First Book of Adam and Eve

T H E
F I R S T
B O O K
O F
ADAM & EVE

P ROLOGUE
The Fi rst Boo k of Ada m an d Ev e de tail s th e li fe and ti me s of Adam and Eve aft er th ey we re e xpell ed fro m th e g arde n to the ti me t hat Cain ki ll s h is b roth er Abe l. It t ell s of Ada m and Eve 's fi rst d wel ling - th e Cav e of Tre asu re s; the ir trials and t emp tation s; Sa tan' s many appa rit ions to th em; the bi rth of Cain , Abe l, and thei r t wi n si st ers; an d Ca in' s l ove fo r h is beau tifu l t wi n si st er, Lulu wa, who m Ada m and Eve wi sh ed to jo in to Abel . Thi s book is conside red by many s cho lars to b e pa rt o f the "Pseudep igrapha " (soo -duh -pig -ruh -fu h). Th e "Pseude pig rapha " i s a co lle ction of hi sto ri cal b iblic al wo rk s th at a re conside red t o be fict ion. Beca use of that stig ma, thi s book wa s not in clude d in the co mpilat ion of the Hol y Bib le. Thi s b ook i s a writ ten hi sto ry of what happen ed in the day s of Adam and Eve a f t er the y we re ca st ou t of the g arden . Al though conside red t o be pseud epig raphi c by so me , it carri es signi f ican t meaning and insight in to ev ent s of that ti me. It i s doubt ful that th ese wri ting s c ould have su rviv ed a ll the many cen tu rie s if the re we re no sub stanc e to the m. Thi s book is simp ly a v ersion of an accoun t hand ed do wn by wo rd o f mouth , f ro m gen era tion to gen era tion, lin king the ti me that t he f irst hu man li fe wa s create d to the t ime when so mebody finall y dec ided to writ e i t do wn . Thi s pa rti cula r ve rsion i s the wo rk of un kno wn Eg yptian s. The lac k of hi sto ri cal all usi on ma ke s it d ifficu lt to p rec isely da te th e writing , ho we ver, u sing oth er p seud epig raphic al wo rk s a s a refe renc e, i t wa s p robabl y wri t ten a fe w hund red y ears be fore the bi rth of Ch ri st . Pa rt s o f thi s ve rsion are found in the J e wi sh Tal mud, and th e Isla mic Ko ran, sho wi ng wha t a vital ro le it p layed in the o rigina l l ite ratu re o f hu man wi sdo m. Th e Eg yptian autho r wrot e in Arabi c, bu t la te r t ran slat ions we re found writt en in Ethiop ic. Th e p re sent Eng lish tran sla tion wa s t ranslated in the la te 1800' s by Dr. S. C . Malan and Dr. E. Tru mpp. Th ey t ran slat ed in to King James Eng li sh f ro m bo th the Ar abi c v ersio n and the Eth io p i c ve rsio n wh ich was th en pub li shed in The Fo rgott en Book s o f Eden in 1927 by The Wo rld Pub li shing Co mpan y. In 1995 , the t ext wa s ex tra cted fro m a copy o f The Fo rgot ten Boo ks of Ed en and conv erted to el ect ronic f orm by De nni s Ha wk ins. It wa s then tran sla ted in to more mode rn Engli sh by simp ly ex changing ' Thou ' s fo r ' You' s, 'Art' s fo r ' Are 's, and so forth. The tex t wa s th en ca refu lly re read to e nsu re it s in teg rit y.
CHAPT ER I The crysta l sea, God co mmand s Ada m, expelled from Eden , to live in the Cave of Trea sures. 1 On the third day, God planted the ga rden in the east of the earth, on the border of the world eastward, beyond which, towards the su n rising, one finds nothing bu t water, tha t encompasses the whole world,
and reaches to the borders of he a ven. 2 And to the north of the garden there is a sea of water, clear a nd pu re to the taste, u nlik e anything else; so that, throu gh the clearness thereof, one may look into the depths o f the earth. 3 And when a man washes himself in it, he becomes clean of t h e clea n-
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ness thereo f, and white of its whit eness ev en if he were dark . 4 And God cr eated that sea of his own good plea su re, for He k new wha t wou ld come of the man He wou ld mak e; so that after he had left the garden, on accou nt of his tra nsgression, men shou ld be born in the earth. Among them are rig hteou s ones who will die, whose sou ls God wou ld raise at the last da y; when all of them will retu rn to their flesh, bathe in the water of tha t sea, and repent of their sins. 5 Bu t when God made Adam go ou t of the garden, He did not place him on the border of it northward. T his wa s so that he and Eve wou ld not be a ble to go near to the sea of water where they cou ld wash themselves in it, be cleansed from their sins, era se the transgression they had committed, and be no longer r eminded o f it in the thou ght of their pu nishment. 6 As to the sou thern side of the ga rden, God did not want Adam to live there either; becau se, when the wind blew from the north, it wou ld bring him, on that southern side, the deliciou s smell o f the trees o f the ga rden. 7 Wherefore God did not pu t Adam there. T his was so that he wou ld not be a ble to smell the sweet smell of those trees, forget his transgression, a nd find consolation for what he had done by tak ing delight in the smell of the trees and yet not be cl eansed from his transgression. 8 Aga in, also, becau se God is me rcifu l a nd of great pity, and governs a ll things in a way that He alone k nows He made ou r father Adam live in the western border of the ga rden, becau se on that side the
earth is very broad. 9 And God commanded him to live there in a cave in a rock the Ca ve of Trea su res below the garden. CHAPT ER II Ada m a nd Eve fa in t when they lea ve the Gard en . Go d sen ds His Wo rd to en cou rage them. 1 Bu t when our father Ad am, a nd Eve, went ou t of the garden, they walk ed the grou nd on their feet, not k nowing they were walk ing. 2 And when they came to the ope n ing 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 th eir fa ces, from the fear that came over them; and they were as dead. 3 Becau se whereas u ntil this time they had been in the garden land, beau tifu lly planted with all manner of trees they now saw themselv es, in a strange land, which they k new not, and had never seen. 4 And becau se, wh en they were in the garden they were filled with the grace of a bright nature, and they had not hearts tu rned toward earthly things. 5 T herefore God had pity on them; and when He saw them fallen before the gate of the garden, He sent His Word to ou r father, Adam and Eve, and raised them from their fallen state. CHAPT ER III Concern ing th e pro mise o f the g rea t five and a h alf da ys. 1 God said to Adam, "I have o rdained on this earth days and years, and you and your descen dants shall live and walk in them, u ntil the da ys
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a nd years are fulfilled; when I shall send the Word that created you , and a ga inst which you have tran sgressed, the Word that made you come ou t of the ga rden, and that ra ised you when you were fallen. 2 Yes, the Word that will again save you when the five and a half days a re fu lfilled." 3 Bu t when Adam heard these words from God, and of the great five a nd a half days, he did not u ndersta nd the meaning of them. 4 For Adam was think ing there wou ld be only five and a half days for him u ntil the end of the world. 5 And Adam cried, and prayed to God to explain it to him. 6 T hen God in his mercy for Adam who was made after His own image a nd lik eness, explained to him, that these were 5 ,0 00 and 500 yea rs; and how One wou ld then come and save him a nd his desce ndants. 7 Bu t before that, God had made this covenant with our father, Adam, in the same terms, before h e came ou t of the garden, when he was by the tree where Ev e took of the fru it a nd ga ve it to him to eat. 8 Becau se, when ou r father Adam ca me ou t of the garden, he passed by tha t tree, and saw how God had cha nged the appearance of it into a nother form, and how it shriveled. 9 And as Adam went t o it h e feared, trembled and fell down; bu t God in His mercy lifted him u p, and then ma de this covenant with him. 10 And again, when Adam was by the ga te of the garden, and saw the cheru b with a sword of flashing fire in his hand, and the cheru b grew a ngry and frowned at him, both Ada m and Eve b ecame afraid of him, a nd thou ght he meant to pu t
them to death. So they fell on their faces, trembled with fear. 11 Bu t he had pity on them, and showed them mercy; and tu rning from them went u p to heaven, and pra yed to the Lord, and said; 12 "Lord, You sent me to watch at the gate of the garden, with a sword of fire. 13 Bu t when You r servants, Adam and Eve, saw me, they fell on their faces, and were as dead. O my Lord, what shall we do to Your se rvants?" 14 T hen God had pity on them, a nd showed them mercy, and sent His Angel to k eep the garden. 15 And the Word of the Lord came to Adam and Eve, and raised them u p. 16 And the Lord said to Adam, "I told you that at the end of the five and a half days, I wi ll send my Word and save you . 17 Strengthen you r heart, therefore, and stay in the Cave of Treasu res, of which I have before spok en 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 wou ld save him. CHAPT ER I V Ada m mourn s over the chang ed co n d itions. Ad am an d Eve en ter the Cave o f Trea sures. 1 Bu t Adam and Eve cried for ha ving come ou t of the garden, their first home. 2 And indeed, wh en Adam look ed at his flesh, that wa s altered, he cried bitterly, he and Eve, over what they had done. And they walk ed and went gently down into the Cave of Trea su res. 3 And as they came to it, Adam
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cried over himself and said to Eve, "Look at this cave that is to be ou r prison in this wor ld, and a place of pu nishment! 4 Wha t is it compared with the ga rden? What is its narrowness co m pa red with the space of the other? 5 What is this rock , by the side of those groves? What is the gloom of this ca vern, compared with the light of the ga rden? 6 What is this overhanging ledge of rock to shelter u s, compared with the mercy of th e Lord that ove rsha dowed u s? 7 What is the soil of this cave co mpa red with the garden land? T his ea rth, strewed with stones; and that, pla nted with deliciou s fruit trees?" 8 And Adam said to Eve, "Look at you r eyes, and at mine, which b efore be held angels praising in he a ven; a nd they too, withou t ceasing. 9 Bu t now we do not see as we did; ou r eyes have become of flesh; they ca nnot see lik e they u sed to see b efore." 10 Adam said again to Eve, "What is ou r body today, compared to what it wa s in former days, when we lived in the garden?" 11 After this, Adam did not want to enter the cave, u nder the o verhan ging rock ; nor wou ld he ever want to enter it. 12 Bu t he bowed to God's orders; a nd sa id to himself, "Unless I enter the ca ve, I shall again be a tran sgressor." CHAPT ER V Eve makes a nob le an d emo tiona l in terc ession , taking the blame on he rself. 1 T hen Adam and Eve entered the ca ve, and stood praying, in th eir
own tongu e, u nk nown to u s, bu t which they k new well. 2 And as they prayed, Adam raised his eyes and saw the rock and the roof of th e cave that covered him overhead. T his prevented him from seeing either heaven or God's cre a tu res. So he cried and beat his chest hard, u ntil he dropped, and was as dead. 3 And Eve sat crying; for she b elieved he was dead. 4 T hen she got u p, 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 rememb er it against me. 5 For I alone cau sed You r servant to fall from the garden into this condemned land; fro m light into this dark ness; and from the h ou se o f 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 r epent of his transgression which he committed throu gh me. 7 Don't tak e away his sou l right now; bu t let him live that he may stand after the measu re of hi s repe n tance, and do You r will, as before his death. 8 Bu t if You do not bring him back to life, then, O God, tak e away my own sou l, that I be lik e him, a nd leave me not in this du ngeon, one and alone; for I could not stand alone in this world, bu t with him only. 9 For You , O God, cau sed 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 mak e me a woman, bright lik e him,
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with heart, reason, and speech; and in flesh, lik e to his own; and You ma de me after the lik eness of his look s, by Your mercy and power. 11 O Lord, I and he are one, and You, O God, are our Creator, You a re He who made u s both in one da y. 12 T herefore, O God, give him life, tha t he may be with me in this stra nge land, while we live in it on a ccou nt of our tran sgression. 13 But if You will not give him life, then tak e me, even me, lik e him; that we both may die the same da y." 14 And Eve cried bitterly, a nd fell on ou r father Adam; from her great sorrow. CHAPT ER VI God 's reprimand to Ada m and Eve in wh ich he po in ts ou t ho w an d why the y sinned . 1 Bu t God look ed at them; for they ha d k illed themselves throu gh great grief. 2 Bu t He decided to raise them and comfort them. 3 He, therefore, sent His Word to them; that they shou ld st and and be ra ised immediately. 4 And the Lord said to Adam and Eve, "You transgressed of y ou r own free will, u ntil you came ou t of the ga rden in which I had placed you . 5 Of your own free will have you tra nsgressed throu gh you r desire for divinity, greatness, and an exalted sta te, su ch as I have; so that I d eprived you of the bright nature in which you then were, and I made you come out of the garden to this la nd, rou gh and fu ll of trou ble. 6 If only you had not transgressed My commandment and had k ep t My
law, and had not eaten of the fru it of the tree which I told you not to come n ear! And there were fru it trees in the ga rden better than that one. 7 But the wick ed Satan did not k eep his faith and had no good i ntent towards Me, that althou gh I had created him, he co nsidered Me to be u seless, and sou ght the Godhead for himself; for this I hu rled him down from heaven so that he could not remain in his first estate it was he who made the tree appear plea sant in you r eyes, u ntil you ate of it, by believing his word s. 8 T hu s have you transgressed My commandment, and therefore I have brou ght on you all these so rrows. 9 For I am God the Creator, who, when I created My creatures, did not intend to destroy them. Bu t after they had sorely rou sed My a nger, I pu nished them with grievou s pl a gu es, u ntil they repent. 10 Bu t, if on the contrary, they still continu e hardened in their tran sgression, they shall be u nder a curse forever." CHAPT ER VII The b easts are app eased . 1 When Adam and Eve heard these words from God, they cried and sobbed y et more; bu t they stren gthened their hearts in God, becau se they now felt that the Lord was to them lik e a father and a mother; and for this very reason, they cried b e fore Him, and sou ght mercy from Him. 2 T hen God had pity on them, a nd said: "O Adam, I have made My c ovenant with you , and I will not tu rn from it; neither will I let you retu rn to the garden, u ntil My cov enant of
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the great five and a half days is fu lfilled." 3 T hen Adam said to God, "O Lord, You created u s, and made u s fit to be in the garden; and before I tran sgressed, You made all beasts come to me, that I shou ld name them. 4 Your grace was then on me; and I na med every one according to You r mind; and you made them all su bject to me. 5 Bu t now, O Lor d God, that I have tra nsgressed You r commandment, all bea sts will rise against me and will devou r me, and Eve You r handmaid; a nd will cut off ou r life from the fa ce of the earth. 6 I therefore beg you , O God, that since You have made u s come ou t of the ga rden, and have made u s be in a stra nge land, You will not let the bea sts hu rt u s." 7 When the Lord heard these words from Adam, He had pity on him, and felt that he had tru ly said that the bea sts of the field wou ld rise and devou r him and Eve, becau se H e, the Lord, was angry with the two of them on accou nt o f their transgre ssions. 8 T hen God commanded the beasts, a nd the birds, and all that moves on the ea rth, to come to Adam and to be fa miliar with him, and not to trou ble him and Eve; nor yet any of the good and righteou s among th eir offspring. 9 T hen all the beasts paid homage to Adam, according to the co mma ndment of God; ex cept the serpent, a gainst which God was angry. It did not come to Adam, with the bea sts. CHAPT ER VIII The "Brigh t Na ture" o f man is taken
a wa y. 1 T hen Adam cried and said, "O God, when we lived in the garden, and our hearts were lifted u p, we saw the angels that sang praises in heaven, bu t now we can't see lik e we u sed to; no, when we entered the cave, all creation became hidd en from u s." 2 T hen God the Lord said to Adam, "When you were u nder su bje ction to Me, you had a bright nature within you , and for that reason cou ld you see things far away. Bu t after you r transgression you r bright nature was withdrawn from you ; and it wa s not left to you to see things far away, bu t only near at hand; after the ability of the flesh; for it is brutish." 3 When Adam and Eve had heard these words fro m God, they went their way; praising and worshipping Him with a sorrowfu l heart. 4 And God ceased to commu ne with them. CHAPT ER I X Wa ter from the Tree o f Life. Ada m and Eve nea r dro wn ing . 1 T hen Adam and Eve came ou t of the Cave of Treasures, and went near to the garden gate, and there they stood to look at it, and cried for ha ving come awa y from it. 2 And Adam and Eve went from b e fore the gate of the garden to the sou thern side of it, and fou nd there the water that wa tered the garden, from the root o f the Tree of Life, and that split itself from there into fou r rivers over the earth. 3 T hen they came and went near to that water, and look ed at it; and saw that it was the water that came forth from u nder the root of the Tree of Life in the garden.
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4 And Adam cried and wailed, and bea t his chest, for being severed from the garden; and sai d to Eve: 5 "Why have you brou ght on me, on you rself, and on ou r descendants, so ma ny of these plagu es and pu nis hments? " 6 And Eve said to him, "What is it you ha ve seen that has cau sed you to cry and to speak to me in this ma nner?" 7 And he said to Eve, "Do you not see this water that was with u s in the ga rden, that watered the trees of the ga rden, and flowed ou t from there? 8 And we, when we were in the ga rden, did not care abou t it; bu t since we came to this strange land, we lov e it, and tu rn i t to u se for ou r body." 9 Bu t when Eve heard these words from him, sh e cried; and from the soreness of their crying, they fell into that wa ter; and wou ld have pu t a n end to themselves in it, so as never a gain to return and behold the crea tion; for when t hey look ed at the work of creation, they felt they mu st pu t an end to themselves. CHAPT ER X The ir bod ies n eed wa ter a fter th ey lea ve the gard en . 1 T hen God, mercifu l and graciou s, look ed at them thu s lying in the w a ter, a nd close to death, and sent an a ngel, who brou ght them ou t of the wa ter, and laid them on the seashore a s dea d. 2 T hen the angel went u p to God, wa s welco me, and said, "O God, Your creatures have breathed their la st." 3 T hen God sent His Word to Adam a nd Eve, who raised them from th eir
death. 4 And Adam said, after he was raised, "O God, while we were in the garden we did n ot requ ire, or care for this water; but since we came to this land we cannot do withou t it." 5 T hen God said to Adam, "While you were u nder My command and were a bright a ngel, you k new not this water. 6 But now that you have tran sgressed M y commandment, you can not do withou t water, wherein to wash you r body and mak e it grow; for it is now lik e that of beasts, a nd is in want of wa ter." 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 fu lfilled, I will bring you back into the garden, you and you r righteou s descendants." 9 And God ceased to commu ne with Adam. CHAPT ER XI A reco llection of the g lo rious days in the Garden . 1 T hen Adam and Eve felt the mselves bu rning 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 w a ter comes into ou r inner parts, it will increase ou r pu nishments and that of ou r descendants." 3 Both Adam and Eve then went away from the water, and dra nk none of it at all; bu t came and entered the Cave of Treasures.
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4 But when in it Adam cou ld not see Eve; he only heard the noise she ma de. Neither cou ld she see Adam, bu t heard the noise he made. 5 T hen Adam cried, in deep affli ction, a nd beat his chest; and he got u p a nd said to Eve, "Where are you ? " 6 And she said to him, "Look , I am sta nding in this dark ness." 7 He then said to her, "Remember the bright natu re in which we lived, when we lived in the garden! 8 O Eve! Remember the glory that rested on u s in the gard en. O Eve! Rememb er the trees that oversh a dowed u s in the garden while we moved among them. 9 O Eve! Remember that while we were in the garden, we k new neither night nor day. T hink of the Tree of Life, from b elow which flowed the wa ter, and that shed lu stre over u s! Rememb er, O Eve, the garden land, a nd the brightness thereof! 10 T hink , oh think of that garden in which was no dark ness, while we lived in it. 11 Whereas no sooner did we come into this Cave of Treasu res than da rk ness su rrou nded u s all ar ou nd; u ntil we can no longer see each ot h er; a nd all the pleasure of this life ha s come to an end." CHAPT ER XII Ho w darkness came be tween Ada m and Ev e. 1 T hen Adam beat his chest, he and Eve, a nd they mou rned the whole night u ntil the crack of dawn, an d they sighed o ver the length o f the night in Miyazia. 2 And Adam beat himself, and threw himself on the grou nd in the ca ve, from bitter grief, and becau se
of the dark ness, and lay there as dead. 3 Bu t Eve heard the noise he made in falling on the grou nd. And she felt abou t for him with her hands, and fou nd him lik e a corpse. 4 T hen she was afraid, speechless, and remained by him. 5 But the mercifu l Lord look ed on the death of Adam, and on Eve's s ilence from fear of the dark ness. 6 And the Word of God came to Adam and raised him from his death, and opened Ev e's mou th that she might sp eak . 7 T hen Adam stood u p in the ca ve and said, "O God, why has light d eparted from u s, and dark ness co v ered u s? Why did you leave u s in this long dark ness? Why do y ou plagu e u s lik e this? 8 And this dark ness, O Lord, where was it before it covered u s? It is b ecau se of this that we ca nnot see each other. 9 For so long as we were in the ga rden, we neither saw nor ev en k new what dark ness is. I was not hidden from Eve, neither was she hidden from me, u ntil now that she cannot see me; and no dark ness came over u s to separate u s from each other. 10 Bu t she and I were both in one bright light. I saw her and she saw me. Yet now since we came into this cave, dark ness has cov ered u s, and separated u s from each other, so that I do not see her, and she does not see me. 11 O Lord, will You then plagu e u s with this dark ness?" CHAPT ER XIII The fall of Ada m. Wh y n ig ht and d ay were crea ted.
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1 T hen when God, who is mercifu l a nd fu ll of pity, heard Adam's voice, He sa id to him: 2 "O Adam, so long as the good a ngel wa s obedient to Me, a bright light rested on him and on his hosts. 3 Bu t when he transgressed My comma ndment, I deprived him o f tha t bright natu re, and he beca me da rk . 4 And when he was in the heavens, in the realms of light, h e k new not h ing of dark ness. 5 But he transgressed, and I made him fa ll from the heaven onto the ea rth; and it was this dark ness that ca me over him. 6 And on you , O Adam, while in My ga rden and obedient to M e, did tha t bright light rest also. 7 But when I heard of your tran sgression, I deprived you of that bright light. Yet, of My mercy, I did not turn you into dark ness, bu t I ma de you you r body of flesh, over which I spread this ski n, in order tha t it may bear cold and heat. 8 If I had let My wrath fall heavily on you , I shou ld have d estroyed you ; a nd had I turned you into dar k ness, it wou ld have been as if I had k illed you . 9 But in My mercy, I have made you a s you are; when you transgressed My co mmandment, O Adam, I drove you from the garden, and ma de you come forth into this land; a nd commanded you to live in this ca ve; a nd dark ness covered you , as it did over him wh o transgressed My comma ndment. 10 T hu s, O Adam, has this nig ht deceived you . It is not to last fore ver; bu t is only of twelv e hou rs; when it is over, daylight will return. 11 Sigh not, therefore, neither be
moved; and say not in you r heart that this dark ness is long and drags on wearily; and say not in you r heart that I plagu e you with it. 12 Strengthen you r heart, and be not afraid. T his dark ness is not a pu nishment. Bu t, O Adam, I ha ve made the day, and have placed the su n in it to give light; in order that you and you r children shou ld do you r work . 13 For I k new you wou ld sin a nd transgress, and come ou t into this land. Yet I wou l dn't force you , nor be heard over you , nor shu t u p; nor doom you throu gh you r fall; nor throu gh your coming ou t from light into dark ness; nor yet throu gh you r coming from the garden into this land. 14 For I made you of the light; a nd I willed to bring ou t children of light from you and lik e to you . 15 Bu t you did not k eep My co mmandment one day; u ntil I had finished the creation and blessed ev e rything in it. 16 T hen, concerning the tree, I commanded you not to eat of it. Yet I k new that Satan, who deceived himself, wou ld also deceive you . 17 So I made k nown to you by means o f the tree, not to come near him. And I told you not to eat of the fru it thereof, nor to taste of it, no r yet to sit u nder it, nor to yield to it. 18 Had I not been and spok en to you , O Adam, concerning the tree, and had I left you withou t a co mmandment, and you had sinned it wou ld have been an offence on My part, for not having given you any order; you wou ld tu rn arou nd a nd blame Me for it. 19 Bu t I commanded you , a nd warned you , and you fell. So that
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My creatu res cannot blame Me; bu t the bla me rests on them alone. 20 And, O Adam, I have made the da y so that you and you r desce nda nts can work and toil in it. And I ha ve made the night for them to rest in it from their work ; and for the bea sts of the field to go forth by night a nd look for their food. 21 Bu t little of dark ness now r e ma ins, O Adam, and daylight will soon a ppear." CHAPT ER XIV The earliest p rophesy o f the co ming o f Christ. 1 T hen Adam said to God: "O Lord, tak e You my sou l, and let me not see this gloom any more; or remove me to some place where there is no da rk ness." 2 Bu t God the Lord said to Adam, "Indeed I say to you , this dark ne ss will pa ss fro m you , every day I have determined for you , u ntil the fu lfillment of My covenant; when I will sa ve you and bring you back a ga in into the garden, into the hou se of light you long for, in which there is no dark ness*. I will bring you to it in the k ingdom of heaven." 3 Aga in said God to Adam, "All this misery that you have been made to tak e on yourself becau se of you r tra nsgression, will not free you from the ha nd of Satan, and will not save you . 4 Bu t I will. When I shall come down from heaven, and shall become flesh o f y ou r descendants, and tak e on Myself the infirmity from which you su ffer, then the dark ness tha t covered you in this cave shall cover Me in the grave, when I am in the flesh o f you r descen dants. 5 And I, who am withou t y ears,
shall be su bject to the reck oning of years, of times, of months, and of days, and I shall be reck oned as one of the sons of men, in order to save you ." 6 And God ceased to commu ne with Adam. * Reference: John 12 :46 CHAPT ER XV Ada m and Eve grieve o ver the su ffe rin g of God to save them fro m their sins. 1 T hen Adam and Eve cried and sorrowed by reason of God 's word to them, that they sh ou ld not retu rn to the garden u ntil the fu lfillment of the days decreed on them; bu t mos tly becau se God had told t hem that He shou ld su ffer for their salvation. CHAPT ER XVI The first sun rise. Ad am an d Eve th ink it is a fire co min g to bu rn them. 1 After this, Adam and Eve conti nu ed to stand in the cave, praying and crying, u ntil the morning dawned on them. 2 And when they saw the light r etu rned to them, they retrained from fear, and strengthened their hearts. 3 T hen Adam began to come ou t of the cave. And when he came to the mou th of it, and stood and turned his face to wards the east, and saw the su nrise in glowing rays, and felt the heat thereof on his body, he was afraid of it, and thou ght in his heart that this flame came forth to plagu e him. 4 He then cried and beat his chest, then he fell on the grou nd on his face and made his requ est, saying: 5 "O Lord, plagu e me not, neither consu me me, nor yet tak e away my
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life from the earth." 6 For he thou ght the su n was God. 7 Becau se while he was in the ga rden a nd heard the voice of God and the sou nd He made in the garden, a nd feared Him, Adam never saw the brilliant light of the su n, neither did its flaming heat tou ch his body. 8 T herefore he was afraid of the su n when flaming rays o f it reached him. He thou ght God meant to pla gu e him therewith all the days He ha d decreed for him. 9 For Adam also said in his thou ghts, a s God did not plagu e u s with da rk ness, behold, He has cau sed this su n to rise and to plagu e u s with bu rning heat. 10 Bu t while he was think ing lik e this in his heart, the Word of God ca me to him and said: 11 "O Adam, get u p on you r fee t. T his su n is not God; but it has been crea ted to give light by day, of which I spok e to you in the cave sa ying, 'that the dawn wou ld come, a nd there wou ld be light by day.' 12 Bu t I am God who co m forted you in the night." 13 And God ceased to commu ne with Adam. CHAPT ER XVII The CHAPTER O f the S erpent. 1 T he Adam and Eve came ou t at the mou th of the cave, and went t owa rds the garden. 2 But as they went near it, before the western gate, from which Satan ca me when he deceiv ed Adam and Eve, they fou nd the serpent that beca me Satan coming at the gate, and sorrowfu lly licking the du st, and wiggling on its breast on the grou nd, by reason of the cu rse that fell on it from God.
3 And whereas before the serpent was the mo st exalted of all beasts, now it was changed and beco me slippery, and the meanest of them all, and it crept on its breast a nd went on its belly. 4 And whereas it was the fairest of all beasts, it had been changed, and was become the u gliest of them all. Instead of feeding on the b est foo d, now it tu rned to eat the du st. I nstead of living, as before, in the best places, now it lived in the du st. 5 And, whereas it had been the most b eau tifu l of all beasts, all of which stood du mb at its beau ty, it was now abhorred of them. 6 And, again, whereas it lived in one beau tifu l home, to which all other animals came from elsewhere; and where it drank, they drank also of the same; no w, after it had b ecome ven omou s, by reason of God's cu rse, all beasts fled from its ho me, and wou ld not drink of the water it drank ; bu t fled from it. CHAPT ER XVIII The mo rta l co mba t with the serpen t. 1 When the accu rsed serpent saw Adam and Eve, it swelled its h ead, stood on its tail, and with eyes blood- red, acted lik e it wou ld kill them. 2 It made straight for Eve, and ran after her; while Adam standing by, cried becau se he had no stick in his hand with which to hit the se rpent, and did not k now how to pu t it to death. 3 Bu t with a heart burning for Eve, Adam approached the se rpent, and held it by the tail; when it turned towards him and said to him: 4 "O Adam, becau se of you and of Eve, I am slippery, and go on my
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belly." T hen with its great strength, it threw down Adam and Eve and squ eezed them, and tried to k ill them. 5 Bu t God sent an angel who threw the serpent away from them, and ra ised them u p. 6 T hen the Word of God came to the serpent, and said to it, "T he first time I made you slick , and made you to go on you r belly; bu t I did not deprive you of speech. 7 T his time, however, you will be mu te, and you and you r race will spea k no more; becau se, the first time My creatures were ru ined b eca u se of you , and this time you tried to k ill them." 8 T hen the serpent was stru ck mu te, a nd wa s no longer able to speak . 9 And a wind blew down from he a ven by the command of God and ca rried away the serpent from Adam a nd Eve, and threw it on the se a shore wh ere it landed in India . CHAPT ER XIX Bea sts made su b ject to Adam. 1 Bu t Adam and Eve cried before God. And Adam said to Him: 2 "O Lord, when I was in the cave, I sa id this to you , my Lord, the bea sts of the field wou ld rise and devou r me, and cut off my life from the ea rth." 3 T hen Adam, becau se of what had ha ppened to him, beat his chest and fell on the grou nd lik e a corpse. T hen the Word of God came to him, who ra ised him, and said to him, 4 "O Adam, not one of these beasts will be able to hu rt you; b ecau se I ha ve made the beasts and other moving things come to you in the ca ve. I did not let the serpent co me with them becau se it might have ri s-
en against you and made you tre mble; and the fear of it shou ld fall i nto you r hearts. 5 For I k new that the accu rsed one is wick ed; therefore I wou ld not let it come near you with the other beasts. 6 Bu t now strengthen you r heart and fear not. I am with you to the end of the days I have determined on you ." CHAPT ER XX Ada m wishes to protect Eve. 1 T hen Adam cried and said, "O God, tak e u s away to some other place, where the serp ent can not come near u s again, and rise against u s. For fear that it might fin d You r handmaid Eve alone and k ill her; for its eyes are hideou s and evil." 2 Bu t God said to Adam and Eve, "From now on, don't be afraid, I will not let it come near you ; I ha ve driven it away from you , from this mou ntain; neither will I leave in it the ability to hurt you ." 3 T hen Adam and Eve worshipped before God and gave Him thank s, and praised Him for having del ivered them fro m death. CHAPT ER XXI Ada m and Eve a ttemp t su icide. 1 T hen Adam and Eve went in search of the garden. 2 And the heat beat lik e a flame on their faces; and they sweated from the heat, and cried b efore the Lord. 3 Bu t the place where they cried was close to a high mou ntain, facing the western gate of the garden. 4 T hen Adam threw himself down from the top of that mou ntai n; his face was torn and his flesh was ripped; he lost a lot of blood and
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wa s close to death. 5 Mea nwhile Eve r emained standing on the mou ntain crying over him, thu s lying. 6 And she said, "I don't wi sh to live a fter him; for all that he did to hi mself wa s throu gh me." 7 T hen she threw herself after him; a nd wa s torn and ripped by ston es; a nd remained lying as dead. 8 But the mercifu l God, who look s over His creatu res, look ed at Adam a nd 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 brou ght on you rself, will have no a ffect a ga inst My rule, neither will it alter the covenant of the 5 ,500 years." CHAPT ER XXII Ada m in a g racio us mood . 1 T hen Adam said to God, "I dry u p in the heat, I am faint from walk ing, a nd I don't want to be in this world. And I don't k now when You will tak e me ou t of it to rest." 2 T hen the Lord God said to him, "O Adam, it cannot be now, not u ntil you have ended you r days. T hen sha ll I bring you ou t of this miser a ble la nd." 3 And Adam said to God, "While I wa s in the garden I k new neither hea t, nor langu or, neither moving a bou t, nor trembling, nor fear; bu t now since I came to this land, all this a ffliction has come ov er me. 4 T hen God said to Adam, "So long a s you were k eeping My comman dment, My light and My grace rested on you . Bu t when you tran sgressed My commandment, sorrow and m isery ca me to you in this land." 5 And Adam cried and said, "O
Lord, do not cu t me o ff for this, n e ither pu nish me with heavy plagu es, nor yet repay me according to my sin; for we, of our own will, tran sgressed You r commandment, and i gnored You r law, and tried to become gods lik e you , when Satan the en emy deceiv ed u s." 6 T hen God said again to Adam, "Becau se you have endu red fear a nd trembling in this land, la ngu or and su ffering, treading and walk ing abou t, going on this mou ntain, and dying from it, I will tak e all this on Myself in order to save you ." CHAPT ER XXIII Ada m and Eve streng th en th emselves and make th e first alta r ever bu ilt. 1 T hen Adam cried more and said, "O God, have mercy on me, so far as to tak e on you rself, that which I will do." 2 Bu t God withdrew His Word from Adam and Eve. 3 T hen Adam and Eve stoo d on their feet; and Adam said to Eve , "Strengthen you rself, and I also will strengthen myself." And she stren g thened hersel f, as Adam told her. 4 T hen Adam and Eve took stones and placed them in the shape of an altar; and they took leaves from the trees ou tside the garden, with which they wiped, from the face o f the rock , the blood they had spilled. 5 Bu t that which had dropped on the sand, they took t ogether with the du st with which it was mingled and offered it on the a ltar as an offering to God. 6 T hen Adam and Eve stood u nder the Altar and cried, thu s praying to God, "Forgive u s ou r trespass* and ou r sin, and look at u s with T hine eye of mercy. For when we were in
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the garden ou r praises and ou r hymns went u p before you withou t cea sing. 7 Bu t when we came into this stra nge land, pu r e praise was not longer ours, nor righ teou s prayer, nor u nderstanding hearts, nor sweet thou ghts, nor ju st cou nsels, nor long discernment, nor u pright feelings, neither is ou r bright natu re left u s. Bu t ou r body is changed from the lik eness in which it was at first, when we were created. 8 Yet now look at ou r blood which is offered on th ese stones, and a ccept it at our hands, lik e the praise we u sed to sing to you at first, when in the garden." 9 And Adam began to mak e more requ ests of God. * ORIGINAL O F THE LORD'S PRAYER SAID TO BE USED ABOUT 1 50 YEARS BEFORE OUR LORD: Ou r Father, Who a rt in Heaven, be graciou s u nto u s, O Lord our God, hallowed be Your Name, and let the reme m bra nce of T hee be glorified Heaven a bove and u pon earth here below. Let Your k i ngdom reign over u s now a nd forever. T he Holy Men of old sa id remit and forgive u nto all men wha tsoever they have done u nto me. And lead u s not into temptation, bu t deliver u s from the evil thing; for T hine is the k ingdom and T hou shalt reign in glory forever and forevermore, AMEN. CHAPT ER XXIV A v iv id prophecy of the life and de ath of Christ. 1 T hen the mercifu l God, good and lover of men, look ed at Adam and Eve, a nd at their blood, which they ha d held u p as an offering to Him; withou t an order from Hi m for so
doing. But He wondered at them; and accepted their offerings. 2 And God sent from His presence a bright fire, that consu med their o ffering. 3 He smelled the sweet savor of their offering, and showed them mercy. 4 T hen came the Word of God to Adam, and said to him, "O Adam, as you have shed you r blood, so will I shed My o wn bloo d wh en I beco me flesh o f you r descendants; and as you died, O Adam, so also will I die. And as you bu ilt an altar, so a lso will I mak e for you an altar of the earth; and as you offered you r blood on it, so also will I offer My blood on an altar on the earth. 5 And as you su ed for forgiveness throu gh that blood, so also will I mak e My blood forgiveness of sins, and erase transgressions in it. 6 And now, behold, I have accepted you r offering, O Adam, bu t the da ys of the covenant in which I ha ve bou nd you are not fu lfilled. When they are fu lfilled, then will I bring you back into the garden. 7 Now, therefore, strengthen you r heart; and when sorrow comes over you , mak e Me an offering, and I will be favorable to you ." CHAPT ER XXV God represented as mercifu l and lov ing . The esta blishing o f wo rsh ip . 1 Bu t God k new that Adam b elieved he shou ld frequ ently kill himself and mak e an offering to Him of his blood. 2 T herefor e He said to him, "O Adam, don't ever k ill you rself lik e this again, by throwing you rself down fro m that mou ntain." 3 But Adam said to God, "I was
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think ing to pu t an end to myself at once, for having transgressed You r comma ndments, and for my having come ou t of the beau tifu l garden; a nd for the bright light of which You ha ve deprived me; and for the pra ises which pou red forth from my mou th withou t cea sing, and for the light that covered me. 4 Yet of Your goodness, O God, do not get rid of me altogether; bu t be fa vora ble to me every time I die, a nd bring me to life. 5 And thereby it will be made k nown that You are a merciful God, who does not want anyone to perish; who loves not that one sh ou ld fall; a nd who does not condemn a ny one cru elly, badly, and by whole destru ction." 6 T hen Adam remained silent. 7 And the Word of God came to him, a nd blessed him, and co m forted him, and covenanted with him, that He would save him at the end of the days det ermined for him. 8 T his, then, was the first o ffe ring Ada m made to God; and so it b e ca me his cu stom to do. CHAPT ER XXVI A be au tifu l prop hecy o f eterna l life and jo y (v.15 ). The fa ll o f n igh t. 1 T hen Adam took Eve, and they bega n to retu rn to the Cave of Trea su res where they lived. Bu t when they got closer to it and saw it from a distance, heavy sorrow fell on Ada m and Eve when they look ed at it. 2 T hen Adam said to Eve, "When we were on the mou ntain we were comforted by the Word of God that conversed with u s; and the light that ca me from the east sho wn over u s. 3 But now the Word of God is hi d-
den from u s; and the light that shown over u s is so changed as to disappear, and let dark ness and so rrow come ov er u s. 4 And we are forced to enter this cave which is lik e a prison, in which dark ness cov ers u s, so that we are sepa rated 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 fu ll of sorrow. 6 And they prayed to God to bring the su n to them, t o shine on th em, so that dark ness wou ld not r etu rn to them, and that they wou ldn't have to go u nder this covering of rock . And they wish ed to die rather than see the dark ness. 7 T hen God look ed at Adam a nd Eve and at their great sorrow, and at all they had done with a fervent heart, on accou nt of all the trou ble they were in, instead o f their former well-bein g, and on accou nt of all the misery that came over them in a strange land. 8 T herefore God was not angry with them; nor impatient with them; bu t he was patient and forbearing towards them, as towards the chil dren He had cr eated. 9 T hen came the Word of God to Adam, and said to him, "Adam, as for the su n, if I were to tak e it and bring it to you , days, hours, years and months wou ld all stop, and the covenant I have made with you , wou ld never be fu lfilled. 10 But then you would be deserted and stu ck in a perpetual plagu e, and you wou ld never be saved. 11 Yes, rather, bear long and calm you r sou l while you live night and
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da y; u ntil the fu lfillment of the da ys, a nd the time of My covenant is come. 12 T hen shall I come and save you , O Ada m, for I do not wish that you be a fflicted. 13 And when I look at all the good things in which you lived, and why you ca me ou t of them, then wou ld I willingly show you mercy. 14 Bu t I cannot alter the covenant tha t ha s gone ou t of My mou th; ot herwise I wou ld have brou ght you ba ck into the garden. 15 When, however, the covenant is fu lfilled, then shall I show you and you r descendants mercy, and bring you into a land of gladness, where there is neither sorrow nor su ffering; bu t abiding joy and gladness, a nd light that never fails, and prai ses tha t never cease; and a beau tifu l ga rden that shall never pass away." 16 And God said again to Adam, "Be pa tient and enter the cave, for the da rk ness, o f which you were a fra id, shall only be twelve hou rs long; and when ended, light shall come u p." 17 T hen when Adam heard these words from God, he and Eve wo rshipped before Him, and their hearts were co mforted. T hey r eturned into the ca ve after their cu stom, while tea rs flowed from th eir eyes, sorrow a nd wa iling came from their hearts, a nd they wished their sou l wou ld lea ve their body. 18 And Adam and Eve stood pra ying u ntil the dark ness of night came over them, and Adam was hid from Eve, a nd she from him. 19 And they r emained standing in pra yer. CHAPT ER XXVII
The secon d temp ting o f Ada m and Eve. The devil takes on the fo rm o f a be gu iling ligh t. 1 When Satan, the hater of all good, saw h ow th ey continu ed in prayer, and how God co mmu ned with them, and comforted them, and how He had accepted their offering Satan made an apparition. 2 He began with transforming his hosts; in hi s hands was a flashing fire, and they were in a great light. 3 He then placed his throne nea r the mou th of the cave becau se he cou ld not enter into it by reason of their prayers. And he sh ed light into the cave, u ntil 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 t he light, he shou ld think within himself that it was a heavenly light, and that Satan's hosts were a ngels; and that God had sent them to watch at the cave, and to give him light in the dark ness. 5 So that when Adam came ou t of the cave and saw them, and Adam and Eve bowed to Satan, then he wou ld overcome Adam thereby, and a second time hu mble hi m before God. 6 When, therefore, Adam and Eve saw the light, fancying it was real, they strengthened th eir hearts; yet, as they were trembling, Adam said to Eve: 7 "Look at that great light, and at those many so ngs o f praise, and at that host standing ou tside who won't come into ou r cave. Why don't they tell u s 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?
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8 If they were fro m God, they wou ld come into the cave with u s, a nd wou ld tell u s why they were sent." 9 T hen Adam stood u p and prayed to God with a burning heart, and sa id: 10 "O Lord, is there in the world a nother god besides You , who crea ted angels and filled them with light, a nd sent them to k eep u s, who wou ld come with them? 11 Bu t, look , we see these ho sts tha t stand at the mou th of the cave; they a re in a great light; they sing lou d praises. If they are of so me other god than You , tell me; and if they a re sent by you , inform me of the rea son for which You have sent them." 12 No sooner had Adam said this, tha n a n angel from God a ppeared to him in the cave, who said to him, "O Ada m, fear not. T his is Satan and his host s; he wishes to d e ceive you a s he deceived you at first. For the first time, he was hidd en in th e se rpent; bu t this time he is come to you in the lik eness of an angel of light; in order that, when you wo rshipped him, he might enslave you , in the very presence of God." 13 T hen the angel went from Adam a nd seized Satan at the opening of the ca ve, and stripped him o f the pretense he had assu med, and brou ght him in his own hideou s form to Adam and Eve; who were a fra id of him when they saw him. 14 And the angel said to Adam, "T his hideou s form has been his e v er since God made hi m fall from hea ven. He cou ld not have come nea r you in it; he therefore tran sformed hi msel f into an angel of light."
15 T hen the angel drove a way Sa tan and his hosts from Adam a nd Eve, and said to them, "Fear not; God who created you , will stren gthen you ." 16 And the angel left them. 17 Bu t Adam and Eve r emained standing in the cave; no co n solation came to them; they divided in th eir thou ghts. 18 And when it was morning they prayed; and then went ou t to seek the garden. For their hearts were towards it, and they cou ld get no consolation for having left it. CHAPT ER XXVIII The Devil pretends to lead Ada m and Eve to th e wa ter to bathe. 1 Bu t when the crafty Satan saw them, that they were going to the garden, he gathered together his host, and came in appearance on a clou d, intent on deceiving them. 2 But when Adam and Eve saw him thu s in a vision, they thou ght they were a ngels of God come to co mfort them abou t having left the garden, or to bring them back again into it. 3 And Adam spread his hands b e fore God, beseeching Him to mak e him u nderstand what they were. 4 T hen Satan, the hater of all good, said to Adam, "O Adam, I am an a ngel of the great God; and, behold the hosts that su rrou nd me. 5 God has sent u s to tak e you a nd bring you to the border o f the ga rden northwards; to the shore of the clear sea, and bathe you and Eve in it, and raise you to your fo rmer gladness, that you retu rn again to the garden." 6 T hese words sank into the heart of Adam and Eve. 7 Yet God withheld His Word from
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Ada m, and did not mak e him u nde rsta nd at once, bu t waited to see his strength; whether he wou ld be ove rcome a s Eve was when in the ga rden, or whether he wou ld prevail. 8 T hen Satan called to Adam and Eve, a nd said, "Behold, we go to the sea of water," and they began to go. 9 And Adam and Eve follo wed them a t some little distance. 10 But when they came to the mou nta in to the north of the gar den, a very high mou ntain, withou t any steps to the top of it, the Devil drew nea r to Adam and Eve, and made them go u p to the top in reality, and not in a vision; wishing, as he did, to throw them down and k ill them, a nd to wipe off their name from the ea rth; so that this earth shou ld r ema in to him and his hosts alone. CHAPT ER XXIX God te lls Ada m o f the Devil's pu rpo se . (v.4 ). 1 But when the mercifu l God saw tha t Satan wished to k ill Adam with his ma ny trick s, and saw that Adam wa s meek and withou t gui le, God spok e to Satan in a lou d voice, and cu rsed him. 2 T hen he and his hosts fled, and Ada m and Eve remained standing on the top of the mou ntain, from there they saw belo w them the wide world, high above whi ch they were. Bu t they saw none of the host which time a fter time were by them. 3 T hey cried, both Adam and Eve, before God, and begged for forgiv e ness o f Him. 4 T hen came the Word from God to Ada m, and said to him, "Know you a nd u nderstand concerning this Sa ta n, tha t he seek s to d eceive you and you r descendants after you ."
5 And Adam cried before the Lord God, and begged and prayed to Him to give him something from the ga rden, as a tok en to him, wherein to be comforted. 6 And God considered Adam's thou ght, and sent the angel Michael as far a s the sea that reaches India, to tak e from there golden rods and bring them to Adam. 7 T his did God in His wisdom in order that these golden rods, being with Adam in the cave, shou ld shine forth with light in the night arou nd him, and pu t an end to his fear of the dark ness. 8 T hen the angel Michael went down by God's order, took golden rods, as God had commanded him, and brou ght them to God. CHAPT ER XXX Ada m receives th e first wo rldly goo ds. 1 After these things, God co mmanded the angel Gabriel to go down to th e garden, and say to the cheru b who k ept it, "Behold, God has com manded me to come into the garden, and to tak e from it sweet smelling incen se, and give it to Adam." 2 T hen the angel Gabriel went down by God 's order to the garden, and told the cheru b as God had commanded hi m. 3 T he cheru b then said, "Well." And Gabriel went in and took the i ncense. 4 T hen God commanded his angel Raphael to go down to the ga rden, and speak to the cheru b abou t some myrrh, to give to Adam. 5 And the angel Ra phael went down and told the cheru b as God had commanded him, and the cheru b
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sa id, "Well." T hen Raphael went in a nd took the myrrh. 6 T he golden rods were fro m the India n sea, where there are preciou s stones. T he incense was from the ea stern border of the ga rden; and the myrrh from the western border, from where bitterness came over Ada m. 7 And the angels brou ght these things to God, by the Tree of Life, in the garden. 8 T hen God said to the angels, "Dip them in the spring o f water; then tak e them and sprink le 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 comma nded th em, and they gave all those thing s to Adam and Eve on the top of the mou ntain on which S a tan ha d pla ced them, when he sou ght to ma k e a n end of them. 10 And when Adam saw the golden rods, the incen se and the myrrh, he wa s rejoiced and cried becau se he thou ght that the gold was a tok en of the k ingdom from where he had come, that the incense wa s a tok en of the bright light which had been tak en from him, and that the myrrh wa s a tok en of the sorrow in which he wa s. CHAPT ER XXXI The y make themselves mo re co mfortab le in the Cave o f Trea sures on the th ird da y. 1 After these things God said to Ada m, "You ask ed Me for something from the garden, to be comforted therewith, and I have given you these three tok ens as a con solation to you ; that you tru st in Me and in My covenant with you .
2 For I will come and save you ; and k ings shall bring me when i n the flesh, gold, incen se and myrrh; gold as a tok en of My k ingdom; incense as a tok en of My divi nity; a nd myrrh as a tok en of My su ffering and of My death. 3 Bu t, O Adam, pu t 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 you r sorrow." 4 When Adam heard these words from God, he worshipp ed before Him. He and Eve worshipp ed Him and gave Him thank s, becau se He had dealt mercifully with them. 5 T hen God commanded the three angels, Michael, Gabriel and Ra phael, each to bring what he had brou ght, and give it to Adam. And they did so, one by on e. 6 And God commanded Su riyel and Salathiel to bear u p Adam and Eve, and bring them down from the top of the hig h mou ntain, and to ta k e them to the Cave of Treasu res. 7 T here they laid the gold on the sou th side o f the cave, the in cen se on the eastern sid e, and the myrrh on the western side. For the mou th of the cave was on the north side. 8 T he a ngels then comforted Adam and Eve, and departed. 9 T he gold was seventy rod s*; the incense, t welve pou nds; and the myrrh, three pou nds. 10 T hese remained by Adam in the Cave of Treasures**. 11 God gave these three things to Adam on the third day after he had come ou t of the ga rden, in tok en of the three days the Lord shou ld r emain in the heart of the earth. 12 And these three things, as they
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continu ed with Adam in the cave, ga ve him light by night; and by day they gave him a little relief from his sorrow. * A rod is a u nit of linear mea su re equivalent to 5 .5 yards and a lso a u nit of area mea su re equ iva lent to 30 .25 square yards. In this ca se, the word rod simply means a k ind of long, thin piece of gold o f u nspecified size and weight. ** T his is the original t ext which appears to conta in embedded editorial content: "T hese remained by Adam in the Hou se of Treasu res; therefore was it ca lled 'of co ncealment.' Bu t other interpreters say it was called the 'Ca ve of Treasures,' by reason of the bodies of righteou s men that were in it. CHAPT ER XXXII Ada m and Eve go into the wa ter to p ray. 1 And Adam and Eve remained in the Ca ve of Treasu res u ntil the s eventh day; they neither ate of the fru it the earth, nor drank water. 2 And when it dawned on th e eighth da y, Adam said to Eve, "O Eve, we pra yed God to give u s something from the garden, and He sent his a ngels who brou ght u s what we had desired. 3 Bu t now, get u p, let u s go to the sea of water we saw at first, and let u s sta nd in it, praying that God will a ga in be favorable to u s and tak e u s ba ck to the garden; or give u s som ething; or that He will give u s co mfort in some other land than this in which we are." 4 T hen Adam and Eve came ou t of the ca ve, went and stood on the bo rder of the sea in which they had b efore thrown themselv es, and Adam sa id to Eve:
5 Come, go down into this place, and come not ou t of it u ntil the end of thirty days, when I shall come to you . And pray to God with bu rning heart and a sweet voice, to forgive u s. 6 And I will go to another place, and go down into it, and do lik e you ." 7 T hen Eve went down into the wa ter, as Adam had commanded her. Adam also went down into the w a ter; and they stood praying; and b esou ght the Lord to forgive them their offense, and to r estore them to their former state. 8 And they stood lik e that praying, u ntil the end of the thirty -five days. CHAPT ER XXXIII Sa tan fa lsely p romises the "brigh t ligh t." 1 Bu t Satan, the hater of all good, sou ght them in the cave, but fou nd them not, althou gh he searched dil igently for them. 2 Bu t he fou nd them standing in the water praying and thou ght within himself, " Adam and Eve are stan ding lik e that in that water praying to God to forgive them their transgre ssion, and to restore them to th eir former state, and to tak e them from u nder my hand. 3 Bu t I will deceive them so that they shall come ou t of th e water, and not fu lfil their vow." 4 T hen the hater of all good, went not to Adam, bu t he went to Eve, and took the form of an angel of God, praising and rejoicing, a n d said to her: 5 "Peace be to you ! Be glad and r ejoice! God is favorable to you , and He sent me to Adam. I have brou ght him the glad tidings of salvation,
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a nd of his being filled with bright light a s he was at first. 6 And Adam, in his joy for hi s re stora tion, has sent me to you , that you come to me, in order that I crown you with light lik e him. 7 And he said to me, 'Speak to Eve; if she does not come with you , tell her of the sig n wh en we were on the top of th e mou ntain; how God sent his a ngels who took u s and brou ght u s to the Cave of Trea su res; and laid the gold on th e sou thern side; i n cense, 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 think ing Satan's appearance was rea l, she came ou t of the sea. 9 He went before, and she followed him u ntil they came to Adam. T hen Sa ta n hid himself from her, and she sa w him no more. 10 She then came and stoo d before Ada m, who was standing by the w a ter a nd rejoicing in God's forgive ness. 11 And as she called to him, he tu rned arou nd, fou nd her there and cried when he saw her, and beat his chest; and from the bitte rness o f his grief, he sank into the wa ter. 12 Bu t God look ed at him and at his misery, and at his being abou t to brea the his last. And the Word of God came from heaven, raised him ou t of the water, and said to him, "Go u p the high bank to Eve." And when he came u p to Eve he said to her, "Who told you to come here?" 13 T hen she told him the discou rse of the angel who had appeared to her a nd had given her a sign. 14 Bu t Adam grieved, and gave her to k now it was Satan. He then took
her and they both retu rned to the cave. 15 T hese things happened to them the second time they went do wn to the water, seven da ys after their coming ou t of the garden. 16 T hey fasted in the water thirty five days; altogether forty -two days since they had left the garden. CHAPT ER XXXIV Ada m reca lls the creatio n o f Eve. He eloquen tly app ea ls for food and d rink. 1 And on the morning o f the fortythird day, they came ou t of the cave, sorrowfu l and crying. T heir bodies were lean, and they were parched from hu nger and thirst, from fasting and praying, and from their heavy sorrow on accou nt of th eir tran sgression. 2 And when they had come ou t of the cave they went u p the mou ntain to the west of th e garden. 3 T here they stood and prayed and besou ght God to grant them fo rgiveness of their sins. 4 And after their prayers Adam b egan to beg God, sa ying, "O my Lord, my God, and my Cr eator, You commanded the fou r elements* to be gathered together, and they were g a thered together by T hine order. 5 T hen You spread Your hand a nd created me ou t of one el ement, that of du st o f the earth; and You brou ght me into the garden at the third hour, on a Friday, and i nformed me of it in the cave. 6 T hen, at first, I k new neither night nor day, for I had a bright na tu re; neither did the light in which I lived ever leave me to k now night or day. 7 T hen, again, O Lord, in that third
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hou r in which You created me, You brou ght to me all beasts, and lions, a nd ostriches, and fo wls of th e air, a nd a ll things that move in the ea rth, which You had created at the first hou r before me of the Friday. 8 And You r will was that I shou ld na me them all, one by one, with a su ita ble name. Bu t You gave me u ndersta nding and k nowledge, and a pu re heart and a right mind from you , that I shou ld name them after T hine own mind regarding the na ming of them. 9 O God, You made them obedient to me, and ordered that not one of them break from my sway, accor ding to You r commandment, and to the dominion which You had given me over them. Bu t now they are all estra nged from me. 10 T hen it was in that third hou r of Frida y, in which You created me, a nd commanded me con cerning th e tree, to which I was neither to go nea r, nor to eat thereof; for You said to me in the garden, 'Wh en you eat of it, of death you shall die.' 11 And if You had pu nished me as You sa id, with death, I shou ld have died that very moment. 12 Moreover, when You comma nded me regarding the tree, I was neither to approach nor to eat th ereof, Eve was not with me; You had not yet created her, neither had You yet tak en her ou t of my side; nor ha d she y et heard this order from you . 13 T hen, at the end of the thir d hou r of that Friday, O Lord, You ca u sed a slu mber and a sleep to come over me, and I slept, and was overwhelmed in sleep. 14 T hen You drew a rib ou t of my side, a nd created it after my own
lik eness and image. T hen I awok e; and when I saw her and k new w ho she was, I said, 'T his is bone of my bones, and flesh o f my flesh; from now on she shall be called woman.' 15 It was of Your good will, O God, that You brou ght a slu mber in a sleep o ver me, and that You i mmediately brou ght Eve ou t of my side, u ntil she was ou t, so that I did not see ho w sh e was made; neither cou ld I witness, O my Lord, ho w awfu l and great are You r goodness and glory. 16 And of You r goodwill, O Lord, You made u s both with bodies of a bright nature, and You made u s two, one; and You ga ve u s Your grace, and filled u s with praises of the H oly Spirit; that we shou ld be neither hu ngry nor thirsty, nor k now what sorrow is, nor yet faintness of heart; neither su ffering, fasting nor wear iness. 17 Bu t now, O God, since we tran sgressed You r commandment and brok e You r law, You have brou ght u s out into a strange land, and have cau sed su ffering, and faintness, hu nger and thirst to come over u s. 18 Now, therefore, O God, we pray you , give u s something to eat from the garden, to satisfy ou r hu nger with it; and something wherewith to qu ench ou r thirst. 19 For, behold, many days, O God, we have tasted nothing and dru nk nothing, and ou r flesh is dried u p, and our strength is wasted, and sleep is g one from ou r eyes from faintness and crying. 20 T hen, O God, we dare not gather anything from the fru it of trees, from fear of you . For when we transgress at first You spared u s a nd did not mak e u s die.
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21 Bu t now, we thou ght in ou r hea rts, if we eat of the fru it of the trees, withou t God's order, He wil l destroy u s this time, and will wipe u s off from the face o f the earth. 22 And if we drink of this water, withou t God's order, He will mak e a n end of u s and root u s u p at once. 23 Now, therefore, O God, that I a m come to this place with Eve, we beg You to give u s some fru it from the ga rden, that we may be satisfied with it. 24 For we desire the fru it that is on the ea rth, and all else that we lack in it." * T he medieval belief that there were only fou r elements - fire, ea rth, air, and water - was widely a ccepted u ntil abou t 1500 AD when the cu rrent atomic theory was in its infa ncy. CHAPT ER XXXV God 's reply. 1 T hen God look ed again at Adam a nd his crying and groaning, and the Word of God came to hi m, and said to him: 2 "O Adam, when you were in My ga rden, you k new neither eating nor drink ing; neither faintness nor su ffering; neither leanness of flesh, nor cha nge; neither did sleep depart from thine eyes. Bu t since you tra nsgressed, and came into this stra nge land, all these trials are come ov er you ." CHAPT ER XXXVI Fig s. 1 T hen God commanded the cheru b, who k ept the gate of th e garden with a sword of fire in his hand, to tak e some o f the fru it of the fig -tree, and to give it to Adam. 2 T he cheru b obeyed the command
of the Lord God, and went in to the garden and brou ght two figs on t wo twigs, each fig hanging to its leaf; they were fro m two o f the trees among which Adam and Eve hid themselv es when God went to walk in the garden, and the Word o f God came to Adam and Eve and said to them, "Adam, Adam, where are you ?" 3 And Adam a nswered, "O God, here I am. When I heard the sou nd of You and You r voice, I hid myself, becau se I am nak ed." 4 T hen the cheru b took two figs and brou ght them to Adam and Eve. Bu t he threw them to them from a distance; for they might not come near the cheru b by reason of their flesh, that cou ld not co me n ear the fire. 5 At first, angels trembled at the presence of Adam and were afraid of him. Bu t now Adam trembled before the angels and was afraid of them. 6 T hen Adam came closer and took one fig, and Eve also came in tu rn and took the other. 7 And as they took them u p in their hands, they look ed at them, and k new they were from the trees among which they had hi dden them selves. CHAPT ER XXXVII Fo rty-three da ys of penan ce d o no t redeem one ho ur o f sin (v.6 ). 1 T hen Adam said to Eve, "Do you not see these figs and their leaves, with which we covered ou rselves when we were stripped of ou r bright natu re? Bu t now, we do not k now what misery and su ffering may co me over u s from eating them. 2 Now, therefore, O Eve, let u s r estrain ou rselves and not eat of them,
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you a nd I; and let u s ask God to give u s of the fru it of the Tree of Life." 3 T hu s did Adam and Eve restrain themselv es, and did not eat of these figs. 4 But Adam began to pray to God a nd to beseech Him to give him o f the fru it of the Tree of Life, saying thu s: "O God, when we transgressed Your commandment at the sixth hou r of Friday, we were stripped of the bright natu re we had, a nd did not continu e in the garde n after ou r tra nsgression, more than three hou rs. 5 Bu t in the evening You made u s come ou t of it. O God, we tran sgressed against You one hour, and a ll these trials and so rrows have come ov er u s u ntil this day. 6 And those days together with this the forty-third day, do not r edeem tha t one hou r in which we tran sgressed! 7 O God, look at u s with an eye of pity, a nd do not avenge u s according to ou r transgression of You r co mma ndment, in You r presence. 8 O God, give u s of the fru it of the Tree of Life, that we may ea t of it, a nd live, and turn not to see su ffe rings a nd other trou ble, in this earth; for You are God. 9 When we transgressed Your co mma ndment, You made u s come ou t of the ga rden, and sent a cheru b to k eep the Tree of Life, lest we shou ld ea t thereof, and live; and k now nothing of faintness after we tran sgressed. 10 But now, O Lord, behold, we ha ve endu red all these days, and ha ve borne su ffering s. Mak e these forty-three days an equ ivalent for the one h ou r in which we tran s-
gressed." CHAPT ER XXXVIII "Wh en 5 500 yea rs a re fulfilled . . . ." 1 After these things the Word o f God came to Adam, and said to him: 2 "O Adam, as to the fru it on the Tree of Life that you have ask ed for, I will not give it to you now, bu t o nly when the 5 500 years are fu lfilled. At that time I will give y ou fru it from the Tree of Life, and you will eat, and live forever, you , and Eve, and you r righteou s descen dants. 3 But these forty-three days cannot mak e amends for the hou r in which you transgressed My co mmandment. 4 O Adam, I gave you the fruit of the fig-tree to eat in which you hid you rself. Go and eat of it, you and Eve. 5 I will not deny you r requ est, ne ither will I disappoint you r hope; therefore, endu re u ntil the fulfil lment of the covenant I made with you ." 6 And God withdrew His Word from Adam. CHAPT ER XXXIX Ada m is cau tiou s but too la te. 1 T hen Adam returned to Eve, a nd said to her, "Get u p, and tak e a fig for you rself, and I will tak e another; and let u s go to our cave." 2 T hen Adam and Eve took each a fig and went to wards the cave; the time was abou t the setting of the su n; and their thou ghts made them long to eat of the fru it. 3 Bu t Adam said to Eve, "I am afraid to eat of this fig. I k now not what may come over me from it." 4 So Adam cried, and stood praying before God, saying, "Satisfy my hu nger, withou t my having to eat
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this fig; for after I have eaten it, wha t will it profit me? And what sha ll I desire and ask of you , O God, when it is gone?" 5 And he said again, "I am afraid to ea t of it; for I k now not what will befa ll me throu gh it." CHAPT ER XL The first Hu man hung er. 1 T hen the Word of God came to Ada m, and said to him, "O Adam, why didn't you have this dread, or this fa sting, or this care before now? And why didn 't you have thi s fea r before you transgressed? 2 But when you came to live in this stra nge land, your animal body cou ld not su rvive on earth withou t ea rthly food, to strengthen it and to restore its powers." 3 And God withdrew His Word for Ada m. CHAPT ER XLI The fir st Hu man th irst. 1 T hen Adam took the fig, and laid it on the golden rods. Eve also took her fig, and pu t it on the incense. 2 And the weight of each fig was tha t of a water-melon; for the fru it of the ga rden was mu ch larger than the fru it of this land*. 3 Bu t Adam and Eve remained sta nding and fasting the whole of tha t night, u ntil the mor ning da wned. 4 When the su n rose they were still pra ying, but after they had finished pra ying, Adam said to Eve: 5 "O Eve, come, let u s go to the border of the garden look ing sou th; to the place from wh ere the river flows, and is parted into four heads. T here we will pray to God, and ask Him to give u s some of th e Water of
Life to drink . 6 For God has not fed u s with the Tree of Life, in order that we may not live. T her efore, we will ask him to give u s so me o f the Water of Life, and to qu ench our thirst with it, rather than with a drink of water of this land." 7 When Eve heard these words from Adam, sh e agreed; and they b oth got u p and came to the sou thern b order of the garden, at the edge of the ri ver of wa ter a short distance from the garden. 8 And they stood and prayed before the Lord, and ask ed Him to look at them this once, to forgive them, and to grant them their requ est. 9 After this prayer from bo th o f them, Adam began to pray with his voice before God, and said; 10 "O Lord, when I was in the ga rden and saw the water that flowed from u nder the Tree of Life, my heart did not desire, neither did my body requ ire to drink of it; neither did I k now thirst, for I was living; and above that which I am now. 11 So that in order to live I did not requ ire 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 Li fe that I may drink of it and live. 13 Of Your mercy, O God, save me from these plagu es and trials, and bring me into another land di fferent from this, if You will not let me live in You r garden." * T his is su bsta ntiated by Genesis 3 :7 whereby the leaves of the fig tree were large enou gh that Adam and Eve could fa shion garments from them. CHAPT ER XLII
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A p romise o f th e Wa ter o f Life. The th ird prop hecy o f th e coming o f Christ. 1 T hen came the Word of God to Ada m, and said to him: 2 "O Adam, as to what you said, 'Bring me into a land where there is rest,' it is not a nother land than this, bu t it is the k ingdom of heaven where alone there is rest. 3 Bu t you can not mak e your e ntra nce into it at present; bu t only a fter you r ju dgment is past and fu lfilled. 4 T hen will I mak e you go u p into the k ingdom of heaven, you and you r righteou s descendants; and I will give you and them the rest you a sk for at present. 5 And if you said, 'Give me of the Wa ter of Life that I may drink and live' it cannot be t his day, bu t on the da y that I shall descend into hell, a nd break the gates of brass, a nd bruise in pieces th e k ingdoms o f iron. 6 T hen will I in mercy save you r sou l a nd the sou ls of the righteou s, to give them rest in My garden. And tha t shall be when the en d o f the world is come. 7 And, again, in regards to the Wa ter of Life you seek , it will not be gra nted you this day; but on the day tha t I shall shed My blood on you r hea d* in the land of Golgotha**. 8 For My blood shall be the Water of Life to you at that time, and not to ju st you alone, bu t to all you r desc endants who shall believe in Me ***; that it be to them for rest forever." 9 T he Lord said again to Adam, "O Ada m, wh en you were in the garden, these trials did not come to you . 10 Bu t since you transgressed My
commandment, all these su fferings have come over you . 11 Now, also, does you r flesh r equ ire food and drink ; drink then of that water that flows by you on the face of the earth. 12 T hen God withdrew His Word from Adam. 13 And Ada m and Eve worshipped the Lord, and r etu rned from the ri ver of water to the cave. It was noon day; and when they drew near to the cave, they saw a large fire by it. * T his phrase indicates that the bleeding will tak e place in an elevated position above the popu lace. T his is believed to be a reference to the cross wh ereby Christ bled profu sely above the people below. ** Golgo tha (goal-goth-u h) was the hill outside the walls of Jeru salem where Jesu s was cru cified. Its exact loca tion is not preci sely k nown, bu t the Chu rch of the Holy Sepu lcher is b elieved to have been constru cted on this hill. *** Referen ce: John 6 :25 and 7:38 CHAPT ER XLIII The Devil a ttempts arson . 1 T hen Adam and Eve were afraid, and stood still. And Adam said to Eve, "What is that fire by ou r cave? We have don e nothing in it to cau se this fire. 2 We neither have bread to ba k e therein, nor broth to cook there. As to this fire, we have never k nown anything lik e it, neither do we k now what to call it. 3 Bu t ever since God sent the ch eru b with a sword of fire that flashed and lightened in his hand, from fear of which we fell down and were lik e corpses, have we not seen the lik e. 4 Bu t now, O Eve, behold, this is
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the sa me fire that was in the ch eru b's hand, which God has sent to k eep the ca ve in which we live. 5 O Eve, it is becau se God is angry with u s, and will drive u s from it. 6 O Eve, we have again tran sgressed His commandment in that ca ve, so that He had sent this fire to bu rn arou nd it, and to prevent u s from going into it. 7 If this be really so, O Eve, where sha ll we live? And where shall we flee from before the face o f the Lord? Since, in regards to the ga rden, He will not let u s live in it, and He ha s deprived u s of the good things thereof; bu t He has placed u s in this cave, in which we have borne da rk ness, trials and har dships, u ntil a t la st we have fou nd comfort ther ein. 8 But now that He has brou ght u s ou t into another land, who k nows wha t may happen in it? And who k nows bu t that the dark ness of that la nd may be far great er than the da rk ness of this land? 9 Who k nows what may happen in tha t la nd by day or by night? And who k nows wh ether it will be far or nea r, O Eve? Where it will please God to pu t u s, may be far from the ga rden, O Eve? Or where God will prevent u s from beholding Him, be ca u se we have transgressed His comma ndment, and becau se we have ma de requ ests of Him at all times? 10 O Eve, if God will bring u s into a stra nge land other than this, in which we find consolation, it mu st be to pu t ou r sou ls to death, an d blot ou t ou r name from the face o f the ea rth. 11 O Eve, if we are fu rther ali ena ted from the garden and from God, where shall we find Him again,
and ask Him to give u s gold, i ncense, myrrh, and some fru it of the fig-tree? 12 Where shall we find Him, to comfort u s a second time? Where shall we find Him, that He may think of u s, as regards the covenant He has made on ou r b ehalf?" 13 T hen Adam said no more. And they k ept looking, He and Eve, t owards the cave, and at the fire that flared u p arou nd it. 14 Bu t that fire was from Satan. For he had gathered trees and dry grasses, and had carried and brou ght them to the cave, and had set fire to them, in order to consu me the ca ve and what was in it. 15 So that Adam and Eve shou ld be left in sorrow, and he shou ld cu t off their tru st in God, and mak e them deny Him. 16 But by the mercy of God he cou ld not burn the cave, for God sent His angel arou nd the cave to gu ard it from su ch a fire, u ntil it went ou t. 17 And this fire lasted from noon day u ntil the break of day. T hat was the forty-fifth day. CHAPT ER XLIV The p o wer o f fire over ma n. 1 Yet Adam and Eve were standing and looking at the fire, and u nable to come n ear the cave from their dread of the fire. 2 And Satan k ept on bringing trees and throwing them into the fire, u ntil the flames o f the fire rose u p on high, and covered the whole cave, think ing, as he did in his own mind, to consu me th e cave with mu ch fire. Bu t the angel of the Lord was gu arding it. 3 And yet he cou ld not cu rse Satan,
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nor injure him by word, becau se he ha d no au thority over him, neither did he tak e to doing so with words from his mou th. 4 T herefore the angel tolerated him, withou t saying one bad word, u ntil the Word of God came who said to Sa ta n, "Go away from here; once before y ou deceived My servants, a nd this time you seek to destroy them. 5 Were it not for My mercy I wou ld ha ve destroyed you and you r hosts from o ff the earth. Bu t I have had pa tience with you , u ntil the end of the world." 6 T hen Satan fled from before the Lord. Bu t the fire went on bu rning a rou nd the cave lik e a coal -fire the whole day; which was the forty sixth day Adam and Eve had spent since they came ou t of the ga rden. 7 And when Adam and Eve saw that the heat of the fire had som ewhat cooled do wn, they began to walk towa rds the cave to get into it as they u sually did; bu t they cou ld not, by rea son of the heat of the fire. 8 T hen they both began crying b eca u se of the fire that separated them from the cave, and that came t owa rds them, bu rning. And they were a fra id. 9 T hen Adam said to Eve, "See this fire of which we have a portion in u s: which for merly yielded to u s, bu t no longer does so, no w that we ha ve transgressed the limit of crea tion, a nd changed ou r condition, and ou r na tu re is altered. Bu t the fire is not changed in its natu re, nor a ltered from its creation. T herefore it now has po wer over u s; and when we come near it, it scorches ou r flesh."
CHAPT ER XLV Wh y Sa tan d idn 't fulfil h is promises. Descrip tion o f hell. 1 T hen Adam rose and p rayed to God, saying, "See, this fire has s e pa rated u s from the cave in which You have commanded u s to live; bu t now, behold, we cannot go into it." 2 T hen God heard Adam, and sent him His Word, that said: 3 "O Adam, see this fire! How di fferent the flame and heat thereof are from the garden of delights and the good things in it! 4 When you were u nder My control, all creatures yielded to you ; bu t a fter you have transgressed My co m mandment, 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 Go dhead, and of an exalted state lik e Me, and has not k ept his word to you ; bu t has, after all, become you r enemy. He is the one who made this fire in which he meant to bu rn you and Eve. 6 Why, O Adam, has he not k ept his agreement with you , not even one day; bu t 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 Bu t no, Adam, he did not do all that ou t of love to you ; bu t he wished to mak e you come ou t of light into dark ness; and from an e x alted 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
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fire k indled by Satan arou nd you r ca ve; see this wonder that su rrou nds you ; a nd k now that it will e ncompa ss a bou t both you and you r de scenda nts, when you obey his co m ma nd; that he will plagu e you wit h fire; a nd that you will go down into hell a fter you are dead. 10 T hen you will see the burning of his fire, that will be bu rning arou nd you a nd lik ewise you r descendants. You will not be delivered from it u ntil My coming; ju st lik e you ca nnot go into you r cave right now b eca u se of the great fire arou nd it; not u ntil My Word comes and mak es a wa y for you on the day My cov enant is fu lfilled. 11 T here is no way for you at present to come from this life to rest, not u ntil My Word comes, who is My Word. T hen He will mak e a wa y for you , and you shall have rest." T hen God called with His Word to the fire that burned arou nd the ca ve, that it split itself in half, u ntil Adam had gone throu gh it. T hen the fire parted itself by God's order, and a way was made for Ada m *. 12 And God withdrew His Word from Adam. * Referen ce: Exodu s 14 :21 ,2 2 and Joshu a 3:1 5 -1 7 CHAPT ER XLVI "Ho w many times have I delivered yo u ou t of h is hand . . ." 1 T hen Adam and Eve began again to come into the cave. And when they came to the way between the fire, Sa tan blew into the fire lik e a whirlwind, and cau sed the bu rning coa l-fire to cover Adam and Eve; so tha t their bodies were singed; and the coa l-fire scorched them*. 2 And from the bu rning of th e fire
Adam and Eve screamed, and sai d, "O Lord, save u s! Leave u s not to be consu med and plagu ed by this bu r ning fire; neither requ ire u s for ha ving transgressed You r comman dment." 3 T hen God look ed at their bodies, on which Sa tan had cau sed fire to bu rn, and God sent His angel that stayed the bu rning fire. Bu t the wou nds remained on their bodies. 4 And God said to Adam, "See S a tan's love for you , who pretended to give you the Godhead and greatness; and, behold, he burns you with fire, and seek s to destroy you from o ff the earth. 5 T hen 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 d estroyed 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, a nd you shall become lik e gods, k no wing good and evil.' Bu t look! He has bu rnt 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 bu rning of fire, and the evil of it, an d the power it has over you . 7 You r eyes have seen the go od he has tak en from you , and in tru th he has opened you r eyes; and you ha ve seen the ga rden in which you were with Me, and you have also seen the evil that has come over you from Sa tan. But as to the Godhead he cannot give it to you , neither fu lfil his speech to you . No, he was bitter against you and your descendants, that will come a fter you ." 8 And God withdrew His Word
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form them. * At this time, the ga rments that the Lord had given them in Genesis 3 :2 1 were bu rned off so tha t Adam and Eve were again na k ed. Reference chapter L whereby Ada m and Eve seek garments with which to cover their nak edness.. CHAPT ER XLVII The Devil's o wn Sch eming . 1 T hen Adam and Eve came into the ca ve, yet trembling at the fire that ha d scorched their bodies. So Adam sa id to Eve: 2 "Look , the fire has bu rnt ou r flesh in this world; bu t how will it be when we are dead, and Satan sha ll pu nish ou r souls? Is not ou r deliverance long and far off, u nless God come, and in mercy to u s fu lfil His promise?" 3 T hen Adam and Eve passed into the ca ve, blessing themselves for coming into it once more. For it was in their thou ghts, that they never shou ld enter it, when they saw the fire a rou nd it. 4 Bu t as the su n was setting t he fire wa s still burning and nearing Adam a nd Eve in the cave, so that they cou ld not sleep in it. After the su n ha d set, they went ou t of it. T his wa s the forty-seventh day after they ca me ou t of the garden. 5 Ada m and Eve then came u nder the top of hill by the garden to sleep, as they were accu stomed. 6 And they stood and prayed God to forgive them their sins, and then fell a sleep u nder the su mmit of the mou ntain. 7 Bu t Satan, the hater of all good, thou ght within himself: "Whereas God ha s promised salvation to Adam by covenant, and that He wou ld d eliver him ou t of all the hardships
that have befallen him bu t has not promised me by cov enant, and will not deliver me ou t of my har dships; no, since He has pro mised him that He shou ld mak e him and his descendants live in the k ingdom in which I once was I will kill Adam. 8 T he 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 k ingdom that shall remain my own realm; God will then be wanting me, and He will restore it to me and my hosts." CHAPT ER XLVIII Fifth a pparition o f Sa tan to Ada m and Eve. 1 After this Satan called to his hosts, all of which came to hi m, and said to him: 2 "O, ou r lord, what will you do?" 3 He then said to them, "You k now that this Adam, whom God cr eated ou t of the du st, is the one who has tak en our k ingdom, come, let u s gather together and kill him; or hurl a rock at him and at Eve, and cru sh them u nder it." 4 When Satan's hosts heard t hese words, they came to the part of the mou ntain where Adam and Eve were asleep. 5 T hen Satan and his host took a hu ge rock , broad and even, a nd withou t blemish, think ing within himself, "If there shou ld be a hole in the rock , when it fell on th em, the hole in the rock might come over them, and so they wou ld esca pe and not die." 6 He then said to his hosts, "Tak e u p this stone, and throw it flat on them, so that it doesn 't roll o ff them
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to somewhere else. And when you ha ve hu rled it, get away from ther e qu ickly." 7 And they did as he told them. Bu t a s the rock fell down fro m the mou nta in toward Adam and Eve, God commanded the rock to become a dome over them*, that did them no ha rm. And so it was by God's order. 8 Bu t when the rock fell, the whole ea rth quak ed with it**, and was sha k en from the size of the rock . 9 And as it quak ed and shook , Ada m and Eve awok e from sleep, a nd fou nd themselves u nder a dome of rock . But they didn't k now what ha d ha ppened; becau se when the fell a sleep they were u nder t he sk y, and not u nder a dome; and when they sa w it, they were afraid. 10 T hen Adam said to Eve, "Wher efore has the mou ntain bent itself, a nd the earth qu ak ed and shak en on ou r a ccou nt? And why has this rock sprea d itself over u s lik e a tent? 11 Does God intend to plagu e u s a nd to shu t u s u p in this prison? Or will He close the earth over u s? 12 He is angry with u s for our ha ving come ou t of the cave, withou t His order; and for ou r having done so of ou r own accord, without co nsu lting Him, when we left the cave a nd ca me to this place." 13 T hen Eve said, "If, indeed, the ea rth quak ed for ou r sak e, and this rock forms a tent over u s becau se of ou r tra nsgression, then we will be sorry, O Adam, becau se ou r pu nis hment will be long. 14 Bu t get u p and pray to God to let u s k now concerning this, and wha t this rock is that is spread over u s lik e a tent." 15 T hen Adam stood u p and prayed before the Lord, to let him k now
what had brou ght abou t this difficu lt time. And Adam stood pra ying lik e that u ntil the mor ning. * T he word "dome" is u sed here bu t the text does not speci fically su ggest that the covering was rou nd - only that it covered them o n all sides, however a dome is the most lik ely shape that wou ld have be able to withstand the impact with the grou nd. From verse 9 that says "when they saw it" and verse 11 that says "shu t u s u p in this prison", we can conclu de that the dome had holes in its sides that were big enou gh to let in light and air but were too small to allow Adam and Eve to escape. Another conclu sion wou ld be that the holes were large bu t too high u p for Adam and Eve to reach, however the fo rmer is more lik ely. ** In verse 7 of the next Cha pter (XLIX), God tells Adam and Eve that the grou nd was also lowered u nder them - "I commanded ... the r ock u nder you to lower itself". CHAPT ER XLIX The first proph ecy o f the Resurre ction . 1 T hen the Word of God came and said: 2 "O Adam, who cou nselled you , when you came ou t of the cave, to come to this place?" 3 And Adam said to God, "O Lord, we ca me to this place becau se of the heat of the fire, that came over u s inside the cave." 4 T hen the Lord God said to Adam, "O Adam, you dread the heat of fire for one night, bu t how will it be when you live in hell? 5 Yet, O Adam, don't be afraid, a nd don't believe that I have placed this
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dome o f rock over you to plagu e you with it. 6 It came from Satan, who had promised you the Godhead and ma jesty. It is he who threw do wn this rock to k ill you u nder it, and Eve with you , and thu s to prevent you from living on the earth. 7 Bu t, in mercy for you , ju st as that rock was falling down on you , I comma nded it to form an dome over you ; a nd the rock u nder you to lo wer itself. 8 And this sign, O Adam, will ha ppen to Me at My co ming on earth: Sa ta n will raise th e people of the Jews to pu t Me to death; and they will la y Me in a rock , and seal a la rge stone ov er Me, and I shall r ema in within that rock three days and three nights. 9 Bu t on the third day I shall rise a ga in, and it shall be salvation to you , O Adam, and to you r descenda nts, to believe in M e. Bu t, O Ada m, I will not bring you from u nder this rock u ntil three days and three nights have passed." 10 And God withdrew His Word from Adam. 11 But Adam and Eve lived u nder the rock three days and three nig hts, a s God had told them. 12 And God did so to them becau se they had left their cave and had come to this same place withou t 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 ou t from u nder it. T heir flesh wa s dried u p, and their eyes and hea rts were trou bled from crying a nd sorrow. CHAPT ER L
Ada m a nd Eve seek to cover th eir na kedn ess. 1 T hen Adam and Eve went forth and came into the Cave o f Trea su res, and they stood praying i n it the whole of that day, u ntil the evening. 2 And this took place at the end of the fifty days after they had left the garden. 3 Bu t Adam and Eve rose again a nd prayed to God in the cave th e whole of that night, and begged for mercy from Him. 4 And when the day dawned, Adam said to Eve, "Come! Let u s go a nd do some work for ou r bodies." 5 So they went ou t of the cave, and came to the northern bo rder of the garden, and they look ed for som e thing to cover th eir bodies with *. Bu t they fou nd nothing, and k new not how to do the work . Yet their bodies were stained, and they were speechless from cold and heat. 6 T hen Adam stood and ask ed God to show hi m so mething with which to cover their bodies. 7 T hen came the Word of God and said to him, "O Adam, t ak e Eve and come to the sea shore where you fasted before. T here you will find sk ins of sheep that were left after lions ate the carcasses. Tak e them and mak e garments for you rselves, and clothe you rselves with them. * CHAPT ER XLVI, verse 1 , says "Sa tan blew into the fire ... so that their bodies were singed ". At this time, the garments that the Lord had gi ven them in Genesi s 3 :2 1 were bu rned off so that Adam and Eve were again nak ed. CHAPT ER LI "Wh a t is h is beau ty th at you shou ld
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ha ve follo wed him? " 1 When Adam heard these words from God, h e took Eve and went from the northern end of the garden to the sou th of it, by the river o f wa ter where they once fasted. 2 Bu t as they were going on th eir wa y, a nd before they got there, Sa ta n, the wick ed one, had h eard the Word of God commu ning with Adam respecting his co vering. 3 It grieved him, and he hastened to the place where the sheep -sk ins were, with the intention o f tak ing them and throwing them into the sea , or of bu rning them with fire, so tha t Adam and Eve wou ld not find them. 4 Bu t as he was about to tak e them, the Word of God came from heaven, a nd bou nd him by the side of those sk ins u ntil Adam and Eve came near him. Bu t as they got closer to him they were afraid of him, and of his hideou s look . 5 T hen came the Word of God to Ada m and Eve, and said to them, "T his is he who was hidden in the serpent, and who deceived you , and stripped you of the garment of light a nd glory in which you were. 6 T his is he who promised you m a jesty a nd divinity. Where, then, is the bea uty that was on him? Where is his divinity? Where is his light? Where is the glory that rested on him? 7 Now his figu re is hideou s; he is becom e abominable among a ngels; a nd he has come to be called S a tan. 8 O Adam, he wished to tak e from you this earthly garment of sheep sk ins, and to destroy it, and not let you be covered with it. 9 Wha t, then, is his beau ty that you shou ld have followed him? And
what have you gained by obeying him? See his evil work s and then look at Me; at Me, you r Creator, a nd at the good deeds I do you . 10 See, I bou nd him u ntil you came and saw him and beheld his wea k ness, that no po wer is left with him." 11 And God released him from his bonds. CHAPT ER LII Ada m and Eve sew th e first sh irt. 1 After this Adam and Eve said no more, bu t cried before God on a ccou nt of their creation, and of their bodies that requ ired an earthly co vering. 2 T hen Adam said to Eve, "O Eve, this is the sk in of beasts with which we shall be covered, bu t when we pu t it on, behold, we shall be wea ring a tok en of death on ou r bo dies. Ju st as the owners of these sk ins have died and have wasted away, so also shall we die and pass away." 3 T hen Adam and Eve took the sk ins, and went back to the Cave of Trea sures; and when in it, they stood and prayed as they were a ccu stomed. 4 And they thou ght how they cou ld mak e garments of those sk ins; for they had no sk ill for it. 5 T hen God sent to them His angel to show th em ho w to work it ou t. And the angel said to Adam, "Go forth, and bring some palm-thorns." T hen Adam went ou t, and brou ght some, as the angel had commanded him. 6 T hen the a ngel began before them to work out the sk ins, after the ma nner of on e who prepares a shirt. And he took the thorns and stu ck them into the sk ins, before th eir
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eyes. 7 T hen the angel again stood u p and pra yed God that the thorns in those sk ins shou ld be hidden, so as to be, a s it were, sewn with one thread. 8 And so it was, by God's order; they became garments for Adam and Eve, a nd He clothed them therewi th. 9 From that time the nak edness 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 T hen when Adam's and Eve's bodies were covered, they stood and pra yed, and sou ght mercy of the Lord, and forgiveness, and gave Him thank s for that He had had mercy on them, and had covered their nak edness. And they ceased not from prayer the whole o f that night. 12 T hen when the morning dawned a t the rising of the su n, they said their prayers after their cu stom; and then went ou t of the cave. 13 And Adam said to Eve, "Since we do n't k now what there is to the west of this cave, let u s go ou t and see it today." T hen they came forth a nd went toward the western border. CHAPT ER LIII The p rophecy o f the Western Land s and o f the g rea t floo d. 1 T hey were not very far from the ca ve, when Satan came towards them, a nd hid himself bet ween them a nd the cave, u nder the form of t wo ra venou s lions three days withou t food, that came towards Adam and Eve, a s if to break them in pieces a nd devou r them. 2 T hen Adam and Eve cried, and pra yed God to deliver them from their paws.
3 T hen 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 o f thine own accord the eastern border, in which was you r living place? 5 Now then, tu rn back to you r cave, and remain in it, so that Satan won't deceive you or work his pu rpose over you . 6 For in this western bor der, O Adam, there will go from you a d escendant, that shall replenish it; and that will defile themselves with their sins, and with their yiel ding to the commands o f Satan, and by fo llowing his work s. 7 T herefore will I bring over them the waters of a flood, and overwhelm them all. Bu t I will deliver what is left of the righteou s among them; and I will bring them to a di stant land, and the land in which you live now shall remain desolate and withou t one inhabitant in it. 8 After God had thu s spok en to them, they went back to the Cave of Treasures. Bu t their flesh was dried u p, and they were weak from fasting and praying, and from the sorrow they felt at having trespassed against God. CHAPT ER LIV Ada m and Eve g o exp lorin g. 1 T hen Adam and Eve stood u p in the cave and prayed the whole of that night u ntil the morning dawned. And when th e su n was risen they both went ou t of the cave; their heads were wandering fro m heav iness o f sorrow and they didn't k now where they were going. 2 And they walk ed in that condition to the sou thern border of the garden.
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And they began to go u p that border u ntil they came to the eastern border beyond which there was no more la nd. 3 And the cheru b who gu arded the ga rden was standing at the western ga te, a nd guarding it again st Adam a nd Eve, lest they shou ld su ddenly come into the ga rden. And the cheru b tu rned arou nd, as if to pu t them to dea th; according to the co m ma ndment God had given him. 4 When Adam and Eve came to the ea stern border of the garden think ing in their hearts that the cheru b was not watching as they were standing by the gate as if wishing to go in, su ddenly ca me the cheru b with a flashing sword of fire in his hand; and when he saw them, he went forth to k ill them. For he wa s a fraid that God wou ld destroy him if they went into the garden withou t His order. 5 And the sword of the cheru b seem ed to shoot flames a distance a wa y from it. Bu t when he raised it over Adam and Eve, the flame o f the sword did not flash forth. 6 T herefore the cheru b thou ght that God was favorable to them, and was bringing them back into the garden. And the ch eru b stood wondering. 7 He cou ld not go u p to Heaven to determine God's order regarding their getting into the garden; he therefore continu ed to stand by them, u nable as he was to part from them; for he was afraid that if they shou ld enter the garden withou t permission, God wou ld destroy him. 8 When Adam and Eve saw the ch eru b coming towards them with a fla ming sword of fire in his hand, they fell on their faces from fear, a nd were as dead.
9 At that time the heavens and the earth shook; and a nother cheru bim came down from heaven to the ch e ru b who gu arded the garden, and saw him amazed and silent. 10 T hen, again, other angels came down close to the place where Adam and Eve were. T hey were divided between joy and sorrow. 11 T hey were glad, becau se they thou ght that God was favorable to Adam, and wished him to retu rn to the garden; and wished to restore him to the gladness he once e n joyed. 12 Bu t they sorrowed over Adam , becau se he was fallen lik e a dead man, he and Eve; and they said in their thou ghts, "Adam has not died in this place; bu t God has put him to death, for his having come to this place, and wishing to get into the garden withou t His permission." CHAPT ER LV The Con flict between God and S a tan . 1 T hen came the Word of God to Adam and Eve, and raised them from their dead state, saying to them, "Why did you come u p here? Do you intend to go into the garden, from which I brou ght you ou t? It cannot be today; bu t only when the covenant I have made with you is fu lfilled." 2 T hen Adam, when he heard the Word of God, and the flu ttering of the a ngels who m he did not see, bu t only heard the sou nd 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 u nable to see you ! For when I was in my former bright natu re, then I cou ld see you . I
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sa ng praises as you do; and my heart wa s fa r above you . 4 Bu t now, that I have transgressed, tha t bright natu re is gone from me, a nd I am come to this miserable sta te. And no w I have come to this, tha t I cannot see you , and you do not serve me lik e you u sed 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 rescu e me from this mi sery, and to remo ve from me the senten ce o f d eath He pa ssed on me, for having trespassed a ga inst Him." 6 T hen, when the angels heard these words, they all grieved over him; a nd cursed Satan who had misled Adam, u ntil he came from the ga rden to misery; from life to dea th; from peace to trou ble; and from gladness to a strange land. 7 T hen the angels said to Adam, "You obeyed Satan, and i gnored the Word of God wh o created you ; and you believed that Satan wou l d fu lfil a ll he had promised you . 8 Bu t now, O Adam, we will mak e k nown to you , what came over u s thou gh him, before his fall from hea ven. 9 He gathered together his hosts, a nd deceived them, promising to give them a great k ingdom, a divine na tu re; and other promises he made them. 10 His hosts believed that his word wa s tru e, so they yielded to him, a nd renou nced the glory of God. 11 He then sent for u s according to the orders in which we were to come u nder his command, and to a ccept his vein pr omise. Bu t we wou ld not, and we did not tak e his a dvice.
12 T hen after he had fou ght with God, and had dealt forwardly with Him, he gathered t ogether his hosts, and made war with u s. And if it had not been for God's strength that was with u s, we cou ld not have prevailed against him to hurl him from he a ven. 13 Bu t when he fell from among u s, there was great joy in heaven, b ecau se of his going do wn from u s. For if he had remained in heaven, nothing, not even one angel wou ld have remained in it. 14 Bu t G od in His mercy, drove him from among u s to this dark earth; for he had become dark ness itself and a work er of u nrighteou sness. 15 And he has continu ed, O Adam, to mak e war against you , u ntil he trick ed you and made you come ou t of the garden, to this st range land, where all these trials have come to you . And death, which God brou ght to him, he has also brou ght to you , O Adam, becau se you obeyed him, and trespassed against God." 16 T hen all the angels rejoiced and praised God, and ask ed Him not to destroy Adam this time, for his ha ving sou ght to enter the garden; bu t to bear with him u ntil the fulfil lment of th e promise; and to help him in this world u ntil he was free from Satan's hand. CHAPT ER LVI A chap ter o f d ivine comfo rt. 1 T hen 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 b ehold the garden is full of angels, bu t look at yourself alone on this earth with Sa tan whom you obeyed.
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3 Yet, if you had su bmitted, and been ob edient to Me, and had k ept My Word, you wou ld be with My a ngels in My ga rden. 4 But when you transgressed and obeyed Satan, you became his gu ests among his angels, that are fu ll of wick edness; and you came to this ea rth, that brings forth to you thorns and thistles. 5 O Adam, ask him who deceived you , to give you the divine natu re he promised you , or to mak e you a ga rden as I had made for you ; or to fill you with that same bright natu re with which I had filled you . 6 Ask him to mak e you a body lik e the one I made you , or to give you a da y of rest as I gave you ; or to crea te within you a reasonable sou l, a s I created for you; or to tak e you from here to some other earth than this one which I gave you . Bu t, O Ada m, he will not fu lfil even o ne o f the things he told you . 7 Ack nowledge, then, My favor t owa rds you , and My mercy on you , My creatu re; that I have not a venged you for you r tran sgression a ga inst Me, but in My pity for you I ha ve promised you that at the end of the great five and a half days I will come a nd save you ." 8 T hen God said again to Adam and Eve, "Get u p, go down from here, before the ch eru b with a sword of fire in his hand destroys you ." 9 Bu t Adam's heart was comforted by God's word s to him, and h e wo rshipped be fore Him. 10 And God commanded His angels to escort Adam and Eve to th e cave with joy, instead of the fear that had come ov er them. 11 T hen the angels took u p Adam a nd Eve, and brou ght them down
from the mou ntain by the garden, with songs and psalms, u ntil they a rrived at the cave. T here 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 d eparted from Adam and Eve, Satan came with shamefacedness, and stood at the entra nce 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 T hen Adam came ou t of the cave, thinking he was one of God's angels that was come to give him some g ood cou nsel. CHAPT ER LVII "Therefo re I fell. . . . " 1 Bu t when Adam came ou t and saw his hideou s figu re, he was afraid of him, and said to him, "Who are you ?" 2 T hen Satan answered and said to him, "It is I, who hid myself within the serpent, and who sp ok e to Eve, and who enticed her u ntil she obeyed my co mmand. I am he who sent her, u sing my deceitfu l speech, to deceive you , u ntil you both ate of the fru it of the tree and abandoned the command o f God." 3 Bu t when Adam heard these words from hi m, he said to him, "Can you mak e me a gar den as God made for me? Or can you clothe me in the same bright na tu re in which God had clothed me? 4 Where is the divine nature you promised to give me? Where is that slick speech of you rs that you had with u s at first, when we were in the garden?" 5 T hen Satan said to Adam, "Do
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you think that when I have promised one something that I wou ld a ctually deliver it to him or fu lfil my word? Of cou rse not. For I myself have never even th ou ght of obtaining wha t I promised. 6 T herefore I fell, and I made you fa ll by that for which I myself fell; a nd with you also, whosoev er a ccepts my cou nsel, falls thereby. 7 Bu t now, O Adam, becau se you fell you are u nder my ru le, and I am k ing over you ; becau se you have obeyed me and have transgressed a ga inst you r God. N either will there be a ny deliverance from my hands u ntil the day promised you by you r God." 8 Aga in he said, "Becau se we do not k now the day agreed on with you by you r God, nor the hou r in which you shall be delivered, for tha t reason we will mu ltiply wa r and mu rder on you and you r descendants a fter you . 9 T his is ou r will and ou r good plea su re, that we may not lea ve one of the son s o f men to inherit ou r o rders in heaven. 10 For as to ou r home, O Adam, it is in bu rning fire; and we will not stop ou r evil doing, no, not one day nor one hou r. And I, O Adam, shall set you on fire wh en you co me into the ca ve 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 fu lfil any of what he told y ou in the garden. Did he really then b ecome k ing over u s? 12 But we will ask God, who crea ted u s, to deliver u s ou t of his ha nds." CHAPT ER LVIII
"Abou t sun set on the 53rd day. . ." 1 T hen Adam and Eve spread their hands before God, praying and be gging Him to drive Satan away from them so that he can't harm them or force them to deny God. 2 T hen God sent to them at once, His angel, who drove away Satan from them. T his happened abou t su nset, on the fifty -third day after they had come ou t of the garden. 3 T hen Adam and Eve went into the cave, and stood u p and tu rned their faces to the grou nd, to pray to God. 4 Bu t before they prayed Adam said to Eve, "Look , you have seen what temptations have befallen u s in this land. Come, let u s get u p, and ask God to forgive u s the sins we have committed; and we will not come ou t u ntil the end of the day next to the fortieth. An d if we die in here, He will save u s." 5 T hen Adam and Eve got u p, and joined together in entreating God. 6 T hey continu ed praying lik e this in the cave; neither did they co me ou t of it, by night or by day, u ntil their prayers went u p ou t of their mou ths, lik e a flame of fire. CHAPT ER LIX Eigh th a pparition o f S a tan o f Sa tan to Ada m and Eve. 1 Bu t Satan, the hater of all good, did not allow them to finish th eir prayers. For he called to his hosts, and they came, all of them. T hen he said to them, "Since Adam and Eve, whom we deceived, have agreed t ogether to pray to God night and day, and to beg Him to deliver them, and since they will not come ou t of the cave u ntil the end of the fortieth day. 2 And since they will continu e their
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pra yers as they have both agreed to do, tha t He will deliver them out of ou r ha nds, and restore them to their former state, see what we shall do to them." And his host s said to him, "Power is thine, O ou r lord, to do wha t you list." 3 T hen Satan, great in wick edness, took his hosts and came into the ca ve, in the thirtieth night of the forty days and one; and he beat Ada m and Eve, u ntil he left them dea d. 4 T hen came the Word of God to Ada m and Eve, who raised them from their su ffering, and God said to Ada m, "Be strong, and be not a fra id of him wh o has ju st come to you ." 5 Bu t Adam cried and said, "Where were you , O my God, that they shou ld pu nish me with su ch blows, a nd that this su ffering shou ld come over u s; over me and over Eve, You r ha ndmaiden?" 6 T hen God said to him, "O Adam, see, he is lord and master of all you ha ve, he who said, he wou ld give you divinity. Where is this love for you ? And where i s the gift h e prom ised? 7 Did it please him ju st once, O Ada m, to co me to you , comfort you , strengthen you , rejoice with you , or send hi s ho sts to protect you ; b eca u se you have obeyed him, and ha ve yielded to his cou nsel; and ha ve followed his commandment a nd tra nsgressed Mine?" 8 T hen Adam cried before the Lord, a nd sa id, "O Lord becau se I tran sgressed a little, You have severely pu nished me in r etu rn for it, I ask You to deliver me ou t of his hands; or else have pity on me, and tak e my sou l ou t of my body no w in this
strange land." 9 T hen God said to Adam, "If only there had been this sighing a nd pra ying before, before y ou tran sgressed! T hen wou ld you have rest from the trou ble in which you are now." 10 Bu t God had patience with Adam, and let him a nd Eve remain in the cave u ntil they had fu lfilled the forty days. 11 Bu t as to Adam and Eve, their strength and flesh withered from fasting and pra ying, from hu nger and thirst; for they had not tasted either food or drink since they left the ga rden; nor were the fu nctions of their bodies yet settled; and they had no strength left to continu e in prayer from hu nger, u ntil the end of the next day to the fort ieth. T hey were fallen do wn in the cave; yet what speech escaped from th eir mou ths, was only in praises. CHAPT ER LX The Devil appea rs like an o ld man . He o ffers "a p la ce o f rest." 1 T hen on the eighty-ninth day, Sa tan came to the cave, clad in a ga rment of light, and girt about with a bright girdle. 2 In his hands was a staff of light, and he look ed most a wfu l; bu t his face was pleasant and his speech was sweet. 3 He thu s transformed himself in order to deceive Adam and Eve, and to mak e them come ou t of the cave, before th ey had fu lfilled the forty days. 4 For he said within himself, "Now that when they had fu lfilled the fo rty days' fasting and praying, God wou ld restore them to their former state; bu t if He did not do so, He
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wou ld still be favorable to them; a nd even if He had not mercy on them, wou ld He yet give them som e thing from th e garden to co mfort them; a s already twice b efore." 5 T hen Satan drew near the cave in this fa ir appearance, and said: 6 "O Adam, get u p, stand u p, you a nd Eve, and come along with me, to a good land; and don't be afraid. I a m flesh and bones lik e you; and at first I was a creatu re that God crea ted. 7 And it was so, that when He had crea ted me, He placed me in a ga rden 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 transgr ess His commandment. 9 T hen He made a slu mber to come over me, and He brou ght you , O Ada m, ou t of my side, bu t did not ma k e you stay with me. 10 Bu t God took you in His d ivine ha nd, and placed you in a ga rden to the ea stward. 11 T hen I worried abou t you , for tha t while God had tak en you ou t of my side, He had not let you stay with me. 12 Bu t God said to me: 'Do not worry abou t Adam, whom I brou ght ou t of you r side; no harm will come to him. 13 For now I have brou ght ou t of his side a help-meet * for him; and I ha ve given him joy by so doing. ' " 14 T hen Satan said again, "I did not k now how it is you are in this cave, nor a nything abou t this trial that has come over you u ntil God said to me, 'Behold, Adam has transgressed, he whom I had tak en out of you r side, a nd Eve also, whom I took ou t
of his side; and I have driven them ou t of the garden; I have made them live in a land of sorrow and misery, becau se they transgressed against Me, and have obeyed Satan. And look , they are in su ffering u ntil thi s day, the eightieth.' 15 T hen God said to me, 'Get u p, go to them, and mak e them come to you r place, and su ffer not that Satan come near them, and afflict them. For they are now in great misery; and lie helpless from hu nger.' 16 He fu rther said to me, 'When you have tak en them to you rself, give them to eat of the fru it of the Tree of Life, and give them to drink of the water of p eace; and clothe them in a garment of light, and r estore them to their former state of grace, and leave them not in mi sery, for they came from you . Bu t grieve not over them, nor repent of that which has come over them. 17 Bu t when I heard this, I was so rry; and my heart cou ld not pa tiently bear it for you r sak e, O my child. 18 Bu t, O Adam, when I heard the name of Satan, I was afraid, and I said within my self, I will not co me ou t becau se 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 T hen 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 T hen I said, 'O my Lord, I am old, and cannot go. Send You r a ngels to bring them.' 22 But God said to me, 'Angels, v e-
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rily, a re not lik e them; and they will not consent to co me with them. Bu t I ha ve chosen you , becau se they are you r offspring and are lik e you, and they will listen to what you say.' 23 God said fu rt her to me, 'If you don't have enou gh strength to walk , I will send a clou d to carry you and set you down at the entrance of th eir ca ve; then the clou d will return and lea ve you there. 24 And if they will come with you , I will send a clou d to carry you an d them.' 25 T hen He commanded a clou d, a nd it bear me u p and brou ght me to you ; a nd then went back . 26 And now, O my children, Adam a nd Eve, look at my old gray hair a nd a t my feeble state, and at my coming from that distant place. Come, come with me, to a place of rest." 27 T hen he began to cry and to sob before Adam and Eve, and his tears pou red on the grou nd lik e water. 28 And when Adam and Eve raised their eyes and saw his beard, and hea rd his sweet talk , their hearts soften ed towards him; they obeyed him, for they believed h e was tru e. 29 And it seemed to them that they were really his offspring, wh en they sa w that his face was lik e their own; a nd they tru sted him. * T he exi stence o f the t wo words help meet and helpma te, meaning exactly the sam e thing, is a comedy o f errors. God's promise to Adam, as rendered in the King James version of the Bible, wa s to give him an help meet for him (that is, a helper fit for him). In the 17 th century the two words help a nd meet in this passage were mi stak en for one word, applying to Eve,
and thu s helpmeet came to mean a wife. T hen in the 1 8 th century, in a misgu ided a ttempt to mak e sense o f the word, the spelling helpmate was introdu ced. Both errors are now beyond recall, and both spellings are acceptable. CHAPT ER LXI They beg in to follo w Sa tan . 1 T hen he took Adam and Eve by the hand, and began to bring them ou t of the cave. 2 Bu t when they had co me a little ways ou t of it, God k new that Satan had overcome them, and had brou ght them ou t before the forty days were ended, to tak e them to some distant place, and to destroy them. 3 T hen the Word of the Lord God again came and cursed Satan, a nd drove him away from them. 4 And God began to speak to Adam and Eve, saying to them, "What made you come ou t of t he cave, to this place?" 5 T hen Adam said to God, "Did you create a man before u s? For when we were in th e cave there su ddenly came to u s a friendly old man who said to u s, 'I am a messen ger from God to you , to bring you back to some place o f rest.' 6 And we believed, O God, that he was a messenger from you ; and we came ou t with him; and k new not where we shou ld go with him." 7 T hen God said to Adam, "See, that is the father of evil arts, who brou ght you and Eve ou t of the Ga rden o f Delights. And now, ind eed, when he saw that you and Eve both joined together in fasting and pra ying, and that you came not ou t of the cave before the end of th e forty
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da ys, he wish ed to mak e you r pu rpose vein, to break your mu tual bond; to cut off all hope from you , a nd to drive you to some place where he mig ht destroy you . 8 Becau se he cou ldn't do anything to you u nless he sho wed hi msel f in the lik eness of you . 9 T herefore he came to you with a fa ce lik e you r own, and began to give you tok ens as if they were all tru e. 10 Bu t becau se I am mercifu l and a m fa vorable to you , I did not allow him to destroy y ou ; instead I drove him a way from you . 11 Now, therefore, O Adam, tak e Eve, a nd return to your cave, and rema in in it u ntil the morning after the fortieth day. And whe n you come ou t, go t owards the eastern ga te of the garden." 12 T hen Adam and Eve worshipped God, a nd praised and blessed Him for the deliverance that had come to them from Him. And they retu rned towa rds the cave. T his happened in the evening o f the thirt y-ninth day. 13 T hen Adam and Eve stood u p a nd with a fiery passion, prayed to God, to give them strength; for they ha d become weak becau se of hu nger a nd thirst and prayer. Bu t they wa tched the whole o f that night pra ying, u ntil morning. 14 T hen Adam said to Eve, "Get u p, let u s go towards the eastern gate of the ga rden as God told u s." 15 And they said their prayers as they were accu stomed to do every da y; a nd they left the cave to go nea r to the eastern gate of the ga rden. 16 T hen Adam and Eve sto od u p a nd prayed, and appealed to God to strengthen them, and to send them
something to satisfy their hu nger. 17 But after they finished their prayers, they were too weak to move. 18 T hen came the Word of God again, and said to them, "O Adam, get u p, go and bring the two figs here." 19 T hen Adam and Eve got u p, a nd went u ntil they came near to the cave. CHAPT ER LXII Two fruit trees. 1 Bu t Satan the wick ed was e n viou s, becau se of the consolation God had given them. 2 So he prevented them, and went into the cave and took the two figs, and bu ried them ou tside the cave, so that Adam and Eve shou ld not find them. He also had in hi s thou ghts to destroy them. 3 But by God's mercy, as soon as those two figs were in the grou nd, God defeated Satan's cou nsel regarding them; and made them into two fru it trees, that overshadowed the cave. For Satan had buried them on the eastern side of it. 4 T hen when the two trees were grown, and were covered with fru it, Satan grieved and mourned, a nd said, "It wou ld have been better to have left those figs where they were; for now, behold, they ha ve become two fru it trees, whereo f Adam will eat all the days of his life. Whereas I had in mind, when I bu ried them, to destroy them entir ely, and to hide them fo rever. 5 Bu t God has overturned my cou nsel; and wou ld not that this sa cred fru it shou ld perish; and He has made plain my intention, and has defeated the cou nsel I had formed
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a ga inst His servants." 6 T hen Satan went away ashamed beca u se he hadn't thou ght his plans a ll the way throu gh. CHAPT ER LXIII The first jo y of trees. 1 Bu t Adam and Eve, as they got closer to the cave, saw two fig trees, covered with fru it, and overshado wing the cave. 2 T hen Adam said to Eve, "It seems to me that we have gon e the wrong wa y. When did these two tree s grow here? It seems to me that the enemy wishe s to lead u s the wrong way. Do you su ppose that there is another ca ve besides this o ne in the earth? 3 Yet, O Eve, let u s go into the ca ve, a nd find in it the two figs; for this is ou r cave, in which we were. Bu t if we shou ld not find the two figs in it, then it cannot be ou r ca ve." 4 T hey went then into the cave, and look ed into the fou r co rners of it, bu t fou nd 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 th ese two fig trees a re the two figs that were in the ca ve." And Eve said, "I, for my pa rt, do not k now." 6 T hen Adam stood u p and prayed a nd sa id, "O God, You commanded u s to come back to the cave, to tak e the two figs, and then to return to you . 7 Bu t now, we have not fou nd them. O God, have you tak en them, and sown these two trees, or have we gone a stray in the earth; or has the enemy d eceived u s? If it be real, then, O God, reveal to u s the secret of these two trees and of th e two figs."
8 T hen came the Word of God to Adam, and said to him, "O Adam, when I sent you to fetch the figs, Sa tan went before you to the cave, took the figs, and bu ried them ou tside, eastward of the cave, think ing to destroy them; and not sowing them with good intent. 9 Not for his mere sak e, then, ha ve these trees grown u p at once; bu t I had mercy on you and I commanded them to grow. And they grew to be two large trees, that you be ove rsha dowed by their branches, and find rest; and that I made you see My power and My ma rvelou s work s. 10 And, also, to sho w you Satan's meanness, and his evil work s, for ever since you came ou t of the ga rden, he has not ceased, no, not o ne day, from doing you some harm. Bu t I have not given him po wer ove r you ." 11 And God said, "From now on, O Adam, rejoice on accou nt of the trees, you and Eve; and rest u nder them wh en you feel weary. Bu t do not eat any of their fru it or come near them." 12 T hen Adam cried, and said, "O God, will You again k ill u s, or will You drive u s away from before You r face, and cu t ou r life from off the face of the earth? 13 O God, I beg you , if You k now that there be in these trees either death or some other evil, as at the first time, root them u p from near ou r cave, and with them; and leave u s to die of the h eat, of hu nger and of thirst. 14 For we k now You r marvelou s work s, O God, that they are great, and that by You r power You can bring one thing ou t of another, withou t one's wish. For Your power
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ca n ma k e rock s to become t rees, and trees to become rock s." CHAPT ER LXIV Ada m and Eve pa rtake o f the first ea rth ly food . 1 T hen God look ed at Adam and at his strength of mind, at his endu ra nce of hu nger and thirst, and of the hea t. And He changed the two fig trees into two figs, as they were at first, a nd then said to Adam and to Eve, "Each of you may tak e one fig." And they took them, as the Lord commanded them. 2 And He said to them, "You mu st now go into the cave and eat the figs, a nd satisfy you r hu nger, or else you will die." 3 So, as God commanded them, they went into the cave abou t su nset. And Adam and Eve stoo d u p and pra yed during the setting su n. 4 T hen they sat down to eat the figs; bu t they k new not how to eat them; for they were not accu stomed to ea t earthly food. T hey were afraid tha t if they ate, their stomach wou ld be bu rdened and their flesh thic k ened, a nd their hearts wou ld tak e to liking earthly food. 5 Bu t while they were thu s seated, God, ou t of pity for them, sent them His a ngel, so they woul dn't perish of hu nger and thirst. 6 And the angel said to Adam and Eve, "God says to you that you do not ha ve the strength that would be requ ired to fast u ntil death; eat, therefore, and strengthen you r b odies; for you are now animal flesh a nd ca nnot su bsist with ou t food and drink ." 7 T hen Adam and Eve took the figs a nd began to eat of them. Bu t God ha d pu t into them a mixture as of
sa vory bread and blood. 8 T hen the angel went from Adam and Eve, who ate of the figs u ntil they had satisfied their hu nger. T hen they pu t aside what was left; bu t by the power o f God, the figs b ecame whole again, becau se God blessed them. 9 After this Adam and Eve got u p, and prayed with a joyfu l heart a nd renewed strength, and praised a nd rejoiced abu ndantly the whole o f that night. And this was the end of the eighty-third day. CHAPT ER LXV Ada m and Eve acqu ire d igestive o rgan s. Fina l hop e o f return ing to the Garden is lo st. 1 And when it was day, they got u p and prayed, after their cu stom, a nd then went ou t of the cave. 2 Bu t they became sick from the food they had eaten becau se they were not u sed to it, so th ey went abou t in the cave saying to ea ch other: 3 "What has ou r eating cau sed to happen to u s, that we shou ld be in su ch pain? We are in misery, we shall die! It wou ld have been b etter for u s to have died k eeping ou r b odies pu re than to have eaten and d efiled them with food." 4 T hen Adam said to Eve, "T his pain did not come to u s in the ga rden, neither did we eat su ch bad food there. Do y ou think , O Eve, that God will plagu e u s throu gh the food that is in u s, or that ou r i nnards will come ou t; or that God means to k ill u s with this pain b efore He has fulfilled His promise to u s?" 5 T hen Adam besou ght the Lord and said, "O Lord, let u s not perish
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throu gh the food we have eaten. O Lord, don't pu nish u s; bu t deal with u s a ccording to Your great mercy, a nd forsak e u s not u ntil the day of the promise You have made u s." 6 T hen God look ed at them, and then fitted them for eating food at once; as to this day; so that they shou ld not perish. 7 T hen Adam and Eve came back into the cave sorrowfu l and crying beca u se of the alteration of their bodies. And they both k new from tha t hou r that they were altered b eings, that all hope of r etu rning to the ga rden was now lost; and that they cou ld not enter it. 8 For that now their bodies had stra nge fu nctions; and all flesh that requ ires food and drink for its exi stence, ca nnot be in the garden. 9 T hen Adam said to Eve, "Behold, ou r hope is now lost; and so is ou r tru st to enter t he garden. We no longer belong to the inhabitants of the ga rden; bu t from now on we are ea rthy and of the du st, and of the inha bitants of the earth. We shall not return to the garden, u ntil the da y in which God has pro mised to sa ve u s, and to bring u s agai n into the ga rden, as He promised u s." 10 T hen they prayed to God that He wou ld have mercy on them; after which, their mind was qu ieted, their hea rts were brok en, and their lon ging wa s cooled do wn; and they were lik e strangers on earth. T hat night Ada m a nd Eve spent in the cave, where they slept heavily by reason of the fo od they had eaten. CHAPT ER LXVI Ada m does his first day's wo rk. 1 When it was morning, the day a fter they had eaten food, Adam and
Eve prayed in the cave, and Adam said to Eve, "Look , we ask ed for food o f God, and He gave it. Bu t now let u s also ask Him to give u s a drink of water." 2 T hen they got u p, and went to the bank of the stream of water, that was on the sou th border of the ga rden, in which they had before thrown themselves. And they stood on the bank , and prayed to God that He wou ld command them to drink of the water. 3 T hen the Word of God came to Adam, and said to him, "O Adam, you r body has become bru tish, and requ ires water to drink . Tak e some and drink it, you and Eve, then give thank s and praise." 4 Adam and Eve then went down to the stream and drank from it, u ntil their bodies felt refreshed. After ha ving dru nk , they praised God, and then retu rned to their cave, after their former cu stom. T his happened at the end of eighty-three days. 5 T hen on the eighty-fou rth day, they took the two figs and hu ng them in the cave, t ogether 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 wou ld see the wond erfu l things God had done for them. 6 T hen Adam and Eve again stood ou tside the cave, and ask ed God to show them some food with which they cou ld nou rish their bodies. 7 T hen the Word of God came and said to him, "O Adam, go down to the west ward of the cave u ntil you come to a land of dark soil, a nd there you shall find food." 8 And Adam obeyed the Word of God, took Eve, and went down to a
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la nd of dark soil, and fou nd there whea t* gro wing in the ear and ripe, a nd figs to eat; and Ad am rejoiced over it. 9 T hen the Word of God came again to Ada m, and said to him, "Tak e some o f this wheat and mak e you rselves some bread with it, to nou rish you r body therewith." And God ga ve Adam's heart wisdom, to work ou t the corn u ntil it became brea d. 10 Adam a ccomplished all that, u ntil he grew very faint and weary. He then retu rned to the cave; rejoicing a t wha t he had learned of what is done with wheat, u ntil it is made i nto bread for one's u se. * In this book , the terms 'corn' and 'wheat' a re u sed interchangeably. T he refe rence is possibly u sed to indicate a type of ancient grain resembling Egyptian Corn also k nown as Durra. Durra is a wheat -lik e cereal grain frequ ently cu ltivated in dry regions su ch a s Egypt. CHAPT ER LXVII "Then Sa tan bega n to lead astray Ada m and Eve. . . ." 1 When Adam and Eve went do wn to the land of black mu d and came nea r to the wheat God had showed them a nd saw that it was ripe and rea dy for reaping, they did not have a sick le to reap it with. So they rea died themselv es, and began to pu ll u p the wheat by hand, u ntil it was a ll done. 2 T hen they heaped it into a pile; a nd, fa int from heat and from thirst, they went u nder a shady tree, where the breeze fanned th em to sleep. 3 Bu t Satan saw what Adam and Eve had done. And h e called his hosts, and said to them, "Since God ha s shown to Adam and Eve all
abou t this wheat, wherewith to strengthen their bodies and, look , they have co me and made a big pile of it, and faint from the toil are now asleep come, let u s set fire to this heap of corn, and burn it, and let u s tak e that bottle of water that is by them, and empty it ou t, so that they may find nothing to drink , and we k ill them with hu nger and thirst. 4 T hen, when they wak e u p 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 hu nger and thirst; when they may, perhaps, deny God, and He destroy them. So shall we be rid of them." 5 T hen Satan and his hosts set the wheat on fire and bu rned it u p. 6 Bu t from the heat of the flame Adam and Eve awok e from th eir sleep, and saw the wh eat bu rning, and the bu ck et of water by them, pou red out. 7 T hen they cried and went back to the cave. 8 But as they were going u p from below the mou ntain wher e they were, Satan and his hosts met them in the form of angels, praising God. 9 T hen Satan said to Adam, "O Adam, why are you so pained with hu nger and thirst? It seems to me that Satan has bu rnt u p the wheat." And Adam said to him, "Yes." 10 Again Sa tan said to Adam, "Come back with u s; we are angels of God. God sent u s to you , to sho w you a nother field of corn, better than that; and beyond it is a fou ntain of good water, and many trees, where you shall live near it, and work the corn field to better pu rpose than that which Satan has co nsu med."
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11 Adam thou ght that he was tru e, a nd that they were angels who ta lk ed with him; and he went back with them. 12 T hen Satan began to lead astray Ada m and Eve eight days, u ntil they both fell do wn as if d ead, from hu nger, thirst, and fain tness. T hen he fled with his ho sts, and left them. CHAPT ER LXVIII Ho w d estruction and troub le is o f Sa tan when he is the ma ster. Ada m and Eve estab lish the custo m o f wo rsh ip . 1 T hen God look ed at Adam and Eve, a nd at what h ad come over them from Satan, and how he had ma de them perish. 2 God, therefore, sent His Word, a nd ra ised u p Adam and Eve from their state of death. 3 T hen, Adam, when he was raised, sa id, "O God, You have burnt and tak en from u s the corn You have given u s, and You have emptied ou t the bu ck et of water. And You have sent Your angels, who have cau sed u s to lose ou r way from the corn field. Will You mak e u s perish? If this be from y ou , O God, then tak e a wa y ou r souls; bu t pu nish u s not." 4 T hen God said to Adam, "I did not bu rn down the wheat, and I did not pou r the water ou t of the bu ck et, a nd I did not send My angels to lead you a stray. 5 Bu t it is Satan, you r master who did it; he to whom you have su bjected you rself; my commandment being meanwhile s et aside. He it is, who bu rnt down the corn, and pou red ou t the water, and who has led you astray; and all the promises he ha s made you were ju st a trick , a deception, and a lie.
6 Bu t now, O Adam, you shall a ck nowledge My good d eed s done to you ." 7 And God told His angels to ta k e Adam and Eve, and to bear them u p to the field of wheat, which they fou nd as before, with the bu ck et fu ll of water. 8 T here they saw a tree, and fou nd on it solid manna; and wond ered at God's po wer. And the angels co m manded them to eat of the manna when they were hu ngry. 9 And God admonished Satan with a curse, not to come again, and d estroy the field of corn. 10 T hen Adam and Eve took of the corn, and made of it an offe ring, and took it and offered it u p on the mou ntain, the place where they had offered u p their first offering of blood. 11 And they offered this o ffe ring again on the altar they had built at first. And they stood u p and prayed, and besou ght the Lord sa ying, "T hu s, O God, when we were in the garden, our praises went u p to you , lik e this offering; and ou r inn ocence went u p to you lik e incense. Bu t now, O God, accept this offering from u s, and don't tu rn u s away, d eprived of Your mercy." 12 T hen God said to Adam and Eve, "Since you have made this offering a nd have offered it to M e, I shall mak e it My flesh, wh en I co me down on earth to save you ; and I shall cau se it to be o ffered cont inu ally on an altar, for forgiveness and for mercy, for those who pa rtak e 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
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down on that offering. 14 T hen God commanded an a ngel to tak e fire tongs, lik e a spoon, and with it to tak e an offering and bring it to Adam and Eve. And the angel did so, as God had commanded him, a nd offered it to them. 15 And the souls of Adam and Eve were brightened, and their hearts were filled with joy and gladness a nd with the praises of God. 16 And God said to Adam, "T his sha ll be to you a cu stom, to do so, when affliction and sorrow come over you . Bu t you r d eliverance and you r entrance in to the garden, shall not be u ntil the days are fu lfilled as a greed between you and Me; were it not so, I wou ld, of My mercy and pity for you, bring you back t o My ga rden and to My favor for the sak e of the o ffering you have ju st made to My name." 17 Adam rejoiced at these words which he h eard from God; and he a nd Eve worshipped before the altar, to which they bo wed, and then went ba ck to the Cave of Treasu res . 18 And this took place at the end of the twelfth day after the eightieth da y, from the time Adam and Eve ca me ou t of the garden. 19 And they stood u p the whole night praying u ntil morning; and then went ou t of the cave. 20 T hen Adam said to Eve, wi th joy of h ea rt, becau se of the o ffering they ha d made to God, and that had been a ccepted o f Him, "Let u s do this three times every week , on the fou rth day Wednesday, on the prep a ra tion day Friday, and on the Sa bba th Su nday, all the days of ou r life." 21 And as they agreed to these words b etween themselves, God was
pleased with their thou ghts, a nd with the resol u tion they had each tak en 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 su fferings shall come over Me, wh en I am made flesh; for they are the fou rth Wednesday, and the preparation day Friday. 23 Bu t as to the first day, I created in it all things, and I raised the he a vens. And, again, throu gh My rising again on this day, will I create joy, and raise them on high, who believe in Me; O Adam, offer this o ffering, all the days of you r life." 24 T hen God withdrew His Word from Adam. 25 Bu t Adam continu ed to offer this offering thu s, every week three times, u ntil the end o f seven week s. And on the first day, which is the fiftieth, Adam made an offering as he was a ccu stomed, and he and Eve took it and came to the altar before God, as He had tau ght them. CHAPT ER LXIX Twelfth apparition of Sa tan to Ada m and Eve, wh ile Ada m was praying over th e o ffering o n the alta r; wh en Sa tan b ea t him. 1 T hen Satan, the hater of all good, enviou s of Adam and of his offering throu gh which he fou nd favor with God, hastened and took a sharp stone from among the sharp iron stones; appear ed in the form o f a man, and went and stood by Adam and Eve. 2 Adam was then o ffering on the a ltar, and had begu n to pray, with his hands spread before God. 3 T hen Sa tan hastened with the sharp iron stone he had with him,
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a nd with it pierced Adam on th e right side, from which flo wed blood a nd wa ter, then Adam fell on the a lta r lik e a corpse. And Satan fled. 4 T hen Eve came, and took Adam a nd placed him below the altar. And there she stayed, crying over him; while a stream of blood flowed from Ada m's side over his o ffering. 5 Bu t God look ed at the death of Ada m. He then sent His Word, and ra ised him u p and said to him, "Fu lfil you r offering, for indeed, Adam, it is worth mu ch, and there is no shortcoming in it." 6 God said further to Adam, "T hu s will it also happen to Me, on the ea rth, when I shall be pierced and blood and water shall flow from My side a nd ru n over My body, which is the tru e offering; and which shall be offered on the altar as a perfect o ffering." 7 T hen God commanded Adam to finish his o ffering, and when he had ended it h e worshipped before God, a nd praised Him for the signs He ha d showed him. 8 And God healed Adam in one day, which is th e end of th e seven week s; a nd that is the fiftieth day. 9 T hen Adam and Eve returned from the mou ntain, and went into the Ca ve of Treasures, as they were u sed to do. T his completed for Ada m and Eve, one hu ndred and forty days since their co ming ou t of the ga rden. 10 T hen they both stood u p that night a nd prayed to God. And wh en it wa s morning, they went ou t, and went do wn westward of th e cave, to the pla ce where their corn was, and there rested u nder the shado w of a tree, a s they were accu stomed. 11 Bu t when there a mu ltitu de of
beasts came all arou nd them. It was Satan's doing, in his wick ed ness; in order to wage war against Adam throu gh marriage. CHAPT ER LXX Th irteen th ap parition o f Sa tan , to trick Ada m in to marry ing Eve. 1 After this Satan, the hater of all good, took the form of an angel, a nd with him two others, so that they look ed lik e the three angels who had brou ght to Adam gold, incense, and myrrh. 2 T hey passed before Adam and Eve while they were u nder the tree, and greeted Adam and Eve with fair words that were fu ll of deceit. 3 But when Adam and Eve saw their pleasant expression, and heard their sweet speech, Adam rose, we lcomed them, and brou ght them to Eve, and they remained all together; Adam's heart the while, being glad becau se he thou ght concerning them, that they were the same a ngels, who had brou ght him gold, i n cense, and myrrh. 4 Becau se, when they came to Adam the first time, there came over him from th em, peace and joy, throu gh their bringing him good t ok ens; so Adam thou ght that they had come a secon d time to give him ot her tok ens for him to rejoice ther e with. For he did not k now it was S a tan; therefore he received them with joy and consorted with them. 5 T hen Satan, the tallest of them, said, "R ejoice, O Adam, and be glad. Look , God has sent u s to you to tell you something." 6 And Adam said, "What is it?" T hen Satan answered, "It is a simple thing, yet it is the Word of God, will you accept it from u s and do it? Bu t
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if you will not accept it, we will r etu rn to God, and tell Him that you wou ld not receive His Word." 7 And Satan said again to Adam, "Don't be a fraid and don't tremble; don't you k now u s?" 8 Bu t Adam said, "I do not k now you ." 9 T hen Satan said to him, "I am the a ngel that brou ght you gold, and took it to the cave; this other angel is the one that brou ght you incense; a nd that third angel, is the one who brou ght you myrrh when you were on top o f the mou ntain, and who ca rried you to the cave. 10 But as to the other angels ou r fellows, who bare you to the cave, God ha s not sent them with u s this time; for He said to u s, 'You will be enou gh'. " 11 So when Adam heard these words h e believed them, and said to these angels, "Speak the Word of God, that I may receive it." 12 And Satan said to him, "Swear, a nd promise me that you will r eceive it." 13 T hen Adam said, "I do not k now how to swear a nd promise." 14 And Satan said to him, "Hold ou t you r hand, and pu t it inside my ha nd." 15 T hen Adam held ou t his hand, a nd pu t it into Satan's hand; when Sa ta n said to him, "Say, now So tru e a s God is living, rational, and spea k ing, who raised the stars in hea ven, and established the dry grou nd on the waters, and has crea ted me ou t of the fou r el ements*, and ou t of the du st of the ea rth I will not break my pro mise, nor renou nce my word." 16 And Adam swore thu s. 17 T hen Satan said to him, "Look ,
it is now some time since you came ou t of the garden, and you k now neither wick edness nor evil. Bu t now God says to you , to tak e Eve who came ou t of you r side, and to marry her so that she will bear you children, to comfort you , and to drive from you trou ble and sorrow; now this thing i s not di fficu lt, ne ither is there any scandal in it to you . * See the previou s fo otnote in chapter XXXI V r egarding the 'fou r elements'. CHAPT ER LXXI Ada m is troub led by the tho ugh t o f marrying Eve. 1 Bu t when Adam heard these words from Satan, he sorrowed mu ch, becau se of his oath and of his promise, and said, "Shall I commit adultery with my flesh and my bones, and shall I sin against m yself, 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 ou t of the garden into this strange land, and deprived me o f my bright natu re, and brou ght death over me. If, then, I shou ld do this, He will cu t off my life from the earth, and He will cast me into hell, and will plagu e me there a long time. 3 Bu t God never spok e the words that you have said; and you are not God's a ngels, and you weren't sent from Him. Bu t you are devils that have come to me u nder the false a ppearance of a ngels. Away from me; you cursed of God!" 4 T hen those devils fled from b e fore Adam. And he and Eve got u p, and retu rned to the Cave of Trea su res, and went into it.
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5 T hen Adam said to Eve, "If you sa w what I did, don't tell a nyone; for I sinned against God in swearing by His great name, and I have pla ced my hand another time into tha t of Sa tan." Eve, then, held her pea ce, as Adam told her. 6 T hen Adam got u p, and spread his ha nds before God, beseeching and entrea ting Him with tears, to forgive him what he had do ne. And Adam rema ined thu s standing and praying forty days and forty nights. He n e ither a te nor drank u ntil he dropped down on the grou nd from hu nger a nd thirst. 7 T hen God sent His Word to Ada m, who raised hi m u p from where he lay, and said to him, "O Ada m, why have you sworn by My na me, and why have you made a greement with Satan another time? " 8 But Adam cried, and sa id, "O God, forgive me, for I did this u nwittingly; believing they were God's a ngels." 9 And God forgave Adam, saying to him, "Beware of Satan." 10 And He withdrew His Word from Ada m. 11 T hen Adam's h eart was co mforted; and he took Eve, and they went ou t of the cave, to prepare some food for their bodies. 12 Bu t from that day Adam stru ggled in his mind abou t his marrying Eve; a fraid that if he was to do it, God wou ld be angry with him. 13 T hen Adam and Eve went to the river of water, and sat on the bank , a s people do when they enjo y the m selves. 14 Bu t Satan was jealou s of them; a nd planned to destroy them.
CHAPT ER LXXII Ada m's hea rt is set on fire. Sa tan app ears as b eau tifu l mai den s. 1 T hen Satan, and ten from his hosts, transformed themselves into maidens, u nlik e any others in the whole world for grace. 2 T hey came u p ou t of the river in presence of Adam and Eve, and they said among themselves, "Co me, we will look at the faces o f Adam and Eve, who are of the men on earth. How beau tifu l they are, and how different is their look from our own faces." T hen they came to Adam and Eve, and greeted them; and stood wondering at them. 3 Adam and Eve l ook ed at them a lso, and wondered at their beau ty, and said, "Is there, then, u nder u s, a nother world, with su ch beau tifu l crea tu res as these in it?" 4 And those maidens said to Adam and Eve, "Yes, indeed, we are an abu ndant creation." 5 T hen Adam said to them, "Bu t how do you mu ltiply?" 6 And they answered hi m, "We ha ve hu sbands who have married u s, and we bear them children, who grow u p, and who in their tu rn marry and are married, and also bear chi ldren; and thu s we increase. And if so be, O Adam, you will not believe u s, we will show you ou r hu sbands and ou r children." 7 T hen they shou ted over the river as if to call their hu sbands and their children, who came u p from the ri ver, 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 du mb, and wo n dered at them. 9 T hen they said to Adam and Eve,
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"See a ll our hu sbands and our chi ldren? You shou ld marry Eve, as we ha ve married ou r hu sbands, so that you will have children as we hav e." T his was a device of Satan to deceive Adam. 10 Sa tan also thou ght within hi mself, "God at first commanded Adam concerning the fru it of the tree, sa ying to him, 'Eat not of it; else of dea th you shall die.' Bu t Adam ate of it, a nd yet God did not kill him; He only decreed on him death, and pla gu es and trials, u ntil the day he sha ll come ou t of his body. 11 Now, then, if I deceive him to do this thing, and to marry Eve withou t God's permission, God will k ill him then." 12 T herefore Satan work ed this a ppa rition before Adam and Eve; b eca u se he sou ght to k ill him, and to ma k e him disappear from off the fa ce of the earth. 13 Meanwhile the fire of sin came over Adam, and he thou ght of co mmitting sin. Bu t he restrained hi mself, fearing that if he followe d this a dvice of Satan, God wou ld pu t him to dea th. 14 T hen Adam and Eve got u p, and pra yed to God, while Sa tan and his hosts went do wn into the river, in presence of Adam and Eve; to let them see that they were going back to their own world. 15 T hen Adam and Eve went back to the Cave of Treasures, as they u sua lly did; abou t evening time. 16 And they both got u p and prayed to God that night. Adam remained sta nding in prayer, yet not k nowing how to pray, by reason of the thou ghts in his heart regarding his ma rrying Eve; and he continu ed so u ntil morning.
17 And when light came u p, Adam said to Eve, "Get u p, let u s go b e low the mou ntain, where they brou ght u s gold, and let u s ask the Lord concerning this matter." 18 T hen Eve said, "What is that matter, O Adam?" 19 And he answered her, "T hat I may requ est the Lord to inform me abou t marrying you ; for I will not do it withou t His permission or el se He will mak e u s perish, you and me. For those devils have set my heart on fire, with thou ghts of what th ey showed u s, in their sinfu l apparitions. 20 T hen Eve said to Adam, "Why need we g o belo w the mou ntain? Let u s rather stand u p and pray in ou r cave to God, to let u s k now whether this cou nsel is good or not." 21 T hen Adam rose u p in prayer and said, "O God, you k now that we transgressed against you , and from the moment we transgressed, we were stripped of ou r bright natu re; and our body became brutish, r equ iring food and drink ; and with a nimal desires. 22 Command u s, O God, not to give way to them wi thou t Your permi ssion, for fear that You will tu rn u s into nothing. Becau se if you do not give u s permission, we shall be overpowered, and follow that advice of Satan; and You will again mak e u s perish. 23 If not, then tak e ou r sou ls from u s; let u s be r id of this animal lu st. And if You give u s no order respec ting this thing, then sever Eve from me, and me from her; and place u s each far away from the other. 24 T hen again, O God, if You sep a rate u s from each other, the devils will deceive u s with their appa ri-
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tions that resemble u s, and destroy ou r hearts, and defile ou r thou ghts towa rds each other. Yet if it is not ea ch of u s towards the other, it will, a t a ll events, be throu gh their a ppea ra nce when the devils come to u s in ou r lik eness." Here Adam end ed his pra yer. CHAPT ER LXXIII The ma rriage o f Ad am and Eve. 1 T hen God considered the words of Ada m that they were tru e, and tha t he cou ld long await His order, respecting the cou nsel o f Satan. 2 And God approved Adam in what he ha d thou ght concerning this, and in the prayer he had offered in His presence; and the Word of God came to Ada m and said to him, "O Adam, if only you had had this cau tion at first, before you came ou t of the ga rden into this land!" 3 After that, God sent His angel who ha d brou ght gold, and the angel who had brou ght i ncen se, and the a ngel who had brou ght myrrh to Ada m, that they shou ld inform him respecting his marriage to Eve. 4 T hen those angels said to Adam, "Tak e the gold and give it to Eve as a wedding gift, and promise to ma rry her; then give her some i n cen se a nd myrrh as a present; and be you , you a nd she, one flesh." 5 Ada m obeyed the angels, and took the gold and put it into Eve's bosom in her garment; and promised to ma rry her with his hand. 6 T hen the angels commanded Ada m and Eve to get u p and pray forty days and forty nights; when tha t was done, then Adam was to ha ve sexu al intercou rse with his wife; for then this wou ld be an act pu re a nd u ndefiled; so that he wou ld
have children who wou ld mu ltiply, and replenish the face of the earth. 7 T hen both Adam and Eve received the words o f the angels; and the a ngels departed from them. 8 T hen Adam and Eve began to fast and pray, u ntil the end of the forty days; and then they had sexual i ntercou rse, as the angels had told them. And from the time Adam left the garden u ntil he wedded Eve, were two hu ndred and twenty -three days, that is seven months and thi rteen days. 9 T hu s was Satan's war with Adam defeated. CHAPT ER LXXIV The birth o f Cain and Lu lu wa . Wh y they rece ived those names. 1 And they lived on the earth work ing in order to k eep their bodies in good health; and they continu ed so u ntil the nine month s o f Eve's pre g nancy were ov er, and the time drew near when she mu st give birth. 2 T hen she said to Adam, "T he signs placed in this cave since we left the garden indicate that this is a pu re place and we will be praying in it again some time. It is not appr opriate then, that I shou ld give birth in it. Let u s instead go to the sh e ltering rock cave that was formed by the command of God when Satan threw a big rock down on u s in an attempt to k ill u s 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 wo rried abou t her becau se she was close to death and the words of God to her were being fu lfilled: "In su ffering shall you bear a child, and in sorrow shall you bring forth a child."
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4 But when Adam saw the distress in which Eve was, he got u p and pra yed to God, and said, "O Lord, look a t me with the eye of You r mercy, and bring her ou t of her di stress." 5 And God look ed at His maid serva nt Eve, and delivered her, and she ga ve birth to her first -born son, a nd with him a dau ghter. 6 T he Adam rejoiced at Eve's del ivera nce, and also over the children she ha d borne him. And Adam m inistered to Eve in the cave, u ntil the end of eight days; when they named the son Cain, and the dau ghter Lu lu wa . 7 T he meaning of Cain is "hater," beca u se he hated his sister in their mother's womb; befor e they came ou t of it. T herefore Adam named him Ca in. 8 Bu t Lulu wa means "beau tifu l," beca u se she was more beau tifu l than her mother. 9 T hen Adam and Eve waited u ntil Ca in a nd his sister were forty days old, when Adam said to Eve, "We will mak e an offering and o ffer it u p in beha lf of the children." 10 And Eve said, "We will mak e one offering for the first -born son a nd then later we shall mak e one for the da u ghter." CHAPT ER LXXV The family revisits the Cave o f Tre a sure s. Birth o f Ab el a nd Aklia . 1 T hen Adam prepared an offering, a nd he and Eve offered it u p for their children, and brou ght it to the a lta r they had built at first. 2 And Adam offered u p the o ffe ring, a nd ask ed God to accept his o ffering. 3 T hen God accepted Adam's o ffe r-
ing, and sent a light from heaven that shown on the offering. Adam and his son drew near to the offe ring, bu t Eve and the dau ghter did not a pproach it. 4 Adam and his son were joyfu l as they came down fro m on the altar. Adam and Eve waited u ntil the dau ghter was ei ghty days old, then Adam prepared an offering and took it to Eve and to the children. T hey went to the altar, where Adam o ffered it u p, as he was accu stomed, ask ing the Lord to accept his offe ring. 5 And the Lord accepted the offe ring of Adam and Eve. T h en Adam, Eve, and the children, drew near t ogether, and came down from the mou ntain, r ejoicing. 6 But they returned not to the ca ve in which they were born; bu t came to the Cave of Treasures, in o rder that the children shou ld go arou nd in it, and be blessed with the tok ens brou ght from the garden. 7 Bu t after they had been bl essed with these tok ens, they went back to the cave in which they were born. 8 However, before Eve had offered u p the offering, Adam had tak en her, and had gone with her to the ri ver of water, in which they threw the mselves at first; and there they washed themselves. Adam washed his body and Eve hers also clean, after the su ffering and distress that had come over them. 9 But Adam and Eve, after washing themselv es in th e river of water, r etu rned every night to the Cave o f 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 u ntil the
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children had been weaned. After they were weaned, Adam made an offering for the sou ls of his children in a ddition to the three times every week he made an offering for them. 11 When the children were weaned, Eve a gain conceived, and when her pregna ncy came to term, she gave birth to another son and dau ghter. T hey na med the son Abel and the da u ghter Ak lia. 12 T hen at the end of forty days, Ada m made an offering for the son, a nd at the end of eighty days he ma de another offering for the da u ghter, and treated them, as he ha d previou sly treated Cain and his sister Lu lu wa. 13 He brou ght them to the Cave of Trea sures, where they received a blessing, and then returned to the ca ve where they were born. After these children were born, Eve stopped having chi ldren. CHAPT ER LXXVI Ca in beco mes jea lou s of Ab el be ca use o f h is sisters. 1 And the children began to grow stronger and taller; bu t Cain was ha rd-hearted, and ru led over his you nger brother. 2 Often when his father made an offering, Cain wou ld remain behind a nd not go with them, to offer u p. 3 Bu t, as to Abel, he had a meek hea rt, and was obedient to his father a nd mother. He frequ ently mov ed them to mak e an offering, b ecau se he loved it. He prayed and fasted a lot. 4 T hen came this sign to Abel. As he wa s coming into the Cave of Trea sures, and saw the golden rod s, the incense and the myrrh, he ask ed his pa rents, Adam and Eve, to tell
him abou t them and ask ed, "Where did you get these from?" 5 T hen Adam told him all that had befallen them. And Ab el felt d eeply abou t what his father told him. 6 Furthermore his father, Adam, told him of the work s of God, and of the garden. After hearing that, Abel remained behind after his father left and stayed the whole o f that night in the Cave of Treasures. 7 And that night, while he was pra ying, Satan appeared to him u nder the figu re of a man, who said to him, "You have frequ ently moved you r father into mak ing offerings, fasting and praying, therefore I will k ill you , and mak e 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. T hen when it was day, an angel of God appeared to him, who said to him, "Do not cu t short either fasting, prayer, or offering u p an offering to you r God. For, look , the Lord had accepted you r prayer. Be not afra id of the figu re which appeared to you in the night, a nd who cu rsed you to death." And the angel departed from him. 9 T hen when it was day, Abel came to Adam and Eve, and told them o f the vision he had seen. Wh en they heard it, they grieved mu ch over it, bu t said nothing to him abou t 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 lov e you r brother Abel so mu ch more than they love you , they wish to join him in marriage to you r beau tifu l si ster becau se they love him. However, they
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wish to join you in marriage to his u gly sister, becau se they hate you. 11 Now before they do that, I am telling you that you shou ld k ill you r brother. T hat way you r sister will be left for you , and his sister will be ca st a way." 12 And Satan departed from him. Bu t the devil remained behind in Ca in's heart, and frequ ently a spired to k ill his brother. CHAPT ER LXXVII Ca in , 15 years o ld , and Abel 12 y ears old, g ro w apart. 1 Bu t when Adam saw that the ol der brother hated the you nger, he e n dea vored to so ften their hearts, and sa id to Cain, "O my son, tak e of the fru its of your sowing and mak e an offering to God, so that He might forgive you for you r wick edness and sin." 2 He said also to Abel, "Tak e some of you r sowing and mak e an o ffering a nd bring it to God, so that He might forgive you for you r wick e dness a nd sin." 3 T hen Abel obey ed his father's voice, took some o f his sowing, and ma de a good offering, and said to his fa ther, Adam, "Come with me a nd show me h ow to o ffer it u p." 4 And they went, Adam and Eve with him, and they showed him ho w to offer u p his gift on the altar. T hen a fter that, they stood u p and pra yed that God wou ld accept Abel's offering. 5 T hen God look ed at Abel and a ccepted his offering. And God was more pleased with Abel than with his offering, becau se of his good hea rt a nd pure body. T here was no tra ce of gu ile in him. 6 T hen they came down from the
a ltar, and went to the cave in which they lived. Bu t Abel, by rea son of his joy at having made his offering, repeated it three times a week , after the example of his father Adam. 7 Bu t as to Cain, he did not want to mak e an offering, bu t after his f a ther became very angry, he o ffered u p a gift once. He to ok the smallest of his sheep for an offering and when he o ffered it u p, his ey es were on the lamb. 8 T herefore God did not accept his offering, becau se his heart was fu ll of mu rderou s thou ghts. 9 And they all thu s lived together in the cave in which Ev e had brou ght forth, u ntil Cain was fifteen years old, and Abel twelve y ears old. CHAPT ER LXXVIII Jea lousy o vercomes Ca in . He makes troub le in th e family. Ho w th e first murder was p lann ed . 1 T hen Adam said to Eve, "Behold the children are grown u p; we m u st think of finding wives for them." 2 T hen Eve answered, "How can we do it?" 3 T hen Adam said to her, "We will join Abel's si ster in marriage to Cain, and Cain's sister to Abel. 4 T he said Eve to Adam, "I do not lik e Cain becau se he is hard hearted; bu t let them stay with u s u ntil we offer u p to the Lord in their behalf." 5 And Adam said no more. 6 Meanwhile Sa tan came to Cain in the figu re of a man of the field, a nd said to him, "Behold Adam and Eve have tak en cou nsel together abou t the marriage of you two; and they have agreed to marry Abel's sister to you , and you r sister to him. 7 Bu t if it was not that I love you , I
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wou ld not have told you this thing. Yet if you will tak e my a dvice, and obey me, I will bring to you on you r wedding day beau tifu l robes, gold a nd silver in plenty, and my r ela tions will attend you." 8 T hen Cain said with joy, "Where a re your rela tions?" 9 And Satan answered, "My rela tions a re in a garden in the north, where I once meant to bring you r fa ther Adam; bu t he wou ld not a ccept my o ffer. 10 Bu t you , if you will r eceive my words and if y ou will come to me a fter you r wedding, you shall rest from the misery in which y ou are; a nd you shall rest and be better off tha n your father Adam." 11 At these words of Satan Cai n opened his ears, and leaned towards his speech. 12 And he did not remain in the field, bu t he went to Eve, his mot her, a nd beat her, and cursed her, and sa id to her, "Why are you planning to tak e my sister to wed her to my brother? Am I dead?" 13 His mother, however, qu ieted him, a nd sent him to the field where he ha d been. 14 T hen when Adam came, she told him of what Cain had done. 15 Bu t Adam grieved and held his pea ce, and said not a word. 16 T hen on the next morning Adam sa id to Cain his son, "Tak e of you r sheep, you ng and good, and offer them u p to you r God; and I will spea k to you r brother, to mak e to his God a n offering of corn." 17 T hey both obeyed th eir father Ada m, and they took their offerings, a nd offered them u p on the mou nta in by the altar. 18 Bu t Cain behaved hau ghtily t o-
wards his brother, and shoved him from the altar, and wou ld not let him offer u p his gift on the altar; bu t he offered his o wn on it, with a prou d heart, full of gu ile, and frau d. 19 Bu t as for Abel, he set u p stones that were near at hand, and on that, he offered u p his gift with a heart hu mble and free from gu ile. 20 Cain was then standing by the altar on which he had o ffered u p his gift; and he cried to God to accept his o ffering; bu t God did not accept it from him; n either did a divine fire come do wn to con su me his o ffering. 21 But he remained standing over against the altar, ou t of hu mor a nd meanness, look ing towards his brother Abel, to see i f God wou ld a ccept his offering or not. 22 And Abel prayed to God to a ccept his offering. T hen a divine fire came down and consu med his o ffe ring. And God smelled the sweet s a vor of his o ffering; becau se Abel loved Him and r ejoice in Him. 23 And becau se God was well pleased with him, He sent hi m an a ngel of light in the figure of a man who had partak en of his offering, becau se He had smelled the sweet savor of his o ffering, and they co m forted Abel and strengthened his heart. 24 Bu t Cain was looking on all that took place at his brother's offe ring, and was angry becau se of it. 25 T hen he opened his mou th a nd bla sphemed God, becau se He had not a ccepted his o ffering. 26 Bu t God said to cain, "Why do you look sad? Be righteou s, that I may accept you r offering. Not against Me have you mu rmu red, bu t against you rsel f. 27 And God said this to Cain in r e-
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buk e, and becau se He abhorred him a nd his offering. 28 And Cain came down from the a ltar, his color changed and with a sa d fa ce, and came to his fa ther and mother and told them all that had befa llen him. And Adam gr ieved mu ch becau se God had not accepted Ca in's offering. 29 Bu t Abel came do wn rejoicing, a nd with a gladsome heart, and told his fa ther and mother how God had a ccepted his o ffering. And they r ejoiced at it and k issed his face. 30 And Abel said to his father, "B eca u se Cain shoved me from the a ltar, a nd wou ld not a llow me to offer my gift on it, I made an altar for mysel f and offered my gift on it." 31 Bu t when Adam heard this he wa s very sorry, becau se it was the a lta r he had bu ilt at first, and on which he had o ffered his own gifts. 32 As to Cain, he was so resentfu l a nd so a ngry that he went into the field, where Satan came to him and sa id to him, "Since you r brother Abel has tak en refu ge with your f a ther Adam, becau se you shoved him from the altar, they have k issed his fa ce, a nd they rejoice over him, far more than over you ." 33 When Cain heard these words of Sa ta n, he was filled with rage; and he let no one k now. Bu t he was la ying wa it to k ill his brother, u ntil he brou ght him into the cave, and then sa id to him: 34 "O brother, the cou ntry is so bea u tifu l, and there are su ch beau tifu l a nd pleasu rable trees in it, and cha rming to look at! Bu t brother, you ha ve never been one day in the field to tak e you r pleasu re in that pla ce. 35 Today, O, my brother, I very
mu ch wish you wou ld come with me into the field, to enjoy you rself and to bless ou r fields and ou r flock s, for you are righteou s, and I love you mu ch, O my brother! Bu t you ha ve alienated you rself from me." 36 T hen Abel consented to go with his brother Cain into the field. 37 Bu t before going ou t, Cain said to Abel, "Wait for me, u ntil I fetch a staff, becau se of wild beasts." 38 T hen Abel stood waiting in his innocence. Bu t Cain, the forward, fetched a staff and went ou t. 39 And they began, Cain and his brother Abel, to walk in the way; Cain talk ing to him, and comforting him, to mak e him forget everything. CHAPT ER LXXIX A wicked plan is ca rried to a trag ic co nclusion . Ca in is frigh tened . "Am I my bro th er's keeper?" Th e sev en pun ishmen ts. Peace is sha ttered . 1 And so they went on, u ntil they came to a lonely place, where there were no sheep; then Ab el said to Cain, "Behold, my brother, we are tired from walk ing; for we see no ne of the trees, nor of the fruits, nor of the flou rishing green plants, nor o f the sheep, nor any one o f the thing s of which you told me. Where are those sheep of thine you told me to bless?" 2 T hen Cain said to him, "Come on, and you shall see many beau tifu l things very soon, bu t go b e fore me, u ntil I catch u p to you ." 3 T hen went Abel for ward, bu t Cain remained behind him. 4 And Abel was walk ing in his i nnocence, withou t gu ile; not believing his brother wou ld kill him. 5 T hen Cain, when he came u p to him, comforted him with his talk ,
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wa lk ing a littl e behind him; then he ra n u p to him and beat him with the sta ff, blow after blow, u ntil he was stu nned. 6 Bu t when Abel fell do wn on the grou nd, seeing that his brother mea nt to k ill him, he said to Cain, "O, my brother, have pity on me. By the breasts we have su ck ed, don't hit me! By the womb that bore u s and tha t brou ght u s into the world, don't bea t me to death with that staff! If you will k ill me, tak e one of these la rge stones and k ill me ou tright." 7 T hen Cain, the hard-hearted, and cru el murderer, took a large stone, a nd beat his brother's head with it, u ntil his brains oozed ou t, and he wa llowed in his blood, before him. 8 And Cain repented not of what he ha d done. 9 Bu t the earth, when the blood of righteou s Abel fell on it, trembled, a s it drank his blood, and wou ld ha ve destroyed Cain b ecau se of it. 10 And the blood of Abel cried mysteriou sly to God, to avenge him of his mu rderer. 11 T hen Cain began at once to dig the grou nd wherein to lay his brot her; for he was trembling from the fea r that came over him, when he sa w the earth tremble on his a ccou nt. 12 He then cast his brother into the pit he made, and covered him with du st. Bu t the grou nd wou ld not r eceive him; bu t it threw him u p at once. 13 Again Cain du g the grou nd and hid his brother in it; bu t again the grou nd threw him u p on itself; u ntil three times the grou nd thu s threw u p on itself the body o f Abel. 14 T he mu ddy grou nd threw him u p the first time, becau se he was not
the first creation; and it threw him u p the second time and wou ld not receive him, becau se he was rig hteou s and good, and was k illed withou t a cau se; and the grou nd threw him u p the third time and wou ld not receive hi m, that there might remain before his brother a witness against him. 15 And so the earth mock ed Cain, u ntil the Word of God, came to him concerning his brother. 16 T hen was God angry, and mu ch displeased at Abel's d eath; and He thu ndered from heaven, and lightnings went b efore Him, and the Word of th e Lord God came from heaven to Cain, and said to him, "Where is Abel you r brother?" 17 T hen Cain answered with a prou d heart and a gru ff voice, "How, O God? Am I my brother's k eeper?" 18 T hen God said to Cain, "Cu rsed be the earth that has dru nk the blood of Ab el you r brother; and as for you , you will always be trembling and shaking; and this will be a mark on you so that who ever finds you , will k ill you ." 19 Bu t Cain cried becau se God had said those words to him; and Cain said to Him, "O God, wh osoever finds me shall k ill me, and I shall be blotted ou t from the face o f the earth." 20 T hen God said to Cain, "Wh oever finds you will not kill you ;" b ecau se before this, God had been sa ying to Cain, "I shall put seven p u nishment s on anyone that k ills Cain." For as to the word of God to Cain, "Where is you r brother?" God said it in mercy for him, to try and mak e him repent. 21 For if Cain had repented at that time, and had said, "O God, forgive
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me my sin, and the mu rder of my brother," God wou ld then have fo rgiven him his sin. 22 And as to God saying to Cain, "Cu rsed be the grou nd that has dru nk the blood of you r brother" T ha t also, was God's mercy on Cain. For God did not cu rse hi m, bu t He cu rsed the grou nd; althou gh it was not the grou nd that had k illed Abel, a nd committed a wick ed sin. 23 For it was fitting that the curse shou ld fall on the mu rderer; yet in mercy did God so manage His thou ghts as that no one shou ld k now it, a nd turn away from Cain. 24 And He said to him, "Where is you r brother?" To which he an swered and said, "I k now not." T h en the Creator said to him, "Be tre mbling a nd quak ing." 25 T hen Cain trembled and became terrified; and throu gh this sign did God mak e him an example before all the crea tion, as the mu rderer of his brother. Also did God bring tre mbling and terror over hi m, that he might see the peace in which he was a t first, and see also the trembling a nd terror he endu red at the last; so tha t he might hu mble himsel f before God, a nd r epent of his sin, and seek the pea ce that he enjoyed at first. 26 And in the word of G od that sa id, "I will pu t seven pu nishments on a nyone who k ills Cain," God was not seek ing to k ill Cain with the sword, bu t He sou ght to mak e him die of fasting, and praying and cr ying by hard rule, u ntil the time that he wa s delivered fro m his sin. 27 And the seven pu nishments are the seven gen erations during which God a waited Cain for the murder of his brother. 28 Bu t as to Cain, ever since he had
k illed his brother, he could find no rest in any place; but went back to Adam and Eve, trembling, terrifi ed, and defiled with blood. . . .
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First Book of Adam and Eve

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