The First Book of Adam and Eve
1 The Adam and Eve came out at the mouth of the cave, and went towards
the garden.
2 But as they went near it, before the western gate, from which Satan
came when he deceived Adam and Eve, they found the serpent that became
Satan coming at the gate, and sorrowfully licking the dust, and
wiggling on its breast on the ground, by reason of the curse that fell
on it from God.
3 And whereas before the serpent was the most exalted of all beasts,
now it was changed and become slippery, and the meanest of them all,
and it crept on its breast and went on its belly.
4 And whereas it was the fairest of all beasts, it had been changed,
and was become the ugliest of them all. Instead of feeding on the best
food, now it turned to eat the dust. Instead of living, as before, in
the best places, now it lived in the dust.
5 And, whereas it had been the most beautiful of all beasts, all of
which stood dumb at its beauty, it was now abhorred of them.
6 And, again, whereas it lived in one beautiful home, to which all
other animals came from elsewhere; and where it drank, they drank also
of the same; now, after it had become venomous, by reason of God's
curse, all beasts fled from its home, and would not drink of the water
it drank; but fled from it.
Chapter XVIII - The mortal combat with the serpent.
1 When the accursed serpent saw Adam and Eve, it swelled its head,
stood on its tail, and with eyes blood-red, acted like it would kill
them.
2 It made straight for Eve, and ran after her; while Adam standing by,
cried because he had no stick in his hand with which to hit the
serpent, and did not know how to put it to death.
3 But with a heart burning for Eve, Adam approached the serpent, and
held it by the tail; when it turned towards him and said to him:--
4 "O Adam, because of you and of Eve, I am slippery, and go on my
belly." Then with its great strength, it threw down Adam and Eve and
squeezed them, and tried to kill them.
5 But God sent an angel who threw the serpent away from them, and
raised them up.
6 Then the Word of God came to the serpent, and said to it, "The first
time I made you slick, and made you to go on your belly; but I did not
deprive you of speech.
7 This time, however, you will be mute, and you and your race will
speak no more; because, the first time My creatures were ruined because
of you, and this time you tried to kill them."
8 Then the serpent was struck mute, and was no longer able to speak.
9 And a wind blew down from heaven by the command of God and carried
away the serpent from Adam and Eve, and threw it on the seashore where
it landed in India.
Chapter XIX - Beasts made subject to Adam.
1 But Adam and Eve cried before God. And Adam said to Him:--
2 "O Lord, when I was in the cave, I said this to you, my Lord, the
beasts of the field would rise and devour me, and cut off my life from
the earth."
3 Then Adam, because of what had happened to him, beat his chest and
fell on the ground like a corpse. Then the Word of God came to him,
who raised him, and said to him,
4 "O Adam, not one of these beasts will be able to hurt you; because I
have made the beasts and other moving things come to you in the cave.
I did not let the serpent come with them because it might have risen
against you and made you tremble; and the fear of it should fall into
your hearts.
5 For I knew that the accursed one is wicked; therefore I would not let
it come near you with the other beasts.
6 But now strengthen your heart and fear not. I am with you to the end
of the days I have determined on you."
Chapter XX - Adam wishes to protect Eve.
1 Then Adam cried and said, "O God, take us away to some other place,
where the serpent can not come near us again, and rise against us. For
fear that it might find Your handmaid Eve alone and kill her; for its
eyes are hideous and evil."
2 But God said to Adam and Eve, "From now on, don't be afraid, I will
not let it come near you; I have driven it away from you, from this
mountain; neither will I leave in it the ability to hurt you."
3 Then Adam and Eve worshipped before God and gave Him thanks, and
praised Him for having delivered them from death.
Chapter XXI - Adam and Eve attempt suicide.
1 Then Adam and Eve went in search of the garden.
2 And the heat beat like a flame on their faces; and they sweated from
the heat, and cried before the Lord.
3 But the place where they cried was close to a high mountain, facing
the western gate of the garden.
4 Then Adam threw himself down from the top of that mountain; his face
was torn and his flesh was ripped; he lost a lot of blood and was close
to death.
5 Meanwhile Eve remained standing on the mountain crying over him, thus
lying.
6 And she said, "I don't wish to live after him; for all that he did to
himself was through me."
7 Then she threw herself after him; and was torn and ripped by stones;
and remained lying as dead.
8 But the merciful God, who looks over His creatures, looked at Adam
and Eve as they lay dead, and He sent His Word to them, and raised them.
9 And said to Adam, "O Adam, all this misery which you have brought on
yourself, will have no affect against My rule, neither will it alter
the covenant of the 5, 500 years."
Chapter XXII - Adam in a gracious mood.
1 Then Adam said to God, "I dry up in the heat, I am faint from
walking, and I don't want to be in this world. And I don't know when
You will take me out of it to rest."
2 Then the Lord God said to him, "O Adam, it cannot be now, not until
you have ended your days. Then shall I bring you out of this miserable
land."
3 And Adam said to God, "While I was in the garden I knew neither heat,
nor languor, neither moving about, nor trembling, nor fear; but now
since I came to this land, all this affliction has come over me.
4 Then God said to Adam, "So long as you were keeping My commandment,
My light and My grace rested on you. But when you transgressed My
commandment, sorrow and misery came to you in this land."
5 And Adam cried and said, "O Lord, do not cut me off for this, neither
punish me with heavy plagues, nor yet repay me according to my sin; for
we, of our own will, transgressed Your commandment, and ignored Your
law, and tried to become gods like you, when Satan the enemy deceived
us."
6 Then God said again to Adam, "Because you have endured fear and
trembling in this land, languor and suffering, treading and walking
about, going on this mountain, and dying from it, I will take all this
on Myself in order to save you."
Chapter XXIII - Adam and Eve strengthen themselves and make the first
altar ever built.
1 Then Adam cried more and said, "O God, have mercy on me, so far as to
take on yourself, that which I will do."
2 But God withdrew His Word from Adam and Eve.
3 Then Adam and Eve stood on their feet; and Adam said to Eve,
"Strengthen yourself, and I also will strengthen myself." And she
strengthened herself, as Adam told her.
4 Then Adam and Eve took stones and placed them in the shape of an
altar; and they took leaves from the trees outside the garden, with
which they wiped, from the face of the rock, the blood they had spilled.
5 But that which had dropped on the sand, they took together with the
dust with which it was mingled and offered it on the altar as an
offering to God.
6 Then Adam and Eve stood under the Altar and cried, thus praying to
God, "Forgive us our trespass* and our sin, and look at us with Thine
eye of mercy. For when we were in the garden our praises and our hymns
went up before you without ceasing.
7 But when we came into this strange land, pure praise was not longer
ours, nor righteous prayer, nor understanding hearts, nor sweet
thoughts, nor just counsels, nor long discernment, nor upright
feelings, neither is our bright nature left us. But our body is
changed from the likeness in which it was at first, when we were
created.
8 Yet now look at our blood which is offered on these stones, and
accept it at our hands, like the praise we used to sing to you at
first, when in the garden."
9 And Adam began to make more requests of God.
* ORIGINAL OF THE LORD'S PRAYER SAID TO BE USED ABOUT 150 YEARS BEFORE
OUR LORD: Our Father, Who art in Heaven, be gracious unto us, O Lord
our God, hallowed be Your Name, and let the remembrance of Thee be
glorified Heaven above and upon earth here below.
Let Your kingdom reign over us now and forever. The Holy Men of old
said remit and forgive unto all men whatsoever they have done unto me.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil thing;
for Thine is the kingdom and Thou shalt reign in glory forever and
forevermore, AMEN.
Chapter XXIV - A vivid prophecy of the life and death of Christ.
1 Then the merciful God, good and lover of men, looked at Adam and Eve,
and at their blood, which they had held up as an offering to Him;
without an order from Him for so doing. But He wondered at them; and
accepted their offerings.
2 And God sent from His presence a bright fire, that consumed their
offering.
3 He smelled the sweet savor of their offering, and showed them mercy.
4 Then came the Word of God to Adam, and said to him, "O Adam, as you
have shed your blood, so will I shed My own blood when I become flesh
of your descendants; and as you died, O Adam, so also will I die. And
as you built an altar, so also will I make for you an altar of the
earth; and as you offered your blood on it, so also will I offer My
blood on an altar on the earth.
5 And as you sued for forgiveness through that blood, so also will I
make My blood forgiveness of sins, and erase transgressions in it.
6 And now, behold, I have accepted your offering, O Adam, but the days
of the covenant in which I have bound you are not fulfilled. When they
are fulfilled, then will I bring you back into the garden.
7 Now, therefore, strengthen your heart; and when sorrow comes over
you, make Me an offering, and I will be favorable to you."
Chapter XXV - God represented as merciful and loving. The establishing
of worship.
1 But God knew that Adam believed he should frequently kill himself and
make an offering to Him of his blood.
2 Therefore He said to him, "O Adam, don't ever kill yourself like this
again, by throwing yourself down from that mountain."
3 But Adam said to God, "I was thinking to put an end to myself at
once, for having transgressed Your commandments, and for my having come
out of the beautiful garden; and for the bright light of which You have
deprived me; and for the praises which poured forth from my mouth
without ceasing, and for the light that covered me.
4 Yet of Your goodness, O God, do not get rid of me altogether; but be
favorable to me every time I die, and bring me to life.
5 And thereby it will be made known that You are a merciful God, who
does not want anyone to perish; who loves not that one should fall; and
who does not condemn any one cruelly, badly, and by whole destruction."
6 Then Adam remained silent.
7 And the Word of God came to him, and blessed him, and comforted him,
and covenanted with him, that He would save him at the end of the days
determined for him.
8 This, then, was the first offering Adam made to God; and so it became
his custom to do.
Chapter XXVI - A beautiful prophecy of eternal life and joy (v. 15).
The fall of night.
1 Then Adam took Eve, and they began to return to the Cave of Treasures
where they lived. But when they got closer to it and saw it from a
distance, heavy sorrow fell on Adam and Eve when they looked at it.
2 Then Adam said to Eve, "When we were on the mountain we were
comforted by the Word of God that conversed with us; and the light that