From-The Apocrypha and
Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament
R.H. Charles
Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1913
i 1 This is the story of Adam and
Eve after they had gone out of Paradise. And Adam knew his wife
2 Eve and went upwards to the sun-rising and abode there eighteen
years and two months. And
3 Eve conceived and bare two sons; Adiaphotos, who is called Cain
and Amilabes who is called Abel.
ii 1 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,
2 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
3 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
4 and see what has happened to them. (I fear) lest the adversary
may be assailing them somewhere.'
iii 1 And they both went and found
Abel murdered. I by the hand of Cain his brother. And God
2 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
3 to Adam. But he kept the word in his heart, and with him also
Eve, though they grieved concerning Abel their son.
iv 1 And after this, Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bare Seth.
And Adam said to Eve: 'See! we
have
2 begotten a son in place of Abel, whom Cain slew, let us give
glory and sacrifice to God.'
v 1 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
2 voice and said, 'Let all my sons come to me that I may see them
before I die.'
3 And all assembled, for the earth was divided into three parts.
And Seth his son said to him:
4 'Father Adam, what is thy complaint?'
5 And he saith, 'MY children, I am crushed by the burden of trouble.' And they say to him, 'What is trouble?'
vi 1 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
2 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
3 I have (much) sickness and trouble!' Seth saith to him: 'And
how hath this come upon thee?'
vii 1 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
2 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.
3 Then she gave also to me to eat.
viii 1 '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."'
ix 1 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
2 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
3 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.'
x 1 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
2 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
3 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
4 cried out and said:
xi 1 '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
2 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,
3 if I begin to reprove thee.'
xii 1 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
2 the beast to Seth: 'Behold, I stand off from the image of God.'
And he went to his lair.
xiii 1 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
2 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.
3 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
6 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.'
xiv 1 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
2 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
3 our children and our children's children and tell them the
manner of our transgression.'
xv 1 Then saith Eve to them: 'Hear
all my children and children's children and I will relate to you
2 how the enemy deceived us. It befell that we were guarding
paradise, each of us the portion
3 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.]
xvi 1 And the devil spake to the
serpent saying, Rise up, come to me and I will tell thee a word
2 whereby thou mayst have profit." And he arose and came to
him. And the devil saith to him:
3 "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
4 as we were cast out through him." The serpent saith to
him, "I fear lest the Lord be wroth with
5 me." The devil saith to him: "Fear not, only be my
vessel and I will speak through thy mouth words to deceive him."
xvii 1 And instantly he hung
himself from the wall of paradise, and when the angels ascended
to
2 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
3 to him, "I am." 'What art thou doing in paradise?"
And I said to him, "God set us to guard and
4 to eat of it." The devil answered through the mouth of the
serpent: 'Ye do well but ye do not eat
5 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."
xviii 1 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."
2,3 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.
4 But God perceived this that ye would be like Him, so he envied
you and said, Ye shall not eat of
5,6 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."
xix 1 And I opened to him and he
walked a little way, then turned and said to me: "I have
changed my
2 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
3 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.
xx 1 And in that very hour my eyes
were opened, and forthwith I knew that I was bare of the
righteousness
2 with which I had been clothed (upon), and I wept and said to
him: "Why hast thou
3 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.
4 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
5 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.
xxi 1 And I cried out in that very
hour, 'Adam, Adam, where art thou? Rise up, come to me and
2 I will show thee a great secret." But when your father
came, I spake to him words of transgression
3 [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
4 a God." And your father answered and said, "I fear
lest God be wroth with me." And I said to
5 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.
6 And to me he saith, "O wicked woman! what have I done to
thee that thou hast deprived me of the glory of God?"
xxii 1 And in that same hour, we
heard the archangel Michael blowing with his trumpet and calling
to
2 the angels and saying: "Thus saith the Lord, Come with me
to Paradise and hear the judgement with which I shall judge Adam."
3 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
4 and mine, broke out into flowers. And the throne of God was
fixed where the Tree of Life was.
xxiii 1 And God called Adam
saying, "Adam, where art thou? Can the house be hidden from
the presence
2 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,
3 (my) Master." God saith to him, "Who showed thee that
thou art naked, unless thou hast forsaken my
4 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."
xxiv 1 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.]
3 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.
4 The beasts, over whom thou didst rule, shall rise up in
rebellion against thee, for thou hast not kept my commandment."
xxv 1 And the Lord turned to me
and said: "Since thou hast hearkened to the serpent, and
turned
2 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
3 life, from thy sore trouble and anguish. But thou shalt confess
and say: 'Lord, Lord, save me, and
4 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."
xxvi 1 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.
2 Thou shalt be deprived of the victual of which thou didst eat
and shalt feed on dust all the days of
3 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
4 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."
xxvii 1,2 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
3 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
5 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."
xxviii 1 But the Lord turned to
Adam and said: 'I will not suffer thee henceforward to be in
paradise."
2 And Adam answered and said, " Grant me, O Lord, of the
Tree of Life that I may eat of it, before
3 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
4 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."
xxix 1,2 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,
3 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
5 for his food." And God bade Adam go in and take sweet
spices and fragrant herbs from paradise
6 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
7 paradise. And we were on the earth.
xxx 1 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.'
xxxi 1 And when Eve had said this
in the midst of her sons, while Adam was lying ill and bound to
die
2 after a single day from the sickness which had fastened upon
him, she saith to him: 'How is it that
3 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
4 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.'
xxxii 1,2 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.'
3 Even thus prayed Eve on her knees; (and) behold, the angel of
humanity came to her, and raised
4 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.'
xxxiii 1 And Eve rose up and wiped
off her tears with her hand, and the angel saith to her, ' Lift
Up thyself
2 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
3 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
5 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.'
xxxiv 1 And I Eve beheld two great
and fearful wonders standing in the presence of God and I wept
for
2 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.'
xxxv 1 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
2 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
3 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
4 negroes who stand by at the prayers for thy father Adam?'
xxxvi 1 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
2 to him: 'And where is their light and why have they taken on
such a black appearance?' And
3 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.
xxxvii 1 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
2 the works of His making, for He hath pitied Adam the creature
of His hands.' But when the
3 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.
xxxix 1 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
2 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
3 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.'
xxxvii
4 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
6 him where God told him.
xxxviii 1 But after all this, the
archangel asked concerning the laying out of the remains. And God
2 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
3 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
4 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
5 paradise on the earth and Seth grieved exceedingly over him.
xl 1 Then God spake to the
archangel(s) Michael, (Gabriel, Uriel, and Raphael): 'Go away
2 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
3 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
5 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
6 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
7 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.
xli 1 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
2 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.'
xlii 1 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.
2 And Eve also, when the six days were fulfilled,
3 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
4 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,
5 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
6 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
7 (both) led astray and transgressed thy command, but were not
separated. Even so, Lord, do not
8 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.
xliii 1 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
2 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
3 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
4 the angel, and ascended into heaven, glorifying (God) and
saying: 'Allelujah.'
[Holy, holy, holy is the Lord, in the glory of
5 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.']
Scanned and Edited by
Joshua Williams
Northwest Nazarene College, 1995