Lehre und Wehre Vol. 3 (1857) p. 96

The February 6th issue of the “Lutherische Kirchenbote” gives two excerpts from the writing of Dorpater Kurtz, “Bible and Astronomy.” And what does he give his poor readers from this work, which, certainly contains many wonderful things?–the assertion that the first man before the creation of woman was a hermaphrodite! How could the church messenger find nothing better than this old Jewish fable, newly warmed up by the enthusiasts Jacob Böhme, Valentin Wiegel, Gichtel, the author of the Berleburger Bible and others? Luther writes about this: “The second chapter (of the 1st book of Moses) overthrows and drives back all such lies. For if this were true, how could it be written here that God took one of Adam’s ribs and made a woman out of it? Such lies are found in the Talmud, and have been mentioned, that we may see from them the wickedness of the devil, who puts such absurd things into men’s heads.” (See Luther’s Lectures on Genesis 1:27.)