Thanks for the response.
According to my understanding a spiritual being cannot be personified, if by that you mean having a personality. It seems to mean pure consciousness beyond personality. That doesn't mean that you cannot give it a name. Alternatively, such a figure as we are discussing here might be the equivalent of a deity in other traditions.
A further relevant idea is that Genesis 1-3 (and indeed more) may well be a Kabbalistic text, and Adam Kadmon is precisely the name the Kabbalists give to this being. Kabbalah has some overlap with Gnosticism. If you do an internet search for Kabbalah Adam Kadmon you will probably come across this wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Kadmon
There Adam Kadmon is described as Primordial Man, Most High Man, the first of Four Worlds that came into being after the contraction of God's infinite light. Adam Kadmon is not the same as the physical Adam Ha-Rishon. (The article continues.)
Other links say:
Philo uses the expression "original man," or "heavenly man,"... (which is what Adam means in this context).
The Primeval Man (Protanthropos, Adam) occupies a prominent place in several Gnostic systems.
Manichaeism: A portion of these Gnostic teachings, when combined with Zoroastrianism, furnished Mani with his particular doctrine of the original man. He even retains the Jewish designations "Adam Kadmon".
Mandaeism: Adam Kasis... means "the hidden Adam" in Mandaic.
Regarding the idea of two separate accounts, that is not necessary in this understanding. I am sure you have studied the Bible and related scholarship more than I have, but my simple understanding is as follows. Scholars believe that there are two accounts primarily because two different names are used for God – Elohim and Yahweh. Because they believe Judaism is monotheistic, they assume therefore that these must be different writers (E and J).
In Kabbalah and other spiritual traditions, however, there are 'levels' of divinity, for example Ayin and Ain Soph, Brahman and Brahma. We have also to consider the idea of emanations. This is what may be happening in Genesis 1-3, and that is the understanding of d'Olivet and Best. Elohim (if we ignore the fact that it is a plural word) seems to represent the highest level of divinity, and Yahweh is an emanation from it (perhaps roughly the equivalent of Brahma in Hinduism).
Any thoughts?
