First Book of Adam and Eve
by
Rutherford Platt
Part 2 out of 3
5 And if you said, 'Give me of the Water of Life that
I may drink and live' -- it cannot be this day, but on the
day that I shall descend into hell, and break the gates of
brass, and bruise in pieces the kingdoms of iron.
6 Then will I in mercy save your soul and the souls of
the righteous, to give them rest in My garden. And that
shall be when the end of the world is come.
7 And, again, in regards to the Water of Life you
seek, it will not be granted you this day; but on the day
that I shall shed My blood on your head* in the land of
Golgotha**.
8 For My blood shall be the Water of Life to you at
that time, and not to just you alone, but to all your
descendants who shall believe in Me***; that it be to them
for rest forever."
9 The Lord said again to Adam, "O Adam, when you were
in the garden, these trials did not come to you.
10 But since you transgressed My commandment, all
these sufferings have come over you.
11 Now, also, does your flesh require food and drink;
drink then of that water that flows by you on the face of
the earth.
12 Then God withdrew His Word from Adam.
13 And Adam and Eve worshipped the Lord, and returned from
the river of water to the cave. It was noon-day; and when
they drew near to the cave, they saw a large fire by it.
* This phrase indicates that the bleeding will take
place in an elevated position above the populace. This is
believed to be a reference to the cross whereby Christ bled
profusely above the people below.
** Golgotha (goal-goth-uh) was the hill outside the
walls of Jerusalem where Jesus was crucified. Its exact
location is not precisely known, but the Church of the Holy
Sepulcher is believed to have been constructed on this hill.
*** Reference: John 6:25 and 7:38
Chapter XLIII - The Devil attempts arson.
1 Then Adam and Eve were afraid, and stood still. And
Adam said to Eve, "What is that fire by our cave? We have
done nothing in it to cause this fire.
2 We neither have bread to bake therein, nor broth to
cook there. As to this fire, we have never known anything
like it, neither do we know what to call it.
3 But ever since God sent the cherub with a sword of
fire that flashed and lightened in his hand, from fear of
which we fell down and were like corpses, have we not seen
the like.
4 But now, O Eve, behold, this is the same fire that
was in the cherub's hand, which God has sent to keep the
cave in which we live.
5 O Eve, it is because God is angry with us, and will
drive us from it.
6 O Eve, we have again transgressed His commandment in
that cave, so that He had sent this fire to burn around it,
and to prevent us from going into it.
7 If this be really so, O Eve, where shall we live?
And where shall we flee from before the face of the Lord?
Since, in regards to the garden, He will not let us live in
it, and He has deprived us of the good things thereof; but
He has placed us in this cave, in which we have borne
darkness, trials and hardships, until at last we have found
comfort therein.
8 But now that He has brought us out into another
land, who knows what may happen in it? And who knows but
that the darkness of that land may be far greater than the
darkness of this land?
9 Who knows what may happen in that land by day or by
night? And who knows whether it will be far or near, O Eve?
Where it will please God to put us, may be far from the
garden, O Eve? Or where God will prevent us from beholding
Him, because we have transgressed His commandment, and
because we have made requests of Him at all times?
10 O Eve, if God will bring us into a strange land
other than this, in which we find consolation, it must be
to put our souls to death, and blot out our name from the
face of the earth.
11 O Eve, if we are further alienated from the garden
and from God, where shall we find Him again, and ask Him to
give us gold, incense, myrrh, and some fruit of the fig-tree?
12 Where shall we find Him, to comfort us a second
time? Where shall we find Him, that He may think of us, as
regards the covenant He has made on our behalf?"
13 Then Adam said no more. And they kept looking, He
and Eve, towards the cave, and at the fire that flared up
around it.
14 But that fire was from Satan. For he had gathered
trees and dry grasses, and had carried and brought them to
the cave, and had set fire to them, in order to consume the
cave and what was in it.
15 So that Adam and Eve should be left in sorrow, and
he should cut off their trust in God, and make them deny
Him.
16 But by the mercy of God he could not burn the cave,
for God sent His angel around the cave to guard it from
such a fire, until it went out.
17 And this fire lasted from noon-day until the break
of day. That was the forty-fifth day.
Chapter XLIV - The power of fire over man.
1 Yet Adam and Eve were standing and looking at the fire,
and unable to come near the cave from their dread of the fire.
2 And Satan kept on bringing trees and throwing them
into the fire, until the flames of the fire rose up on
high, and covered the whole cave, thinking, as he did in
his own mind, to consume the cave with much fire. But the
angel of the Lord was guarding it.
3 And yet he could not curse Satan, nor injure him by
word, because he had no authority over him, neither did he
take to doing so with words from his mouth.
4 Therefore the angel tolerated him, without saying
one bad word, until the Word of God came who said to Satan,
"Go away from here; once before you deceived My servants,
and this time you seek to destroy them.
5 Were it not for My mercy I would have destroyed you
and your hosts from off the earth. But I have had patience
with you, until the end of the world."
6 Then Satan fled from before the Lord. But the fire
went on burning around the cave like a coal-fire the whole
day; which was the forty-sixth day Adam and Eve had spent
since they came out of the garden.
7 And when Adam and Eve saw that the heat of the fire
had somewhat cooled down, they began to walk towards the
cave to get into it as they usually did; but they could
not, by reason of the heat of the fire.
8 Then they both began crying because of the fire that
separated them from the cave, and that came towards them,
burning. And they were afraid.
9 Then Adam said to Eve, "See this fire of which we
have a portion in us: which formerly yielded to us, but no
longer does so, now that we have transgressed the limit of
creation, and changed our condition, and our nature is
altered. But the fire is not changed in its nature, nor
altered from its creation. Therefore it now has power over
us; and when we come near it, it scorches our flesh."
Chapter XLV - Why Satan didn't fulfil his promises.
Description of hell.
1 Then Adam rose and prayed to God, saying, "See, this
fire has separated us from the cave in which You have
commanded us to live; but now, behold, we cannot go into it."
2 Then God heard Adam, and sent him His Word, that said: --
3 "O Adam, see this fire! How different the flame and
heat thereof are from the garden of delights and the good
things in it!
4 When you were under My control, all creatures
yielded to you; but after you have transgressed My
commandment, they all rise over you."
5 God said again to him, "See, O Adam, how Satan has
exalted you! He has deprived you of the Godhead, and of an
exalted state like Me, and has not kept his word to you;
but has, after all, become your enemy. He is the one who
made this fire in which he meant to burn you and Eve.
6 Why, O Adam, has he not kept his agreement with you,
not even one day; but has deprived you of the glory that
was on you -- when you yielded to his command?
7 Do you think, Adam, that he loved you when he made
this agreement with you? Or that he loved you and wished
to raise you on high?
8 But no, Adam, he did not do all that out of love to
you; but he wished to make you come out of light into
darkness; and from an exalted state to degradation; from
glory to abasement; from joy to sorrow; and from rest to
fasting and fainting."
9 God also said to Adam, "See this fire kindled by
Satan around your cave; see this wonder that surrounds you;
and know that it will encompass about both you and your
descendants, when you obey his command; that he will plague
you with fire; and that you will go down into hell after
you are dead.
10 Then you will see the burning of his fire, that
will be burning around you and likewise your descendants.
You will not be delivered from it until My coming; just
like you cannot go into your cave right now because of the
great fire around it; not until My Word comes and makes a
way for you on the day My covenant is fulfilled.
11 There is no way for you at present to come from
this life to rest, not until My Word comes, who is My Word.
Then He will make a way for you, and you shall have rest."
Then God called with His Word to the fire that burned
around the cave, that it split itself in half, until Adam
had gone through it. Then the fire parted itself by God's
order, and a way was made for Adam*.
12 And God withdrew His Word from Adam.
* Reference: Exodus 14:21,22 and Joshua 3:15-17
Chapter XLVI - "How many times have I delivered you
out of his hand . . ."
1 Then Adam and Eve began again to come into the cave.
And when they came to the way between the fire, Satan blew
into the fire like a whirlwind, and caused the burning
coal-fire to cover Adam and Eve; so that their bodies were
singed; and the coal-fire scorched them*.
2 And from the burning of the fire Adam and Eve
screamed, and said, "O Lord, save us! Leave us not to be
consumed and plagued by this burning fire; neither require
us for having transgressed Your commandment."
3 Then God looked at their bodies, on which Satan had
caused fire to burn, and God sent His angel that stayed the
burning fire. But the wounds remained on their bodies.
4 And God said to Adam, "See Satan's love for you, who
pretended to give you the Godhead and greatness; and,
behold, he burns you with fire, and seeks to destroy you
from off the earth.
5 Then look at Me, O Adam; I created you, and how many
times have I delivered you out of his hand? If not,
wouldn't he have destroyed you?"
6 God said again to Eve, "What is that he promised you
in the garden, saying, 'As soon as you eat from the tree,
your eyes will be opened, and you shall become like gods,
knowing good and evil.' But look! He has burnt your
bodies with fire, and has made you taste the taste of fire,
for the taste of the garden; and has made you see the
burning of fire, and the evil of it, and the power it has
over you.
7 Your eyes have seen the good he has taken from you,
and in truth he has opened your eyes; and you have seen the
garden in which you were with Me, and you have also seen
the evil that has come over you from Satan. But as to the
Godhead he cannot give it to you, neither fulfil his speech
to you. No, he was bitter against you and your
descendants, that will come after you."
8 And God withdrew His Word form them.
* At this time, the garments that the Lord had given
them in Genesis 3:21 were burned off so that Adam and Eve
were again naked. Reference chapter L whereby Adam and Eve
seek garments with which to cover their nakedness..
Chapter XLVII - The Devil's own Scheming.
1 Then Adam and Eve came into the cave, yet trembling at
the fire that had scorched their bodies. So Adam said to Eve:--
2 "Look, the fire has burnt our flesh in this world;
but how will it be when we are dead, and Satan shall punish
our souls? Is not our deliverance long and far off, unless
God come, and in mercy to us fulfil His promise?"
3 Then Adam and Eve passed into the cave, blessing
themselves for coming into it once more. For it was in
their thoughts, that they never should enter it, when they
saw the fire around it.
4 But as the sun was setting the fire was still
burning and nearing Adam and Eve in the cave, so that they
could not sleep in it. After the sun had set, they went
out of it. This was the forty-seventh day after they came
out of the garden.
5 Adam and Eve then came under the top of hill by the
garden to sleep, as they were accustomed.
6 And they stood and prayed God to forgive them their
sins, and then fell asleep under the summit of the
mountain.
7 But Satan, the hater of all good, thought within
himself: "Whereas God has promised salvation to Adam by
covenant, and that He would deliver him out of all the
hardships that have befallen him -- but has not promised me
by covenant, and will not deliver me out of my hardships;
no, since He has promised him that He should make him and
his descendants live in the kingdom in which I once was --
I will kill Adam.
8 The earth shall be rid of him; and shall be left to
me alone; so that when he is dead he may not have any
descendants left to inherit the kingdom that shall remain
my own realm; God will then be wanting me, and He will
restore it to me and my hosts."
Chapter XLVIII - Fifth apparition of Satan to Adam and Eve.
1 After this Satan called to his hosts, all of which
came to him, and said to him: --
2 "O, our lord, what will you do?"
3 He then said to them, "You know that this Adam, whom
God created out of the dust, is the one who has taken our
kingdom, come, let us gather together and kill him; or hurl
a rock at him and at Eve, and crush them under it."
4 When Satan's hosts heard these words, they came to
the part of the mountain where Adam and Eve were asleep.
5 Then Satan and his host took a huge rock, broad and
even, and without blemish, thinking within himself, "If
there should be a hole in the rock, when it fell on them,
the hole in the rock might come over them, and so they
would escape and not die."
6 He then said to his hosts, "Take up this stone, and
throw it flat on them, so that it doesn't roll off them to
somewhere else. And when you have hurled it, get away from
there quickly."
7 And they did as he told them. But as the rock fell
down from the mountain toward Adam and Eve, God commanded
the rock to become a dome over them*, that did them no
harm. And so it was by God's order.
8 But when the rock fell, the whole earth quaked with
it**, and was shaken from the size of the rock.
9 And as it quaked and shook, Adam and Eve awoke from
sleep, and found themselves under a dome of rock. But they
didn't know what had happened; because when the fell asleep
they were under the sky, and not under a dome; and when
they saw it, they were afraid.
10 Then Adam said to Eve, "Wherefore has the mountain
bent itself, and the earth quaked and shaken on our account?
And why has this rock spread itself over us like a tent?
11 Does God intend to plague us and to shut us up in
this prison? Or will He close the earth over us?
12 He is angry with us for our having come out of the
cave, without His order; and for our having done so of our
own accord, without consulting Him, when we left the cave
and came to this place."
13 Then Eve said, "If, indeed, the earth quaked for
our sake, and this rock forms a tent over us because of our
transgression, then we will be sorry, O Adam, because our
punishment will be long.
14 But get up and pray to God to let us know concerning this,
and what this rock is that is spread over us like a tent."
15 Then Adam stood up and prayed before the Lord, to
let him know what had brought about this difficult time.
And Adam stood praying like that until the morning.
* The word "dome" is used here but the text does not
specifically suggest that the covering was round - only
that it covered them on all sides, however a dome is the
most likely shape that would have be able to withstand the
impact with the ground. From verse 9 that says "when they
saw it" and verse 11 that says "shut us up in this prison",
we can conclude that the dome had holes in its sides that
were big enough to let in light and air but were too small
to allow Adam and Eve to escape. Another conclusion would
be that the holes were large but too high up for Adam and
Eve to reach, however the former is more likely.
** In verse 7 of the next chapter (XLIX), God tells
Adam and Eve that the ground was also lowered under them -
"I commanded ... the rock under you to lower itself".
Chapter XLIX - The first prophecy of the Resurrection.
1 Then the Word of God came and said: --
2 "O Adam, who counselled you, when you came out of
the cave, to come to this place?"
3 And Adam said to God, "O Lord, we came to this place
because of the heat of the fire, that came over us inside
the cave."
4 Then the Lord God said to Adam, "O Adam, you dread
the heat of fire for one night, but how will it be when you
live in hell?
5 Yet, O Adam, don't be afraid, and don't believe that I have
placed this dome of rock over you to plague you with it.
6 It came from Satan, who had promised you the Godhead
and majesty. It is he who threw down this rock to kill you
under it, and Eve with you, and thus to prevent you from
living on the earth.
7 But, in mercy for you, just as that rock was falling
down on you, I commanded it to form an dome over you; and
the rock under you to lower itself.
8 And this sign, O Adam, will happen to Me at My
coming on earth: Satan will raise the people of the Jews to
put Me to death; and they will lay Me in a rock, and seal a
large stone over Me, and I shall remain within that rock
three days and three nights.
9 But on the third day I shall rise again, and it
shall be salvation to you, O Adam, and to your descendants,
to believe in Me. But, O Adam, I will not bring you from
under this rock until three days and three nights have
passed."
10 And God withdrew His Word from Adam.
11 But Adam and Eve lived under the rock three days
and three nights, as God had told them.
12 And God did so to them because they had left their
cave and had come to this same place without God's order.
13 But, after three days and three nights, God created
an opening in the dome of rock and allowed them to get out
from under it. Their flesh was dried up, and their eyes
and hearts were troubled from crying and sorrow.
Chapter L - Adam and Eve seek to cover their nakedness.
1 Then Adam and Eve went forth and came into the Cave
of Treasures, and they stood praying in it the whole of
that day, until the evening.
2 And this took place at the end of the fifty days
after they had left the garden.
3 But Adam and Eve rose again and prayed to God in the cave
the whole of that night, and begged for mercy from Him.
4 And when the day dawned, Adam said to Eve, "Come!
Let us go and do some work for our bodies."
5 So they went out of the cave, and came to the
northern border of the garden, and they looked for
something to cover their bodies with*. But they found
nothing, and knew not how to do the work. Yet their bodies
were stained, and they were speechless from cold and heat.
6 Then Adam stood and asked God to show him something
with which to cover their bodies.
7 Then came the Word of God and said to him, "O Adam,
take Eve and come to the seashore where you fasted before.
There you will find skins of sheep that were left after
lions ate the carcasses. Take them and make garments for
yourselves, and clothe yourselves with them.
* Chapter XLVI, verse 1, says "Satan blew into the
fire ... so that their bodies were singed". At this time,
the garments that the Lord had given them in Genesis 3:21
were burned off so that Adam and Eve were again naked.
Chapter LI - "What is his beauty that you should have
followed him?"
1 When Adam heard these words from God, he took Eve
and went from the northern end of the garden to the south
of it, by the river of water where they once fasted.
2 But as they were going on their way, and before they
got there, Satan, the wicked one, had heard the Word of God
communing with Adam respecting his covering.
3 It grieved him, and he hastened to the place where
the sheep-skins were, with the intention of taking them and
throwing them into the sea, or of burning them with fire,
so that Adam and Eve would not find them.
4 But as he was about to take them, the Word of God
came from heaven, and bound him by the side of those skins
until Adam and Eve came near him. But as they got closer
to him they were afraid of him, and of his hideous look.
5 Then came the Word of God to Adam and Eve, and said
to them, "This is he who was hidden in the serpent, and who
deceived you, and stripped you of the garment of light and
glory in which you were.
6 This is he who promised you majesty and divinity.
Where, then, is the beauty that was on him? Where is his
divinity? Where is his light? Where is the glory that
rested on him?
7 Now his figure is hideous; he is become abominable
among angels; and he has come to be called Satan.
8 O Adam, he wished to take from you this earthly
garment of sheep-skins, and to destroy it, and not let you
be covered with it.
9 What, then, is his beauty that you should have
followed him? And what have you gained by obeying him?
See his evil works and then look at Me; at Me, your
Creator, and at the good deeds I do you.
10 See, I bound him until you came and saw him and
beheld his weakness, that no power is left with him."
11 And God released him from his bonds.
Chapter LII - Adam and Eve sew the first shirt.
1 After this Adam and Eve said no more, but cried
before God on account of their creation, and of their
bodies that required an earthly covering.
2 Then Adam said to Eve, "O Eve, this is the skin of
beasts with which we shall be covered, but when we put it
on, behold, we shall be wearing a token of death on our
bodies. Just as the owners of these skins have died and
have wasted away, so also shall we die and pass away."
3 Then Adam and Eve took the skins, and went back to
the Cave of Treasures; and when in it, they stood and
prayed as they were accustomed.
4 And they thought how they could make garments of
those skins; for they had no skill for it.
5 Then God sent to them His angel to show them how to
work it out. And the angel said to Adam, "Go forth, and
bring some palm-thorns." Then Adam went out, and brought
some, as the angel had commanded him.
6 Then the angel began before them to work out the
skins, after the manner of one who prepares a shirt. And
he took the thorns and stuck them into the skins, before
their eyes.
7 Then the angel again stood up and prayed God that
the thorns in those skins should be hidden, so as to be, as
it were, sewn with one thread.
8 And so it was, by God's order; they became garments
for Adam and Eve, and He clothed them therewith.
9 From that time the nakedness of their bodies was
covered from the sight of each other's eyes.
10 And this happened at the end of the fifty-first day.
11 Then when Adam's and Eve's bodies were covered,
they stood and prayed, and sought mercy of the Lord, and
forgiveness, and gave Him thanks for that He had had mercy
on them, and had covered their nakedness. And they ceased
not from prayer the whole of that night.
12 Then when the morning dawned at the rising of the
sun, they said their prayers after their custom; and then
went out of the cave.
13 And Adam said to Eve, "Since we don't know what there is
to the west of this cave, let us go out and see it today."
Then they came forth and went toward the western border.
Chapter LIII - The prophecy of the Western Lands
and of the great flood.
1 They were not very far from the cave, when Satan
came towards them, and hid himself between them and the
cave, under the form of two ravenous lions three days
without food, that came towards Adam and Eve, as if to
break them in pieces and devour them.
2 Then Adam and Eve cried, and prayed God to deliver
them from their paws.
3 Then the Word of God came to them, and drove away
the lions from them.
4 And God said to Adam, "O Adam, what do you seek on
the western border? And why have you left of thine own
accord the eastern border, in which was your living place?
5 Now then, turn back to your cave, and remain in it,
so that Satan won't deceive you or work his purpose over you.
6 For in this western border, O Adam, there will go
from you a descendant, that shall replenish it; and that
will defile themselves with their sins, and with their
yielding to the commands of Satan, and by following his works.
7 Therefore will I bring over them the waters of a
flood, and overwhelm them all. But I will deliver what is
left of the righteous among them; and I will bring them to
a distant land, and the land in which you live now shall
remain desolate and without one inhabitant in it.
8 After God had thus spoken to them, they went back to
the Cave of Treasures. But their flesh was dried up, and
they were weak from fasting and praying, and from the
sorrow they felt at having trespassed against God.
Chapter LIV - Adam and Eve go exploring.
1 Then Adam and Eve stood up in the cave and prayed
the whole of that night until the morning dawned. And when
the sun was risen they both went out of the cave; their
heads were wandering from heaviness of sorrow and they
didn't know where they were going.
2 And they walked in that condition to the southern
border of the garden. And they began to go up that border
until they came to the eastern border beyond which there
was no more land.
3 And the cherub who guarded the garden was standing
at the western gate, and guarding it against Adam and Eve,
lest they should suddenly come into the garden. And the
cherub turned around, as if to put them to death; according
to the commandment God had given him.
4 When Adam and Eve came to the eastern border of the
garden -- thinking in their hearts that the cherub was not
watching -- as they were standing by the gate as if wishing
to go in, suddenly came the cherub with a flashing sword of
fire in his hand; and when he saw them, he went forth to
kill them. For he was afraid that God would destroy him if
they went into the garden without His order.
5 And the sword of the cherub seemed to shoot flames a
distance away from it. But when he raised it over Adam
and Eve, the flame of the sword did not flash forth.
6 Therefore the cherub thought that God was favorable
to them, and was bringing them back into the garden. And
the cherub stood wondering.
7 He could not go up to Heaven to determine God's
order regarding their getting into the garden; he therefore
continued to stand by them, unable as he was to part from
them; for he was afraid that if they should enter the
garden without permission, God would destroy him.
8 When Adam and Eve saw the cherub coming towards them
with a flaming sword of fire in his hand, they fell on
their faces from fear, and were as dead.
9 At that time the heavens and the earth shook; and
another cherubim came down from heaven to the cherub who
guarded the garden, and saw him amazed and silent.
10 Then, again, other angels came down close to the
place where Adam and Eve were. They were divided between
joy and sorrow.
11 They were glad, because they thought that God was
favorable to Adam, and wished him to return to the garden;
and wished to restore him to the gladness he once enjoyed.
12 But they sorrowed over Adam, because he was fallen
like a dead man, he and Eve; and they said in their
thoughts, "Adam has not died in this place; but God has put
him to death, for his having come to this place, and
wishing to get into the garden without His permission."
Chapter LV - The Conflict between God and Satan.
1 Then came the Word of God to Adam and Eve, and
raised them from their dead state, saying to them, "Why did
you come up here? Do you intend to go into the garden,
from which I brought you out? It cannot be today; but only
when the covenant I have made with you is fulfilled."
2 Then Adam, when he heard the Word of God, and the
fluttering of the angels whom he did not see, but only
heard the sound of them with his ears, he and Eve cried,
and said to the angels: --
3 "O Spirits, who wait on God, look at me, and at my
being unable to see you! For when I was in my former
bright nature, then I could see you. I sang praises as you
do; and my heart was far above you.
4 But now, that I have transgressed, that bright
nature is gone from me, and I am come to this miserable
state. And now I have come to this, that I cannot see you,
and you do not serve me like you used to do. For I have
become animal flesh.
5 Yet now, O angels of God, ask God with me, to
restore me to that wherein I was formerly; to rescue me
from this misery, and to remove from me the sentence of
death He passed on me, for having trespassed against Him."
6 Then, when the angels heard these words, they all
grieved over him; and cursed Satan who had misled Adam,
until he came from the garden to misery; from life to
death; from peace to trouble; and from gladness to a
strange land.
7 Then the angels said to Adam, "You obeyed Satan, and
ignored the Word of God who created you; and you believed
that Satan would fulfil all he had promised you.
8 But now, O Adam, we will make known to you, what
came over us though him, before his fall from heaven.
9 He gathered together his hosts, and deceived them,
promising to give them a great kingdom, a divine nature;
and other promises he made them.
10 His hosts believed that his word was true, so they
yielded to him, and renounced the glory of God.
11 He then sent for us -- according to the orders in
which we were -- to come under his command, and to accept
his vein promise. But we would not, and we did not take
his advice.
12 Then after he had fought with God, and had dealt
forwardly with Him, he gathered together his hosts, and
made war with us. And if it had not been for God's
strength that was with us, we could not have prevailed
against him to hurl him from heaven.
13 But when he fell from among us, there was great joy
in heaven, because of his going down from us. For if he
had remained in heaven, nothing, not even one angel would
have remained in it.
14 But God in His mercy, drove him from among us to
this dark earth; for he had become darkness itself and a
worker of unrighteousness.
15 And he has continued, O Adam, to make war against
you, until he tricked you and made you come out of the
garden, to this strange land, where all these trials have
come to you. And death, which God brought to him, he has
also brought to you, O Adam, because you obeyed him, and
trespassed against God."
16 Then all the angels rejoiced and praised God, and
asked Him not to destroy Adam this time, for his having
sought to enter the garden; but to bear with him until the
fulfillment of the promise; and to help him in this world
until he was free from Satan's hand.
Chapter LVI - A chapter of divine comfort.
1 Then came the Word of God to Adam, and said to him: --
2 "O Adam, look at that garden of joy and at this
earth of toil, and behold the garden is full of angels, but
look at yourself alone on this earth with Satan whom you obeyed.
3 Yet, if you had submitted, and been obedient to Me,
and had kept My Word, you would be with My angels in My garden.
4 But when you transgressed and obeyed Satan, you
became his guests among his angels, that are full of
wickedness; and you came to this earth, that brings forth
to you thorns and thistles.
5 O Adam, ask him who deceived you, to give you the
divine nature he promised you, or to make you a garden as I
had made for you; or to fill you with that same bright
nature with which I had filled you.
6 Ask him to make you a body like the one I made you,
or to give you a day of rest as I gave you; or to create
within you a reasonable soul, as I created for you; or to
take you from here to some other earth than this one which
I gave you. But, O Adam, he will not fulfil even one of
the things he told you.
7 Acknowledge, then, My favor towards you, and My
mercy on you, My creature; that I have not avenged you for
your transgression against Me, but in My pity for you I
have promised you that at the end of the great five and a
half days I will come and save you."
8 Then God said again to Adam and Eve, "Get up, go
down from here, before the cherub with a sword of fire in
his hand destroys you."
9 But Adam's heart was comforted by God's words to
him, and he worshipped before Him.
10 And God commanded His angels to escort Adam and Eve
to the cave with joy, instead of the fear that had come over them.
11 Then the angels took up Adam and Eve, and brought
them down from the mountain by the garden, with songs and
psalms, until they arrived at the cave. There the angels
began to comfort and to strengthen them, and then departed
from them towards heaven, to their Creator, who had sent them.
12 But after the angels had departed from Adam and
Eve, Satan came with shamefacedness, and stood at the
entrance of the cave in which were Adam and Eve. He then
called to Adam, and said, "O Adam, come, let me speak to you."
13 Then Adam came out of the cave, thinking he was one
of God's angels that was come to give him some good counsel.
Chapter LVII - "Therefore I fell. . . . "
1 But when Adam came out and saw his hideous figure,
he was afraid of him, and said to him, "Who are you?"
2 Then Satan answered and said to him, "It is I, who
hid myself within the serpent, and who spoke to Eve, and
who enticed her until she obeyed my command. I am he who
sent her, using my deceitful speech, to deceive you, until
you both ate of the fruit of the tree and abandoned the
command of God."
3 But when Adam heard these words from him, he said to
him, "Can you make me a garden as God made for me? Or can
you clothe me in the same bright nature in which God had
clothed me?
4 Where is the divine nature you promised to give me?
Where is that slick speech of yours that you had with us at
first, when we were in the garden?"
5 Then Satan said to Adam, "Do you think that when I
have promised one something that I would actually deliver
it to him or fulfil my word? Of course not. For I myself
have never even thought of obtaining what I promised.
6 Therefore I fell, and I made you fall by that for
which I myself fell; and with you also, whosoever accepts
my counsel, falls thereby.
7 But now, O Adam, because you fell you are under my
rule, and I am king over you; because you have obeyed me
and have transgressed against your God. Neither will there
be any deliverance from my hands until the day promised you
by your God."
8 Again he said, "Because we do not know the day
agreed on with you by your God, nor the hour in which you
shall be delivered, for that reason we will multiply war
and murder on you and your descendants after you.
9 This is our will and our good pleasure, that we may
not leave one of the sons of men to inherit our orders in heaven.
10 For as to our home, O Adam, it is in burning fire;
and we will not stop our evil doing, no, not one day nor
one hour. And I, O Adam, shall set you on fire when you
come into the cave to live there."
11 When Adam heard these words he cried and mourned,
and said to Eve, "Hear what he said; that he won't fulfil
any of what he told you in the garden. Did he really then
become king over us?
12 But we will ask God, who created us, to deliver us
out of his hands."
Chapter LVIII - "About sunset on the 53rd day. . ."
1 Then Adam and Eve spread their hands before God,
praying and begging Him to drive Satan away from them so
that he can't harm them or force them to deny God.
2 Then God sent to them at once, His angel, who drove
away Satan from them. This happened about sunset, on the
fifty-third day after they had come out of the garden.
3 Then Adam and Eve went into the cave, and stood up
and turned their faces to the ground, to pray to God.
4 But before they prayed Adam said to Eve, "Look, you
have seen what temptations have befallen us in this land.
Come, let us get up, and ask God to forgive us the sins we
have committed; and we will not come out until the end of
the day next to the fortieth. And if we die in here, He
will save us."
5 Then Adam and Eve got up, and joined together in
entreating God.
6 They continued praying like this in the cave;
neither did they come out of it, by night or by day, until
their prayers went up out of their mouths, like a flame of fire.
Chapter LIX - Eighth apparition of Satan of Satan to Adam and Eve.
1 But Satan, the hater of all good, did not allow them
to finish their prayers. For he called to his hosts, and
they came, all of them. Then he said to them, "Since Adam
and Eve, whom we deceived, have agreed together to pray to
God night and day, and to beg Him to deliver them, and
since they will not come out of the cave until the end of
the fortieth day.
2 And since they will continue their prayers as they
have both agreed to do, that He will deliver them out of
our hands, and restore them to their former state, see what
we shall do to them." And his hosts said to him, "Power is
thine, O our lord, to do what you list."
3 Then Satan, great in wickedness, took his hosts and came into
the cave, in the thirtieth night of the forty days and one;
and he beat Adam and Eve, until he left them dead.
4 Then came the Word of God to Adam and Eve, who raised
them from their suffering, and God said to Adam,
"Be strong, and be not afraid of him who has just come to you."
5 But Adam cried and said, "Where were you, O my God,
that they should punish me with such blows, and that this
suffering should come over us; over me and over Eve,
Your handmaiden?"
6 Then God said to him, "O Adam, see, he is lord and master
of all you have, he who said, he would give you divinity.
Where is this love for you? And where is the gift he promised?
7 Did it please him just once, O Adam, to come to you,
comfort you, strengthen you, rejoice with you, or send his
hosts to protect you; because you have obeyed him, and have
yielded to his counsel; and have followed his commandment
and transgressed Mine?"
8 Then Adam cried before the Lord, and said, "O Lord
because I transgressed a little, You have severely punished
me in return for it, I ask You to deliver me out of his
hands; or else have pity on me, and take my soul out of my
body now in this strange land."
9 Then God said to Adam, "If only there had been this
sighing and praying before, before you transgressed! Then
would you have rest from the trouble in which you are now."
10 But God had patience with Adam, and let him and Eve
remain in the cave until they had fulfilled the forty days.
11 But as to Adam and Eve, their strength and flesh
withered from fasting and praying, from hunger and thirst;
for they had not tasted either food or drink since they
left the garden; nor were the functions of their bodies yet
settled; and they had no strength left to continue in
prayer from hunger, until the end of the next day to the
fortieth. They were fallen down in the cave; yet what
speech escaped from their mouths, was only in praises.
Chapter LX - The Devil appears like an old man.
He offers "a place of rest."
1 Then on the eighty-ninth day, Satan came to the
cave, clad in a garment of light, and girt about with a
bright girdle.
2 In his hands was a staff of light, and he looked most awful;
but his face was pleasant and his speech was sweet.
3 He thus transformed himself in order to deceive Adam
and Eve, and to make them come out of the cave, before they
had fulfilled the forty days.
4 For he said within himself, "Now that when they had
fulfilled the forty days' fasting and praying, God would
restore them to their former state; but if He did not do
so, He would still be favorable to them; and even if He had
not mercy on them, would He yet give them something from
the garden to comfort them; as already twice before."
5 Then Satan drew near the cave in this fair
appearance, and said: --
6 "O Adam, get up, stand up, you and Eve, and come
along with me, to a good land; and don't be afraid. I am
flesh and bones like you; and at first I was a creature
that God created.
7 And it was so, that when He had created me, He placed me
in a garden in the north, on the border of the world.
8 And He said to me, 'Stay here!' And I remained there
according to His Word, neither did I transgress His commandment.
9 Then He made a slumber to come over me, and He brought you,
O Adam, out of my side, but did not make you stay with me.
10 But God took you in His divine hand, and placed you
in a garden to the eastward.
11 Then I worried about you, for that while God had
taken you out of my side, He had not let you stay with me.
12 But God said to me: 'Do not worry about Adam, whom
I brought out of your side; no harm will come to him.
13 For now I have brought out of his side a help-meet*
for him; and I have given him joy by so doing.' "
14 Then Satan said again, "I did not know how it is
you are in this cave, nor anything about this trial that
has come over you -- until God said to me, 'Behold, Adam
has transgressed, he whom I had taken out of your side, and
Eve also, whom I took out of his side; and I have driven
them out of the garden; I have made them live in a land of
sorrow and misery, because they transgressed against Me,
and have obeyed Satan. And look, they are in suffering
until this day, the eightieth.'
15 Then God said to me, 'Get up, go to them, and make
them come to your place, and suffer not that Satan come
near them, and afflict them. For they are now in great
misery; and lie helpless from hunger.'
16 He further said to me, 'When you have taken them to
yourself, give them to eat of the fruit of the Tree of
Life, and give them to drink of the water of peace; and
clothe them in a garment of light, and restore them to
their former state of grace, and leave them not in misery,
for they came from you. But grieve not over them, nor
repent of that which has come over them.
17 But when I heard this, I was sorry; and my heart
could not patiently bear it for your sake, O my child.
18 But, O Adam, when I heard the name of Satan, I was afraid,
and I said within myself, I will not come out because he might
trap me as he did my children, Adam and Eve.
19 And I said, 'O God, when I go to my children,
Satan will meet me in the way, and war against me,
as he did against them.'
20 Then God said to me, 'Fear not; when you find him,
hit him with the staff that is in thine hand, and don't be
afraid of him, for you are of old standing, and he shall
not prevail against you.'
21 Then I said, 'O my Lord, I am old, and cannot go.
Send Your angels to bring them.'
22 But God said to me, 'Angels, verily, are not like
them; and they will not consent to come with them. But I
have chosen you, because they are your offspring and are
like you, and they will listen to what you say.'
23 God said further to me, 'If you don't have enough
strength to walk, I will send a cloud to carry you and set
you down at the entrance of their cave; then the cloud will
return and leave you there.
24 And if they will come with you, I will send a cloud
to carry you and them.'
25 Then He commanded a cloud, and it bear me up and
brought me to you; and then went back.
26 And now, O my children, Adam and Eve, look at my
old gray hair and at my feeble state, and at my coming from
that distant place. Come, come with me, to a place of rest."
27 Then he began to cry and to sob before Adam and
Eve, and his tears poured on the ground like water.
28 And when Adam and Eve raised their eyes and saw his
beard, and heard his sweet talk, their hearts softened
towards him; they obeyed him, for they believed he was true.
29 And it seemed to them that they were really his
offspring, when they saw that his face was like their own;
and they trusted him.
* The existence of the two words helpmeet and helpmate,
meaning exactly the same thing, is a comedy of errors.
God's promise to Adam, as rendered in the King James
version of the Bible, was to give him an help meet for
him (that is, a helper fit for him). In the 17th century
the two words help and meet in this passage were mistaken
for one word, applying to Eve, and thus helpmeet came to
mean a wife. Then in the 18th century, in a misguided
attempt to make sense of the word, the spelling helpmate
was introduced. Both errors are now beyond recall, and both
spellings are acceptable.
Chapter LXI - They begin to follow Satan.
1 Then he took Adam and Eve by the hand, and began to
bring them out of the cave.
2 But when they had come a little ways out of it, God
knew that Satan had overcome them, and had brought them out
before the forty days were ended, to take them to some
distant place, and to destroy them.
3 Then the Word of the Lord God again came and cursed
Satan, and drove him away from them.
4 And God began to speak to Adam and Eve, saying to
them, "What made you come out of the cave, to this place?"
5 Then Adam said to God, "Did you create a man before
us? For when we were in the cave there suddenly came to us
a friendly old man who said to us, 'I am a messenger from
God to you, to bring you back to some place of rest.'
6 And we believed, O God, that he was a messenger from
you; and we came out with him; and knew not where we should
go with him."
7 Then God said to Adam, "See, that is the father of
evil arts, who brought you and Eve out of the Garden of
Delights. And now, indeed, when he saw that you and Eve
both joined together in fasting and praying, and that you
came not out of the cave before the end of the forty days,
he wished to make your purpose vein, to break your mutual
bond; to cut off all hope from you, and to drive you to
some place where he might destroy you.
8 Because he couldn't do anything to you unless he
showed himself in the likeness of you.
9 Therefore he came to you with a face like your own,
and began to give you tokens as if they were all true.
10 But because I am merciful and am favorable to you,
I did not allow him to destroy you; instead I drove him
away from you.
11 Now, therefore, O Adam, take Eve, and return to
your cave, and remain in it until the morning after the
fortieth day. And when you come out, go towards the
eastern gate of the garden."
12 Then Adam and Eve worshipped God, and praised and
blessed Him for the deliverance that had come to them from
Him. And they returned towards the cave. This happened in
the evening of the thirty-ninth day.
13 Then Adam and Eve stood up and with a fiery passion,
prayed to God, to give them strength; for they had become
weak because of hunger and thirst and prayer. But they
watched the whole of that night praying, until morning.
14 Then Adam said to Eve, "Get up, let us go towards
the eastern gate of the garden as God told us."
15 And they said their prayers as they were accustomed
to do every day; and they left the cave to go near to the
eastern gate of the garden.
16 Then Adam and Eve stood up and prayed, and appealed
to God to strengthen them, and to send them something to
satisfy their hunger.
17 But after they finished their prayers, they were
too weak to move.
18 Then came the Word of God again, and said to them,
"O Adam, get up, go and bring the two figs here."
19 Then Adam and Eve got up, and went until they came
near to the cave.
Chapter LXII - Two fruit trees.
1 But Satan the wicked was envious, because of the
consolation God had given them.
2 So he prevented them, and went into the cave and
took the two figs, and buried them outside the cave, so
that Adam and Eve should not find them. He also had in his
thoughts to destroy them.
3 But by God's mercy, as soon as those two figs were
in the ground, God defeated Satan's counsel regarding them;
and made them into two fruit trees, that overshadowed the
cave. For Satan had buried them on the eastern side of it.
4 Then when the two trees were grown, and were covered
with fruit, Satan grieved and mourned, and said, "It would
have been better to have left those figs where they were;
for now, behold, they have become two fruit trees, whereof
Adam will eat all the days of his life. Whereas I had in
mind, when I buried them, to destroy them entirely, and to
hide them forever.
5 But God has overturned my counsel; and would not
that this sacred fruit should perish; and He has made plain
my intention, and has defeated the counsel I had formed
against His servants."
6 Then Satan went away ashamed because he hadn't
thought his plans all the way through.
Chapter LXIII - The first joy of trees.
1 But Adam and Eve, as they got closer to the cave,
saw two fig trees, covered with fruit, and overshadowing
the cave.
2 Then Adam said to Eve, "It seems to me that we have
gone the wrong way. When did these two trees grow here?
It seems to me that the enemy wishes to lead us the wrong
way. Do you suppose that there is another cave besides
this one in the earth?
3 Yet, O Eve, let us go into the cave, and find in it
the two figs; for this is our cave, in which we were. But
if we should not find the two figs in it, then it cannot be
our cave."
4 They went then into the cave, and looked into the
four corners of it, but found not the two figs.
5 And Adam cried and said to Eve, "Did we go to the
wrong cave, then, O Eve? It seems to me these two fig
trees are the two figs that were in the cave." And Eve
said, "I, for my part, do not know."
6 Then Adam stood up and prayed and said, "O God, You
commanded us to come back to the cave, to take the two figs,
and then to return to you.
7 But now, we have not found them. O God, have you
taken them, and sown these two trees, or have we gone
astray in the earth; or has the enemy deceived us? If it
be real, then, O God, reveal to us the secret of these two
trees and of the two figs."
8 Then came the Word of God to Adam, and said to him,
"O Adam, when I sent you to fetch the figs, Satan went
before you to the cave, took the figs, and buried them
outside, eastward of the cave, thinking to destroy them;
and not sowing them with good intent.
9 Not for his mere sake, then, have these trees grown
up at once; but I had mercy on you and I commanded them to
grow. And they grew to be two large trees, that you be
overshadowed by their branches, and find rest; and that I
made you see My power and My marvelous works.
10 And, also, to show you Satan's meanness, and his
evil works, for ever since you came out of the garden, he
has not ceased, no, not one day, from doing you some harm.
But I have not given him power over you."
11 And God said, "From now on, O Adam, rejoice on
account of the trees, you and Eve; and rest under them when
you feel weary. But do not eat any of their fruit or come
near them."
12 Then Adam cried, and said, "O God, will You again
kill us, or will You drive us away from before Your face,
and cut our life from off the face of the earth?
13 O God, I beg you, if You know that there be in
these trees either death or some other evil, as at the
first time, root them up from near our cave, and with them;
and leave us to die of the heat, of hunger and of thirst.
14 For we know Your marvelous works, O God, that they
are great, and that by Your power You can bring one thing
out of another, without one's wish. For Your power can
make rocks to become trees, and trees to become rocks."
Chapter LXIV - Adam and Eve partake of the first earthly food.
1 Then God looked at Adam and at his strength of mind,
at his endurance of hunger and thirst, and of the heat.
And He changed the two fig trees into two figs, as they
were at first, and then said to Adam and to Eve, "Each of
you may take one fig." And they took them, as the Lord
commanded them.
2 And He said to them, "You must now go into the cave
and eat the figs, and satisfy your hunger, or else you will die."
3 So, as God commanded them, they went into the cave
about sunset. And Adam and Eve stood up and prayed during
the setting sun.
4 Then they sat down to eat the figs; but they knew
not how to eat them; for they were not accustomed to eat
earthly food. They were afraid that if they ate, their
stomach would be burdened and their flesh thickened, and
their hearts would take to liking earthly food.
5 But while they were thus seated, God, out of pity
for them, sent them His angel, so they wouldn't perish of
hunger and thirst.
6 And the angel said to Adam and Eve, "God says to you
that you do not have the strength that would be required to
fast until death; eat, therefore, and strengthen your
bodies; for you are now animal flesh and cannot subsist
without food and drink."
7 Then Adam and Eve took the figs and began to eat of
them. But God had put into them a mixture as of savory
bread and blood.
8 Then the angel went from Adam and Eve, who ate of
the figs until they had satisfied their hunger. Then they
put aside what was left; but by the power of God, the figs
became whole again, because God blessed them.
9 After this Adam and Eve got up, and prayed with a
joyful heart and renewed strength, and praised and rejoiced
abundantly the whole of that night. And this was the end
of the eighty-third day.
Chapter LXV - Adam and Eve acquire digestive organs.
Final hope of returning to the Garden is lost.
1 And when it was day, they got up and prayed, after
their custom, and then went out of the cave.
2 But they became sick from the food they had eaten
because they were not used to it, so they went about in the
cave saying to each other: --
3 "What has our eating caused to happen to us, that we
should be in such pain? We are in misery, we shall die!
It would have been better for us to have died keeping our
bodies pure than to have eaten and defiled them with food."
4 Then Adam said to Eve, "This pain did not come to us
in the garden, neither did we eat such bad food there. Do
you think, O Eve, that God will plague us through the food
that is in us, or that our innards will come out; or that
God means to kill us with this pain before He has fulfilled
His promise to us?"
5 Then Adam besought the Lord and said, "O Lord, let
us not perish through the food we have eaten. O Lord,
don't punish us; but deal with us according to Your great
mercy, and forsake us not until the day of the promise You
have made us."
6 Then God looked at them, and then fitted them for
eating food at once; as to this day; so that they should
not perish.
7 Then Adam and Eve came back into the cave sorrowful
and crying because of the alteration of their bodies.
And they both knew from that hour that they were altered
beings, that all hope of returning to the garden was now
lost; and that they could not enter it.
8 For that now their bodies had strange functions; and
all flesh that requires food and drink for its existence,
cannot be in the garden.
9 Then Adam said to Eve, "Behold, our hope is now
lost; and so is our trust to enter the garden. We no
longer belong to the inhabitants of the garden; but from
now on we are earthy and of the dust, and of the
inhabitants of the earth. We shall not return to the
garden, until the day in which God has promised to save us,
and to bring us again into the garden, as He promised us."
10 Then they prayed to God that He would have mercy on
them; after which, their mind was quieted, their hearts
were broken, and their longing was cooled down; and they
were like strangers on earth. That night Adam and Eve
spent in the cave, where they slept heavily by reason of
the food they had eaten.
Chapter LXVI - Adam does his first day's work.
1 When it was morning, the day after they had eaten
food, Adam and Eve prayed in the cave, and Adam said to
Eve, "Look, we asked for food of God, and He gave it. But
now let us also ask Him to give us a drink of water."
2 Then they got up, and went to the bank of the stream
of water, that was on the south border of the garden, in
which they had before thrown themselves. And they stood on
the bank, and prayed to God that He would command them to
drink of the water.
3 Then the Word of God came to Adam, and said to him,
"O Adam, your body has become brutish, and requires water
to drink. Take some and drink it, you and Eve, then give
thanks and praise."
4 Adam and Eve then went down to the stream and drank
from it, until their bodies felt refreshed. After having
drunk, they praised God, and then returned to their cave,
after their former custom. This happened at the end of
eighty-three days.
5 Then on the eighty-fourth day, they took the two
figs and hung them in the cave, together with the leaves
thereof, to be to them a sign and a blessing from God. And
they placed them there so that if their descendants came
there, they would see the wonderful things God had done for
them.
6 Then Adam and Eve again stood outside the cave, and
asked God to show them some food with which they could
nourish their bodies.
7 Then the Word of God came and said to him, "O Adam,
go down to the westward of the cave until you come to a
land of dark soil, and there you shall find food."
8 And Adam obeyed the Word of God, took Eve, and went
down to a land of dark soil, and found there wheat* growing
in the ear and ripe, and figs to eat; and Adam rejoiced
over it.
9 Then the Word of God came again to Adam, and said to
him, "Take some of this wheat and make yourselves some
bread with it, to nourish your body therewith." And God
gave Adam's heart wisdom, to work out the corn until it
became bread.
10 Adam accomplished all that, until he grew very
faint and weary. He then returned to the cave; rejoicing
at what he had learned of what is done with wheat, until it
is made into bread for one's use.
* In this book, the terms 'corn' and 'wheat' are used
interchangeably. The reference is possibly used to
indicate a type of ancient grain resembling Egyptian Corn
also known as Durra. Durra is a wheat-like cereal grain
frequently cultivated in dry regions such as Egypt.
Chapter LXVII - "Then Satan began to lead astray Adam and Eve. . . ."
1 When Adam and Eve went down to the land of black mud
and came near to the wheat God had showed them and saw that
it was ripe and ready for reaping, they did not have a
sickle to reap it with. So they readied themselves, and
began to pull up the wheat by hand, until it was all done.
2 Then they heaped it into a pile; and, faint from
heat and from thirst, they went under a shady tree, where
the breeze fanned them to sleep.
3 But Satan saw what Adam and Eve had done. And he
called his hosts, and said to them, "Since God has shown to
Adam and Eve all about this wheat, wherewith to strengthen
their bodies -- and, look, they have come and made a big
pile of it, and faint from the toil are now asleep -- come,
let us set fire to this heap of corn, and burn it, and let
us take that bottle of water that is by them, and empty it
out, so that they may find nothing to drink, and we kill
them with hunger and thirst.
4 Then, when they wake up from their sleep, and seek
to return to the cave, we will come to them in the way, and
will lead them astray; so that they die of hunger and
thirst; when they may, perhaps, deny God, and He destroy
them. So shall we be rid of them."
5 Then Satan and his hosts set the wheat on fire and
burned it up.
6 But from the heat of the flame Adam and Eve awoke
from their sleep, and saw the wheat burning, and the bucket
of water by them, poured out.
7 Then they cried and went back to the cave.
8 But as they were going up from below the mountain
where they were, Satan and his hosts met them in the form
of angels, praising God.
9 Then Satan said to Adam, "O Adam, why are you so
pained with hunger and thirst? It seems to me that Satan
has burnt up the wheat." And Adam said to him, "Yes."
10 Again Satan said to Adam, "Come back with us; we
are angels of God. God sent us to you, to show you another
field of corn, better than that; and beyond it is a
fountain of good water, and many trees, where you shall
live near it, and work the corn field to better purpose
than that which Satan has consumed."
11 Adam thought that he was true, and that they were
angels who talked with him; and he went back with them.
12 Then Satan began to lead astray Adam and Eve eight
days, until they both fell down as if dead, from hunger,
thirst, and faintness. Then he fled with his hosts, and
left them.
Chapter LXVIII - How destruction and trouble is of Satan
when he is the master. Adam and Eve establish the custom
of worship.
1 Then God looked at Adam and Eve, and at what had
come over them from Satan, and how he had made them perish.
2 God, therefore, sent His Word, and raised up Adam
and Eve from their state of death.
3 Then, Adam, when he was raised, said, "O God, You
have burnt and taken from us the corn You have given us,
and You have emptied out the bucket of water. And You have
sent Your angels, who have caused us to lose our way from
the corn field. Will You make us perish? If this be from
you, O God, then take away our souls; but punish us not."
4 Then God said to Adam, "I did not burn down the
wheat, and I did not pour the water out of the bucket, and
I did not send My angels to lead you astray.
5 But it is Satan, your master who did it; he to whom
you have subjected yourself; my commandment being meanwhile
set aside. He it is, who burnt down the corn, and poured
out the water, and who has led you astray; and all the
promises he has made you were just a trick, a deception,
and a lie.
6 But now, O Adam, you shall acknowledge My good deeds
done to you."
7 And God told His angels to take Adam and Eve, and to
bear them up to the field of wheat, which they found as
before, with the bucket full of water.
8 There they saw a tree, and found on it solid manna;
and wondered at God's power. And the angels commanded them
to eat of the manna when they were hungry.
9 And God admonished Satan with a curse, not to come
again, and destroy the field of corn.
10 Then Adam and Eve took of the corn, and made of it
an offering, and took it and offered it up on the mountain,
the place where they had offered up their first offering of
blood.
11 And they offered this offering again on the altar
they had built at first. And they stood up and prayed, and
besought the Lord saying, "Thus, O God, when we were in the
garden, our praises went up to you, like this offering;
and our innocence went up to you like incense. But now, O
God, accept this offering from us, and don't turn us away,
deprived of Your mercy."
12 Then God said to Adam and Eve, "Since you have made
this offering and have offered it to Me, I shall make it My
flesh, when I come down on earth to save you; and I shall
cause it to be offered continually on an altar, for
forgiveness and for mercy, for those who partake of it
duly."
13 And God sent a bright fire over the offering of
Adam and Eve, and filled it with brightness, grace, and
light; and the Holy Ghost came down on that offering.
14 Then God commanded an angel to take fire tongs,
like a spoon, and with it to take an offering and bring it
to Adam and Eve. And the angel did so, as God had
commanded him, and offered it to them.
15 And the souls of Adam and Eve were brightened, and
their hearts were filled with joy and gladness and with the
praises of God.
16 And God said to Adam, "This shall be to you a
custom, to do so, when affliction and sorrow come over you.
But your deliverance and your entrance in to the garden,
shall not be until the days are fulfilled as agreed between
you and Me; were it not so, I would, of My mercy and pity
for you, bring you back to My garden and to My favor for
the sake of the offering you have just made to My name."
17 Adam rejoiced at these words which he heard from
God; and he and Eve worshipped before the altar, to which
they bowed, and then went back to the Cave of Treasures.
18 And this took place at the end of the twelfth day
after the eightieth day, from the time Adam and Eve came
out of the garden.
19 And they stood up the whole night praying until
morning; and then went out of the cave.
20 Then Adam said to Eve, with joy of heart, because
of the offering they had made to God, and that had been
accepted of Him, "Let us do this three times every week, on
the fourth day Wednesday, on the preparation day Friday,
and on the Sabbath Sunday, all the days of our life."
21 And as they agreed to these words between
themselves, God was pleased with their thoughts, and with
the resolution they had each taken with the other.
22 After this, came the Word of God to Adam, and said,
"O Adam, you have determined beforehand the days in which
sufferings shall come over Me, when I am made flesh; for
they are the fourth Wednesday, and the preparation day
Friday.
23 But as to the first day, I created in it all
things, and I raised the heavens. And, again, through My
rising again on this day, will I create joy, and raise them
on high, who believe in Me; O Adam, offer this offering,
all the days of your life."
24 Then God withdrew His Word from Adam.
25 But Adam continued to offer this offering thus,
every week three times, until the end of seven weeks. And
on the first day, which is the fiftieth, Adam made an
offering as he was accustomed, and he and Eve took it and
came to the altar before God, as He had taught them.
Chapter LXIX - Twelfth apparition of Satan to Adam and Eve,
while Adam was praying over the offering on the altar; when
Satan beat him.
1 Then Satan, the hater of all good, envious of Adam
and of his offering through which he found favor with God,
hastened and took a sharp stone from among the sharp iron
stones; appeared in the form of a man, and went and stood
by Adam and Eve.
2 Adam was then offering on the altar, and had begun
to pray, with his hands spread before God.
3 Then Satan hastened with the sharp iron stone he had
with him, and with it pierced Adam on the right side, from
which flowed blood and water, then Adam fell on the altar
like a corpse. And Satan fled.
4 Then Eve came, and took Adam and placed him below
the altar. And there she stayed, crying over him; while a
stream of blood flowed from Adam's side over his offering.
5 But God looked at the death of Adam. He then sent
His Word, and raised him up and said to him, "Fulfil your
offering, for indeed, Adam, it is worth much, and there is
no shortcoming in it."
6 God said further to Adam, "Thus will it also happen
to Me, on the earth, when I shall be pierced and blood and
water shall flow from My side and run over My body, which
is the true offering; and which shall be offered on the
altar as a perfect offering."
7 Then God commanded Adam to finish his offering, and
when he had ended it he worshipped before God, and praised
Him for the signs He had showed him.
8 And God healed Adam in one day, which is the end of
the seven weeks; and that is the fiftieth day.
9 Then Adam and Eve returned from the mountain, and
went into the Cave of Treasures, as they were used to do.
This completed for Adam and Eve, one hundred and forty days
since their coming out of the garden.
10 Then they both stood up that night and prayed to
God. And when it was morning, they went out, and went down
westward of the cave, to the place where their corn was,
and there rested under the shadow of a tree, as they were
accustomed.
11 But when there a multitude of beasts came all
around them. It was Satan's doing, in his wickedness; in
order to wage war against Adam through marriage.
Chapter LXX - Thirteenth apparition of Satan, to trick Adam
into marrying Eve.
1 After this Satan, the hater of all good, took the
form of an angel, and with him two others, so that they
looked like the three angels who had brought to Adam gold,
incense, and myrrh.
2 They passed before Adam and Eve while they were
under the tree, and greeted Adam and Eve with fair words
that were full of deceit.
3 But when Adam and Eve saw their pleasant expression,
and heard their sweet speech, Adam rose, welcomed them, and
brought them to Eve, and they remained all together; Adam's
heart the while, being glad because he thought concerning
them, that they were the same angels, who had brought him
gold, incense, and myrrh.
4 Because, when they came to Adam the first time,
there came over him from them, peace and joy, through their
bringing him good tokens; so Adam thought that they had
come a second time to give him other tokens for him to
rejoice therewith. For he did not know it was Satan;
therefore he received them with joy and consorted with
them.
5 Then Satan, the tallest of them, said, "Rejoice, O
Adam, and be glad. Look, God has sent us to you to tell
you something."
6 And Adam said, "What is it?" Then Satan answered,
"It is a simple thing, yet it is the Word of God, will you
accept it from us and do it? But if you will not accept
it, we will return to God, and tell Him that you would not
receive His Word."
7 And Satan said again to Adam, "Don't be afraid and
don't tremble; don't you know us?"
8 But Adam said, "I do not know you."
9 Then Satan said to him, "I am the angel that brought
you gold, and took it to the cave; this other angel is the
one that brought you incense; and that third angel, is the
one who brought you myrrh when you were on top of the
mountain, and who carried you to the cave.
10 But as to the other angels our fellows, who bare
you to the cave, God has not sent them with us this time;
for He said to us, 'You will be enough'. "
11 So when Adam heard these words he believed them,
and said to these angels, "Speak the Word of God, that I
may receive it."
12 And Satan said to him, "Swear, and promise me that
you will receive it."
13 Then Adam said, "I do not know how to swear and
promise."
14 And Satan said to him, "Hold out your hand, and put
it inside my hand."
15 Then Adam held out his hand, and put it into
Satan's hand; when Satan said to him, "Say, now -- So true
as God is living, rational, and speaking, who raised the
stars in heaven, and established the dry ground on the
waters, and has created me out of the four elements*, and
out of the dust of the earth -- I will not break my
promise, nor renounce my word."
16 And Adam swore thus.
17 Then Satan said to him, "Look, it is now some time
since you came out of the garden, and you know neither
wickedness nor evil. But now God says to you, to take Eve
who came out of your side, and to marry her so that she
will bear you children, to comfort you, and to drive from
you trouble and sorrow; now this thing is not difficult,
neither is there any scandal in it to you.
* See the previous footnote in chapter XXXIV regarding
the 'four elements'.
Chapter LXXI - Adam is troubled by the thought of marrying Eve.
1 But when Adam heard these words from Satan, he
sorrowed much, because of his oath and of his promise, and
said, "Shall I commit adultery with my flesh and my bones,
and shall I sin against myself, for God to destroy me, and
to blot me out from off the face of the earth?
2 Since, when at first, I ate of the tree, He drove me
out of the garden into this strange land, and deprived me
of my bright nature, and brought death over me. If, then,
I should do this, He will cut off my life from the earth,
and He will cast me into hell, and will plague me there a
long time.
3 But God never spoke the words that you have said;
and you are not God's angels, and you weren't sent from
Him. But you are devils that have come to me under the
false appearance of angels. Away from me; you cursed of
God!"
4 Then those devils fled from before Adam. And he and
Eve got up, and returned to the Cave of Treasures, and went
into it.
5 Then Adam said to Eve, "If you saw what I did, don't
tell anyone; for I sinned against God in swearing by His
great name, and I have placed my hand another time into
that of Satan." Eve, then, held her peace, as Adam told
her.
6 Then Adam got up, and spread his hands before God,
beseeching and entreating Him with tears, to forgive him
what he had done. And Adam remained thus standing and
praying forty days and forty nights. He neither ate nor
drank until he dropped down on the ground from hunger and
thirst.
7 Then God sent His Word to Adam, who raised him up
from where he lay, and said to him, "O Adam, why have you
sworn by My name, and why have you made agreement with
Satan another time?"
8 But Adam cried, and said, "O God, forgive me, for I
did this unwittingly; believing they were God's angels."
9 And God forgave Adam, saying to him, "Beware of
Satan."
10 And He withdrew His Word from Adam.
11 Then Adam's heart was comforted; and he took Eve,
and they went out of the cave, to prepare some food for
their bodies.
12 But from that day Adam struggled in his mind about
his marrying Eve; afraid that if he was to do it, God would
be angry with him.
13 Then Adam and Eve went to the river of water, and
sat on the bank, as people do when they enjoy themselves.
14 But Satan was jealous of them; and planned to destroy them.
Chapter LXXII - Adam's heart is set on fire.
Satan appears as beautiful maidens.
1 Then Satan, and ten from his hosts, transformed
themselves into maidens, unlike any others in the whole
world for grace.
2 They came up out of the river in presence of Adam
and Eve, and they said among themselves, "Come, we will
look at the faces of Adam and Eve, who are of the men on
earth. How beautiful they are, and how different is their
look from our own faces." Then they came to Adam and Eve,
and greeted them; and stood wondering at them.
3 Adam and Eve looked at them also, and wondered at
their beauty, and said, "Is there, then, under us, another
world, with such beautiful creatures as these in it?"
4 And those maidens said to Adam and Eve, "Yes,
indeed, we are an abundant creation."
5 Then Adam said to them, "But how do you multiply?"
6 And they answered him, "We have husbands who have
married us, and we bear them children, who grow up,
and who in their turn marry and are married, and also
bear children; and thus we increase. And if so be, O Adam,
you will not believe us, we will show you our husbands
and our children."
7 Then they shouted over the river as if to call their
husbands and their children, who came up from the river,
men and children; and every man came to his wife, his
children being with him.
8 But when Adam and Eve saw them, they stood dumb, and
wondered at them.
9 Then they said to Adam and Eve, "See all our husbands
and our children? You should marry Eve, as we have married
our husbands, so that you will have children as we have."
This was a device of Satan to deceive Adam.
10 Satan also thought within himself, "God at first
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