This is the story of Adam and Eve after they had gone out
of Paradise. And Adam knew his wife
Eve and went upwards to the sun-rising and abode there
eighteen years and two months. And
Eve conceived and bare two sons; Adiaphotos, who is
called Cain and Amilabes who is called Abel.
Chapter ii
And after this, Adam and Eve were with one another and
while they were sleeping, Eve said to Adam her lord:
'My lord, Adam, behold,
I have seen in a dream this night the blood of my son
Amilabes who is styled Abel being poured into the mouth
of Cain his brother and he went on drinking it without
pity. But he begged him to leave him a little of it. Yet
he hearkened
not to him, but gulped down the whole; nor did it stay in
his stomach, but came out of his mouth. And Adam said,
'Let us arise and go
and see what has happened to them. (I fear) lest the
adversary may be assailing them somewhere.'
Chapter iii
And they both went and found Abel murdered. I by the hand
of Cain his brother. And God
saith to Michael the archangel: 'Say to Adam: "
Reveal not the secret that thou knowest to Cain thy son,
for he is a son of wrath. But grieve not, for I will give
thee another son in his stead; he shall show (to thee)
all that thou shalt do. Do thou tell him
nothing."' Thus spake the archangel
to Adam. But he kept the word in his heart, and with him
also Eve, though they grieved concerning Abel their son.
Chapter iv
And after this, Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived
and bare Seth.
And Adam said to Eve: 'See! we have
begotten a son in place of Abel, whom Cain slew, let us
give glory and sacrifice to God.'
Chapter v
And Adam begat thirty sons and thirty daughters and Adam
lived nine hundred and thirty years; and he fell sick and
cried with a loud
voice and said, 'Let all my sons come to me that I
may see them before I die.'
And all assembled, for the earth was divided into three
parts. And Seth his son said to him:
'Father Adam, what is thy complaint?'
And he saith, 'MY children, I am crushed by the
burden of trouble.' And they say to him, 'What is
trouble?'
Chapter vi
And Seth answered and said to him: 'Hast thou called
to mind, father, the fruit of paradise of which thou
usedst to eat, and hast been grieved in yearning for
it?' 'If this be so, tell me, (and) I will go and
bring thee fruit from paradise. For I will set dung upon
my head and will weep and pray that the Lord will hearken
to me and send his angel (and bring me a plant from
paradise), and I will bring it thee that thy trouble may
cease from thee.' Adam saith to him: 'Nay, my son
Seth, but
I have (much) sickness and trouble!' Seth saith to
him: 'And how hath this come upon thee?'
Chapter vii
And Adam said to him: 'When God made us, me and your
mother, through whom also I die, He gave us power to eat
of every tree which is in paradise, but, concerning that
one only, He charged us not to eat of it, and through
this one we are to die. And the hour drew nigh for the
angels
who were guarding your mother to go up and worship the
Lord, and I was far from her, and the enemy knew that she
was alone and gave to her, and she ate of the tree of
which she had been told not to eat.
Then she gave also to me to eat.
Chapter viii
'And God was wroth with us, and the Lord came into
paradise and called me in a terrible voice and said:
"Adam, where art thou? And why hidest thou from my
face? Shall the house be able to hide itself from its
builder?" And he saith to me: "Since thou hast
abandoned my covenant, I have brought upon thy body
seventy-two strokes; the trouble of the first stroke is a
pain of the eyes, the second stroke an affection of the
hearing, and likewise in turn all the strokes shall
befall thee."'
Chapter ix
As he said this to his sons, Adam groaned sore and said:
'What shall I do? I am in great distress.' And
Eve wept and said: 'My lord
Adam, rise up and give me half of thy trouble and I will
endure it; for it is on my account that this hath
happened to thee, on my account thou art beset with toils
and troubles.' But Adam
said to Eve, 'Arise and go with my son Seth near to
paradise, and put earth upon your heads and weep and pray
God to have mercy upon me and send his angel to paradise,
and give me of the tree out of which the oil floweth, and
bring it me, and I shall anoint myself and shall have
rest from my complaint.'
Chapter x
Then Seth and Eve went towards paradise, and Eve saw her
son, and a wild beast assailing him, and Eve wept and
said: 'Woe is me; if
I come to the day of the Resurrection, all those who have
sinned will curse me saying: Eve hath not kept the
commandment of God.' And she
spake to the beast: 'Thou wicked beast, fearest thou
not to fight with the image of God? How was thy mouth
opened? How were thy teeth made strong? How didst thou
not call to mind thy subjection? For long ago wast thou
made subject to the image of God.' Then the beast
cried out and said:
Chapter xi
'It is not our concern, Eve, thy greed and thy
wailing, but thine own; for (it is) from thee that the
rule of the beasts hath arisen. How was thy
mouth opened to eat of the tree concerning which God
enjoined thee not to eat of it? On this account, our
nature also hath been transformed. Now therefore thou
canst not endure it,
if I begin to reprove thee.'
Chapter xii
Then Seth speaketh to the beast, 'Close thy mouth and
be silent and stand off from the image of God until the
day of Judgment.' Then saith
the beast to Seth: 'Behold, I stand off from the
image of God.' And he went to his lair.
Chapter xiii
And Seth went with Eve near paradise, and I they wept
there, and prayed God to send his angel and give them the
oil of mercy. And God
sent the archangel Michael and he spake to Seth:
'Seth, man of God, weary not thyself with prayers and
entreaties concerning the tree which floweth with oil to
anoint thy father Adam. For it shall not be thine now,
but in the end of the times.
Then shall all flesh be raised up from Adam till that
great day,-all that shall be of the holy people. Then
shall the delights of paradise be given to them and God
shall be in their midst. And they shall no longer sin
before his face, for the evil heart shall be taken from
them and there shall be given them a heart understanding
the good and to serve God only. But do thou go back to
thy father. For the
term of his life hath been fulfilled and he will live
three days from to-day and will die. But when his soul is
departing, thou shalt behold the awful (scene of) his
passing.'
Chapter xiv
Thus spake the angel and departed from them. And Seth and
Eve came to the hut where Adam was laid. And Adam saith
to Eve: 'Eve, what
hast thou wrought in us? Thou hast brought upon us great
wrath which is death, [lording it over all our
race].' And he saith to her, 'Call all
our children and our children's children and tell
them the manner of our transgression.'
Chapter xv
Then saith Eve to them: 'Hear all my children and
children's children and I will relate to you
how the enemy deceived us. It befell that we were
guarding paradise, each of us the portion
allotted to us from God. Now I guarded in my lot, the
west and the south. But the devil went to Adam's lot,
where the male creatures were. [For God divided the
creatures; all the males he gave to your father and all
the females he gave to me.]
Chapter xvi
And the devil spake to the serpent saying, Rise up, come
to me and I will tell thee a word
whereby thou mayst have profit." And he arose and
came to him. And the devil saith to him:
"I hear that thou art wiser than all the beasts, and
I have come to counsel thee. Why dost thou eat of
Adam's tares and not of paradise? Rise up and we will
cause him to be cast out of paradise, even
as we were cast out through him." The serpent saith
to him, "I fear lest the Lord be wroth with
me." The devil saith to him: "Fear not, only be
my vessel and I will speak through thy mouth words to
deceive him."
Chapter xvii
And instantly he hung himself from the wall of paradise,
and when the angels ascended to
worship God, then Satan appeared in the form of an angel
and sang hymns like the angels. And I bent over the wall
and saw him, like an angel. But he saith to me: "Art
thou Eve?" And I said
to him, "I am." 'What art thou doing in
paradise?" And I said to him, "God set us to
guard and
to eat of it." The devil answered through the mouth
of the serpent: 'Ye do well but ye do not eat
of every plant." And I said: "Yea, we eat of
all. save one only, which is in the midst of paradise,
concerning which, God charged us not to eat of it: for,
He said to us, on the day on which ye eat of it, ye shall
die the death."
Chapter xviii
Then the serpent saith to me, "May God live! but I
am grieved on your account, for I would not have you
ignorant. But arise, (come) hither, hearken to me and eat
and mind the value of that tree."
But I said to him, " I fear lest God be wroth with
me as he told us." And he saith to me: "Fear
not, for as soon as thou eatest of it, ye too shall be as
God, in that ye shall know good and evil.
But God perceived this that ye would be like Him, so he
envied you and said, Ye shall not eat of
it. Nay, do thou give heed to the plant and thou wilt see
its great glory." Yet I feared to take of the fruit.
And he saith to me: "Come hither, and I will give it
thee. Follow me."
Chapter xix
And I opened to him and he walked a little way, then
turned and said to me: "I have changed my
mind and I will not give thee to eat until thou swear to
me to give also to thy husband." (And) I said.
"What sort of oath shall I swear to thee? Yet what I
know, I say to thee: By the throne of the
Master, and by the Cherubim and the Tree of Life! I will
give also to my husband to eat." And when he had
received the oath from me, he went and poured upon the
fruit the poison of his wickedness, which is lust, the
root and beginning of every sin, and he bent the branch
on the earth and I took of the fruit and I ate.
Chapter xx
And in that very hour my eyes were opened, and forthwith
I knew that I was bare of the righteousness
with which I had been clothed (upon), and I wept and said
to him: "Why hast thou
done this to me in that thou hast deprived me of the
glory with which I was clothed?" But I wept also
about the oath, which I had sworn. But he descended from
the tree and vanished.
And I began to seek, in my nakedness, in my part for
leaves to hide my shame, but I found none, for, as soon
as I had eaten, the leaves showered down from all the
trees in my part, except the fig tree
only. But I took leaves from it and made for myself a
girdle and it was from the very same plant of which I had
eaten.
Chapter xxi
And I cried out in that very hour, 'Adam, Adam, where
art thou? Rise up, come to me and
I will show thee a great secret." But when your
father came, I spake to him words of transgression
[which have brought us down from our great glory]. For,
when he came, I opened my mouth and the devil was
speaking, and I began to exhort him and said, "Come
hither, my lord Adam, hearken to me and eat of the fruit
of the tree of which God told us not to eat of it, and
thou shalt be as
a God." And your father answered and said, "I
fear lest God be wroth with me." And I said to
him, "Fear not, for as soon as thou hast eaten thou
shalt know good and evil." And speedily I persuaded
him, and he ate and straightway his eyes were opened and
he too knew his nakedness.
And to me he saith, "O wicked woman! what have I
done to thee that thou hast deprived me of the glory of
God?"
Chapter xxii
And in that same hour, we heard the archangel Michael
blowing with his trumpet and calling to
the angels and saying: "Thus saith the Lord, Come
with me to Paradise and hear the judgement with which I
shall judge Adam."
And when God appeared in paradise, mounted on the chariot
of his cherubim with the angels proceeding before him and
singing hymns of praises, all the plants of paradise,
both of your father's lot
and mine, broke out into flowers. And the throne of God
was fixed where the Tree of Life was.
Chapter xxiii
And God called Adam saying, "Adam, where art thou?
Can the house be hidden from the presence
of its builder? "Then your father answered; "It
is not because we think not to be found by thee, Lord,
that we hide, but I was afraid, because I am naked, and I
was ashamed before thy might,
(my) Master." God saith to him, "Who showed
thee that thou art naked, unless thou hast forsaken my
commandment, which I delivered thee to keep (it)."
Then Adam called to mind the word which I spake to him,
(saying) "I will make thee secure before God";
and he turned and said to me: "Why hast thou done
this?" And I said, "The serpent deceived
me."
Chapter xxiv
God saith to Adam: 'Since thou hast disregarded my
commandment and hast hearkened to thy wife, cursed is the
earth in thy labours. Thou shalt work it and it shall not
give its strength: thorns and thistles shall spring up
for thee, and in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat thy
bread. [Thou shalt be in manifold toils; thou shalt be
crushed by bitterness, but of sweetness shalt thou not
taste.]
Weary shalt thou be and shalt not rest; by heat shalt
thou be tired, by cold shalt thou be straitened:
abundantly shalt thou busy thyself, but thou shalt not be
rich; and thou shalt grow fat, but come to no end.
The beasts, over whom thou didst rule, shall rise up in
rebellion against thee, for thou hast not kept my
commandment."
Chapter xxv
And the Lord turned to me and said: "Since thou hast
hearkened to the serpent, and turned
a deaf ear to my commandment, thou shalt be in throes of
travail and intolerable agonies; thou shalt bear children
in much trembling and in one hour thou shalt come to the
birth, and lose thy
life, from thy sore trouble and anguish. But thou shalt
confess and say: 'Lord, Lord, save me, and
I will turn no more to the sin of the flesh.' And on
this account, from thine own words I will judge thee, by
reason of the enmity which the enemy has planted in
thee."
Chapter xxvi
But he turned to the serpent [in great wrath] and said:
"Since thou hast done this, and become a thankless
vessel until thou hast deceived the innocent hearts,
accursed art thou among all beasts.
Thou shalt be deprived of the victual of which thou didst
eat and shalt feed on dust all the days of
thy life: on thy breast and thy belly shalt thou walk and
be robbed of hands and feet. There shall not be left thee
ear nor wing, nor one limb of all that with which thou
didst ensnare them in
thy malice and causedst them to be cast out of paradise;
and I will put enmity between thee and his seed: he shall
bruise thy head and thou shalt bruise his heel until the
day of Judgement."
Chapter xxvii
Thus he spake and bade the angels have us cast out of
paradise: and as we were being driven out amid our loud
lamentations, your father Adam besought the angels and
said: "Leave me a little (space) that I may entreat
the Lord that he have compassion on me and pity me, for I
only
have sinned." And they left off driving him and Adam
cried aloud and wept saying: "Pardon me O Lord, my
deed." Then the Lord saith to the angels, "Why
have ye ceased from driving Adam from paradise? Why do ye
not cast him out? Is it I who have done wrong? Or is my
judgement
badly judged?" Then the angels fell down on the
ground and worshipped the Lord saying, "Thou art
just, O Lord, and thou judgest righteous judgement."
Chapter xxviii
But the Lord turned to Adam and said: 'I will not
suffer thee henceforward to be in paradise."
And Adam answered and said, " Grant me, O Lord, of
the Tree of Life that I may eat of it, before
I be cast out." Then the Lord spake to Adam,
"Thou shalt not take of it now, for I have commanded
the cherubim with the flaming sword that turneth (every
way) to guard it from thee that
thou taste not of it; but thou hast the war which the
adversary hath put into thee, yet when thou art gone out
of paradise, if thou shouldst keep thyself from all evil,
as one about to die, when again the Resurrection hath
come to pass, I will raise thee up and then there shall
be given to thee the Tree of Life."
Chapter xxix
Thus spake the Lord and ordered us to be cast out of
paradise. But your father Adam wept before the angels
opposite paradise and the angels say to him: "What
wouldst thou have us to do,
Adam? "And your father saith to them, "Behold,
ye cast me out. I pray you, allow me to take away
fragrant herbs from paradise, so that I may offer an
offering to God after I have gone out of paradise that he
hear me." And the angels approached God and said:
"JA'EL, Eternal King, command, my Lord, that
there be given to Adam incense of sweet odour from
paradise and seeds
for his food." And God bade Adam go in and take
sweet spices and fragrant herbs from paradise
and seeds for his food. And the angels let him go and he
took four kinds: crocus and nard and calamus and cinnamon
and the other seeds for his food: and, after taking
these, he went out of
paradise. And we were on the earth.
Chapter xxx
Now then, my children, I have shown you the way in which
we were deceived; and do ye guard yourselves from
transgressing against the good.'
Chapter xxxi
And when Eve had said this in the midst of her sons,
while Adam was lying ill and bound to die
after a single day from the sickness which had fastened
upon him, she saith to him: 'How is it that
thou diest and I live or how long have I to live after
thou art dead? Tell me.' And Adam saith to her:
'Reck not of this, for thou tarriest not after me,
but even both of us are to die together. And she shall
lie in my place. But when I die, anoint me and let no man
touch me till the
angel of the Lord shall speak somewhat concerning me. For
God will not forget me, but will seek His own creature;
and now arise rather and pray to God till I give up my
spirit into His hands who gave it me. For we know not how
we are to meet our Maker, whether He be wroth with us, or
be merciful and intend to pity and receive us.'
Chapter xxxii
And Eve rose up and went outside and fell on the ground
and began to say: I have sinned, O God, I have sinned, O
God of All, I have sinned against Thee. I have sinned
against the elect angels. I have sinned against the
Cherubim. I have sinned against Thy fearful and
unshakable Throne. I have sinned before Thee and all sin
hath begun through my doing in the creation.'
Even thus prayed Eve on her knees; (and) behold, the
angel of humanity came to her, and raised
her up and said: 'Rise up, Eve, (from thy penitence),
for behold, Adam thy husband hath gone out of his body.
Rise up and behold his spirit borne aloft to his
Maker.'
Chapter xxxiii
And Eve rose up and wiped off her tears with her hand,
and the angel saith to her, ' Lift Up thyself
from the earth.' And she gazed steadfastly into
heaven, and beheld a chariot of light, borne by four
bright eagles, (and) it were impossible for any man born
of woman to tell the glory of them or
behold their face -and angels going before the chariot-
and when they came to the place where your father Adam
was, the chariot halted and the Seraphim. And I beheld
golden censers, between your father and the chariot, and
all the angels with censers and frankincense came in
haste to the
incense-offering and blew upon it and the smoke of the
incense veiled the firmaments. And the angels fell down
and worshipped God, crying aloud and saying, JA'EL,
Holy One, have pardon, for he is Thy image, and the work
of Thy holy hands.'
Chapter xxxiv
And I Eve beheld two great and fearful wonders standing
in the presence of God and I wept for
fear, and I cried aloud to my son Seth and said,
'Rise up, Seth, from the body of thy father Adam and
come to me, and thou shalt see a spectacle which no
man's eye hath yet beheld.'
Chapter xxxv
Then Seth arose and came to his mother and to her he
saith: 'What is thy trouble? Why weepest thou?'
(And) she saith to him: 'Look
up and see with thine eyes the seven heavens opened, and
see how the soul of thy father lies on its face and all
the holy angels are praying on his behalf and saying:
'Pardon him, Father of All, for he is Thine
image." 'Pray, my child
Seth, what shall this mean? And will he one day be
delivered into the hands of the Invisible Father, even
our God? But who are the two
negroes who stand by at the prayers for thy father
Adam?'
Chapter xxxvi
And Seth telleth his mother, that they are the sun and
moon and themselves fall down and pray on behalf of my
father Adam. Eve saith
to him: 'And where is their light and why have they
taken on such a black appearance?' And
Seth answereth her, 'The light hath not left them,
but they cannot shine before the Light of the Universe,
the Father of Light; and on this account their light hath
been hidden from them.
Chapter xxxvii
Now while Seth was saying this to his mother, lo, an
angel blew the trumpet, and there stood up all the angels
(and they were) lying on their faces, and they cried
aloud in an awful voice and said: 'Blessed (be) the
glory of the Lord from
the works of His making, for He hath pitied Adam the
creature of His hands.' But when the
angels had said these words, lo, there came one of the
seraphim with six wings and snatched up Adam and carried
him off to the Acherusian lake, and washed him thrice, in
the presence of God.
And he stayed there three hours, lying down, and
thereafter the Father of all, sitting on his holy throne
stretched out his hand, and took Adam and handed him over
to the archangel Michael saying: 'Lift him up into
Paradise unto the third Heaven, and leave him there until
that fearful day of my reckoning, which I will make in
the world.' Then Michael took Adam and left
him where God told him.
Chapter xxxviii
But after all this, the archangel asked concerning the
laying out of the remains. And God
commanded that all the angels should assemble in His
presence, each in his order, and all the angels
assembled, some having censers in their hands, and others
trumpets. And lo ! the 'Lord
of Hosts' came on and four winds drew Him and
cherubim mounted on the winds and the angels from heaven
escorting Him and they came on the earth, where was the
body of Adam. And
they came to paradise and all the leaves of paradise were
stirred so that all men begotten of Adam slept from the
fragrance save Seth alone, because he was born
'according to the appointment of God '. Then
Adam's body lay there in
paradise on the earth and Seth grieved exceedingly over
him.
Chapter xxxix
And God saith to him: 'Adam, what hast thou done? If
thou hadst kept my commandment, there would now be no
rejoicing among those who are bringing thee down to this
place. Yet, I tell thee that I will turn their joy to
grief
and thy grief will I turn to joy, and I will transform
thee to thy former glory? and set thee on the throne of
thy deceiver. But he shall be cast
into this place to see thee sitting above him, then he
shall be condemned and they that heard him, and he shall
be grieved sore when he seeth thee sitting on his
honourable throne.'
Chapter xl
Then God spake to the archangel(s) Michael, (Gabriel,
Uriel, and Raphael): 'Go away
to Paradise in the third heaven, and strew linen clothes
and cover the body of Adam and bring oil of the 'oil
of fragrance' and pour it over him. And they acted
thus did the three great angels and they prepared him for
burial. And God said: 'Let the body of Abel also be
brought.' And they brought other linen clothes and
prepared his (body) also. For he was unburied since the
day when Cain his brother slew him; for wicked Cain took
great pains to conceal (him) but could not, for the earth
would not receive him for the body sprang up from the
earth and a voice went out of the earth saying: 'I
will not
receive a companion body, till the earth which was taken
and fashioned in me cometh to me.' At that time, the
angels took it and placed it on a rock, till Adam his
father was buried. And
both were buried, according to the commandment of God, in
the spot where God found the dust, and He caused the
place to be dug for two. And God sent seven angels to
paradise and they
brought many fragrant spices and placed them in the
earth, and they took the two bodies and placed them in
the spot which they had digged and builded.
Chapter xli
And God called and said, 'Adam, Adam.' And the
body answered from the earth and said: 'Here am I,
Lord.' And God saith to him: 'I told
thee (that) earth thou art and to earth shalt thou
return. Again I promise to thee the Resurrection; I will
raise thee up in the Resurrection with every man who is
of thy seed.'
Chapter xlii
After these words, God made a seal and sealed the tomb,
that no one might do anything to him for six days till
his rib should return to him. Then the Lord and his
angels went to their place.
And Eve also, when the six days were fulfilled,
fell asleep. But while she was living, she wept bitterly
about Adam's falling on sleep, for she knew not where
he was laid. For when the Lord came to paradise to bury
Adam she was asleep, and her sons too, except Seth, till
He bade Adam be prepared for burial; and no man knew on
earth, except her son Seth. And Eve prayed (in
the hour of her death) that she might be buried in the
place where her husband Adam was. And after she had
finished her prayer, she saith: 'Lord,
Master, God of all rule, estrange not me thy handmaid
from the body of Adam, for from his members didst thou
make me. But deem me
worthy, even me unworthy that I am and a sinner, to enter
into his tabernacle, even as I was with him in paradise,
both without separation from each other; just as in our
transgression, we were
(both) led astray and transgressed thy command, but were
not separated. Even so, Lord, do not
separate us now.' But after she had prayed, she gazed
heavenwards and groaned aloud and smote her breast and
said: 'God of All, receive my spirit,' and
straightway she delivered up her spirit to God.
Chapter xliii
And Michael came and taught Seth how to prepare Eve for
burial. And there came three angels and they buried her
(body) where Adam's body was and Abel's. And
thereafter Michael
spake to Seth and saith: 'Lay out in this wise every
man that dieth till the day of the Resurrection.' And
after giving him this rule; he
saith to him: 'Mourn not beyond six days, but on the
seventh day, rest and rejoice on it, because on that very
day, God rejoiceth (yea) and we angels (too) with the
righteous soul, who hath passed away from the earth.'
Even thus spake
the angel, and ascended into heaven, glorifying (God) and
saying: 'Allelujah.' [Holy, holy, holy is the
Lord, in the glory of
God the Father, for to Him it is meet to give glory,
honour and worship, with the eternal life-giving spirit
now and always and for ever. Amen.] [Holy, holy, holy is
the Lord of Hosts. To whom be glory and power for ever
and for ever Amen.] [Then the archangel Joel glorified
God; saying, 'Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, heaven and earth
are full of thy glory.']