The Book of the Cave of Treasures: A History of the Patriarchs and the Kings, from the Creation to the Crucifixion of Christ.

by E.A. Wallis Budge (Translator)

Despite its Harry Potter-like title, The Book of the Cave of Treasures is actually a rich seam of Jewish and Christian apocryphal lore, by means of which its 5th century author frames the story of Jesus in a truly cosmic context ­- as the inevitable conclusion of God's redemptive plan for humanity, set in train since the expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise.

Along the way we are treated to a feast of extra-Biblical details: of the life of the Patriarchs; of the Wind-Flood that overthrew Ur of the Chaldees, Abraham's home; of the mysterious Priest-King Melchizedek; the origin of the Magi; the genealogy of Mary; and Adam's secret burial at the 'navel of the world', the very spot where Christ was later crucified.

Translated from the Syriac by Sir E.A.Wallis Budge, former curator of Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities at the British Museum, the book is extensively annotated, and contains 21 illustrations.

Genres: Theology, Religion

160 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2003

About the author

Sir Ernest Alfred Thompson Wallis Budge was an English Egyptologist, Orientalist, and philologist who worked for the British Museum and published numerous works on the ancient Near East.

Reviews

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting collection of apocrypha of questionable authenticity, but still fascinating as an insight into what early Christians included in their general beliefs. Kind of borders on headcanon at times with some of the elaborate connections being. And at one point the writer declares that since nobody else knows accurately all of the generations from Adam to Christ, he will write them down for us (it's never explained why he knows and nobody else does). Love it.

[Siobhan]

Link to free audiobook: https://youtu.be/XkrsNK6Wrk8

[Abri Theart]

Interesting!

[Fiona Robson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an amazing book to read - a fascinating apocryphal work which supplemented other knowledge e.g. it went into Mary's genealogy and gave further anecdotal accounts of the patriarchs etc. Was particularly interested in tales of the Grigori or "The Watchers".

[Jackson Conrad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gives a great "outline" of life from Creation to the Death and resurrection of Jesus.