The First Book of Adam and Eve

The First Book of Adam and Eve
Part 6

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."

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Table of Contents / Prologue
Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5
Part 6 / Part 7 / Part 8/ Part 9/ Part 10