Aclima (also Kalmana, Lusia, Cainan, Luluwa, or Awan) according to some religious traditions was the oldest daughter of
Adam and Eve
Adam and Eve, according to the creation myth of the Abrahamic religions, were the first man and woman. They are central to the belief that humanity is in essence a single family, with everyone descended from a single pair of original ancestors. ...
, the sister (in many sources, the twin sister) of
Cain
Cain ''Káïn''; ar, قابيل/قايين, Qābīl/Qāyīn is a Biblical figure in the Book of Genesis within Abrahamic religions. He is the elder brother of Abel, and the firstborn son of Adam and Eve, the first couple within the Bible. He wa ...
. This would make her the first female human who was born naturally.
states that after he had killed Abel, "Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore
Enoch
Enoch () ''Henṓkh''; ar, أَخْنُوخ ', Qur'ān.html"_;"title="ommonly_in_Qur'ān">ommonly_in_Qur'ānic_literature__'_is_a_biblical_figure_and_Patriarchs_(Bible).html" "title="Qur'ānic_literature.html" ;"title="Qur'ān.html" ;"title="o ...
". In an effort to explain where Cain and Abel acquired wives, some traditional sources stated that each child of
Adam and Eve
Adam and Eve, according to the creation myth of the Abrahamic religions, were the first man and woman. They are central to the belief that humanity is in essence a single family, with everyone descended from a single pair of original ancestors. ...
was born with a twin who became their mate.
Aclima and Lusia
In Muslim tradition, Cain was born with a twin sister who was named Aclima, and Abel with a twin sister named Jumella. Adam wished Cain to marry Abel's twin sister, and Abel to marry Cain's. Cain would not consent to this arrangement, and Adam proposed to refer the question to God by means of a sacrifice. God rejected Cain's sacrifice to signify his disapproval of his marriage with Aclima, his twin sister, and Cain slew his brother in a fit of jealousy.
In another Muslim tradition, Cain's twin sister was named Lusia, while Aclima was Abel's twin sister.
In different sources, this name appears as ''Aclimah'', ''Aclimia'', ''Aclimiah'', ''Klimia''.
[Burrington, Gilbert. An Arrangement of the Genealogies in the Old Testament and Apocrypha: To which are Added, from the Same Authorities, a Selection of Single Names, and Chronological Tables of the Kings of Egypt, Syria, and Assyria: with Notes Critical, Philological, and Explanatory; and Copious Indexes, in Two Volumes. Vol. 1. Rivington, 1836.] In the
Cave of Treasures
The ''Cave of Treasures'' (Syriac ''M'drāth Gazzē'', Arabic ''Maghārat al-Kunūz'', Ge'ez ''Baʿāta Mazāgebet'' Tigrinya መዝገብ ገዛ ) sometimes referred to simply as ''The Treasure'', is an apocryphal and pseudoepigraphical work, t ...
she is called Qelima.
Kalmana or Calmana
Some sources in the Eastern Orthodox traditions give Cain's twin sister the name ''Calmana'', ''Calmanna'', ''Azrun'', or ''
Azura''.
[
In the Jewish work '']Seder Hadorot
The ''Seder HaDorot'' or "Book of Generations" (completed 1725, published 1768) by Lithuanian Rabbi Jehiel Heilprin (1660–1746) is a Hebrew-language chronological work that serves as a depot of multiple Hebrew language chronological books an ...
'', Cain's twin sister is called ''Kalmana'', and Abel's twin sister called Balbira.[Seder Hadorot 8a](_blank)
/ref>
The sister of Cain was named ''Kalmana'' in the ''Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius
Written in Syriac in the late seventh century, the ''Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius'' shaped and influenced Christian eschatological thinking in the Middle Ages.Griffith (2008), p. 34.Debié (2005) p. 228.Alexander (1985) p. 13.Jackson (2001) p. ...
'' (first Greek redaction) II.1., and ''Calmana'' in the ''Golden Legend
The ''Golden Legend'' (Latin: ''Legenda aurea'' or ''Legenda sanctorum'') is a collection of hagiographies by Jacobus de Voragine that was widely read in late medieval Europe. More than a thousand manuscripts of the text have survived.Hilary ...
''. The poet Petrus Riga
Petrus Riga (c. 1140 – 1209) was a French poet. He is known for his work ''Aurora'', which is a commentary on the Bible with emphasis on allegorical and moral interpretation. Although it has been called the verse Bible (Biblia versificata) of the ...
(1140–1209) included ''Calmana'' in his famous poem ''Aurora'', and this could have been a source for her appearance in Peter Comestor'sbr>''Historia Scholastica''
Comestor's Biblical narrative text then served as the standard textbook for Biblical education for centuries.
Cainan
In an Armenian work republished in 1966, Cain's twin sister was named Cainan. This short work does not mention Cain's marriage.
Luluwa
In the 6th-century apocryphal work Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan
The ''Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan'' (also known as ''The Book of Adam and Eve'') is a 6th-century Christian extracanonical work found in Ge'ez, translated from an Arabic original.
It does not form part of the canon of any church.
Editio ...
, Cain's wife and twin is named Luluwa.
Awan
According to the Book of Jubilees
The Book of Jubilees, sometimes called Lesser Genesis (Leptogenesis), is an ancient Jewish religious work of 50 chapters (1,341 verses), considered canonical by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church as well as Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jews), where it is ...
, Awan (also Avan or Aven, from Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
אָוֶן ''aven'' "vice", "iniquity", "potency") was the wife and sister of Cain
Cain ''Káïn''; ar, قابيل/قايين, Qābīl/Qāyīn is a Biblical figure in the Book of Genesis within Abrahamic religions. He is the elder brother of Abel, and the firstborn son of Adam and Eve, the first couple within the Bible. He wa ...
and the daughter of Adam and Eve
Adam and Eve, according to the creation myth of the Abrahamic religions, were the first man and woman. They are central to the belief that humanity is in essence a single family, with everyone descended from a single pair of original ancestors. ...
.[The Empowerment of Women in the Book of Jubilees - Page 17, Betsy Halpern Amaru - 1999]
See also
*Incest in the Bible
Incest in the Bible refers to sexual relations between certain close kinship relationships which are prohibited by the Hebrew Bible. These prohibitions are found predominantly in
and , but also in Deuteronomy. Jewish views on incest are based ...
*List of names for the biblical nameless
This list provides names given in history and traditions for people who appear to be unnamed in the Bible.
Hebrew Bible Serpent of Genesis
Revelation 12 identifies the serpent with Satan, unlike the pseudepigraphical-apocryphal Apocalypse of M ...
References
{{Authority control
Children of Adam and Eve
Women in the Old Testament apocrypha
Cain and Abel
Jewish mythology