THE FORGOTTEN BOOKS OF EDEN
Translated in the late 1800's
by
Dr. S. C. Malan and Dr. E. Trumpp.
Translated into King James English from both the Arabic version and the
Ethiopic version which was then published in The Forgotten Books of Eden in
1927 by The World Publishing Company.
The First Book of Adam and Eve
part of the "Forgotten" books of Eden
The First Book of Adam and Eve details the life and
times of Adam and Eve after they were expelled from the garden to the time that
Cain kills his brother Abel.
It tells of Adam and Eve's first dwelling - the Cave
of Treasures; their trials and temptations; Satan's many apparitions to them;
the birth of Cain, Abel, and their twin sisters; and Cain's love for his beautiful
twin sister, Luluwa, whom Adam and Eve wished to join to Abel.
This book is considered by many scholars to be part
of the "Pseudepigrapha" books.
The "Pseudepigrapha" is a collection of historical
biblical works that are considered to be fiction. Because of that stigma, this
book was not included in the compilation of the Holy Bible. This book is a written
history of what happened in the days of Adam and Eve after they were cast out
of the garden. Although considered to be Pseudepigrapha by some, it carries
significant meaning and insight into events of that time. It is doubtful that
these writings could have survived all the many centuries if there were no substance
to them.
This book is simply a version of an account handed
down by word of mouth, from generation to generation, linking the time that
the first human life was created to the time when somebody finally decided to
write it down. This particular version is the work of unknown Egyptians.
The lack of historical allusion makes it difficult
to precisely date the writing, however, using other Pseudepigrapha works as
a reference, it was probably written a few hundred years before the birth of
Christ. Parts of this version are found in the Jewish Talmud, and the Islamic
Koran, showing what a vital role it played in the original literature of human
wisdom. The Egyptian author wrote in Arabic, but later translations were found
written in Ethiopic.
The present English translation was translated in the
late 1800's by Dr. S. C. Malan and Dr. E. Trumpp.
They translated into King James English from both the
Arabic version and the Ethiopic version which was then published in The Forgotten
Books of Eden in 1927 by The World Publishing Company.
In 1995, the text was extracted from a copy of The
Forgotten Books of Eden and converted to electronic form by Dennis Hawkins.
It was then translated into more modern English by
simply exchanging 'Thou' s for 'You's, 'Art's for 'Are's, and so forth. The
text was then carefully re-read to ensure its integrity.
BOOK I.
Chapter 1
The crystal sea, God commands Adam, expelled from Eden,
to live in the Cave of Treasures.
1 On the third day, God planted the garden in the east of the earth, on the
border of the world eastward, beyond which, towards the sun-rising, one finds
nothing but water, that encompasses the whole world, and reaches to the borders
of heaven.
2 And to the north of the garden there is a sea of water, clear and
pure to the taste, unlike anything else; so that, through the clearness thereof,
one may look into the depths of the earth.
3 And when a man washes himself in
it, he becomes clean of the cleanness thereof, and white of its whiteness --
even if he were dark.
4 And God created that sea of his own good pleasure, for
He knew what would come of the man He would make; so that after he had left
the garden, on account of his transgression, men should be born in the earth.
Among them are righteous ones who will die, whose souls God would raise at the
last day; when all of them will return to their flesh, bathe in the water of
that sea, and repent of their sins.
5 But when God made Adam go out of the garden,
He did not place him on the border of it northward. This was so that he and
Eve would not be able to go near to the sea of water where they could wash themselves
in it, be cleansed from their sins, erase the transgression they had committed,
and be no longer reminded of it in the thought of their punishment.
6 As to
the southern side of the garden, God did not want Adam to live there either;
because, when the wind blew from the north, it would bring him, on that southern
side, the delicious smell of the trees of the garden.
7 Wherefore God did not
put Adam there. This was so that he would not be able to smell the sweet smell
of those trees, forget his transgression, and find consolation for what he had
done by taking delight in the smell of the trees and yet not be cleansed from
his transgression.
8 Again, also, because God is merciful and of great pity,
and governs all things in a way that He alone knows -- He made our father Adam
live in the western border of the garden, because on that side the earth is
very broad.
9 And God commanded him to live there in a cave in a rock -- the
Cave of Treasures below the garden.
Chapter 2
Adam and Eve faint when they leave the Garden. God
sends His Word to encourage them.
1 But when our father Adam, and Eve, went out of the garden, they walked
the ground on their feet, not knowing they were walking.
2 And when they came
to the opening of the gate of the garden, and saw the broad earth spread before
them, covered with stones large and small, and with sand, they feared and trembled,
and fell on their faces, from the fear that came over them; and they were as
dead.
3 Because -- whereas until this time they had been in the garden land,
beautifully planted with all manner of trees -- they now saw themselves, in
a strange land, which they knew not, and had never seen.
4 And because, when
they were in the garden they were filled with the grace of a bright nature,
and they had not hearts turned toward earthly things.
5 Therefore God had pity
on them; and when He saw them fallen before the gate of the garden, He sent
His Word to our father, Adam and Eve, and raised them from their fallen state.
Chapter 3
Concerning the promise of the great five and a half
days.
1 God said to Adam, "I have ordained on this earth days and years, and you
and your descendants shall live and walk in them, until the days and years are
fulfilled; when I shall send the Word that created you, and against which you
have transgressed, the Word that made you come out of the garden, and that raised
you when you were fallen.
2 Yes, the Word that will again save you when the
five and a half days are fulfilled."
3 But when Adam heard these words from
God, and of the great five and a half days, he did not understand the meaning
of them.
4 For Adam was thinking there would be only five and a half days for
him until the end of the world.
5 And Adam cried, and prayed to God to explain
it to him.
6 Then God in his mercy for Adam who was made after His own image
and likeness, explained to him, that these were 5,000 and 500 years; and how
One would then come and save him and his descendants.
7 But before that, God
had made this covenant with our father, Adam, in the same terms, before he came
out of the garden, when he was by the tree where Eve took of the fruit and gave
it to him to eat.
8 Because, when our father Adam came out of the garden, he
passed by that tree, and saw how God had changed the appearance of it into another
form, and how it shriveled.
9 And as Adam went to it he feared, trembled and
fell down; but God in His mercy lifted him up, and then made this covenant with
him.
10 And again, when Adam was by the gate of the garden, and saw the cherub
with a sword of flashing fire in his hand, and the cherub grew angry and frowned
at him, both Adam and Eve became afraid of him, and thought he meant to put
them to death. So they fell on their faces, trembled with fear.
11 But he had
pity on them, and showed them mercy; and turning from them went up to heaven,
and prayed to the Lord, and said; --
12 "Lord, You sent me to watch at the gate
of the garden, with a sword of fire.
13 But when Your servants, Adam and Eve,
saw me, they fell on their faces, and were as dead. O my Lord, what shall we
do to Your servants?"
14 Then God had pity on them, and showed them mercy, and
sent His Angel to keep the garden.
15 And the Word of the Lord came to Adam
and Eve, and raised them up.
16 And the Lord said to Adam, "I told you that
at the end of the five and a half days, I will send my Word and save you.
17
Strengthen your heart, therefore, and stay in the Cave of Treasures, of which
I have before spoken to you."
18 And when Adam heard this Word from God, he
was comforted with that which God had told him. For He had told him how He would
save him.
Chapter 4
Adam mourns over the changed conditions. Adam and Eve
enter the Cave of Treasures.
1 But Adam and Eve cried for having come out of the garden, their first home.
2 And indeed, when Adam looked at his flesh, that was altered, he cried bitterly,
he and Eve, over what they had done. And they walked and went gently down into
the Cave of Treasures.
3 And as they came to it, Adam cried over himself and
said to Eve, "Look at this cave that is to be our prison in this world, and
a place of punishment!
4 What is it compared with the garden? What is its narrowness
compared with the space of the other?
5 What is this rock, by the side of those
groves? What is the gloom of this cavern, compared with the light of the garden?
6 What is this overhanging ledge of rock to shelter us, compared with the mercy
of the Lord that overshadowed us?
7 What is the soil of this cave compared with
the garden land? This earth, strewed with stones; and that, planted with delicious
fruit trees?"
8 And Adam said to Eve, "Look at your eyes, and at mine, which
before beheld angels praising in heaven; and they too, without ceasing.
9 But
now we do not see as we did; our eyes have become of flesh; they cannot see
like they used to see before."
10 Adam said again to Eve, "What is our body
today, compared to what it was in former days, when we lived in the garden?"
11 After this, Adam did not want to enter the cave, under the overhanging rock;
nor would he ever want to enter it.
12 But he bowed to God's orders; and said
to himself, "Unless I enter the cave, I shall again be a transgressor."
Chapter 5
Eve makes a noble and emotional intercession, taking
the blame on herself.
1 Then Adam and Eve entered the cave, and stood praying, in their own tongue,
unknown to us, but which they knew well.
2 And as they prayed, Adam raised his
eyes and saw the rock and the roof of the cave that covered him overhead. This
prevented him from seeing either heaven or God's creatures. So he cried and
beat his chest hard, until he dropped, and was as dead.
3 And Eve sat crying;
for she believed he was dead.
4 Then she got up, spread her hands toward God,
appealing to Him for mercy and pity, and said, "O God, forgive me my sin, the
sin which I committed, and don't remember it against me.
5 For I alone caused
Your servant to fall from the garden into this condemned land; from light into
this darkness; and from the house of joy into this prison.
6 O God, look at
this Your servant fallen in this manner, and bring him back to life, that he
may cry and repent of his transgression which he committed through me.
7 Don't
take away his soul right now; but let him live that he may stand after the measure
of his repentance, and do Your will, as before his death.
8 But if You do not
bring him back to life, then, O God, take away my own soul, that I be like him,
and leave me not in this dungeon, one and alone; for I could not stand alone
in this world, but with him only.
9 For You, O God, caused him to fall asleep,
and took a bone from his side, and restored the flesh in the place of it, by
Your divine power.
10 And You took me, the bone, and make me a woman, bright
like him, with heart, reason, and speech; and in flesh, like to his own; and
You made me after the likeness of his looks, by Your mercy and power.
11 O Lord,
I and he are one, and You, O God, are our Creator, You are He who made us both
in one day.
12 Therefore, O God, give him life, that he may be with me in this
strange land, while we live in it on account of our transgression.
13 But if
You will not give him life, then take me, even me, like him; that we both may
die the same day."
14 And Eve cried bitterly, and fell on our father Adam; from
her great sorrow.
Chapter 6
God's reprimand to Adam and Eve in which he points
out how and why they sinned.
1 But God looked at them; for they had killed themselves through great grief.
2 But He decided to raise them and comfort them.
3 He, therefore, sent His Word
to them; that they should stand and be raised immediately.
4 And the Lord said
to Adam and Eve, "You transgressed of your own free will, until you came out
of the garden in which I had placed you.
5 Of your own free will have you transgressed
through your desire for divinity, greatness, and an exalted state, such as I
have; so that I deprived you of the bright nature in which you then were, and
I made you come out of the garden to this land, rough and full of trouble.
6
If only you had not transgressed My commandment and had kept My law, and had
not eaten of the fruit of the tree which I told you not to come near! And there
were fruit trees in the garden better than that one.
7 But the wicked Satan
did not keep his faith and had no good intent towards Me, that although I had
created him, he considered Me to be useless, and sought the Godhead for himself;
for this I hurled him down from heaven so that he could not remain in his first
estate -- it was he who made the tree appear pleasant in your eyes, until you
ate of it, by believing his words.
8 Thus have you transgressed My commandment,
and therefore I have brought on you all these sorrows.
9 For I am God the Creator,
who, when I created My creatures, did not intend to destroy them. But after
they had sorely roused My anger, I punished them with grievous plagues, until
they repent.
10 But, if on the contrary, they still continue hardened in their
transgression, they shall be under a curse forever."
Chapter 7
The beasts are appeased.
1 When Adam and Eve heard these words from God, they cried and sobbed yet
more; but they strengthened their hearts in God, because they now felt that
the Lord was to them like a father and a mother; and for this very reason, they
cried before Him, and sought mercy from Him.
2 Then God had pity on them, and
said: "O Adam, I have made My covenant with you, and I will not turn from it;
neither will I let you return to the garden, until My covenant of the great
five and a half days is fulfilled."
3 Then Adam said to God, "O Lord, You created
us, and made us fit to be in the garden; and before I transgressed, You made
all beasts come to me, that I should name them.
4 Your grace was then on me;
and I named every one according to Your mind; and you made them all subject
to me.
5 But now, O Lord God, that I have transgressed Your commandment, all
beasts will rise against me and will devour me, and Eve Your handmaid; and will
cut off our life from the face of the earth.
6 I therefore beg you, O God, that
since You have made us come out of the garden, and have made us be in a strange
land, You will not let the beasts hurt us."
7 When the Lord heard these words
from Adam, He had pity on him, and felt that he had truly said that the beasts
of the field would rise and devour him and Eve, because He, the Lord, was angry
with the two of them on account of their transgressions.
8 Then God commanded
the beasts, and the birds, and all that moves on the earth, to come to Adam
and to be familiar with him, and not to trouble him and Eve; nor yet any of
the good and righteous among their offspring.
9 Then all the beasts paid homage
to Adam, according to the commandment of God; except the serpent, against which
God was angry. It did not come to Adam, with the beasts.
Chapter 8
The "Bright Nature" of man is taken away.
1 Then Adam cried and said, "O God, when we lived in the garden, and our
hearts were lifted up, we saw the angels that sang praises in heaven, but now
we can't see like we used to; no, when we entered the cave, all creation became
hidden from us."
2 Then God the Lord said to Adam, "When you were under subjection
to Me, you had a bright nature within you, and for that reason could you see
things far away. But after your transgression your bright nature was withdrawn
from you; and it was not left to you to see things far away, but only near at
hand; after the ability of the flesh; for it is brutish."
3 When Adam and Eve
had heard these words from God, they went their way; praising and worshipping
Him with a sorrowful heart.
4 And God ceased to commune with them.
Chapter 9
Water from the Tree of Life, Adam and Eve near drowning.
1 Then Adam and Eve came out of the Cave of Treasures, and went near to the
garden gate, and there they stood to look at it, and cried for having come away
from it.
2 And Adam and Eve went from before the gate of the garden to the southern
side of it, and found there the water that watered the garden, from the root
of the Tree of Life, and that split itself from there into four rivers over
the earth.
3 Then they came and went near to that water, and looked at it; and
saw that it was the water that came forth from under the root of the Tree of
Life in the garden.
4 And Adam cried and wailed, and beat his chest, for being
severed from the garden; and said to Eve: --
5 "Why have you brought on me,
on yourself, and on our descendants, so many of these plagues and punishments?"
6 And Eve said to him, "What is it you have seen that has caused you to cry
and to speak to me in this manner?"
7 And he said to Eve, "Do you not see this
water that was with us in the garden, that watered the trees of the garden,
and flowed out from there?
8 And we, when we were in the garden, did not care
about it; but since we came to this strange land, we love it, and turn it to
use for our body."
9 But when Eve heard these words from him, she cried; and
from the soreness of their crying, they fell into that water; and would have
put an end to themselves in it, so as never again to return and behold the creation;
for when they looked at the work of creation, they felt they must put an end
to themselves.
Chapter 10
Their bodies need water after they leave the garden.
1 Then God, merciful and gracious, looked at them thus lying in the water,
and close to death, and sent an angel, who brought them out of the water, and
laid them on the seashore as dead.
2 Then the angel went up to God, was welcome,
and said, "O God, Your creatures have breathed their last."
3 Then God sent
His Word to Adam and Eve, who raised them from their death.
4 And Adam said,
after he was raised, "O God, while we were in the garden we did not require,
or care for this water; but since we came to this land we cannot do without
it."
5 Then God said to Adam, "While you were under My command and were a bright
angel, you knew not this water.
6 But now that you have transgressed My commandment,
you can not do without water, wherein to wash your body and make it grow; for
it is now like that of beasts, and is in want of water."
7 When Adam and Eve
heard these words from God, they cried a bitter cry; and Adam entreated God
to let him return into the garden, and look at it a second time.
8 But God said
to Adam, "I have made you a promise; when that promise is fulfilled, I will
bring you back into the garden, you and your righteous descendants."
9 And God
ceased to commune with Adam.
Chapter 11
A recollection of the glorious days in the Garden.
1 Then Adam and Eve felt themselves burning with thirst, and heat, and sorrow.
2 And Adam said to Eve, "We shall not drink of this water, even if we were to
die. O Eve, when this water comes into our inner parts, it will increase our
punishments and that of our descendants."
3 Both Adam and Eve then went away
from the water, and drank none of it at all; but came and entered the Cave of
Treasures.
4 But when in it Adam could not see Eve; he only heard the noise
she made. Neither could she see Adam, but heard the noise he made.
5 Then Adam
cried, in deep affliction, and beat his chest; and he got up and said to Eve,
"Where are you?"
6 And she said to him, "Look, I am standing in this darkness."
7 He then said to her, "Remember the bright nature in which we lived, when we
lived in the garden!
8 O Eve! Remember the glory that rested on us in the garden.
O Eve! Remember the trees that overshadowed us in the garden while we moved
among them.
9 O Eve! Remember that while we were in the garden, we knew neither
night nor day. Think of the Tree of Life, from below which flowed the water,
and that shed lustre over us! Remember, O Eve, the garden land, and the brightness
thereof!
10 Think, oh think of that garden in which was no darkness, while we
lived in it.
11 Whereas no sooner did we come into this Cave of Treasures than
darkness surrounded us all around; until we can no longer see each other; and
all the pleasure of this life has come to an end."
Chapter 12
How darkness came between Adam and Eve.
1 Then Adam beat his chest, he and Eve, and they mourned the whole night
until the crack of dawn, and they sighed over the length of the night in Miyazia.
2 And Adam beat himself, and threw himself on the ground in the cave, from bitter
grief, and because of the darkness, and lay there as dead.
3 But Eve heard the
noise he made in falling on the ground. And she felt about for him with her
hands, and found him like a corpse.
4 Then she was afraid, speechless, and remained
by him.
5 But the merciful Lord looked on the death of Adam, and on Eve's silence
from fear of the darkness.
6 And the Word of God came to Adam and raised him
from his death, and opened Eve's mouth that she might speak.
7 Then Adam stood
up in the cave and said, "O God, why has light departed from us, and darkness
covered us? Why did you leave us in this long darkness? Why do you plague us
like this?
8 And this darkness, O Lord, where was it before it covered us? It
is because of this that we cannot see each other.
9 For so long as we were in
the garden, we neither saw nor even knew what darkness is. I was not hidden
from Eve, neither was she hidden from me, until now that she cannot see me;
and no darkness came over us to separate us from each other.
10 But she and
I were both in one bright light. I saw her and she saw me. Yet now since we
came into this cave, darkness has covered us, and separated us from each other,
so that I do not see her, and she does not see me.
11 O Lord, will You then
plague us with this darkness?"
Chapter 13
The fall of Adam. Why night and day were created.
1 Then when God, who is merciful and full of pity, heard Adam's voice, He
said to him: --
2 "O Adam, so long as the good angel was obedient to Me, a bright
light rested on him and on his hosts.
3 But when he transgressed My commandment,
I deprived him of that bright nature, and he became dark.
4 And when he was
in the heavens, in the realms of light, he knew nothing of darkness.
5 But he
transgressed, and I made him fall from the heaven onto the earth; and it was
this darkness that came over him.
6 And on you, O Adam, while in My garden and
obedient to Me, did that bright light rest also.
7 But when I heard of your
transgression, I deprived you of that bright light. Yet, of My mercy, I did
not turn you into darkness, but I made you your body of flesh, over which I
spread this skin, in order that it may bear cold and heat.
8 If I had let My
wrath fall heavily on you, I should have destroyed you; and had I turned you
into darkness, it would have been as if I had killed you.
9 But in My mercy,
I have made you as you are; when you transgressed My commandment, O Adam, I
drove you from the garden, and made you come forth into this land; and commanded
you to live in this cave; and darkness covered you, as it did over him who transgressed
My commandment.
10 Thus, O Adam, has this night deceived you. It is not to last
forever; but is only of twelve hours; when it is over, daylight will return.
11 Sigh not, therefore, neither be moved; and say not in your heart that this
darkness is long and drags on wearily; and say not in your heart that I plague
you with it.
12 Strengthen your heart, and be not afraid. This darkness is not
a punishment. But, O Adam, I have made the day, and have placed the sun in it
to give light; in order that you and your children should do your work.
13 For
I knew you would sin and transgress, and come out into this land. Yet I wouldn't
force you, nor be heard over you, nor shut up; nor doom you through your fall;
nor through your coming out from light into darkness; nor yet through your coming
from the garden into this land.
14 For I made you of the light; and I willed
to bring out children of light from you and like to you.
15 But you did not
keep My commandment one day; until I had finished the creation and blessed everything
in it.
16 Then, concerning the tree, I commanded you not to eat of it. Yet I
knew that Satan, who deceived himself, would also deceive you.
17 So I made
known to you by means of the tree, not to come near him. And I told you not
to eat of the fruit thereof, nor to taste of it, nor yet to sit under it, nor
to yield to it.
18 Had I not been and spoken to you, O Adam, concerning the
tree, and had I left you without a commandment, and you had sinned -- it would
have been an offence on My part, for not having given you any order; you would
turn around and blame Me for it.
19 But I commanded you, and warned you, and
you fell. So that My creatures cannot blame Me; but the blame rests on them
alone.
20 And, O Adam, I have made the day so that you and your descendants
can work and toil in it. And I have made the night for them to rest in it from
their work; and for the beasts of the field to go forth by night and look for
their food.
21 But little of darkness now remains, O Adam, and daylight will
soon appear."
Chapter 14
The earliest prophesy of the coming of Christ ?.
1 Then Adam said to God: "O Lord, take You my soul, and let me not see this
gloom any more; or remove me to some place where there is no darkness."
2 But
God the Lord said to Adam, "Indeed I say to you, this darkness will pass from
you, every day I have determined for you, until the fulfillment of My covenant;
when I will save you and bring you back again into the garden, into the house
of light you long for, in which there is no darkness*. I will bring you to it
-- in the kingdom of heaven."
3 Again said God to Adam, "All this misery that
you have been made to take on yourself because of your transgression, will not
free you from the hand of Satan, and will not save you.
4 But I will. When I
shall come down from heaven, and shall become flesh of your descendants, and
take on Myself the infirmity from which you suffer, then the darkness that covered
you in this cave shall cover Me in the grave, when I am in the flesh of your
descendants.
5 And I, who am without years, shall be subject to the reckoning
of years, of times, of months, and of days, and I shall be reckoned as one of
the sons of men, in order to save you."
6 And God ceased to commune with Adam.
Chapter 15
Adam and Eve grieve over the suffering of God to save
them from their sins.
1 Then Adam and Eve cried and sorrowed by reason of God's word to them, that
they should not return to the garden until the fulfillment of the days decreed
on them; but mostly because God had told them that He should suffer for their
salvation.
Chapter 16
The first sunrise, Adam and Eve think it is a fire
coming to burn them.
1 After this, Adam and Eve continued to stand in the cave, praying and crying,
until the morning dawned on them.
2 And when they saw the light returned to
them, they retrained from fear, and strengthened their hearts.
3 Then Adam began
to come out of the cave. And when he came to the mouth of it, and stood and
turned his face towards the east, and saw the sunrise in glowing rays, and felt
the heat thereof on his body, he was afraid of it, and thought in his heart
that this flame came forth to plague him.
4 He then cried and beat his chest,
then he fell on the ground on his face and made his request, saying: --
5 "O
Lord, plague me not, neither consume me, nor yet take away my life from the
earth."
6 For he thought the sun was God.
7 Because while he was in the garden
and heard the voice of God and the sound He made in the garden, and feared Him,
Adam never saw the brilliant light of the sun, neither did its flaming heat
touch his body.
8 Therefore he was afraid of the sun when flaming rays of it
reached him. He thought God meant to plague him therewith all the days He had
decreed for him.
9 For Adam also said in his thoughts, as God did not plague
us with darkness, behold, He has caused this sun to rise and to plague us with
burning heat.
10 But while he was thinking like this in his heart, the Word
of God came to him and said: --
11 "O Adam, get up on your feet. This sun is
not God; but it has been created to give light by day, of which I spoke to you
in the cave saying, 'that the dawn would come, and there would be light by day.'
12 But I am God who comforted you in the night."
13 And God ceased to commune
with Adam.
Chapter 17
The Chapter of the Serpent.
1 The Adam and Eve came out at the mouth of the cave, and went towards the
garden.
2 But as they went near it, before the western gate, from which Satan
came when he deceived Adam and Eve, they found the serpent that became Satan
coming at the gate, and sorrowfully licking the dust, and wiggling on its breast
on the ground, by reason of the curse that fell on it from God.
3 And whereas
before the serpent was the most exalted of all beasts, now it was changed and
become slippery, and the meanest of them all, and it crept on its breast and
went on its belly.
4 And whereas it was the fairest of all beasts, it had been
changed, and was become the ugliest of them all. Instead of feeding on the best
food, now it turned to eat the dust. Instead of living, as before, in the best
places, now it lived in the dust.
5 And, whereas it had been the most beautiful
of all beasts, all of which stood dumb at its beauty, it was now abhorred of
them.
6 And, again, whereas it lived in one beautiful home, to which all other
animals came from elsewhere; and where it drank, they drank also of the same;
now, after it had become venomous, by reason of God's curse, all beasts fled
from its home, and would not drink of the water it drank; but fled from it.
Chapter 18
The mortal combat with the serpent.
1 When the accursed serpent saw Adam and Eve, it swelled its head, stood
on its tail, and with eyes blood- red, acted like it would kill them.
2 It made
straight for Eve, and ran after her; while Adam standing by, cried because he
had no stick in his hand with which to hit the serpent, and did not know how
to put it to death.
3 But with a heart burning for Eve, Adam approached the
serpent, and held it by the tail; when it turned towards him and said to him:
--
4 "O Adam, because of you and of Eve, I am slippery, and go on my belly."
Then with its great strength, it threw down Adam and Eve and squeezed them,
and tried to kill them.
5 But God sent an angel who threw the serpent away from
them, and raised them up.
6 Then the Word of God came to the serpent, and said
to it, "The first time I made you slick, and made you to go on your belly; but
I did not deprive you of speech.
7 This time, however, you will be mute, and
you and your race will speak no more; because, the first time My creatures were
ruined because of you, and this time you tried to kill them."
8 Then the serpent
was struck mute, and was no longer able to speak.
9 And a wind blew down from
heaven by the command of God and carried away the serpent from Adam and Eve,
and threw it on the seashore where it landed in India.
Chapter 19
Beasts made subject to Adam.
1 But Adam and Eve cried before God. And Adam said to Him: --
2 "O Lord,
when I was in the cave, I said this to you, my Lord, the beasts of the field
would rise and devour me, and cut off my life from the earth."
3 Then Adam,
because of what had happened to him, beat his chest and fell on the ground like
a corpse. Then the Word of God came to him, who raised him, and said to him,
4 "O Adam, not one of these beasts will be able to hurt you; because I have
made the beasts and other moving things come to you in the cave. I did not let
the serpent come with them because it might have risen against you and made
you tremble; and the fear of it should fall into your hearts.
5 For I knew that
the accursed one is wicked; therefore I would not let it come near you with
the other beasts.
6 But now strengthen your heart and fear not. I am with you
to the end of the days I have determined on you."
Chapter 20
Adam wishes to protect Eve.
1 Then Adam cried and said, "O God, take us away to some other place, where
the serpent can not come near us again, and rise against us. For fear that it
might find Your handmaid Eve alone and kill her; for its eyes are hideous and
evil."
2 But God said to Adam and Eve, "From now on, don't be afraid, I will
not let it come near you; I have driven it away from you, from this mountain;
neither will I leave in it the ability to hurt you."
3 Then Adam and Eve worshipped
before God and gave Him thanks, and praised Him for having delivered them from
death.
Chapter 21
Adam and Eve attempt suicide.
1 Then Adam and Eve went in search of the garden.
2 And the heat beat like
a flame on their faces; and they sweated from the heat, and cried before the
Lord.
3 But the place where they cried was close to a high mountain, facing
the western gate of the garden.
4 Then Adam threw himself down from the top
of that mountain; his face was torn and his flesh was ripped; he lost a lot
of blood and was close to death.
5 Meanwhile Eve remained standing on the mountain
crying over him, thus lying.
6 And she said, "I don't wish to live after him;
for all that he did to himself was through me."
7 Then she threw herself after
him; and was torn and ripped by stones; and remained lying as dead.
8 But the
merciful God, who looks over His creatures, looked at Adam and Eve as they lay
dead, and He sent His Word to them, and raised them.
9 And said to Adam, "O
Adam, all this misery which you have brought on yourself, will have no affect
against My rule, neither will it alter the covenant of the 5, 500 years."
Chapter 22
Adam in a gracious mood.
1 Then Adam said to God, "I dry up in the heat, I am faint from walking,
and I don't want to be in this world. And I don't know when You will take me
out of it to rest."
2 Then the Lord God said to him, "O Adam, it cannot be now,
not until you have ended your days. Then shall I bring you out of this miserable
land."
3 And Adam said to God, "While I was in the garden I knew neither heat,
nor languor, neither moving about, nor trembling, nor fear; but now since I
came to this land, all this affliction has come over me.
4 Then God said to
Adam, "So long as you were keeping My commandment, My light and My grace rested
on you. But when you transgressed My commandment, sorrow and misery came to
you in this land."
5 And Adam cried and said, "O Lord, do not cut me off for
this, neither punish me with heavy plagues, nor yet repay me according to my
sin; for we, of our own will, transgressed Your commandment, and ignored Your
law, and tried to become gods like you, when Satan the enemy deceived us."
6
Then God said again to Adam, "Because you have endured fear and trembling in
this land, languor and suffering, treading and walking about, going on this
mountain, and dying from it, I will take all this on Myself in order to save
you."
Chapter 23
Adam and Eve strengthen themselves and make the first
altar ever built.
1 Then Adam cried more and said, "O God, have mercy on me, so far as to take
on yourself, that which I will do."
2 But God withdrew His Word from Adam and
Eve.
3 Then Adam and Eve stood on their feet; and Adam said to Eve, "Strengthen
yourself, and I also will strengthen myself." And she strengthened herself,
as Adam told her.
4 Then Adam and Eve took stones and placed them in the shape
of an altar; and they took leaves from the trees outside the garden, with which
they wiped, from the face of the rock, the blood they had spilled.
5 But that
which had dropped on the sand, they took together with the dust with which it
was mingled and offered it on the altar as an offering to God.
6 Then Adam and
Eve stood under the Altar and cried, thus praying to God, "Forgive us our trespass*
and our sin, and look at us with Thine eye of mercy. For when we were in the
garden our praises and our hymns went up before you without ceasing.
7 But when
we came into this strange land, pure praise was not longer ours, nor righteous
prayer, nor understanding hearts, nor sweet thoughts, nor just counsels, nor
long discernment, nor upright feelings, neither is our bright nature left us.
But our body is changed from the likeness in which it was at first, when we
were created.
8 Yet now look at our blood which is offered on these stones,
and accept it at our hands, like the praise we used to sing to you at first,
when in the garden."
9 And Adam began to make more requests of God.
Chapter 24
A vivid prophecy of the life and death of Christ.
1 Then the merciful God, good and lover of men, looked at Adam and Eve, and
at their blood, which they had held up as an offering to Him; without an order
from Him for so doing. But He wondered at them; and accepted their offerings.
2 And God sent from His presence a bright fire, that consumed their offering.
3 He smelled the sweet savor of their offering, and showed them mercy.
4 Then
came the Word of God to Adam, and said to him, "O Adam, as you have shed your
blood, so will I shed My own blood when I become flesh of your descendants;
and as you died, O Adam, so also will I die. And as you built an altar, so also
will I make for you an altar of the earth; and as you offered your blood on
it, so also will I offer My blood on an altar on the earth.
5 And as you sued
for forgiveness through that blood, so also will I make My blood forgiveness
of sins, and erase transgressions in it.
6 And now, behold, I have accepted
your offering, O Adam, but the days of the covenant in which I have bound you
are not fulfilled. When they are fulfilled, then will I bring you back into
the garden.
7 Now, therefore, strengthen your heart; and when sorrow comes over
you, make Me an offering, and I will be favorable to you."
Chapter 25
God represented as merciful and loving, The establishing
of worship.
1 But God knew that Adam believed he should frequently kill himself and make
an offering to Him of his blood.
2 Therefore He said to him, "O Adam, don't
ever kill yourself like this again, by throwing yourself down from that mountain."
3 But Adam said to God, "I was thinking to put an end to myself at once, for
having transgressed Your commandments, and for my having come out of the beautiful
garden; and for the bright light of which You have deprived me; and for the
praises which poured forth from my mouth without ceasing, and for the light
that covered me.
4 Yet of Your goodness, O God, do not get rid of me altogether;
but be favorable to me every time I die, and bring me to life.
5 And thereby
it will be made known that You are a merciful God, who does not want anyone
to perish; who loves not that one should fall; and who does not condemn any
one cruelly, badly, and by whole destruction."
6 Then Adam remained silent.
7 And the Word of God came to him, and blessed him, and comforted him, and covenanted
with him, that He would save him at the end of the days determined for him.
8 This, then, was the first offering Adam made to God; and so it became his
custom to do.
Chapter 26
A beautiful prophecy of eternal life and joy, The fall
of night.
1 Then Adam took Eve, and they began to return to the Cave of Treasures where
they lived. But when they got closer to it and saw it from a distance, heavy
sorrow fell on Adam and Eve when they looked at it.
2 Then Adam said to Eve,
"When we were on the mountain we were comforted by the Word of God that conversed
with us; and the light that came from the east shown over us.
3 But now the
Word of God is hidden from us; and the light that shown over us is so changed
as to disappear, and let darkness and sorrow come over us.
4 And we are forced
to enter this cave which is like a prison, in which darkness covers us, so that
we are separated from each other; and you can not see me, neither can I see
you."
5 When Adam had said these words, they cried and spread their hands before
God; for they were full of sorrow.
6 And they prayed to God to bring the sun
to them, to shine on them, so that darkness would not return to them, and that
they wouldn't have to go under this covering of rock. And they wished to die
rather than see the darkness.
7 Then God looked at Adam and Eve and at their
great sorrow, and at all they had done with a fervent heart, on account of all
the trouble they were in, instead of their former well-being, and on account
of all the misery that came over them in a strange land.
8 Therefore God was
not angry with them; nor impatient with them; but he was patient and forbearing
towards them, as towards the children He had created.
9 Then came the Word of
God to Adam, and said to him, "Adam, as for the sun, if I were to take it and
bring it to you, days, hours, years and months would all stop, and the covenant
I have made with you, would never be fulfilled.
10 But then you would be deserted
and stuck in a perpetual plague, and you would never be saved.
11 Yes, rather,
bear long and calm your soul while you live night and day; until the fulfillment
of the days, and the time of My covenant is come.
12 Then shall I come and save
you, O Adam, for I do not wish that you be afflicted.
13 And when I look at
all the good things in which you lived, and why you came out of them, then would
I willingly show you mercy.
14 But I cannot alter the covenant that has gone
out of My mouth; otherwise I would have brought you back into the garden.
15
When, however, the covenant is fulfilled, then shall I show you and your descendants
mercy, and bring you into a land of gladness, where there is neither sorrow
nor suffering; but abiding joy and gladness, and light that never fails, and
praises that never cease; and a beautiful garden that shall never pass away."
16 And God said again to Adam, "Be patient and enter the cave, for the darkness,
of which you were afraid, shall only be twelve hours long; and when ended, light
shall come up."
17 Then when Adam heard these words from God, he and Eve worshipped
before Him, and their hearts were comforted. They returned into the cave after
their custom, while tears flowed from their eyes, sorrow and wailing came from
their hearts, and they wished their soul would leave their body.
18 And Adam
and Eve stood praying until the darkness of night came over them, and Adam was
hid from Eve, and she from him.
19 And they remained standing in prayer.
Chapter 27
The second tempting of Adam and Eve, The devil takes
on the form of a beguiling light.
1 When Satan, the hater of all good, saw how they continued in prayer, and
how God communed with them, and comforted them, and how He had accepted their
offering -- Satan made an apparition.
2 He began with transforming his hosts;
in his hands was a flashing fire, and they were in a great light.
3 He then
placed his throne near the mouth of the cave because he could not enter into
it by reason of their prayers. And he shed light into the cave, until the cave
glistened over Adam and Eve; while his hosts began to sing praises.
4 And Satan
did this, in order that when Adam saw the light, he should think within himself
that it was a heavenly light, and that Satan's hosts were angels; and that God
had sent them to watch at the cave, and to give him light in the darkness.
5
So that when Adam came out of the cave and saw them, and Adam and Eve bowed
to Satan, then he would overcome Adam thereby, and a second time humble him
before God.
6 When, therefore, Adam and Eve saw the light, fancying it was real,
they strengthened their hearts; yet, as they were trembling, Adam said to Eve:
--
7 "Look at that great light, and at those many songs of praise, and at that
host standing outside who won't come into our cave. Why don't they tell us what
they want, where they are from, what the meaning of this light is, what those
praises are, why they have been sent to this place, and why they won't come
in?
8 If they were from God, they would come into the cave with us, and would
tell us why they were sent."
9 Then Adam stood up and prayed to God with a burning
heart, and said: --
10 "O Lord, is there in the world another god besides You,
who created angels and filled them with light, and sent them to keep us, who
would come with them?
11 But, look, we see these hosts that stand at the mouth
of the cave; they are in a great light; they sing loud praises. If they are
of some other god than You, tell me; and if they are sent by you, inform me
of the reason for which You have sent them."
12 No sooner had Adam said this,
than an angel from God appeared to him in the cave, who said to him, "O Adam,
fear not. This is Satan and his hosts; he wishes to deceive you as he deceived
you at first. For the first time, he was hidden in the serpent; but this time
he is come to you in the likeness of an angel of light; in order that, when
you worshipped him, he might enslave you, in the very presence of God."
13 Then
the angel went from Adam and seized Satan at the opening of the cave, and stripped
him of the pretense he had assumed, and brought him in his own hideous form
to Adam and Eve; who were afraid of him when they saw him.
14 And the angel
said to Adam, "This hideous form has been his ever since God made him fall from
heaven. He could not have come near you in it; he therefore transformed himself
into an angel of light."
15 Then the angel drove away Satan and his hosts from
Adam and Eve, and said to them, "Fear not; God who created you, will strengthen
you."
16 And the angel left them.
17 But Adam and Eve remained standing in the
cave; no consolation came to them; they divided in their thoughts.
18 And when
it was morning they prayed; and then went out to seek the garden. For their
hearts were towards it, and they could get no consolation for having left it.
Chapter 28
The Devil pretends to lead Adam and Eve to the water
to bathe.
1 But when the crafty Satan saw them, that they were going to the garden,
he gathered together his host, and came in appearance on a cloud, intent on
deceiving them.
2 But when Adam and Eve saw him thus in a vision, they thought
they were angels of God come to comfort them about having left the garden, or
to bring them back again into it.
3 And Adam spread his hands before God, beseeching
Him to make him understand what they were.
4 Then Satan, the hater of all good,
said to Adam, "O Adam, I am an angel of the great God; and, behold the hosts
that surround me.
5 God has sent us to take you and bring you to the border
of the garden northwards; to the shore of the clear sea, and bathe you and Eve
in it, and raise you to your former gladness, that you return again to the garden."
6 These words sank into the heart of Adam and Eve.
7 Yet God withheld His Word
from Adam, and did not make him understand at once, but waited to see his strength;
whether he would be overcome as Eve was when in the garden, or whether he would
prevail.
8 Then Satan called to Adam and Eve, and said, "Behold, we go to the
sea of water," and they began to go.
9 And Adam and Eve followed them at some
little distance.
10 But when they came to the mountain to the north of the garden,
a very high mountain, without any steps to the top of it, the Devil drew near
to Adam and Eve, and made them go up to the top in reality, and not in a vision;
wishing, as he did, to throw them down and kill them, and to wipe off their
name from the earth; so that this earth should remain to him and his hosts alone.
Chapter 29
God tells Adam of the Devil's purpose.
1 But when the merciful God saw that Satan wished to kill Adam with his many
tricks, and saw that Adam was meek and without guile, God spoke to Satan in
a loud voice, and cursed him.
2 Then he and his hosts fled, and Adam and Eve
remained standing on the top of the mountain, from there they saw below them
the wide world, high above which they were. But they saw none of the host which
time after time were by them.
3 They cried, both Adam and Eve, before God, and
begged for forgiveness of Him.
4 Then came the Word from God to Adam, and said
to him, "Know you and understand concerning this Satan, that he seeks to deceive
you and your descendants after you."
5 And Adam cried before the Lord God, and
begged and prayed to Him to give him something from the garden, as a token to
him, wherein to be comforted.
6 And God considered Adam's thought, and sent
the angel Michael as far as the sea that reaches India, to take from there golden
rods and bring them to Adam.
7 This did God in His wisdom in order that these
golden rods, being with Adam in the cave, should shine forth with light in the
night around him, and put an end to his fear of the darkness.
8 Then the angel
Michael went down by God's order, took golden rods, as God had commanded him,
and brought them to God.
Chapter 30
Adam receives the first worldly goods.
1 After these things, God commanded the angel Gabriel to go down to the garden,
and say to the cherub who kept it, "Behold, God has commanded me to come into
the garden, and to take from it sweet smelling incense, and give it to Adam."
2 Then the angel Gabriel went down by God's order to the garden, and told the
cherub as God had commanded him.
3 The cherub then said, "Well." And Gabriel
went in and took the incense.
4 Then God commanded his angel Raphael to go down
to the garden, and speak to the cherub about some myrrh, to give to Adam.
5
And the angel Raphael went down and told the cherub as God had commanded him,
and the cherub said, "Well." Then Raphael went in and took the myrrh.
6 The
golden rods were from the Indian sea, where there are precious stones. The incense
was from the eastern border of the garden; and the myrrh from the western border,
from where bitterness came over Adam.
7 And the angels brought these things
to God, by the Tree of Life, in the garden.
8 Then God said to the angels, "Dip
them in the spring of water; then take them and sprinkle their water over Adam
and Eve, that they be a little comforted in their sorrow, and give them to Adam
and Eve.
9 And the angels did as God had commanded them, and they gave all those
things to Adam and Eve on the top of the mountain on which Satan had placed
them, when he sought to make an end of them.
10 And when Adam saw the golden
rods, the incense and the myrrh, he was rejoiced and cried because he thought
that the gold was a token of the kingdom from where he had come, that the incense
was a token of the bright light which had been taken from him, and that the
myrrh was a token of the sorrow in which he was.
Chapter 31
They make themselves more comfortable in the Cave of
Treasures on the third day.
1 After these things God said to Adam, "You asked Me for something from the
garden, to be comforted therewith, and I have given you these three tokens as
a consolation to you; that you trust in Me and in My covenant with you.
2 For
I will come and save you; and kings shall bring me when in the flesh, gold,
incense and myrrh; gold as a token of My kingdom; incense as a token of My divinity;
and myrrh as a token of My suffering and of My death.
3 But, O Adam, put these
by you in the cave; the gold that it may shed light over you by night; the incense,
that you smell its sweet savor; and the myrrh, to comfort you in your sorrow."
4 When Adam heard these words from God, he worshipped before Him. He and Eve
worshipped Him and gave Him thanks, because He had dealt mercifully with them.
5 Then God commanded the three angels, Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, each to
bring what he had brought, and give it to Adam. And they did so, one by one.
6 And God commanded Suriyel and Salathiel to bear up Adam and Eve, and bring
them down from the top of the high mountain, and to take them to the Cave of
Treasures.
7 There they laid the gold on the south side of the cave, the incense
on the eastern side, and the myrrh on the western side. For the mouth of the
cave was on the north side.
8 The angels then comforted Adam and Eve, and departed.
9 The gold was seventy rods*; the incense, twelve pounds; and the myrrh, three
pounds.
10 These remained by Adam in the Cave of Treasures**.
11 God gave these
three things to Adam on the third day after he had come out of the garden, in
token of the three days the Lord should remain in the heart of the earth.
12
And these three things, as they continued with Adam in the cave, gave him light
by night; and by day they gave him a little relief from his sorrow.
Chapter 32
Adam and Eve go into the water to pray.
1 And Adam and Eve remained in the Cave of Treasures until the seventh day;
they neither ate of the fruit the earth, nor drank water.
2 And when it dawned
on the eighth day, Adam said to Eve, "O Eve, we prayed God to give us something
from the garden, and He sent his angels who brought us what we had desired.
3 But now, get up, let us go to the sea of water we saw at first, and let us
stand in it, praying that God will again be favorable to us and take us back
to the garden; or give us something; or that He will give us comfort in some
other land than this in which we are."
4 Then Adam and Eve came out of the cave,
went and stood on the border of the sea in which they had before thrown themselves,
and Adam said to Eve:--
5 Come, go down into this place, and come not out of
it until the end of thirty days, when I shall come to you. And pray to God with
burning heart and a sweet voice, to forgive us.
6 And I will go to another place,
and go down into it, and do like you."
7 Then Eve went down into the water,
as Adam had commanded her. Adam also went down into the water; and they stood
praying; and besought the Lord to forgive them their offense, and to restore
them to their former state.
8 And they stood like that praying, until the end
of the thirty-five days.
Chapter 33
Satan falsely promises the "bright light."
1 But Satan, the hater of all good, sought them in the cave, but found them
not, although he searched diligently for them.
2 But he found them standing
in the water praying and thought within himself, "Adam and Eve are standing
like that in that water praying to God to forgive them their transgression,
and to restore them to their former state, and to take them from under my hand.
3 But I will deceive them so that they shall come out of the water, and not fulfil their vow."
4 Then the hater of all good, went not to Adam, but he went
to Eve, and took the form of an angel of God, praising and rejoicing, and said
to her:--
5 "Peace be to you! Be glad and rejoice! God is favorable to you,
and He sent me to Adam. I have brought him the glad tidings of salvation, and
of his being filled with bright light as he was at first.
6 And Adam, in his
joy for his restoration, has sent me to you, that you come to me, in order that
I crown you with light like him.
7 And he said to me, 'Speak to Eve; if she
does not come with you, tell her of the sign when we were on the top of the
mountain; how God sent his angels who took us and brought us to the Cave of
Treasures; and laid the gold on the southern side; incense, on the eastern side;
and myrrh on the western side.' Now come to him."
8 When Eve hear these words
from him, she rejoiced greatly. And thinking Satan's appearance was real, she
came out of the sea.
9 He went before, and she followed him until they came
to Adam. Then Satan hid himself from her, and she saw him no more.
10 She then
came and stood before Adam, who was standing by the water and rejoicing in God's
forgiveness.
11 And as she called to him, he turned around, found her there
and cried when he saw her, and beat his chest; and from the bitterness of his
grief, he sank into the water.
12 But God looked at him and at his misery, and
at his being about to breathe his last. And the Word of God came from heaven,
raised him out of the water, and said to him, "Go up the high bank to Eve."
And when he came up to Eve he said to her, "Who told you to come here?"
13 Then
she told him the discourse of the angel who had appeared to her and had given
her a sign.
14 But Adam grieved, and gave her to know it was Satan. He then
took her and they both returned to the cave.
15 These things happened to them
the second time they went down to the water, seven days after their coming out
of the garden.
16 They fasted in the water thirty-five days; altogether forty-two
days since they had left the garden.
Chapter 34
Adam recalls the creation of Eve, He eloquently appeals
for food and drink.
1 And on the morning of the forty-third day, they came out of the cave, sorrowful
and crying. Their bodies were lean, and they were parched from hunger and thirst,
from fasting and praying, and from their heavy sorrow on account of their transgression.
2 And when they had come out of the cave they went up the mountain to the west
of the garden.
3 There they stood and prayed and besought God to grant them
forgiveness of their sins.
4 And after their prayers Adam began to beg God,
saying, "O my Lord, my God, and my Creator, You commanded the four elements*
to be gathered together, and they were gathered together by Thine order.
5 Then
You spread Your hand and created me out of one element, that of dust of the
earth; and You brought me into the garden at the third hour, on a Friday, and
informed me of it in the cave.
6 Then, at first, I knew neither night nor day,
for I had a bright nature; neither did the light in which I lived ever leave
me to know night or day.
7 Then, again, O Lord, in that third hour in which
You created me, You brought to me all beasts, and lions, and ostriches, and
fowls of the air, and all things that move in the earth, which You had created
at the first hour before me of the Friday.
8 And Your will was that I should
name them all, one by one, with a suitable name. But You gave me understanding
and knowledge, and a pure heart and a right mind from you, that I should name
them after Thine own mind regarding the naming of them.
9 O God, You made them
obedient to me, and ordered that not one of them break from my sway, according
to Your commandment, and to the dominion which You had given me over them. But
now they are all estranged from me.
10 Then it was in that third hour of Friday,
in which You created me, and commanded me concerning the tree, to which I was
neither to go near, nor to eat thereof; for You said to me in the garden, 'When
you eat of it, of death you shall die.'
11 And if You had punished me as You
said, with death, I should have died that very moment.
12 Moreover, when You
commanded me regarding the tree, I was neither to approach nor to eat thereof,
Eve was not with me; You had not yet created her, neither had You yet taken
her out of my side; nor had she yet heard this order from you.
13 Then, at the
end of the third hour of that Friday, O Lord, You caused a slumber and a sleep
to come over me, and I slept, and was overwhelmed in sleep.
14 Then You drew
a rib out of my side, and created it after my own likeness and image. Then I
awoke; and when I saw her and knew who she was, I said, 'This is bone of my
bones, and flesh of my flesh; from now on she shall be called woman.'
15 It
was of Your good will, O God, that You brought a slumber in a sleep over me,
and that You immediately brought Eve out of my side, until she was out, so that
I did not see how she was made; neither could I witness, O my Lord, how awful
and great are Your goodness and glory.
16 And of Your goodwill, O Lord, You
made us both with bodies of a bright nature, and You made us two, one; and You
gave us Your grace, and filled us with praises of the Holy Spirit; that we should
be neither hungry nor thirsty, nor know what sorrow is, nor yet faintness of
heart; neither suffering, fasting nor weariness.
17 But now, O God, since we
transgressed Your commandment and broke Your law, You have brought us out into
a strange land, and have caused suffering, and faintness, hunger and thirst
to come over us.
18 Now, therefore, O God, we pray you, give us something to
eat from the garden, to satisfy our hunger with it; and something wherewith
to quench our thirst.
19 For, behold, many days, O God, we have tasted nothing
and drunk nothing, and our flesh is dried up, and our strength is wasted, and
sleep is gone from our eyes from faintness and crying.
20 Then, O God, we dare
not gather anything from the fruit of trees, from fear of you. For when we transgress
at first You spared us and did not make us die.
21 But now, we thought in our
hearts, if we eat of the fruit of the trees, without God's order, He will destroy
us this time, and will wipe us off from the face of the earth.
22 And if we
drink of this water, without God's order, He will make an end of us and root
us up at once.
23 Now, therefore, O God, that I am come to this place with Eve,
we beg You to give us some fruit from the garden, that we may be satisfied with
it.
24 For we desire the fruit that is on the earth, and all else that we lack
in it."
Chapter 35
God's reply.
1 Then God looked again at Adam and his crying and groaning, and the Word
of God came to him, and said to him: --
2 "O Adam, when you were in My garden,
you knew neither eating nor drinking; neither faintness nor suffering; neither
leanness of flesh, nor change; neither did sleep depart from thine eyes. But
since you transgressed, and came into this strange land, all these trials are
come over you."
Chapter 36
Figs.
1 Then God commanded the cherub, who kept the gate of the garden with a sword
of fire in his hand, to take some of the fruit of the fig-tree, and to give
it to Adam.
2 The cherub obeyed the command of the Lord God, and went into the
garden and brought two figs on two twigs, each fig hanging to its leaf; they
were from two of the trees among which Adam and Eve hid themselves when God
went to walk in the garden, and the Word of God came to Adam and Eve and said
to them, "Adam, Adam, where are you?"
3 And Adam answered, "O God, here I am.
When I heard the sound of You and Your voice, I hid myself, because I am naked."
4 Then the cherub took two figs and brought them to Adam and Eve. But he threw
them to them from a distance; for they might not come near the cherub by reason
of their flesh, that could not come near the fire.
5 At first, angels trembled
at the presence of Adam and were afraid of him. But now Adam trembled before
the angels and was afraid of them.
6 Then Adam came closer and took one fig,
and Eve also came in turn and took the other.
7 And as they took them up in
their hands, they looked at them, and knew they were from the trees among which
they had hidden themselves.
Chapter 37
Forty-three days of penance do not redeem one hour
of sin.
1 Then Adam said to Eve, "Do you not see these figs and their leaves, with
which we covered ourselves when we were stripped of our bright nature? But now,
we do not know what misery and suffering may come over us from eating them.
2 Now, therefore, O Eve, let us restrain ourselves and not eat of them, you
and I; and let us ask God to give us of the fruit of the Tree of Life."
3 Thus
did Adam and Eve restrain themselves, and did not eat of these figs.
4 But Adam
began to pray to God and to beseech Him to give him of the fruit of the Tree
of Life, saying thus: "O God, when we transgressed Your commandment at the sixth
hour of Friday, we were stripped of the bright nature we had, and did not continue
in the garden after our transgression, more than three hours.
5 But in the evening
You made us come out of it. O God, we transgressed against You one hour, and
all these trials and sorrows have come over us until this day.
6 And those days
together with this the forty-third day, do not redeem that one hour in which
we transgressed!
7 O God, look at us with an eye of pity, and do not avenge
us according to our transgression of Your commandment, in Your presence.
8 O
God, give us of the fruit of the Tree of Life, that we may eat of it, and live,
and turn not to see sufferings and other trouble, in this earth; for You are
God.
9 When we transgressed Your commandment, You made us come out of the garden,
and sent a cherub to keep the Tree of Life, lest we should eat thereof, and
live; and know nothing of faintness after we transgressed.
10 But now, O Lord,
behold, we have endured all these days, and have borne sufferings. Make these
forty-three days an equivalent for the one hour in which we transgressed."
Chapter 38
"When 5500 years are fulfilled. . . ."
1 After these things the Word of God came to Adam, and said to him: --
2
"O Adam, as to the fruit on the Tree of Life that you have asked for, I will
not give it to you now, but only when the 5500 years are fulfilled. At that
time I will give you fruit from the Tree of Life, and you will eat, and live
forever, you, and Eve, and your righteous descendants.
3 But these forty-three
days cannot make amends for the hour in which you transgressed My commandment.
4 O Adam, I gave you the fruit of the fig-tree to eat in which you hid yourself.
Go and eat of it, you and Eve.
5 I will not deny your request, neither will
I disappoint your hope; therefore, endure until the fulfillment of the covenant
I made with you."
6 And God withdrew His Word from Adam.
Chapter 39
Adam is cautious -- but too late.
1 Then Adam returned to Eve, and said to her, "Get up, and take a fig for
yourself, and I will take another; and let us go to our cave."
2 Then Adam and
Eve took each a fig and went towards the cave; the time was about the setting
of the sun; and their thoughts made them long to eat of the fruit.
3 But Adam
said to Eve, "I am afraid to eat of this fig. I know not what may come over
me from it."
4 So Adam cried, and stood praying before God, saying, "Satisfy
my hunger, without my having to eat this fig; for after I have eaten it, what
will it profit me? And what shall I desire and ask of you, O God, when it is
gone?"
5 And he said again, "I am afraid to eat of it; for I know not what will
befall me through it."
Chapter 40
The first Human hunger.
1 Then the Word of God came to Adam, and said to him, "O Adam, why didn't
you have this dread, or this fasting, or this care before now? And why didn't
you have this fear before you transgressed?
2 But when you came to live in this
strange land, your animal body could not survive on earth without earthly food,
to strengthen it and to restore its powers."
3 And God withdrew His Word for
Adam.
Chapter 41
The first Human thirst.
1 Then Adam took the fig, and laid it on the golden rods. Eve also took her
fig, and put it on the incense.
2 And the weight of each fig was that of a water-melon;
for the fruit of the garden was much larger than the fruit of this land*.
3
But Adam and Eve remained standing and fasting the whole of that night, until
the morning dawned.
4 When the sun rose they were still praying, but after they
had finished praying, Adam said to Eve: --
5 "O Eve, come, let us go to the
border of the garden looking south; to the place from where the river flows,
and is parted into four heads. There we will pray to God, and ask Him to give
us some of the Water of Life to drink .
6 For God has not fed us with the Tree
of Life, in order that we may not live. Therefore, we will ask him to give us
some of the Water of Life, and to quench our thirst with it, rather than with
a drink of water of this land."
7 When Eve heard these words from Adam, she
agreed; and they both got up and came to the southern border of the garden,
at the edge of the river of water a short distance from the garden.
8 And they
stood and prayed before the Lord, and asked Him to look at them this once, to
forgive them, and to grant them their request.
9 After this prayer from both
of them, Adam began to pray with his voice before God, and said; --
10 "O Lord,
when I was in the garden and saw the water that flowed from under the Tree of
Life, my heart did not desire, neither did my body require to drink of it; neither
did I know thirst, for I was living; and above that which I am now.
11 So that
in order to live I did not require any Food of Life, neither did I drink of
the Water of Life.
12 But now, O God, I am dead; my flesh is parched with thirst.
Give me of the Water of Life that I may drink of it and live.
13 Of Your mercy,
O God, save me from these plagues and trials, and bring me into another land
different from this, if You will not let me live in Your garden." * This is
substantiated by Genesis 3:7 whereby the leaves of the fig tree were large enough
that Adam and Eve could fashion garments from them.
Chapter 42
A promise of the Water of Life, The third prophecy
of the coming of Christ.
1 Then came the Word of God to Adam, and said to him:--
2 "O Adam, as to
what you said, 'Bring me into a land where there is rest,' it is not another
land than this, but it is the kingdom of heaven where alone there is rest.
3
But you can not make your entrance into it at present; but only after your judgment
is past and fulfilled.
4 Then will I make you go up into the kingdom of heaven,
you and your righteous descendants; and I will give you and them the rest you
ask for at present.
5 And if you said, 'Give me of the Water of Life that I
may drink and live' -- it cannot be this day, but on the day that I shall descend
into hell, and break the gates of brass, and bruise in pieces the kingdoms of
iron.
6 Then will I in mercy save your soul and the souls of the righteous,
to give them rest in My garden. And that shall be when the end of the world
is come.
7 And, again, in regards to the Water of Life you seek, it will not
be granted you this day; but on the day that I shall shed My blood on your head*
in the land of Golgotha**.
8 For My blood shall be the Water of Life to you
at that time, and not to just you alone, but to all your descendants who shall
believe in Me***; that it be to them for rest forever."
9 The Lord said again
to Adam, "O Adam, when you were in the garden, these trials did not come to
you.
10 But since you transgressed My commandment, all these sufferings have
come over you.
11 Now, also, does your flesh require food and drink; drink then
of that water that flows by you on the face of the earth.
12 Then God withdrew
His Word from Adam.
13 And Adam and Eve worshipped the Lord, and returned from
the river of water to the cave. It was noon-day; and when they drew near to
the cave, they saw a large fire by it.
Chapter 43
The Devil attempts arson.
1 Then Adam and Eve were afraid, and stood still. And Adam said to Eve, "What
is that fire by our cave? We have done nothing in it to cause this fire.
2 We
neither have bread to bake therein, nor broth to cook there. As to this fire,
we have never known anything like it, neither do we know what to call it.
3
But ever since God sent the cherub with a sword of fire that flashed and lightened
in his hand, from fear of which we fell down and were like corpses, have we
not seen the like.
4 But now, O Eve, behold, this is the same fire that was
in the cherub's hand, which God has sent to keep the cave in which we live.
5 O Eve, it is because God is angry with us, and will drive us from it.
6 O
Eve, we have again transgressed His commandment in that cave, so that He had
sent this fire to burn around it, and to prevent us from going into it.
7 If
this be really so, O Eve, where shall we live? And where shall we flee from
before the face of the Lord? Since, in regards to the garden, He will not let
us live in it, and He has deprived us of the good things thereof; but He has
placed us in this cave, in which we have borne darkness, trials and hardships,
until at last we have found comfort therein.
8 But now that He has brought us
out into another land, who knows what may happen in it? And who knows but that
the darkness of that land may be far greater than the darkness of this land?
9 Who knows what may happen in that land by day or by night? And who knows whether
it will be far or near, O Eve? Where it will please God to put us, may be far
from the garden, O Eve? Or where God will prevent us from beholding Him, because
we have transgressed His commandment, and because we have made requests of Him
at all times?
10 O Eve, if God will bring us into a strange land other than
this, in which we find consolation, it must be to put our souls to death, and
blot out our name from the face of the earth.
11 O Eve, if we are further alienated
from the garden and from God, where shall we find Him again, and ask Him to
give us gold, incense, myrrh, and some fruit of the fig-tree?
12 Where shall
we find Him, to comfort us a second time? Where shall we find Him, that He may
think of us, as regards the covenant He has made on our behalf?"
13 Then Adam
said no more. And they kept looking, He and Eve, towards the cave, and at the
fire that flared up around it.
14 But that fire was from Satan. For he had gathered
trees and dry grasses, and had carried and brought them to the cave, and had
set fire to them, in order to consume the cave and what was in it.
15 So that
Adam and Eve should be left in sorrow, and he should cut off their trust in
God, and make them deny Him.
16 But by the mercy of God he could not burn the
cave, for God sent His angel around the cave to guard it from such a fire, until
it went out.
17 And this fire lasted from noon-day until the break of day. That
was the forty-fifth day.
Chapter 44
The power of fire over man.
1 Yet Adam and Eve were standing and looking at the fire, and unable to come
near the cave from their dread of the fire.
2 And Satan kept on bringing trees
and throwing them into the fire, until the flames of the fire rose up on high,
and covered the whole cave, thinking, as he did in his own mind, to consume
the cave with much fire. But the angel of the Lord was guarding it.
3 And yet
he could not curse Satan, nor injure him by word, because he had no authority
over him, neither did he take to doing so with words from his mouth.
4 Therefore
the angel tolerated him, without saying one bad word, until the Word of God
came who said to Satan, "Go away from here; once before you deceived My servants,
and this time you seek to destroy them.
5 Were it not for My mercy I would have
destroyed you and your hosts from off the earth. But I have had patience with
you, until the end of the world."
6 Then Satan fled from before the Lord. But
the fire went on burning around the cave like a coal-fire the whole day; which
was the forty-sixth day Adam and Eve had spent since they came out of the garden.
7 And when Adam and Eve saw that the heat of the fire had somewhat cooled down,
they began to walk towards the cave to get into it as they usually did; but
they could not, by reason of the heat of the fire.
8 Then they both began crying
because of the fire that separated them from the cave, and that came towards
them, burning. And they were afraid.
9 Then Adam said to Eve, "See this fire
of which we have a portion in us: which formerly yielded to us, but no longer
does so, now that we have transgressed the limit of creation, and changed our
condition, and our nature is altered. But the fire is not changed in its nature,
nor altered from its creation. Therefore it now has power over us; and when
we come near it, it scorches our flesh."
Chapter 45
Why Satan didn't fulfil his promises, Description of
hell.
1 Then Adam rose and prayed to God, saying, "See, this fire has separated
us from the cave in which You have commanded us to live; but now, behold, we
cannot go into it."
2 Then God heard Adam, and sent him His Word, that said:
--
3 "O Adam, see this fire! How different the flame and heat thereof are from
the garden of delights and the good things in it!
4 When you were under My control,
all creatures yielded to you; but after you have transgressed My commandment,
they all rise over you."
5 God said again to him, "See, O Adam, how Satan has
exalted you! He has deprived you of the Godhead, and of an exalted state like
Me, and has not kept his word to you; but has, after all, become your enemy.
He is the one who made this fire in which he meant to burn you and Eve.
6 Why,
O Adam, has he not kept his agreement with you, not even one day; but has deprived
you of the glory that was on you -- when you yielded to his command?
7 Do you
think, Adam, that he loved you when he made this agreement with you? Or that
he loved you and wished to raise you on high?
8 But no, Adam, he did not do
all that out of love to you; but he wished to make you come out of light into
darkness; and from an exalted state to degradation; from glory to abasement;
from joy to sorrow; and from rest to fasting and fainting."
9 God also said
to Adam, "See this fire kindled by Satan around your cave; see this wonder that
surrounds you; and know that it will encompass about both you and your descendants,
when you obey his command; that he will plague you with fire; and that you will
go down into hell after you are dead.
10 Then you will see the burning of his
fire, that will be burning around you and likewise your descendants. You will
not be delivered from it until My coming; just like you cannot go into your
cave right now because of the great fire around it; not until My Word comes
and makes a way for you on the day My covenant is fulfilled.
11 There is no
way for you at present to come from this life to rest, not until My Word comes,
who is My Word. Then He will make a way for you, and you shall have rest." Then
God called with His Word to the fire that burned around the cave, that it split
itself in half, until Adam had gone through it. Then the fire parted itself
by God's order, and a way was made for Adam*.
12 And God withdrew His Word from
Adam.
Chapter 46
"How many times have I delivered you out of his hand
. . ."
1 Then Adam and Eve began again to come into the cave. And when they came
to the way between the fire, Satan blew into the fire like a whirlwind, and
caused the burning coal-fire to cover Adam and Eve; so that their bodies were
singed; and the coal-fire scorched them*.
2 And from the burning of the fire
Adam and Eve screamed, and said, "O Lord, save us! Leave us not to be consumed
and plagued by this burning fire; neither require us for having transgressed
Your commandment."
3 Then God looked at their bodies, on which Satan had caused
fire to burn, and God sent His angel that stayed the burning fire. But the wounds
remained on their bodies.
4 And God said to Adam, "See Satan's love for you,
who pretended to give you the Godhead and greatness; and, behold, he burns you
with fire, and seeks to destroy you from off the earth.
5 Then look at Me, O
Adam; I created you, and how many times have I delivered you out of his hand?
If not, wouldn't he have destroyed you?"
6 God said again to Eve, "What is that
he promised you in the garden, saying, 'As soon as you eat from the tree, your
eyes will be opened, and you shall become like gods, knowing good and evil.'
But look! He has burnt your bodies with fire, and has made you taste the taste
of fire, for the taste of the garden; and has made you see the burning of fire,
and the evil of it, and the power it has over you.
7 Your eyes have seen the
good he has taken from you, and in truth he has opened your eyes; and you have
seen the garden in which you were with Me, and you have also seen the evil that
has come over you from Satan. But as to the Godhead he cannot give it to you,
neither fulfill his speech to you. No, he was bitter against you and your descendants,
that will come after you."
8 And God withdrew His Word form them.
Chapter 47
The Devil's own Scheming.
1 Then Adam and Eve came into the cave, yet trembling at the fire that had
scorched their bodies. So Adam said to Eve:--
2 "Look, the fire has burnt our
flesh in this world; but how will it be when we are dead, and Satan shall punish
our souls? Is not our deliverance long and far off, unless God come, and in
mercy to us fulfil His promise?"
3 Then Adam and Eve passed into the cave, blessing
themselves for coming into it once more. For it was in their thoughts, that
they never should enter it, when they saw the fire around it.
4 But as the sun
was setting the fire was still burning and nearing Adam and Eve in the cave,
so that they could not sleep in it. After the sun had set, they went out of
it. This was the forty-seventh day after they came out of the garden.
5 Adam
and Eve then came under the top of hill by the garden to sleep, as they were
accustomed.
6 And they stood and prayed God to forgive them their sins, and
then fell asleep under the summit of the mountain.
7 But Satan, the hater of
all good, thought within himself: "Whereas God has promised salvation to Adam
by covenant, and that He would deliver him out of all the hardships that have
befallen him -- but has not promised me by covenant, and will not deliver me
out of my hardships; no, since He has promised him that He should make him and
his descendants live in the kingdom in which I once was -- I will kill Adam.
8 The earth shall be rid of him; and shall be left to me alone; so that when
he is dead he may not have any descendants left to inherit the kingdom that
shall remain my own realm; God will then be wanting me, and He will restore
it to me and my hosts."
Chapter 48
Fifth apparition of Satan to Adam and Eve.
1 After this Satan called to his hosts, all of which came to him, and said
to him: --
2 "O, our lord, what will you do?"
3 He then said to them, "You know
that this Adam, whom God created out of the dust, is the one who has taken our
kingdom, come, let us gather together and kill him; or hurl a rock at him and
at Eve, and crush them under it."
4 When Satan's hosts heard these words, they
came to the part of the mountain where Adam and Eve were asleep.
5 Then Satan
and his host took a huge rock, broad and even, and without blemish, thinking
within himself, "If there should be a hole in the rock, when it fell on them,
the hole in the rock might come over them, and so they would escape and not
die."
6 He then said to his hosts, "Take up this stone, and throw it flat on
them, so that it doesn't roll off them to somewhere else. And when you have
hurled it, get away from there quickly."
7 And they did as he told them. But
as the rock fell down from the mountain toward Adam and Eve, God commanded the
rock to become a dome over them*, that did them no harm. And so it was by God's
order.
8 But when the rock fell, the whole earth quaked with it**, and was shaken
from the size of the rock.
9 And as it quaked and shook, Adam and Eve awoke
from sleep, and found themselves under a dome of rock. But they didn't know
what had happened; because when the fell asleep they were under the sky, and
not under a dome; and when they saw it, they were afraid.
10 Then Adam said
to Eve, "Wherefore has the mountain bent itself, and the earth quaked and shaken
on our account? And why has this rock spread itself over us like a tent?
11
Does God intend to plague us and to shut us up in this prison? Or will He close
the earth over us?
12 He is angry with us for our having come out of the cave,
without His order; and for our having done so of our own accord, without consulting
Him, when we left the cave and came to this place."
13 Then Eve said, "If, indeed,
the earth quaked for our sake, and this rock forms a tent over us because of
our transgression, then we will be sorry, O Adam, because our punishment will
be long.
14 But get up and pray to God to let us know concerning this, and what
this rock is that is spread over us like a tent."
15 Then Adam stood up and
prayed before the Lord, to let him know what had brought about this difficult
time. And Adam stood praying like that until the morning.
Chapter 49
The first prophecy of the Resurrection.
1 Then the Word of God came and said: --
2 "O Adam, who counseled you, when
you came out of the cave, to come to this place?"
3 And Adam said to God, "O
Lord, we came to this place because of the heat of the fire, that came over
us inside the cave."
4 Then the Lord God said to Adam, "O Adam, you dread the
heat of fire for one night, but how will it be when you live in hell?
5 Yet,
O Adam, don't be afraid, and don't believe that I have placed this dome of rock
over you to plague you with it.
6 It came from Satan, who had promised you the
Godhead and majesty. It is he who threw down this rock to kill you under it,
and Eve with you, and thus to prevent you from living on the earth.
7 But, in
mercy for you, just as that rock was falling down on you, I commanded it to
form an dome over you; and the rock under you to lower itself.
8 And this sign,
O Adam, will happen to Me at My coming on earth: Satan will raise the people
of the Jews to put Me to death; and they will lay Me in a rock, and seal a large
stone over Me, and I shall remain within that rock three days and three nights.
9 But on the third day I shall rise again, and it shall be salvation to you,
O Adam, and to your descendants, to believe in Me. But, O Adam, I will not bring
you from under this rock until three days and three nights have passed."
10
And God withdrew His Word from Adam.
11 But Adam and Eve lived under the rock
three days and three nights, as God had told them.
12 And God did so to them
because they had left their cave and had come to this same place without God's
order.
13 But, after three days and three nights, God created an opening in
the dome of rock and allowed them to get out from under it. Their flesh was
dried up, and their eyes and hearts were troubled from crying and sorrow.
Chapter 50
Adam and Eve seek to cover their nakedness.
1 Then Adam and Eve went forth and came into the Cave of Treasures, and they
stood praying in it the whole of that day, until the evening.
2 And this took
place at the end of the fifty days after they had left the garden.
3 But Adam
and Eve rose again and prayed to God in the cave the whole of that night, and
begged for mercy from Him.
4 And when the day dawned, Adam said to Eve, "Come!
Let us go and do some work for our bodies."
5 So they went out of the cave,
and came to the northern border of the garden, and they looked for something
to cover their bodies with*. But they found nothing, and knew not how to do
the work. Yet their bodies were stained, and they were speechless from cold
and heat.
6 Then Adam stood and asked God to show him something with which to
cover their bodies.
7 Then came the Word of God and said to him, "O Adam, take
Eve and come to the seashore where you fasted before. There you will find skins
of sheep that were left after lions ate the carcasses. Take them and make garments
for yourselves, and clothe yourselves with them.
Chapter 51
"What is his beauty that you should have followed him?"
1 When Adam heard these words from God, he took Eve and went from the northern
end of the garden to the south of it, by the river of water where they once
fasted.
2 But as they were going on their way, and before they got there, Satan,
the wicked one, had heard the Word of God communing with Adam respecting his
covering.
3 It grieved him, and he hastened to the place where the sheep-skins
were, with the intention of taking them and throwing them into the sea, or of
burning them with fire, so that Adam and Eve would not find them.
4 But as he
was about to take them, the Word of God came from heaven, and bound him by the
side of those skins until Adam and Eve came near him. But as they got closer
to him they were afraid of him, and of his hideous look.
5 Then came the Word
of God to Adam and Eve, and said to them, "This is he who was hidden in the
serpent, and who deceived you, and stripped you of the garment of light and
glory in which you were.
6 This is he who promised you majesty and divinity.
Where, then, is the beauty that was on him? Where is his divinity? Where is
his light? Where is the glory that rested on him?
7 Now his figure is hideous;
he is become abominable among angels; and he has come to be called Satan.
8
O Adam, he wished to take from you this earthly garment of sheep-skins, and
to destroy it, and not let you be covered with it.
9 What, then, is his beauty
that you should have followed him? And what have you gained by obeying him?
See his evil works and then look at Me; at Me, your Creator, and at the good
deeds I do you.
10 See, I bound him until you came and saw him and beheld his
weakness, that no power is left with him."
11 And God released him from his
bonds.
Chapter 52
Adam and Eve sew the first shirt.
1 After this Adam and Eve said no more, but cried before God on account of
their creation, and of their bodies that required an earthly covering.
2 Then
Adam said to Eve, "O Eve, this is the skin of beasts with which we shall be
covered, but when we put it on, behold, we shall be wearing a token of death
on our bodies. Just as the owners of these skins have died and have wasted away,
so also shall we die and pass away."
3 Then Adam and Eve took the skins, and
went back to the Cave of Treasures; and when in it, they stood and prayed as
they were accustomed.
4 And they thought how they could make garments of those
skins; for they had no skill for it.
5 Then God sent to them His angel to show
them how to work it out. And the angel said to Adam, "Go forth, and bring some
palm-thorns." Then Adam went out, and brought some, as the angel had commanded
him.
6 Then the angel began before them to work out the skins, after the manner
of one who prepares a shirt. And he took the thorns and stuck them into the
skins, before their eyes.
7 Then the angel again stood up and prayed God that
the thorns in those skins should be hidden, so as to be, as it were, sewn with
one thread.
8 And so it was, by God's order; they became garments for Adam and
Eve, and He clothed them therewith.
9 From that time the nakedness of their
bodies was covered from the sight of each other's eyes.
10 And this happened
at the end of the fifty-first day.
11 Then when Adam's and Eve's bodies were
covered, they stood and prayed, and sought mercy of the Lord, and forgiveness,
and gave Him thanks for that He had had mercy on them, and had covered their
nakedness. And they ceased not from prayer the whole of that night.
12 Then
when the morning dawned at the rising of the sun, they said their prayers after
their custom; and then went out of the cave.
13 And Adam said to Eve, "Since
we don't know what there is to the west of this cave, let us go out and see
it today." Then they came forth and went toward the western border.
Chapter 53
The prophecy of the Western Lands and of the great
flood.
1 They were not very far from the cave, when Satan came towards them, and
hid himself between them and the cave, under the form of two ravenous lions
three days without food, that came towards Adam and Eve, as if to break them
in pieces and devour them.
2 Then Adam and Eve cried, and prayed God to deliver
them from their paws.
3 Then the Word of God came to them, and drove away the
lions from them.
4 And God said to Adam, "O Adam, what do you seek on the western
border? And why have you left of thine own accord the eastern border, in which
was your living place?
5 Now then, turn back to your cave, and remain in it,
so that Satan won't deceive you or work his purpose over you.
6 For in this
western border, O Adam, there will go from you a descendant, that shall replenish
it; and that will defile themselves with their sins, and with their yielding
to the commands of Satan, and by following his works.
7 Therefore will I bring
over them the waters of a flood, and overwhelm them all. But I will deliver
what is left of the righteous among them; and I will bring them to a distant
land, and the land in which you live now shall remain desolate and without one
inhabitant in it.
8 After God had thus spoken to them, they went back to the
Cave of Treasures. But their flesh was dried up, and they were weak from fasting
and praying, and from the sorrow they felt at having trespassed against God.
Chapter 54
Adam and Eve go exploring.
1 Then Adam and Eve stood up in the cave and prayed the whole of that night
until the morning dawned. And when the sun was risen they both went out of the
cave; their heads were wandering from heaviness of sorrow and they didn't know
where they were going.
2 And they walked in that condition to the southern border
of the garden. And they began to go up that border until they came to the eastern
border beyond which there was no more land.
3 And the cherub who guarded the
garden was standing at the western gate, and guarding it against Adam and Eve,
lest they should suddenly come into the garden. And the cherub turned around,
as if to put them to death; according to the commandment God had given him.
4 When Adam and Eve came to the eastern border of the garden -- thinking in
their hearts that the cherub was not watching -- as they were standing by the
gate as if wishing to go in, suddenly came the cherub with a flashing sword
of fire in his hand; and when he saw them, he went forth to kill them. For he
was afraid that God would destroy him if they went into the garden without His
order.
5 And the sword of the cherub seemed to shoot flames a distance away
from it. But when he raised it over Adam and Eve, the flame of the sword did
not flash forth.
6 Therefore the cherub thought that God was favorable to them,
and was bringing them back into the garden. And the cherub stood wondering.
7 He could not go up to Heaven to determine God's order regarding their getting
into the garden; he therefore continued to stand by them, unable as he was to
part from them; for he was afraid that if they should enter the garden without
permission, God would destroy him.
8 When Adam and Eve saw the cherub coming
towards them with a flaming sword of fire in his hand, they fell on their faces
from fear, and were as dead.
9 At that time the heavens and the earth shook;
and another cherubim came down from heaven to the cherub who guarded the garden,
and saw him amazed and silent.
10 Then, again, other angels came down close
to the place where Adam and Eve were. They were divided between joy and sorrow.
11 They were glad, because they thought that God was favorable to Adam, and
wished him to return to the garden; and wished to restore him to the gladness
he once enjoyed.
12 But they sorrowed over Adam, because he was fallen like
a dead man, he and Eve; and they said in their thoughts, "Adam has not died
in this place; but God has put him to death, for his having come to this place,
and wishing to get into the garden without His permission."
Chapter 55
The Conflict between God and Satan.
1 Then came the Word of God to Adam and Eve, and raised them from their dead
state, saying to them, "Why did you come up here? Do you intend to go into the
garden, from which I brought you out? It cannot be today; but only when the
covenant I have made with you is fulfilled."
2 Then Adam, when he heard the
Word of God, and the fluttering of the angels whom he did not see, but only
heard the sound of them with his ears, he and Eve cried, and said to the angels:
--
3 "O Spirits, who wait on God, look at me, and at my being unable to see
you! For when I was in my former bright nature, then I could see you. I sang
praises as you do; and my heart was far above you.
4 But now, that I have transgressed,
that bright nature is gone from me, and I am come to this miserable state. And
now I have come to this, that I cannot see you, and you do not serve me like
you used to do. For I have become animal flesh.
5 Yet now, O angels of God,
ask God with me, to restore me to that wherein I was formerly; to rescue me
from this misery, and to remove from me the sentence of death He passed on me,
for having trespassed against Him."
6 Then, when the angels heard these words,
they all grieved over him; and cursed Satan who had misled Adam, until he came
from the garden to misery; from life to death; from peace to trouble; and from
gladness to a strange land.
7 Then the angels said to Adam, "You obeyed Satan,
and ignored the Word of God who created you; and you believed that Satan would fulfil all he had promised you.
8 But now, O Adam, we will make known to you,
what came over us though him, before his fall from heaven.
9 He gathered together
his hosts, and deceived them, promising to give them a great kingdom, a divine
nature; and other promises he made them.
10 His hosts believed that his word
was true, so they yielded to him, and renounced the glory of God.
11 He then
sent for us -- according to the orders in which we were -- to come under his
command, and to accept his vein promise. But we would not, and we did not take
his advice.
12 Then after he had fought with God, and had dealt forwardly with
Him, he gathered together his hosts, and made war with us. And if it had not
been for God's strength that was with us, we could not have prevailed against
him to hurl him from heaven.
13 But when he fell from among us, there was great
joy in heaven, because of his going down from us. For if he had remained in
heaven, nothing, not even one angel would have remained in it.
14 But God in
His mercy, drove him from among us to this dark earth; for he had become darkness
itself and a worker of unrighteousness.
15 And he has continued, O Adam, to
make war against you, until he tricked you and made you come out of the garden,
to this strange land, where all these trials have come to you. And death, which
God brought to him, he has also brought to you, O Adam, because you obeyed him,
and trespassed against God."
16 Then all the angels rejoiced and praised God,
and asked Him not to destroy Adam this time, for his having sought to enter
the garden; but to bear with him until the fulfillment of the promise; and to
help him in this world until he was free from Satan's hand.
Chapter 56
A chapter of divine comfort.
1 Then came the Word of God to Adam, and said to him: --
2 "O Adam, look
at that garden of joy and at this earth of toil, and behold the garden is full
of angels, but look at yourself alone on this earth with Satan whom you obeyed.
3 Yet, if you had submitted, and been obedient to Me, and had kept My Word,
you would be with My angels in My garden.
4 But when you transgressed and obeyed
Satan, you became his guests among his angels, that are full of wickedness;
and you came to this earth, that brings forth to you thorns and thistles.
5
O Adam, ask him who deceived you, to give you the divine nature he promised
you, or to make you a garden as I had made for you; or to fill you with that
same bright nature with which I had filled you.
6 Ask him to make you a body
like the one I made you, or to give you a day of rest as I gave you; or to create
within you a reasonable soul, as I created for you; or to take you from here
to some other earth than this one which I gave you. But, O Adam, he will not fulfil even one of the things he told you.
7 Acknowledge, then, My favor towards
you, and My mercy on you, My creature; that I have not avenged you for your
transgression against Me, but in My pity for you I have promised you that at
the end of the great five and a half days I will come and save you."
8 Then
God said again to Adam and Eve, "Get up, go down from here, before the cherub
with a sword of fire in his hand destroys you."
9 But Adam's heart was comforted
by God's words to him, and he worshipped before Him.
10 And God commanded His
angels to escort Adam and Eve to the cave with joy, instead of the fear that
had come over them.
11 Then the angels took up Adam and Eve, and brought them
down from the mountain by the garden, with songs and psalms, until they arrived
at the cave. There the angels began to comfort and to strengthen them, and then
departed from them towards heaven, to their Creator, who had sent them.
12 But
after the angels had departed from Adam and Eve, Satan came with shamefacedness,
and stood at the entrance of the cave in which were Adam and Eve. He then called
to Adam, and said, "O Adam, come, let me speak to you."
13 Then Adam came out
of the cave, thinking he was one of God's angels that was come to give him some
good counsel.
Chapter 57
"Therefore I fell. . . . "
1 But when Adam came out and saw his hideous figure, he was afraid of him,
and said to him, "Who are you?"
2 Then Satan answered and said to him, "It is
I, who hid myself within the serpent, and who spoke to Eve, and who enticed
her until she obeyed my command. I am he who sent her, using my deceitful speech,
to deceive you, until you both ate of the fruit of the tree and abandoned the
command of God."
3 But when Adam heard these words from him, he said to him,
"Can you make me a garden as God made for me? Or can you clothe me in the same
bright nature in which God had clothed me?
4 Where is the divine nature you
promised to give me? Where is that slick speech of yours that you had with us
at first, when we were in the garden?"
5 Then Satan said to Adam, "Do you think
that when I have promised one something that I would actually deliver it to
him or fulfill my word? Of course not. For I myself have never even thought
of obtaining what I promised.
6 Therefore I fell, and I made you fall by that
for which I myself fell; and with you also, whosoever accepts my counsel, falls
thereby.
7 But now, O Adam, because you fell you are under my rule, and I am
king over you; because you have obeyed me and have transgressed against your
God. Neither will there be any deliverance from my hands until the day promised
you by your God."
8 Again he said, "Because we do not know the day agreed on
with you by your God, nor the hour in which you shall be delivered, for that
reason we will multiply war and murder on you and your descendants after you.
9 This is our will and our good pleasure, that we may not leave one of the sons
of men to inherit our orders in heaven.
10 For as to our home, O Adam, it is
in burning fire; and we will not stop our evil doing, no, not one day nor one
hour. And I, O Adam, shall set you on fire when you come into the cave to live
there."
11 When Adam heard these words he cried and mourned, and said to Eve,
"Hear what he said; that he won't fulfil any of what he told you in the garden.
Did he really then become king over us?
12 But we will ask God, who created
us, to deliver us out of his hands."
Chapter 58
"About sunset on the 53rd day. . ."
1 Then Adam and Eve spread their hands before God, praying and begging Him
to drive Satan away from them so that he can't harm them or force them to deny
God.
2 Then God sent to them at once, His angel, who drove away Satan from them.
This happened about sunset, on the fifty-third day after they had come out of
the garden.
3 Then Adam and Eve went into the cave, and stood up and turned
their faces to the ground, to pray to God.
4 But before they prayed Adam said
to Eve, "Look, you have seen what temptations have befallen us in this land.
Come, let us get up, and ask God to forgive us the sins we have committed; and
we will not come out until the end of the day next to the fortieth. And if we
die in here, He will save us."
5 Then Adam and Eve got up, and joined together
in entreating God.
6 They continued praying like this in the cave; neither did
they come out of it, by night or by day, until their prayers went up out of
their mouths, like a flame of fire.
Chapter 59
Eighth apparition of Satan of Satan to Adam and Eve.
1 But Satan, the hater of all good, did not allow them to finish their prayers.
For he called to his hosts, and they came, all of them. Then he said to them,
"Since Adam and Eve, whom we deceived, have agreed together to pray to God night
and day, and to beg Him to deliver them, and since they will not come out of
the cave until the end of the fortieth day.
2 And since they will continue their
prayers as they have both agreed to do, that He will deliver them out of our
hands, and restore them to their former state, see what we shall do to them."
And his hosts said to him, "Power is thine, O our lord, to do what you list."
3 Then Satan, great in wickedness, took his hosts and came into the cave, in
the thirtieth night of the forty days and one; and he beat Adam and Eve, until
he left them dead.
4 Then came the Word of God to Adam and Eve, who raised them
from their suffering, and God said to Adam, "Be strong, and be not afraid of
him who has just come to you."
5 But Adam cried and said, "Where were you, O
my God, that they should punish me with such blows, and that this suffering
should come over us; over me and over Eve, Your handmaiden?"
6 Then God said
to him, "O Adam, see, he is lord and master of all you have, he who said, he
would give you divinity. Where is this love for you? And where is the gift he
promised?
7 Did it please him just once, O Adam, to come to you, comfort you,
strengthen you, rejoice with you, or send his hosts to protect you; because
you have obeyed him, and have yielded to his counsel; and have followed his
commandment and transgressed Mine?"
8 Then Adam cried before the Lord, and said,
"O Lord because I transgressed a little, You have severely punished me in return
for it, I ask You to deliver me out of his hands; or else have pity on me, and
take my soul out of my body now in this strange land."
9 Then God said to Adam,
"If only there had been this sighing and praying before, before you transgressed!
Then would you have rest from the trouble in which you are now."
10 But God
had patience with Adam, and let him and Eve remain in the cave until they had
fulfilled the forty days.
11 But as to Adam and Eve, their strength and flesh
withered from fasting and praying, from hunger and thirst; for they had not
tasted either food or drink since they left the garden; nor were the functions
of their bodies yet settled; and they had no strength left to continue in prayer
from hunger, until the end of the next day to the fortieth. They were fallen
down in the cave; yet what speech escaped from their mouths, was only in praises.
Chapter 60
The Devil appears like an old man, He offers "a place
of rest."
1 Then on the eighty-ninth day, Satan came to the cave, clad in a garment
of light, and girt about with a bright girdle.
2 In his hands was a staff of
light, and he looked most awful; but his face was pleasant and his speech was
sweet.
3 He thus transformed himself in order to deceive Adam and Eve, and to
make them come out of the cave, before they had fulfilled the forty days.
4
For he said within himself, "Now that when they had fulfilled the forty days'
fasting and praying, God would restore them to their former state; but if He
did not do so, He would still be favorable to them; and even if He had not mercy
on them, would He yet give them something from the garden to comfort them; as
already twice before."
5 Then Satan drew near the cave in this fair appearance,
and said: --
6 "O Adam, get up, stand up, you and Eve, and come along with me,
to a good land; and don't be afraid. I am flesh and bones like you; and at first
I was a creature that God created.
7 And it was so, that when He had created
me, He placed me in a garden in the north, on the border of the world.
8 And
He said to me, 'Stay here!' And I remained there according to His Word, neither
did I transgress His commandment.
9 Then He made a slumber to come over me,
and He brought you, O Adam, out of my side, but did not make you stay with me.
10 But God took you in His divine hand, and placed you in a garden to the eastward.
11 Then I worried about you, for that while God had taken you out of my side,
He had not let you stay with me.
12 But God said to me: 'Do not worry about
Adam, whom I brought out of your side; no harm will come to him.
13 For now
I have brought out of his side a help-meet* for him; and I have given him joy
by so doing.' "
14 Then Satan said again, "I did not know how it is you are
in this cave, nor anything about this trial that has come over you -- until
God said to me, 'Behold, Adam has transgressed, he whom I had taken out of your
side, and Eve also, whom I took out of his side; and I have driven them out
of the garden; I have made them live in a land of sorrow and misery, because
they transgressed against Me, and have obeyed Satan. And look, they are in suffering
until this day, the eightieth.'
15 Then God said to me, 'Get up, go to them,
and make them come to your place, and suffer not that Satan come near them,
and afflict them. For they are now in great misery; and lie helpless from hunger.'
16 He further said to me, 'When you have taken them to yourself, give them to
eat of the fruit of the Tree of Life, and give them to drink of the water of
peace; and clothe them in a garment of light, and restore them to their former
state of grace, and leave them not in misery, for they came from you. But grieve
not over them, nor repent of that which has come over them.
17 But when I heard
this, I was sorry; and my heart could not patiently bear it for your sake, O
my child.
18 But, O Adam, when I heard the name of Satan, I was afraid, and
I said within myself, I will not come out because he might trap me as he did
my children, Adam and Eve.
19 And I said, 'O God, when I go to my children,
Satan will meet me in the way, and war against me, as he did against them.'
20 Then God said to me, 'Fear not; when you find him, hit him with the staff
that is in thine hand, and don't be afraid of him, for you are of old standing,
and he shall not prevail against you.'
21 Then I said, 'O my Lord, I am old,
and cannot go. Send Your angels to bring them.'
22 But God said to me, 'Angels,
verily, are not like them; and they will not consent to come with them. But
I have chosen you, because they are your offspring and are like you, and they
will listen to what you say.'
23 God said further to me, 'If you don't have
enough strength to walk, I will send a cloud to carry you and set you down at
the entrance of their cave; then the cloud will return and leave you there.
24 And if they will come with you, I will send a cloud to carry you and them.'
25 Then He commanded a cloud, and it bear me up and brought me to you; and then
went back.
26 And now, O my children, Adam and Eve, look at my old gray hair
and at my feeble state, and at my coming from that distant place. Come, come
with me, to a place of rest."
27 Then he began to cry and to sob before Adam
and Eve, and his tears poured on the ground like water.
28 And when Adam and
Eve raised their eyes and saw his beard, and heard his sweet talk, their hearts
softened towards him; they obeyed him, for they believed he was true.
29 And
it seemed to them that they were really his offspring, when they saw that his
face was like their own; and they trusted him.
Chapter 61
They begin to follow Satan.
1 Then he took Adam and Eve by the hand, and began to bring them out of the
cave.
2 But when they had come a little ways out of it, God knew that Satan
had overcome them, and had brought them out before the forty days were ended,
to take them to some distant place, and to destroy them.
3 Then the Word of
the Lord God again came and cursed Satan, and drove him away from them.
4 And
God began to speak to Adam and Eve, saying to them, "What made you come out
of the cave, to this place?"
5 Then Adam said to God, "Did you create a man
before us? For when we were in the cave there suddenly came to us a friendly
old man who said to us, 'I am a messenger from God to you, to bring you back
to some place of rest.'
6 And we believed, O God, that he was a messenger from
you; and we came out with him; and knew not where we should go with him."
7
Then God said to Adam, "See, that is the father of evil arts, who brought you
and Eve out of the Garden of Delights. And now, indeed, when he saw that you
and Eve both joined together in fasting and praying, and that you came not out
of the cave before the end of the forty days, he wished to make your purpose
vein, to break your mutual bond; to cut off all hope from you, and to drive
you to some place where he might destroy you.
8 Because he couldn't do anything
to you unless he showed himself in the likeness of you.
9 Therefore he came
to you with a face like your own, and began to give you tokens as if they were
all true.
10 But because I am merciful and am favorable to you, I did not allow
him to destroy you; instead I drove him away from you.
11 Now, therefore, O
Adam, take Eve, and return to your cave, and remain in it until the morning
after the fortieth day. And when you come out, go towards the eastern gate of
the garden."
12 Then Adam and Eve worshipped God, and praised and blessed Him
for the deliverance that had come to them from Him. And they returned towards
the cave. This happened in the evening of the thirty-ninth day.
13 Then Adam
and Eve stood up and with a fiery passion, prayed to God, to give them strength;
for they had become weak because of hunger and thirst and prayer. But they watched
the whole of that night praying, until morning.
14 Then Adam said to Eve, "Get
up, let us go towards the eastern gate of the garden as God told us."
15 And
they said their prayers as they were accustomed to do every day; and they left
the cave to go near to the eastern gate of the garden.
16 Then Adam and Eve
stood up and prayed, and appealed to God to strengthen them, and to send them
something to satisfy their hunger.
17 But after they finished their prayers,
they were too weak to move.
18 Then came the Word of God again, and said to
them, "O Adam, get up, go and bring the two figs here."
19 Then Adam and Eve
got up, and went until they came near to the cave.
Chapter 62
Two fruit trees.
1 But Satan the wicked was envious, because of the consolation God had given
them.
2 So he prevented them, and went into the cave and took the two figs,
and buried them outside the cave, so that Adam and Eve should not find them.
He also had in his thoughts to destroy them.
3 But by God's mercy, as soon as
those two figs were in the ground, God defeated Satan's counsel regarding them;
and made them into two fruit trees, that overshadowed the cave. For Satan had
buried them on the eastern side of it.
4 Then when the two trees were grown,
and were covered with fruit, Satan grieved and mourned, and said, "It would
have been better to have left those figs where they were; for now, behold, they
have become two fruit trees, whereof Adam will eat all the days of his life.
Whereas I had in mind, when I buried them, to destroy them entirely, and to
hide them forever.
5 But God has overturned my counsel; and would not that this
sacred fruit should perish; and He has made plain my intention, and has defeated
the counsel I had formed against His servants."
6 Then Satan went away ashamed
because he hadn't thought his plans all the way through.
Chapter 63
The first joy of trees.
1 But Adam and Eve, as they got closer to the cave, saw two fig trees, covered
with fruit, and overshadowing the cave.
2 Then Adam said to Eve, "It seems to
me that we have gone the wrong way. When did these two trees grow here? It seems
to me that the enemy wishes to lead us the wrong way. Do you suppose that there
is another cave besides this one in the earth?
3 Yet, O Eve, let us go into
the cave, and find in it the two figs; for this is our cave, in which we were.
But if we should not find the two figs in it, then it cannot be our cave."
4
They went then into the cave, and looked into the four corners of it, but found
not the two figs.
5 And Adam cried and said to Eve, "Did we go to the wrong
cave, then, O Eve? It seems to me these two fig trees are the two figs that
were in the cave." And Eve said, "I, for my part, do not know."
6 Then Adam
stood up and prayed and said, "O God, You commanded us to come back to the cave,
to take the two figs, and then to return to you.
7 But now, we have not found
them. O God, have you taken them, and sown these two trees, or have we gone
astray in the earth; or has the enemy deceived us? If it be real, then, O God,
reveal to us the secret of these two trees and of the two figs."
8 Then came
the Word of God to Adam, and said to him, "O Adam, when I sent you to fetch
the figs, Satan went before you to the cave, took the figs, and buried them
outside, eastward of the cave, thinking to destroy them; and not sowing them
with good intent.
9 Not for his mere sake, then, have these trees grown up at
once; but I had mercy on you and I commanded them to grow. And they grew to
be two large trees, that you be overshadowed by their branches, and find rest;
and that I made you see My power and My marvelous works.
10 And, also, to show
you Satan's meanness, and his evil works, for ever since you came out of the
garden, he has not ceased, no, not one day, from doing you some harm. But I
have not given him power over you."
11 And God said, "From now on, O Adam, rejoice
on account of the trees, you and Eve; and rest under them when you feel weary.
But do not eat any of their fruit or come near them."
12 Then Adam cried, and
said, "O God, will You again kill us, or will You drive us away from before
Your face, and cut our life from off the face of the earth?
13 O God, I beg
you, if You know that there be in these trees either death or some other evil,
as at the first time, root them up from near our cave, and with them; and leave
us to die of the heat, of hunger and of thirst.
14 For we know Your marvelous
works, O God, that they are great, and that by Your power You can bring one
thing out of another, without one's wish. For Your power can make rocks to become
trees, and trees to become rocks."
Chapter 64
Adam and Eve partake of the first earthly food.
1 Then God looked at Adam and at his strength of mind, at his endurance of
hunger and thirst, and of the heat. And He changed the two fig trees into two
figs, as they were at first, and then said to Adam and to Eve, "Each of you
may take one fig." And they took them, as the Lord commanded them.
2 And He
said to them, "You must now go into the cave and eat the figs, and satisfy your
hunger, or else you will die."
3 So, as God commanded them, they went into the
cave about sunset. And Adam and Eve stood up and prayed during the setting sun.
4 Then they sat down to eat the figs; but they knew not how to eat them; for
they were not accustomed to eat earthly food. They were afraid that if they
ate, their stomach would be burdened and their flesh thickened, and their hearts
would take to liking earthly food.
5 But while they were thus seated, God, out
of pity for them, sent them His angel, so they wouldn't perish of hunger and
thirst.
6 And the angel said to Adam and Eve, "God says to you that you do not
have the strength that would be required to fast until death; eat, therefore,
and strengthen your bodies; for you are now animal flesh and cannot subsist
without food and drink."
7 Then Adam and Eve took the figs and began to eat
of them. But God had put into them a mixture as of savory bread and blood.
8
Then the angel went from Adam and Eve, who ate of the figs until they had satisfied
their hunger. Then they put aside what was left; but by the power of God, the
figs became whole again, because God blessed them.
9 After this Adam and Eve
got up, and prayed with a joyful heart and renewed strength, and praised and
rejoiced abundantly the whole of that night. And this was the end of the eighty-third
day.
Chapter 65
Adam and Eve acquire digestive organism Final hope
of returning to the Garden is lost.
1 And when it was day, they got up and prayed, after their custom, and then
went out of the cave.
2 But they became sick from the food they had eaten because
they were not used to it, so they went about in the cave saying to each other:
--
3 "What has our eating caused to happen to us, that we should be in such
pain? We are in misery, we shall die! It would have been better for us to have
died keeping our bodies pure than to have eaten and defiled them with food."
4 Then Adam said to Eve, "This pain did not come to us in the garden, neither
did we eat such bad food there. Do you think, O Eve, that God will plague us
through the food that is in us, or that our innards will come out; or that God
means to kill us with this pain before He has fulfilled His promise to us?"
5 Then Adam besought the Lord and said, "O Lord, let us not perish through the
food we have eaten. O Lord, don't punish us; but deal with us according to Your
great mercy, and forsake us not until the day of the promise You have made us."
6 Then God looked at them, and then fitted them for eating food at once; as
to this day; so that they should not perish.
7 Then Adam and Eve came back into
the cave sorrowful and crying because of the alteration of their bodies. And
they both knew from that hour that they were altered beings, that all hope of
returning to the garden was now lost; and that they could not enter it.
8 For
that now their bodies had strange functions; and all flesh that requires food
and drink for its existence, cannot be in the garden.
9 Then Adam said to Eve,
"Behold, our hope is now lost; and so is our trust to enter the garden. We no
longer belong to the inhabitants of the garden; but from now on we are earthy
and of the dust, and of the inhabitants of the earth. We shall not return to
the garden, until the day in which God has promised to save us, and to bring
us again into the garden, as He promised us."
10 Then they prayed to God that
He would have mercy on them; after which, their mind was quieted, their hearts
were broken, and their longing was cooled down; and they were like strangers
on earth. That night Adam and Eve spent in the cave, where they slept heavily
by reason of the food they had eaten.
Chapter 66
Adam does his first day's work.
1 When it was morning, the day after they had eaten food, Adam and Eve prayed
in the cave, and Adam said to Eve, "Look, we asked for food of God, and He gave
it. But now let us also ask Him to give us a drink of water."
2 Then they got
up, and went to the bank of the stream of water, that was on the south border
of the garden, in which they had before thrown themselves. And they stood on
the bank, and prayed to God that He would command them to drink of the water.
3 Then the Word of God came to Adam, and said to him, "O Adam, your body has
become brutish, and requires water to drink. Take some and drink it, you and
Eve, then give thanks and praise."
4 Adam and Eve then went down to the stream
and drank from it, until their bodies felt refreshed. After having drunk, they
praised God, and then returned to their cave, after their former custom. This
happened at the end of eighty-three days.
5 Then on the eighty-fourth day, they
took the two figs and hung them in the cave, together with the leaves thereof,
to be to them a sign and a blessing from God. And they placed them there so
that if their descendants came there, they would see the wonderful things God
had done for them.
6 Then Adam and Eve again stood outside the cave, and asked
God to show them some food with which they could nourish their bodies.
7 Then
the Word of God came and said to him, "O Adam, go down to the westward of the
cave until you come to a land of dark soil, and there you shall find food."
8 And Adam obeyed the Word of God, took Eve, and went down to a land of dark
soil, and found there wheat* growing in the ear and ripe, and figs to eat; and
Adam rejoiced over it.
9 Then the Word of God came again to Adam, and said to
him, "Take some of this wheat and make yourselves some bread with it, to nourish
your body therewith." And God gave Adam's heart wisdom, to work out the corn
until it became bread.
10 Adam accomplished all that, until he grew very faint
and weary. He then returned to the cave; rejoicing at what he had learned of
what is done with wheat, until it is made into bread for one's use.
Chapter 67
"Then Satan began to lead astray Adam and Eve. . .
."
1 When Adam and Eve went down to the land of black mud and came near to the
wheat God had showed them and saw that it was ripe and ready for reaping, they
did not have a sickle to reap it with. So they readied themselves, and began
to pull up the wheat by hand, until it was all done.
2 Then they heaped it into
a pile; and, faint from heat and from thirst, they went under a shady tree,
where the breeze fanned them to sleep.
3 But Satan saw what Adam and Eve had
done. And he called his hosts, and said to them, "Since God has shown to Adam
and Eve all about this wheat, wherewith to strengthen their bodies -- and, look,
they have come and made a big pile of it, and faint from the toil are now asleep
-- come, let us set fire to this heap of corn, and burn it, and let us take
that bottle of water that is by them, and empty it out, so that they may find
nothing to drink, and we kill them with hunger and thirst.
4 Then, when they
wake up from their sleep, and seek to return to the cave, we will come to them
in the way, and will lead them astray; so that they die of hunger and thirst;
when they may, perhaps, deny God, and He destroy them. So shall we be rid of
them."
5 Then Satan and his hosts set the wheat on fire and burned it up.
6
But from the heat of the flame Adam and Eve awoke from their sleep, and saw
the wheat burning, and the bucket of water by them, poured out.
7 Then they
cried and went back to the cave.
8 But as they were going up from below the
mountain where they were, Satan and his hosts met them in the form of angels,
praising God.
9 Then Satan said to Adam, "O Adam, why are you so pained with
hunger and thirst? It seems to me that Satan has burnt up the wheat." And Adam
said to him, "Yes."
10 Again Satan said to Adam, "Come back with us; we are
angels of God. God sent us to you, to show you another field of corn, better
than that; and beyond it is a fountain of good water, and many trees, where
you shall live near it, and work the corn field to better purpose than that
which Satan has consumed."
11 Adam thought that he was true, and that they were
angels who talked with him; and he went back with them.
12 Then Satan began
to lead astray Adam and Eve eight days, until they both fell down as if dead,
from hunger, thirst, and faintness. Then he fled with his hosts, and left them.
Chapter 68
How destruction and trouble is of Satan when he is
the master, Adam and Eve establish the custom of worship.
1 Then God looked at Adam and Eve, and at what had come over them from Satan,
and how he had made them perish.
2 God, therefore, sent His Word, and raised
up Adam and Eve from their state of death.
3 Then, Adam, when he was raised,
said, "O God, You have burnt and taken from us the corn You have given us, and
You have emptied out the bucket of water. And You have sent Your angels, who
have caused us to lose our way from the corn field. Will You make us perish?
If this be from you, O God, then take away our souls; but punish us not."
4
Then God said to Adam, "I did not burn down the wheat, and I did not pour the
water out of the bucket, and I did not send My angels to lead you astray.
5
But it is Satan, your master who did it; he to whom you have subjected yourself;
my commandment being meanwhile set aside. He it is, who burnt down the corn,
and poured out the water, and who has led you astray; and all the promises he
has made you were just a trick, a deception, and a lie.
6 But now, O Adam, you
shall acknowledge My good deeds done to you."
7 And God told His angels to take
Adam and Eve, and to bear them up to the field of wheat, which they found as
before, with the bucket full of water.
8 There they saw a tree, and found on
it solid manna; and wondered at God's power. And the angels commanded them to
eat of the manna when they were hungry.
9 And God admonished Satan with a curse,
not to come again, and destroy the field of corn.
10 Then Adam and Eve took
of the corn, and made of it an offering, and took it and offered it up on the
mountain, the place where they had offered up their first offering of blood.
11 And they offered this offering again on the altar they had built at first.
And they stood up and prayed, and besought the Lord saying, "Thus, O God, when
we were in the garden, our praises went up to you, like this offering; and our
innocence went up to you like incense. But now, O God, accept this offering
from us, and don't turn us away, deprived of Your mercy."
12 Then God said to
Adam and Eve, "Since you have made this offering and have offered it to Me,
I shall make it My flesh, when I come down on earth to save you; and I shall
cause it to be offered continually on an altar, for forgiveness and for mercy,
for those who partake of it duly."
13 And God sent a bright fire over the offering
of Adam and Eve, and filled it with brightness, grace, and light; and the Holy
Ghost came down on that offering.
14 Then God commanded an angel to take fire
tongs, like a spoon, and with it to take an offering and bring it to Adam and
Eve. And the angel did so, as God had commanded him, and offered it to them.
15 And the souls of Adam and Eve were brightened, and their hearts were filled
with joy and gladness and with the praises of God.
16 And God said to Adam,
"This shall be to you a custom, to do so, when affliction and sorrow come over
you. But your deliverance and your entrance in to the garden, shall not be until
the days are fulfilled as agreed between you and Me; were it not so, I would,
of My mercy and pity for you, bring you back to My garden and to My favor for
the sake of the offering you have just made to My name."
17 Adam rejoiced at
these words which he heard from God; and he and Eve worshipped before the altar,
to which they bowed, and then went back to the Cave of Treasures.
18 And this
took place at the end of the twelfth day after the eightieth day, from the time
Adam and Eve came out of the garden.
19 And they stood up the whole night praying
until morning; and then went out of the cave.
20 Then Adam said to Eve, with
joy of heart, because of the offering they had made to God, and that had been
accepted of Him, "Let us do this three times every week, on the fourth day Wednesday,
on the preparation day Friday, and on the Sabbath Sunday, all the days of our
life."
21 And as they agreed to these words between themselves, God was pleased
with their thoughts, and with the resolution they had each taken with the other.
22 After this, came the Word of God to Adam, and said, "O Adam, you have determined
beforehand the days in which sufferings shall come over Me, when I am made flesh;
for they are the fourth Wednesday, and the preparation day Friday.
23 But as
to the first day, I created in it all things, and I raised the heavens. And,
again, through My rising again on this day, will I create joy, and raise them
on high, who believe in Me; O Adam, offer this offering, all the days of your
life."
24 Then God withdrew His Word from Adam.
25 But Adam continued to offer
this offering thus, every week three times, until the end of seven weeks. And
on the first day, which is the fiftieth, Adam made an offering as he was accustomed,
and he and Eve took it and came to the altar before God, as He had taught them.
Chapter 69
Twelfth apparition of Satan to Adam and Eve, while
Adam was praying over the offering on the altar; when Satan beat him.
1 Then Satan, the hater of all good, envious of Adam and of his offering
through which he found favor with God, hastened and took a sharp stone from
among the sharp iron stones; appeared in the form of a man, and went and stood
by Adam and Eve.
2 Adam was then offering on the altar, and had begun to pray,
with his hands spread before God.
3 Then Satan hastened with the sharp iron
stone he had with him, and with it pierced Adam on the right side, from which
flowed blood and water, then Adam fell on the altar like a corpse. And Satan
fled.
4 Then Eve came, and took Adam and placed him below the altar. And there
she stayed, crying over him; while a stream of blood flowed from Adam's side
over his offering.
5 But God looked at the death of Adam. He then sent His Word,
and raised him up and said to him, "Fulfill your offering, for indeed, Adam,
it is worth much, and there is no shortcoming in it."
6 God said further to
Adam, "Thus will it also happen to Me, on the earth, when I shall be pierced
and blood and water shall flow from My side and run over My body, which is the
true offering; and which shall be offered on the altar as a perfect offering."
7 Then God commanded Adam to finish his offering, and when he had ended it he
worshipped before God, and praised Him for the signs He had showed him.
8 And
God healed Adam in one day, which is the end of the seven weeks; and that is
the fiftieth day.
9 Then Adam and Eve returned from the mountain, and went into
the Cave of Treasures, as they were used to do. This completed for Adam and
Eve, one hundred and forty days since their coming out of the garden.
10 Then
they both stood up that night and prayed to God. And when it was morning, they
went out, and went down westward of the cave, to the place where their corn
was, and there rested under the shadow of a tree, as they were accustomed.
11
But when there a multitude of beasts came all around them. It was Satan's doing,
in his wickedness; in order to wage war against Adam through marriage.
Chapter 70
Thirteenth apparition of Satan, to trick Adam into
marrying Eve.
1 After this Satan, the hater of all good, took the form of an angel, and
with him two others, so that they looked like the three angels who had brought
to Adam gold, incense, and myrrh.
2 They passed before Adam and Eve while they
were under the tree, and greeted Adam and Eve with fair words that were full
of deceit.
3 But when Adam and Eve saw their pleasant expression, and heard
their sweet speech, Adam rose, welcomed them, and brought them to Eve, and they
remained all together; Adam's heart the while, being glad because he thought
concerning them, that they were the same angels, who had brought him gold, incense,
and myrrh.
4 Because, when they came to Adam the first time, there came over
him from them, peace and joy, through their bringing him good tokens; so Adam
thought that they had come a second time to give him other tokens for him to
rejoice therewith. For he did not know it was Satan; therefore he received them
with joy and consorted with them.
5 Then Satan, the tallest of them, said, "Rejoice,
O Adam, and be glad. Look, God has sent us to you to tell you something."
6
And Adam said, "What is it?" Then Satan answered, "It is a simple thing, yet
it is the Word of God, will you accept it from us and do it? But if you will
not accept it, we will return to God, and tell Him that you would not receive
His Word."
7 And Satan said again to Adam, "Don't be afraid and don't tremble;
don't you know us?"
8 But Adam said, "I do not know you."
9 Then Satan said
to him, "I am the angel that brought you gold, and took it to the cave; this
other angel is the one that brought you incense; and that third angel, is the
one who brought you myrrh when you were on top of the mountain, and who carried
you to the cave.
10 But as to the other angels our fellows, who bare you to
the cave, God has not sent them with us this time; for He said to us, 'You will
be enough'. "
11 So when Adam heard these words he believed them, and said to
these angels, "Speak the Word of God, that I may receive it."
12 And Satan said
to him, "Swear, and promise me that you will receive it."
13 Then Adam said,
"I do not know how to swear and promise."
14 And Satan said to him, "Hold out
your hand, and put it inside my hand."
15 Then Adam held out his hand, and put
it into Satan's hand; when Satan said to him, "Say, now -- So true as God is
living, rational, and speaking, who raised the stars in heaven, and established
the dry ground on the waters, and has created me out of the four elements*,
and out of the dust of the earth -- I will not break my promise, nor renounce
my word."
16 And Adam swore thus.
17 Then Satan said to him, "Look, it is now
some time since you came out of the garden, and you know neither wickedness
nor evil. But now God says to you, to take Eve who came out of your side, and
to marry her so that she will bear you children, to comfort you, and to drive
from you trouble and sorrow; now this thing is not difficult, neither is there
any scandal in it to you.
Chapter 71
Adam is troubled by the thought of marrying Eve.
1 But when Adam heard these words from Satan, he sorrowed much, because of
his oath and of his promise, and said, "Shall I commit adultery with my flesh
and my bones, and shall I sin against myself, for God to destroy me, and to
blot me out from off the face of the earth?
2 Since, when at first, I ate of
the tree, He drove me out of the garden into this strange land, and deprived
me of my bright nature, and brought death over me. If, then, I should do this,
He will cut off my life from the earth, and He will cast me into hell, and will
plague me there a long time.
3 But God never spoke the words that you have said;
and you are not God's angels, and you weren't sent from Him. But you are devils
that have come to me under the false appearance of angels. Away from me; you
cursed of God!"
4 Then those devils fled from before Adam. And he and Eve got
up, and returned to the Cave of Treasures, and went into it.
5 Then Adam said
to Eve, "If you saw what I did, don't tell anyone; for I sinned against God
in swearing by His great name, and I have placed my hand another time into that
of Satan." Eve, then, held her peace, as Adam told her.
6 Then Adam got up,
and spread his hands before God, beseeching and entreating Him with tears, to
forgive him what he had done. And Adam remained thus standing and praying forty
days and forty nights. He neither ate nor drank until he dropped down on the
ground from hunger and thirst.
7 Then God sent His Word to Adam, who raised
him up from where he lay, and said to him, "O Adam, why have you sworn by My
name, and why have you made agreement with Satan another time?"
8 But Adam cried,
and said, "O God, forgive me, for I did this unwittingly; believing they were
God's angels."
9 And God forgave Adam, saying to him, "Beware of Satan."
10
And He withdrew His Word from Adam.
11 Then Adam's heart was comforted; and
he took Eve, and they went out of the cave, to prepare some food for their bodies.
12 But from that day Adam struggled in his mind about his marrying Eve; afraid
that if he was to do it, God would be angry with him.
13 Then Adam and Eve went
to the river of water, and sat on the bank, as people do when they enjoy themselves.
14 But Satan was jealous of them; and planned to destroy them.
Chapter 72
Adam's heart is set on fire, Satan appears as beautiful
maidens.
1 Then Satan, and ten from his hosts, transformed themselves into maidens,
unlike any others in the whole world for grace.
2 They came up out of the river
in presence of Adam and Eve, and they said among themselves, "Come, we will
look at the faces of Adam and Eve, who are of the men on earth. How beautiful
they are, and how different is their look from our own faces." Then they came
to Adam and Eve, and greeted them; and stood wondering at them.
3 Adam and Eve
looked at them also, and wondered at their beauty, and said, "Is there, then,
under us, another world, with such beautiful creatures as these in it?"
4 And
those maidens said to Adam and Eve, "Yes, indeed, we are an abundant creation."
5 Then Adam said to them, "But how do you multiply?"
6 And they answered him,
"We have husbands who have married us, and we bear them children, who grow up,
and who in their turn marry and are married, and also bear children; and thus
we increase. And if so be, O Adam, you will not believe us, we will show you
our husbands and our children."
7 Then they shouted over the river as if to
call their husbands and their children, who came up from the river, men and
children; and every man came to his wife, his children being with him.
8 But
when Adam and Eve saw them, they stood dumb, and wondered at them.
9 Then they
said to Adam and Eve, "See all our husbands and our children? You should marry
Eve, as we have married our husbands, so that you will have children as we have."
This was a device of Satan to deceive Adam.
10 Satan also thought within himself,
"God at first commanded Adam concerning the fruit of the tree, saying to him,
'Eat not of it; else of death you shall die.' But Adam ate of it, and yet God
did not kill him; He only decreed on him death, and plagues and trials, until
the day he shall come out of his body.
11 Now, then, if I deceive him to do
this thing, and to marry Eve without God's permission, God will kill him then."
12 Therefore Satan worked this apparition before Adam and Eve; because he sought
to kill him, and to make him disappear from off the face of the earth.
13 Meanwhile
the fire of sin came over Adam, and he thought of committing sin. But he restrained
himself, fearing that if he followed this advice of Satan, God would put him
to death.
14 Then Adam and Eve got up, and prayed to God, while Satan and his
hosts went down into the river, in presence of Adam and Eve; to let them see
that they were going back to their own world.
15 Then Adam and Eve went back
to the Cave of Treasures, as they usually did; about evening time.
16 And they
both got up and prayed to God that night. Adam remained standing in prayer,
yet not knowing how to pray, by reason of the thoughts in his heart regarding
his marrying Eve; and he continued so until morning.
17 And when light came
up, Adam said to Eve, "Get up, let us go below the mountain, where they brought
us gold, and let us ask the Lord concerning this matter."
18 Then Eve said,
"What is that matter, O Adam?"
19 And he answered her, "That I may request the
Lord to inform me about marrying you; for I will not do it without His permission
or else He will make us perish, you and me. For those devils have set my heart
on fire, with thoughts of what they showed us, in their sinful apparitions.
20 Then Eve said to Adam, "Why need we go below the mountain? Let us rather
stand up and pray in our cave to God, to let us know whether this counsel is
good or not."
21 Then Adam rose up in prayer and said, "O God, you know that
we transgressed against you, and from the moment we transgressed, we were stripped
of our bright nature; and our body became brutish, requiring food and drink;
and with animal desires.
22 Command us, O God, not to give way to them without
Your permission, for fear that You will turn us into nothing. Because if you
do not give us permission, we shall be overpowered, and follow that advice of
Satan; and You will again make us perish.
23 If not, then take our souls from
us; let us be rid of this animal lust. And if You give us no order respecting
this thing, then sever Eve from me, and me from her; and place us each far away
from the other.
24 Then again, O God, if You separate us from each other, the
devils will deceive us with their apparitions that resemble us, and destroy
our hearts, and defile our thoughts towards each other. Yet if it is not each
of us towards the other, it will, at all events, be through their appearance
when the devils come to us in our likeness." Here Adam ended his prayer.
Chapter 73
The marriage of Adam and Eve.
1 Then God considered the words of Adam that they were true, and that he
could long await His order, respecting the counsel of Satan.
2 And God approved
Adam in what he had thought concerning this, and in the prayer he had offered
in His presence; and the Word of God came to Adam and said to him, "O Adam,
if only you had had this caution at first, before you came out of the garden
into this land!"
3 After that, God sent His angel who had brought gold, and
the angel who had brought incense, and the angel who had brought myrrh to Adam,
that they should inform him respecting his marriage to Eve.
4 Then those angels
said to Adam, "Take the gold and give it to Eve as a wedding gift, and promise
to marry her; then give her some incense and myrrh as a present; and be you,
you and she, one flesh."
5 Adam obeyed the angels, and took the gold and put
it into Eve's bosom in her garment; and promised to marry her with his hand.
6 Then the angels commanded Adam and Eve to get up and pray forty days and forty
nights; when that was done, then Adam was to have sexual intercourse with his
wife; for then this would be an act pure and undefiled; so that he would have
children who would multiply, and replenish the face of the earth.
7 Then both
Adam and Eve received the words of the angels; and the angels departed from
them.
8 Then Adam and Eve began to fast and pray, until the end of the forty
days; and then they had sexual intercourse, as the angels had told them. And
from the time Adam left the garden until he wedded Eve, were two hundred and
twenty-three days, that is seven months and thirteen days.
9 Thus was Satan's
war with Adam defeated.
Chapter 74
The birth of Cain and Luluwa, Why they received those
names.
1 And they lived on the earth working in order to keep their bodies in good
health; and they continued so until the nine months of Eve's pregnancy were
over, and the time drew near when she must give birth.
2 Then she said to Adam,
"The signs placed in this cave since we left the garden indicate that this is
a pure place and we will be praying in it again some time. It is not appropriate
then, that I should give birth in it. Let us instead go to the sheltering rock
cave that was formed by the command of God when Satan threw a big rock down
on us in an attempt to kill us with it.
3 Adam then took Eve to that cave. When
the time came for her to give birth, she strained a lot. Adam felt sorry, and
he was very worried about her because she was close to death and the words of
God to her were being fulfilled: "In suffering shall you bear a child, and in
sorrow shall you bring forth a child."
4 But when Adam saw the distress in which
Eve was, he got up and prayed to God, and said, "O Lord, look at me with the
eye of Your mercy, and bring her out of her distress."
5 And God looked at His
maid-servant Eve, and delivered her, and she gave birth to her first-born son,
and with him a daughter.
6 The Adam rejoiced at Eve's deliverance, and also
over the children she had borne him. And Adam ministered to Eve in the cave,
until the end of eight days; when they named the son Cain, and the daughter Luluwa.
7 The meaning of Cain is "hater," because he hated his sister in their
mother's womb; before they came out of it. Therefore Adam named him Cain.
8
But Luluwa means "beautiful," because she was more beautiful than her mother.
9 Then Adam and Eve waited until Cain and his sister were forty days old, when
Adam said to Eve, "We will make an offering and offer it up in behalf of the
children."
10 And Eve said, "We will make one offering for the first-born son
and then later we shall make one for the daughter."
Chapter 75
The family revisits the Cave of Treasures, Birth of
Abel and Aklia.
1 Then Adam prepared an offering, and he and Eve offered it up for their
children, and brought it to the altar they had built at first.
2 And Adam offered
up the offering, and asked God to accept his offering.
3 Then God accepted Adam's
offering, and sent a light from heaven that shown on the offering. Adam and
his son drew near to the offering, but Eve and the daughter did not approach
it.
4 Adam and his son were joyful as they came down from on the altar. Adam
and Eve waited until the daughter was eighty days old, then Adam prepared an
offering and took it to Eve and to the children. They went to the altar, where
Adam offered it up, as he was accustomed, asking the Lord to accept his offering.
5 And the Lord accepted the offering of Adam and Eve. Then Adam, Eve, and the
children, drew near together, and came down from the mountain, rejoicing.
6
But they returned not to the cave in which they were born; but came to the Cave
of Treasures, in order that the children should go around in it, and be blessed
with the tokens brought from the garden.
7 But after they had been blessed with
these tokens, they went back to the cave in which they were born.
8 However,
before Eve had offered up the offering, Adam had taken her, and had gone with
her to the river of water, in which they threw themselves at first; and there
they washed themselves. Adam washed his body and Eve hers also clean, after
the suffering and distress that had come over them.
9 But Adam and Eve, after
washing themselves in the river of water, returned every night to the Cave of
Treasures, where they prayed and were blessed; and then went back to their cave,
where their children were born.
10 Adam and Eve did this until the children
had been weaned. After they were weaned, Adam made an offering for the souls
of his children in addition to the three times every week he made an offering
for them.
11 When the children were weaned, Eve again conceived, and when her
pregnancy came to term, she gave birth to another son and daughter. They named
the son Abel and the daughter Aklia.
12 Then at the end of forty days, Adam
made an offering for the son, and at the end of eighty days he made another
offering for the daughter, and treated them, as he had previously treated Cain
and his sister Luluwa.
13 He brought them to the Cave of Treasures, where they
received a blessing, and then returned to the cave where they were born. After
these children were born, Eve stopped having children.
Chapter 76
Cain becomes jealous of Abel because of his sisters.
1 And the children began to grow stronger and taller; but Cain was hard-hearted,
and ruled over his younger brother.
2 Often when his father made an offering,
Cain would remain behind and not go with them, to offer up.
3 But, as to Abel,
he had a meek heart, and was obedient to his father and mother. He frequently
moved them to make an offering, because he loved it. He prayed and fasted a
lot.
4 Then came this sign to Abel. As he was coming into the Cave of Treasures,
and saw the golden rods, the incense and the myrrh, he asked his parents, Adam
and Eve, to tell him about them and asked, "Where did you get these from?"
5
Then Adam told him all that had befallen them. And Abel felt deeply about what
his father told him.
6 Furthermore his father, Adam, told him of the works of
God, and of the garden. After hearing that, Abel remained behind after his father
left and stayed the whole of that night in the Cave of Treasures.
7 And that
night, while he was praying, Satan appeared to him under the figure of a man,
who said to him, "You have frequently moved your father into making offerings,
fasting and praying, therefore I will kill you, and make you perish from this
world."
8 But as for Abel, he prayed to God, and drove away Satan from him;
and did not believe the words of the devil. Then when it was day, an angel of
God appeared to him, who said to him, "Do not cut short either fasting, prayer,
or offering up an offering to your God. For, look, the Lord had accepted your
prayer. Be not afraid of the figure which appeared to you in the night, and
who cursed you to death." And the angel departed from him.
9 Then when it was
day, Abel came to Adam and Eve, and told them of the vision he had seen. When
they heard it, they grieved much over it, but said nothing to him about it;
they only comforted him.
10 But as to the hard-hearted Cain, Satan came to him
by night, showed himself and said to him, "Since Adam and Eve love your brother
Abel so much more than they love you, they wish to join him in marriage to your
beautiful sister because they love him. However, they wish to join you in marriage
to his ugly sister, because they hate you.
11 Now before they do that, I am
telling you that you should kill your brother. That way your sister will be
left for you, and his sister will be cast away."
12 And Satan departed from
him. But the devil remained behind in Cain's heart, and frequently aspired to
kill his brother.
Chapter 77
Cain, 15 years old, and Abel 12 years old, grow apart.
1 But when Adam saw that the older brother hated the younger, he endeavored
to soften their hearts, and said to Cain, "O my son, take of the fruits of your
sowing and make an offering to God, so that He might forgive you for your wickedness
and sin."
2 He said also to Abel, "Take some of your sowing and make an offering
and bring it to God, so that He might forgive you for your wickedness and sin."
3 Then Abel obeyed his father's voice, took some of his sowing, and made a good
offering, and said to his father, Adam, "Come with me and show me how to offer
it up."
4 And they went, Adam and Eve with him, and they showed him how to offer
up his gift on the altar. Then after that, they stood up and prayed that God
would accept Abel's offering.
5 Then God looked at Abel and accepted his offering.
And God was more pleased with Abel than with his offering, because of his good
heart and pure body. There was no trace of guile in him.
6 Then they came down
from the altar, and went to the cave in which they lived. But Abel, by reason
of his joy at having made his offering, repeated it three times a week, after
the example of his father Adam.
7 But as to Cain, he did not want to make an
offering, but after his father became very angry, he offered up a gift once.
He took the smallest of his sheep for an offering and when he offered it up,
his eyes were on the lamb.
8 Therefore God did not accept his offering, because
his heart was full of murderous thoughts.
9 And they all thus lived together
in the cave in which Eve had brought forth, until Cain was fifteen years old,
and Abel twelve years old.
Chapter 78
Jealousy overcomes Cain, He makes trouble in the family,
How the first murder was planned.
1 Then Adam said to Eve, "Behold the children are grown up; we must think
of finding wives for them."
2 Then Eve answered, "How can we do it?"
3 Then
Adam said to her, "We will join Abel's sister in marriage to Cain, and Cain's
sister to Abel.
4 The said Eve to Adam, "I do not like Cain because he is hard-hearted;
but let them stay with us until we offer up to the Lord in their behalf."
5
And Adam said no more.
6 Meanwhile Satan came to Cain in the figure of a man
of the field, and said to him, "Behold Adam and Eve have taken counsel together
about the marriage of you two; and they have agreed to marry Abel's sister to
you, and your sister to him.
7 But if it was not that I love you, I would not
have told you this thing. Yet if you will take my advice, and obey me, I will
bring to you on your wedding day beautiful robes, gold and silver in plenty,
and my relations will attend you."
8 Then Cain said with joy, "Where are your
relations?"
9 And Satan answered, "My relations are in a garden in the north,
where I once meant to bring your father Adam; but he would not accept my offer.
10 But you, if you will receive my words and if you will come to me after your
wedding, you shall rest from the misery in which you are; and you shall rest
and be better off than your father Adam."
11 At these words of Satan Cain opened
his ears, and leaned towards his speech.
12 And he did not remain in the field,
but he went to Eve, his mother, and beat her, and cursed her, and said to her,
"Why are you planning to take my sister to wed her to my brother? Am I dead?"
13 His mother, however, quieted him, and sent him to the field where he had
been.
14 Then when Adam came, she told him of what Cain had done.
15 But Adam
grieved and held his peace, and said not a word.
16 Then on the next morning
Adam said to Cain his son, "Take of your sheep, young and good, and offer them
up to your God; and I will speak to your brother, to make to his God an offering
of corn."
17 They both obeyed their father Adam, and they took their offerings,
and offered them up on the mountain by the altar.
18 But Cain behaved haughtily
towards his brother, and shoved him from the altar, and would not let him offer
up his gift on the altar; but he offered his own on it, with a proud heart,
full of guile, and fraud.
19 But as for Abel, he set up stones that were near
at hand, and on that, he offered up his gift with a heart humble and free from
guile.
20 Cain was then standing by the altar on which he had offered up his
gift; and he cried to God to accept his offering; but God did not accept it
from him; neither did a divine fire come down to consume his offering.
21 But
he remained standing over against the altar, out of humor and meanness, looking
towards his brother Abel, to see if God would accept his offering or not.
22
And Abel prayed to God to accept his offering. Then a divine fire came down
and consumed his offering. And God smelled the sweet savor of his offering;
because Abel loved Him and rejoice in Him.
23 And because God was well pleased
with him, He sent him an angel of light in the figure of a man who had partaken
of his offering, because He had smelled the sweet savor of his offering, and
they comforted Abel and strengthened his heart.
24 But Cain was looking on all
that took place at his brother's offering, and was angry because of it.
25 Then
he opened his mouth and blasphemed God, because He had not accepted his offering.
26 But God said to Cain, "Why do you look sad? Be righteous, that I may accept
your offering. Not against Me have you murmured, but against yourself.
27 And
God said this to Cain in rebuke, and because He abhorred him and his offering.
28 And Cain came down from the altar, his color changed and with a sad face,
and came to his father and mother and told them all that had befallen him. And
Adam grieved much because God had not accepted Cain's offering.
29 But Abel
came down rejoicing, and with a gladsome heart, and told his father and mother
how God had accepted his offering. And they rejoiced at it and kissed his face.
30 And Abel said to his father, "Because Cain shoved me from the altar, and
would not allow me to offer my gift on it, I made an altar for myself and offered
my gift on it."
31 But when Adam heard this he was very sorry, because it was
the altar he had built at first, and on which he had offered his own gifts.
32 As to Cain, he was so resentful and so angry that he went into the field,
where Satan came to him and said to him, "Since your brother Abel has taken
refuge with your father Adam, because you shoved him from the altar, they have
kissed his face, and they rejoice over him, far more than over you."
33 When
Cain heard these words of Satan, he was filled with rage; and he let no one
know. But he was laying wait to kill his brother, until he brought him into
the cave, and then said to him: --
34 "O brother, the country is so beautiful,
and there are such beautiful and pleasurable trees in it, and charming to look
at! But brother, you have never been one day in the field to take your pleasure
in that place.
35 Today, O, my brother, I very much wish you would come with
me into the field, to enjoy yourself and to bless our fields and our flocks,
for you are righteous, and I love you much, O my brother! But you have alienated
yourself from me."
36 Then Abel consented to go with his brother Cain into the
field.
37 But before going out, Cain said to Abel, "Wait for me, until I fetch
a staff, because of wild beasts."
38 Then Abel stood waiting in his innocence.
But Cain, the forward, fetched a staff and went out.
39 And they began, Cain
and his brother Abel, to walk in the way; Cain talking to him, and comforting
him, to make him forget everything.
Chapter 79
A wicked plan is carried to a tragic conclusion, Cain
is frightened. "Am I my brother's keeper?", The seven punishments, Peace is
shattered.
1 And so they went on, until they came to a lonely place, where there were
no sheep; then Abel said to Cain, "Behold, my brother, we are tired from walking;
for we see none of the trees, nor of the fruits, nor of the flourishing green
plants, nor of the sheep, nor any one of the things of which you told me. Where
are those sheep of thine you told me to bless?"
2 Then Cain said to him, "Come
on, and you shall see many beautiful things very soon, but go before me, until
I catch up to you."
3 Then went Abel forward, but Cain remained behind him.
4 And Abel was walking in his innocence, without guile; not believing his brother
would kill him.
5 Then Cain, when he came up to him, comforted him with his
talk, walking a little behind him; then he ran up to him and beat him with the
staff, blow after blow, until he was stunned.
6 But when Abel fell down on the
ground, seeing that his brother meant to kill him, he said to Cain, "O, my brother,
have pity on me. By the breasts we have sucked, don't hit me! By the womb that
bore us and that brought us into the world, don't beat me to death with that
staff! If you will kill me, take one of these large stones and kill me outright."
7 Then Cain, the hard-hearted, and cruel murderer, took a large stone, and beat
his brother's head with it, until his brains oozed out, and he wallowed in his
blood, before him.
8 And Cain repented not of what he had done.
9 But the earth,
when the blood of righteous Abel fell on it, trembled, as it drank his blood,
and would have destroyed Cain because of it.
10 And the blood of Abel cried
mysteriously to God, to avenge him of his murderer.
11 Then Cain began at once
to dig the ground wherein to lay his brother; for he was trembling from the
fear that came over him, when he saw the earth tremble on his account.
12 He
then cast his brother into the pit he made, and covered him with dust. But the
ground would not receive him; but it threw him up at once.
13 Again Cain dug
the ground and hid his brother in it; but again the ground threw him up on itself;
until three times the ground thus threw up on itself the body of Abel.
14 The
muddy ground threw him up the first time, because he was not the first creation;
and it threw him up the second time and would not receive him, because he was
righteous and good, and was killed without a cause; and the ground threw him
up the third time and would not receive him, that there might remain before
his brother a witness against him.
15 And so the earth mocked Cain, until the
Word of God, came to him concerning his brother.
16 Then was God angry, and
much displeased at Abel's death; and He thundered from heaven, and lightning's
went before Him, and the Word of the Lord God came from heaven to Cain, and
said to him, "Where is Abel your brother?"
17 Then Cain answered with a proud
heart and a gruff voice, "How, O God? Am I my brother's keeper?"
18 Then God
said to Cain, "Cursed be the earth that has drunk the blood of Abel your brother;
and as for you, you will always be trembling and shaking; and this will be a
mark on you so that whoever finds you, will kill you."
19 But Cain cried because
God had said those words to him; and Cain said to Him, "O God, whosoever finds
me shall kill me, and I shall be blotted out from the face of the earth."
20
Then God said to Cain, "Whoever finds you will not kill you;" because before
this, God had been saying to Cain, "I shall put seven punishments on anyone
that kills Cain." For as to the word of God to Cain, "Where is your brother?"
God said it in mercy for him, to try and make him repent.
21 For if Cain had
repented at that time, and had said, "O God, forgive me my sin, and the murder
of my brother," God would then have forgiven him his sin.
22 And as to God saying
to Cain, "Cursed be the ground that has drunk the blood of your brother" That
also, was God's mercy on Cain. For God did not curse him, but He cursed the
ground; although it was not the ground that had killed Abel, and committed a
wicked sin.
23 For it was fitting that the curse should fall on the murderer;
yet in mercy did God so manage His thoughts as that no one should know it, and
turn away from Cain.
24 And He said to him, "Where is your brother?" To which
he answered and said, "I know not." Then the Creator said to him, "Be trembling
and quaking."
25 Then Cain trembled and became terrified; and through this sign
did God make him an example before all the creation, as the murderer of his
brother. Also did God bring trembling and terror over him, that he might see
the peace in which he was at first, and see also the trembling and terror he
endured at the last; so that he might humble himself before God, and repent
of his sin, and seek the peace that he enjoyed at first.
26 And in the word
of God that said, "I will put seven punishments on anyone who kills Cain," God
was not seeking to kill Cain with the sword, but He sought to make him die of
fasting, and praying and crying by hard rule, until the time that he was delivered
from his sin.
27 And the seven punishments are the seven generations during
which God awaited Cain for the murder of his brother.
28 But as to Cain, ever
since he had killed his brother, he could find no rest in any place; but went
back to Adam and Eve, trembling, terrified, and defiled with blood.
