The story begins immediately after Adam and Eve’s exile from the Garden of Eden and continues to the death of Adam and then the death of Eve. The text includes a description of The Fall of Man from the point of view of Eve, and she is said by the text to have been put in charge of all the female animals, and half of the garden.
From The Apocrypha and Pseudeipgrapha of the Old Testament by R. H. Charles, vol. II , Oxford Press
Book of Adam and Eve
When they were driven out from paradise, they made themselves a booth, and spent seven days mourning and lamenting in great grief.
But after seven days, they began to be hungry and started to look for victual to eat, and they found it not. Then Eve said to Adam: ‘My lord, I am hungry. Go, look for (something) for us to eat. Perchance the Lord God will look back and pity us and recall us to the place, in which we were before.’
And Adam arose and walked seven days over all that land, and found no victual such as they used to have in paradise. And Eve said to Adam: “Wilt thou slay me? that I may die, and perchance God the Lord will bring thee into paradise, for on my account hast thou been driven thence Adam answered: ‘Forbear, Eve, from such words, that peradventure God bring not some other curse upon us. How is it possible that I should stretch forth my hand against my own flesh? Nay, let us arise and look for something for us to live on, that we fail not.’
And they walked about and searched for nine days, and they found none such as they were used to have in paradise, but found only animals food. And Adam said to Eve: ‘This hath the Lord provided for animals and brutes to eat; but we used to have angels’ food. But it is just and right that we lament before the sight of God who made us. Let us repent with a great penitence: perchance the Lord will be gracious to us and will pity us and will give us a share of something for our living.’
And Eve said to Adam: ‘What is penitence? Tell me, what sort of penitence am I to do? Let us not put too great a labour on ourselves, ‘which we cannot endure, so that the Lord will not hearken to our prayers: and will turn away, His countenance from us, because we have not, fulfilled what we promised. My lord, how much penitence hast thou thought (to do) for I have brought trouble and anguish upon thee?’
And Adam said to Eve: ‘Thou canst not do so much as I, but do only so much as thou hast strength for. For I will spend forty days fasting, but do thou arise and go to the river Tigris and lift up a stone and stand on it in the water up to thy neck in the deep of the river. And let no speech proceed out of thy mouth, since we are unworthy to address the Lord, for our lips are unclean from the unlawful and forbidden tree. And do thou stand in the water of the river thirty-seven days. But I will spend forty days in the water of Jordan, perchance the Lord God will take pity upon us.’
And Eve walked to the river Tigris and did as Adam had told her. Likewise, Adam walked to the river Jordan and stood on a stone up to his neck in water.
And Adam said: “I tell thee, water of Jordan, grieve with me, and assemble to me all swimming (creatures), which are in thee, and let them surround me and mourn in company with me. Not, for themselves let them lament, but for me; for it is not they that have sinned, but I.’ Forthwith, all living things came and surrounded him, and, from that hour, the water of Jordan stood (still) and its current was stayed.’
And eighteen days passed by; then Satan was wroth and transformed himself into the brightness of angels, and went away to the river Tigris to Eve, and found her weeping, and the devil himself pretended to grieve with her, and he began to weep and said to her: ‘Come out of the river and lament no more. Cease now from sorrow and moans. Why art thou anxious and thy husband Adam? The Lord God hath heard your groaning and hath accepted your penitence, and all we angels have entreated on your behalf and made supplication to the Lord; and he hath sent me to bring you out of the water and give you the nourishment which you had in paradise, and for which you are crying out. Now come out of the water and I will conduct you to the place where your victual hath been made ready.’
But Eve heard and believed and went out of the water of the river, and her flesh was (trembling) like grass, from the chill of the water. And when she had gone out, she fell on the earth and the devil raised her up and led her to Adam. But when Adam had seen her and the devil with her, he wept and cried aloud and said: ‘O Eve, Eve, where is the labour of thy penitence? How hast thou been again ensnared by our adversary, by whose means we have been estranged from our abode in paradise and spiritual joy?’
And when she heard this, Eve understood that (it was) the devil (who) had persuaded her to go out of the river; and she fell on her face on the earth and her sorrow and groaning and wailing was redoubled. And she cried out and said: Woe unto thee, thou devil. Why dost thou attack us for no cause? What hast thou to do with us? What have we done to thee? for thou pursuest us with craft? Or why doth thy malice assail us? Have we taken away thy glory and caused thee to be without honour? Why dost thou harry us, thou enemy (and persecute us) to the death in wickedness and envy?’
And with a heavy sigh, the devil spake: ‘O Adam! all my hostility, envy, and sorrow is for thee, since it is for thee that I have been expelled from my glory, which I possessed in the heavens in the midst of the angels and for thee was I cast out in the earth.’ Adam answered, ‘What dost thou tell me? What have I done to thee or what is my fault against thee? Seeing that thou hast received no harm or injury from us, why dost thou pursue us?’
The devil replied, ‘Adam, what dost thou tell me? It is for thy sake that I have been hurled from that place. When thou wast formed, I was hurled out of the presence of God and banished from the company of the angels. When God blew into thee the breath of life and thy face and likeness was made in the image of God, Michael also brought thee and made (us) worship thee in the sight of God; and God the Lord spake: Here is Adam. I have made thee in our image and likeness.’
And Michael went out and called all the angels saying: Worship the image of God as the Lord God hath commanded.’ And Michael himself worshipped first; then he called me and said: ‘Worship the image of God the Lord.’ And I answered, ‘I have no (need) to worship Adam.’ And since Michael kept urging me to worship, I said to him, ‘Why dost thou urge me? I will not worship an inferior and younger being (than I). I am his senior in the Creation, before he was made was I already made. It is his duty to worship me.’
When the angels, who were under me, heard this, they refused to worship him. And Michael saith, ‘Worship the image of God, but if thou wilt not worship him, the Lord God will be wrath with thee.’ And I said, ‘If He be wrath with me, I will set my seat above the stars of heaven and will be like the Highest.’
And God the Lord was wrath with me and banished me and my angels from our glory; and on 2 thy account were we expelled from our abodes into this world and hurled on the earth. And straightway we were overcome with grief, since we had been spoiled of so great glory. And we were grieved when we saw thee in such joy and luxury. And with guile I cheated thy wife and caused thee to be expelled through her (doing) from thy joy and luxury, as I have been driven out of my glory.’
When Adam heard the devil say this, he cried out and wept and spake: ‘O Lord my God, my life is in thy hands. Banish this Adversary far from me, who seeketh to destroy my soul, and give to, me his glory which he himself hath lost.’ And at that moment, the devil vanished before him. But Adam endured in his penance, standing for forty days (on end) in the water of Jordan.
And Eve said to Adam: ‘Live thou, my Lord, to thee life is granted, since thou hast committed neither the first nor the second error. But I have erred and been led astray for I have not kept the commandment of God; and now banish me from the light of thy life and I will go to the sunsetting, and there will I be, until I die.’ And she began to walk towards the western parts and to mourn and to weep bitterly and groan aloud. And she made there a booth, while she had in her womb offspring of three months old.
And when the time of her bearing approached, she began to be distressed with pains, and she cried aloud to the Lord and said: ‘Pity me, O Lord, assist me.’ And she was not heard and the mercy of God did not encircle her. And she said to herself: ‘Who shall tell my lord Adam? I implore you, ye luminaries of heaven, what time ye return to the east, bear a message to my lord Adam.’
But in that hour, Adam said: ‘The complaint of Eve hath come to me. Perchance, once more hath the serpent fought with her.’ And he went and found her in great distress. And Eve said: ‘From the moment I saw thee, my lord, my grief-laden soul was refreshed. And now entreat the Lord God on my behalf to hearken unto thee and look upon me and free me from my awful pains.’ And Adam entreated the Lord for Eve.
And behold, there came twelve angels and two ‘virtues’, standing on the right and on the left of Eve; and Michael was standing on the right; and he stroked her on the face as far as to the breast and said to Eve: ‘Blessed art thou, Eve, for Adam’s sake. Since his prayers and intercessions are great, I have been sent that thou mayst receive our help. Rise up now, and prepare thee to bear. And she bore a son and he was shining; and at once the babe rose up and ran and bore a blade of grass in his hands, and gave it to his mother, and his name was called Cain.
And Adam carried Eve and the boy and led them to the East. And the Lord God sent divers seeds by Michael the archangel and gave to Adam and showed him how to work and till the ground, that they might have fruit by which they and all their generations might live. For thereafter Eve conceived and bare a son, whose name was Abel; and Cain and Abel used to stay together. And Eve said to Adam: ‘My lord, while I slept, I saw a vision, as it were the blood of our son Abel in the hand of Cain, who was gulping it down in his mouth. Therefore I have sorrow.’ And Adam said, ‘Alas if Cain slew Abel. Yet let us separate them from each other mutually, and let us make for each of them separate dwellings.’
And they made Cain an husbandman, (but) Abel they made a shepherd; in order that in this wise they might be mutually separated. And thereafter, Cain slew Abel, but Adam was then one hundred and thirty years old, but Abel was slain when he was one hundred and twenty two years. And thereafter Adam knew his wife and he begat a son and called his name Seth.
And Adam said to Eve, ‘Behold, I have begotten a son, in place of Abel, whom Cain slew. And after Adam had begotten Seth, he lived eight hundred years and begat thirty sons and thirty daughters; in all sixty-three children. And they were increased over the face of the earth in their nations.
And Adam said to Seth, ‘Hear, my son Seth, that I may relate to thee what I heard and saw after your mother and I had been driven out of paradise. When we were at prayer, there 3 came to me Michael the archangel, a messenger of God. And I saw a chariot like the wind and its wheels were fiery and I was caught up into the Paradise of righteousness, and I saw the Lord sitting and his face was flaming fire that could not be endured. And many thousands of angels were on the right and the left of that chariot.
When I saw this, I was confounded, and terror seized me and I bowed myself down before God with my face to the earth. And God said to me, ‘Behold thou diest, since thou hast transgressed the commandment of God, for thou didst hearken rather to the voice of thy wife, whom I gave into thy power, that thou mightst hold her to thy will. Yet thou didst listen to her and didst pass by My words.’
And when I heard these words of God, I fell prone on the earth and worshipped the Lord and said, ‘My Lord, All powerful and merciful God, Holy and Righteous One, let not the name that is mindful of Thy majesty be blotted out, but convert my soul, for I die and my breath will go out of my mouth. Cast me not out from Thy presence, (me) whom Thou didst form of the clay of the earth. Do not banish from Thy favour him whom Thou didst nourish.’ And lo! a word concerning thee came upon me and the Lord said to me, ‘Since thy days were fashioned, thou hast been created with a love of knowledge; therefore there shall not be taken from thy seed for ever the (right) to serve Me.’
And when I heard these words, I threw myself on the earth and adored the Lord God and said, ‘Thou art the eternal and supreme God; and all creatures give thee honour and praise. ‘Thou art the true Light gleaming above all light(s), the Living Life, infinite mighty Power. To Thee, the spiritual powers give honour and praise. Thou workest on the race of men the abundance of Thy mercy.’ After I had worshipped the Lord, straightway Michael, God’s archangel, seized my hand and cast me out of the paradise of ‘ vision’ and of God’s command. And Michael held a rod in his hand, and he touched the waters, which were round about paradise, and they froze hard.
And I went across, and Michael the archangel went across with me, and he led me back to the place whence he had caught me up. Hearken, my son Seth, even to the rest of the secrets [and sacraments] that shall be, which were revealed to me, when I had eaten of the tree of the knowledge, and knew and perceived what will come to pass in this age; what God intends to do to his creation of the race of men. The Lord will appear in a flame of fire (and) from the mouth of His majesty He will give commandments and statutes from His mouth will proceed a two-edged sword and they will sanctify Him in the house of the habitation of His majesty. And He will show them the marvellous place of His majesty. And then they will build a house to the Lord their God in the land which He shall prepare for them and there they will transgress His statutes and their sanctuary will be burnt up and their land will be deserted and they themselves will be dispersed; because they have kindled the wrath of God. And once more He will cause them to come back from their dispersion; and again they will build the house of God; and in the last time the house of God will be exalted greater than of old. And once more iniquity will exceed righteousness. And thereafter God will dwell with men on earth [in visible form]; and then, righteousness will begin to shine. And the house of God will be honoured in the age and their enemies will no more be able to hurt the men, who are believing in God; and God will stir up for Himself a faithful people, whom He shall save for eternity, and the impious shall be punished by God their king, the men who refused to love His law. Heaven and earth, nights and days, and all creatures shall obey Him, and not overstep His commandment. Men shall not change their works, but they shall be changed from forsaking the law of the Lord. Therefore the Lord shall repel from Himself the wicked, and the just shall shine like the sun, in the sight of God. And in that time, shall men be purified by water from their sins. But those who are unwilling to be purified by water shall be condemned. And happy shall the man be, who hath ruled his soul, when the Judgement shall come to pass and the greatness of God be seen among men and their deeds be inquired into by God the just judge.
After Adam was nine hundred and thirty years old, since he knew that his days were coming to an end, he said: ‘Let all my sons assemble themselves to me, that I may bless them before I die, and speak with them.’ And they were assembled in three parts, before his sight, in the house of prayer, where they used to worship the Lord God. And they asked him (saying): ‘What concerns thee, Father, that thou shouldst assemble us, and why dost thou lie on thy bed? ‘Then Adam answered and said: My sons, I am sick and in pain.’ And all his sons said to him: ‘What does it mean, father, this illness and pain?’
Then said Seth his son: ‘O (my) lord, perchance thou hast longed after the fruit of paradise, which thou wast wont to eat, and therefore thou liest in sadness? Tell me and I will go to the nearest gates of paradise and put dust on my head and throw myself down on the earth before the gates of paradise and lament and make entreaty to God with loud lamentation; perchance he will hearken to me and send his angel to bring me the fruit, for which thou hast longed.’ Adam answered and said: ‘No, my son, I do not long (for this), but I feel weakness and great pain in my body.’ Seth answered, ‘What is pain, my lord father? I am ignorant; but hide it not from us, but tell us (about it).’
And Adam answered and said: ‘Hear me, my sons. When God made us, me and your mother, and placed us in paradise and gave us every tree bearing fruit to eat, he laid a prohibition on us concerning the tree of knowledge of good and evil, which is in the midst of paradise; (saying) ‘Do not eat of it.’ But God gave a part of paradise to me and (a part) to your mother: the trees of the eastern part and the north, which is over against Aquilo he gave to me, and to your mother he gave the part of the south and the western part.
(Moreover) God the Lord gave us two angels to guard us. The hour came when the angels had ascended to worship in the sight of God; forthwith the adversary [the devil] found an opportunity while the angels were absent and the devil led your mother astray to eat of the unlawful and forbidden tree. And she did eat and gave to me.
And immediately, the Lord God was wrath with us, and the Lord said to me: ‘In that thou hast left behind my commandment and hast not kept my word,’ which I confirmed to thee; behold, I will bring upon thy body, seventy blows; with divers griefs, shalt thou be tormented, beginning at thy head and thine eyes and thine ears down to thy nails on thy toes, and in every separate limb. These hath God appointed for chastisement. All these things hath the Lord sent to me and to all our race.’
Thus spake Adam to his sons, and he was seized with violent pains, and he cried out with a loud voice, ‘What shall I do? I am in distress. So cruel are the pains with which I am beset.’ And when Eve had seen him weeping, she also began to weep herself and said: ‘O Lord my God, hand over to me his pain, for it is I who sinned.’ And Eve said to Adam: ‘My lord, give me a part of thy pains, for this hath come to thee from fault of mine.’
And Adam said to Eve: ‘Rise up and go with my son Seth to the neighborhood of paradise, and put dust on your heads and throw yourselves on the ground and lament in the sight of God. Perchance He will have pity (upon you) and send His angel across to the tree of His mercy, whence floweth the oil of life, and will give you a drop of it, to anoint me with it, that I may have rest from these pains, by which I am being consumed.’
Then Seth and his mother went off to wards the gates of paradise. And while they were walking, lo! suddenly there came a beast a serpent and attacked and bit Seth. And as soon as Eve saw it, she wept and said: ‘Alas, wretched woman that I am. I am accursed since I have not kept the commandment of God And Eve said to the serpent in a loud voice: Accursed beast! how (is it that) thou hast not feared to let thyself loose against the image of God, but hast dared to fight with it?’
The beast answered in the language of men: ‘Is it not against you, Eve, that our malice (is directed)? Are not ye the objects of our rage? Tell me, Eve, how was thy mouth opened to eat of the fruit? But now if I shall begin to reprove thee thou canst not bear it.’
Then said Seth to the beast: ‘God the Lord revile thee. Be silent, be dumb, shut thy mouth, accursed enemy of Truth, confounder and destroyer. Avaunt from the image of God till the day when the Lord God shall order thee to be brought to the ordeal.’ And the beast said to Seth: ‘See, I leave the presence of the image of God, as thou hast said.’ Forthwith he left Seth, wounded by his teeth.
But Seth and his mother walked to the regions of paradise for the oil of mercy to anoint the sick Adam: and they arrived at the gates of paradise, (and) they took dust from the earth and placed it on their heads, and bowed themselves with their faces to the earth and began to lament and make loud moaning, imploring the Lord God to pity Adam in his pains and to send His angel to give them the oil from the ‘tree of His mercy ‘.
But when they had been praying and imploring for many hours, behold, the angel Michael appeared to them and said: ‘I have been sent to you from the Lord — I am set by God over the bodies of men — I tell thee, Seth, (thou) man of God, weep not nor pray and entreat on account of the oil of the tree of mercy to anoint thy father Adam for the pains of his body.
‘For I tell thee that in no wise wilt thou be able to receive thereof save in the last days.’ When five thousand five hundred years have been fulfilled, then will come upon earth the most beloved king Christ, the son of God, to revive the body of Adam and with him to revive the bodies of the dead. He Himself, the Son of God, when He comes will be baptized in the river of Jordan, and when He hath come out of the water of Jordan, then He will anoint from the oil of mercy all that believe in Him. And the oil of mercy shall be for generation to generation for those who are ready to be born again of water and the Holy Spirit to life eternal. Then the most beloved Son of God, Christ, descending on earth shall lead thy father Adam to Paradise to the tree of mercy.
‘But do thou, Seth, go to thy father Adam, since the time of his life is fulfilled. Six days hence, his soul shall go off his body and when it shall have gone out, thou shalt see great marvels in the heaven and in the earth and the luminaries of heaven. With these words, straight-way Michael departed from Seth. And Eve and Seth returned bearing with them herbs of fragrance, i.e. nard and crocus and calamus and cinnamon.
And when Seth and his mother had reached Adam, they told him, how the beast, the serpent bit Seth. And Adam said to Eve: ‘What hast thou done? A great plague hast thou brought upon us, transgression and sin for all our generations: and this which thou hast done, tell thy children after my death, for those who arise from us shall toil and fail but they shall be wanting and curse us (and) say, All evils have our parents brought upon us, who were at the beginning.’ When Eve heard these words, she began to weep and moan.
From Apocalypse of Moses
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.
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.”
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.”
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.”
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.
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.
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?”
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.
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.”
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.”
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.”
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.”
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.”
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 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.”
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: ‘”JAEL, 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.
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.’
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.’
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 begin 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.’
And Eve rose up and wiped off her tears with her hand, and the angel saith to her, ‘Lift up thy self 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, ‘JAEL, Holy One, have pardon, for he is Thy image, and the work of Thy holy hands.’
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.’
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 4 Father, even our God? But who are the two negroes who stand by at the prayers for thy father Adam?’
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.’
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 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.’
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.
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.
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.
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.’
Vita Adae et Evae
Six days after, Adam died; and Eve perceived that she would die, (so) she assembled all her sons and daughters, Seth with thirty brothers and thirty sisters, and Eve said to all: ‘Hear me, my children, and I will tell you what the archangel Michael said to us when I and your father transgressed the command of God. On account of your transgression, Our Lord will bring upon your race the anger of his judgement, first by water, the second time by fire; by these two, will the Lord judge the whole human race.
But hearken unto me, my children. Make ye then tables of stone and others of clay, and write on them, all my life and your father’s (all) that ye have heard and seen from us. If by water the Lord judge our race, the tables of clay will be dissolved and the tables of stone will remain; but if by fire, the tables of stone will be broken up and the tables of clay will be baked (hard).’
Apocalypse of Moses
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 buria ; 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 heaven wards and groaned aloud and smote her breast and said: ‘God of All, receive my spirit,’ and straightway she delivered up her spirit to God.
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.’