his breast, and sank down into the water, and would have perished but
that God sent His angel and drew him up out of the water. And he
showed Adam that he could not by these means gain admittance to the
garden before the time appointed was fulfilled.
After these things God showed Adam and Eve the things that were
necessary for their life. For as yet they had eaten nothing since
they came out of the garden; because the food which they had when
they were there was heavenly food, and it sustained them through all
these many days. Neither had they any clothes. Therefore God told
them to go to the seashore, and there they should find the skins of
some sheep whose flesh had been devoured by lions, and these skins
they should take and make them into raiment. But Satan heard the
words of God, and immediately went to the place where the skins were,
with intent to throw them into the sea, or burn them with fire; only,
just as he was about to seize them, God spake a word, and Satan was
bound there immovable, in his own hideous form. And when Adam and Eve
came to the place, they saw him crouching beside the skins; and they
were afraid at the horrible look of him. Then the Word came to them,
saying, "This is he who promised to make you as gods. What have you
gained, think you, by hearkening to his words?" And Satan was
cowed, and fled away in shame.
Adam and Eve therefore took the sheep-skins, and there came an angel
who showed them how to sew them together with palm-thorns and sinews,
and they made them into raiment.
Again, God showed them a land where corn was growing, and told them
how they might use it for bread; for it was ripe, and they gathered
the ears and made an offering of the first ears. And Satan came and
burnt part of the corn; but the angels drove him away.
Many other times also did Satan try to destroy Adam and Eve, coming
to them disguised as an angel and enticing them into the wilderness;
and again, when they were sleeping on the side of a mountain outside
their cave, he loosened a great rock above them that it might fall
and crush them; but the angels of God caught it and fixed it like a
roof over the heads of Adam and Eve, and when they awoke they were
astonished. And once he fell upon Adam and smote him in the side with
a sharp stone so that he almost slew him. Nevertheless, in all these
perils Adam and Eve put their trust in God, and He protected them and
healed them. And after a time Satan perceived that he would not be
able to destroy them by injuring their bodies, and that they would
not listen to him when he tempted them to disobey God. So Satan's war
against Adam was defeated.
This is the first part of the story of Adam, as it is told in an old
book called The Conflict of Adam and Eve. It is only part of the
story; I have left out a great deal. The second part of the story is
taken from a Greek book called The Revelation of Moses, and a Latin
one called The Life of Adam and Eve. It tells how Adam died and was
buried.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account