This allegorical retelling of the biblical creation story blends science, poetic understanding, and the spiritual revelations of Swedish visionary Emanuel Swedenborg (1688
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1772). Starting with the creation of the earth from the substance of the universe, Swedenborg takes the reader through the formation of plants, animals, and finally human beings. He puts particular emphasis on the spiritual nature of Adam and Adam’s marriage to Eve. Although not considered one of Swedenborg’s theological works, this book was written just prior to his visionary period and contains the seeds of many of his later ideas, particularly the biblical commentary in
Secrets of Heaven
. This edition is a reprint of a 1914 English translation by Alfred H. Stroh and Frank Sewall.