eretz Yisrael to Kelaim 8:5

References

{{reflist Jewish folklore category:Book of Job Jewish legendary creatures

Etymology

Identity

See also

References