Lost Books of the Bible (15 page)

The Second Book of Adam and Eve
expands on the time from Cain’s act of murder to the time Enoch was taken by God. It is, above all, a continuation of the story of
The First Book of Adam and Eve
.

Like the first book, this book is also part of the "Pseudepigrapha", which is a collection of historical biblical works that are considered to be fiction. Although considered to be Pseudepigrapha, it carries significance in that it provides insight into what was considered acceptable religious writing and ideas of the time.

This book is a composite of oral versions of an account handed down by word of mouth, from generation to generation until an unknown author pieced the stories together into a written form.

This particular version is the work of unknown Egyptians. The lack of historical allusion makes it difficult to date the writing. Using other Pseudepigrapha works as a reference only slightly narrows the probable dates to a range of a few hundred years. Parts of the text were probably included in an oral tradition, two or three hundred years before the birth of Christ. Certainly, book two was written after book one.

Sections of the text are found in the Jewish Talmud, and the Islamic Koran. Although some think this shows how the books of Adam and Eve played a vital role in ancient literature, it could just as well expose the fact that the authors of the Adam and Eve stories borrowed heavily from accepted holy books.

The Egyptian author wrote in Arabic, but later translations were found written in Ethiopic. The present English translation was completed in the late 1800's by Dr. S. C. Malan and Dr. E. Trumpp. They translated the text into King James English from both the Arabic version and the Ethiopic version, which was then published in The Forgotten Books of Eden in 1927 by The World Publishing Company.  The version presented here takes the 1927 version, written in King James style English, and renders it into wording more familiar to the modern reader. Tangled sentence structure and archaic words were replaced with a more clear, crisp, twenty-first century English.

Second Book of Adam and Eve

Chapter I.

1 When
Luluwa heard Cain's words, she wept and went to call her father and mother, and told them how Cain had killed his brother Abel.

2 Then they all cried aloud and lifted up their voices, and slapped their faces, and threw dust upon their heads, and ripped their garments apart, and went out and came to the place where Abel was killed.

3 And they found him lying on the earth, killed, and beasts were around him. They wept and cried because he was a just person.  Because his body was pure, from it went forth a smell of sweet spices.

4 And Adam carried him as Adam’s tears streaming down his face; and he went to the Cave of Treasures, where he laid Abel, and Adam wound him up with sweet spices and myrrh.

5 And Adam and Eve continued in great grief by the burial site for a hundred and forty days. Abel was fifteen and a half years old, and Cain seventeen years and a half.

6 When the mourning for his brother was ended, Cain took his sister Luluwa and married her, without permission from his father and mother. Because of their heavy hearts they could not keep him from her.

7 He then went down to the foot of the mountain, away from the garden, near the place where he had killed his brother.

8 And in that place were many fruit trees and forest trees. His sister gave birth to his children, who in their turn began to multiply by degrees until they filled that place.

9 But Adam and Eve did not come together (have intercourse) for seven years after Abel's funeral.  After this, however, Eve conceived. And while she was with child Adam said to her, "Come, let us take an offering and offer it up unto God and ask Him to give us a beautiful child in whom we may find comfort, and whom we may join in marriage to Abel's sister."

10 Then they prepared an offering and brought it up to the altar, and offered it before the Lord, and began to ask Him to accept their offering and to give them a good offspring.

11 And God heard Adam and accepted his offering. Then, Adam, Eve and their daughter worshipped, and came down to the Cave of Treasures and placed a lamp in it by the body of Abel to burn by the body, night and day.

12 Then Adam and Eve continued fasting and praying until Eve's time came that she should be delivered, when she said to Adam, "I wish to go to the cave in the rock, to give birth in it."

13 And he said, "Go, and take your daughter with you to wait on you; but I will remain in this Cave of Treasures before the body of my son Abel."

14 Then Eve listened to Adam, and she and her daughter left, but Adam remained by himself in the Cave of Treasures.

Chapter II.

1 And Eve gave birth to a son, perfectly beautiful in form and in demeanor. His beauty was like that of his father Adam, yet more beautiful.

2 Then Eve was comforted when she saw him, and remained eight days in the cave; then she sent her daughter unto Adam to tell him to come and see the child and name him. But the daughter stayed in his place by the body of her brother, until Adam returned.

3 But when Adam came and saw the child's good looks, his beauty, and his perfect form, he rejoiced over him, and was comforted for Abel. Then he named the child Seth, which means, "that God has heard my prayer, and has delivered me out of my affliction." But it means also "power and strength."

4 Then after Adam had named the child, he returned to the Cave of Treasures; and his daughter went back to her mother.

5 But Eve continued in her cave, until forty days were fulfilled, when she came to Adam, and brought with her the child and her daughter.

6 And they came to a river of water, where Adam and his daughter washed themselves, because of their sorrow for Abel; but Eve and the babe washed for purification.

7 Then they returned, and took an offering, and went to the mountain and offered it up for the babe; and God accepted their offering, and sent His blessing upon them, and upon their son Seth; and they came back to the Cave of Treasures.

8 As for Adam, he did not have intercourse again with his wife Eve, all the days of his life; neither was any more offspring born of them; but only those five, Cain, Luluwa, Abel, Aklia, and Seth alone.

9 But Seth waxed in stature and in strength; and began to fast and pray, fervently.

Author’s note:  Abel was fifteen and a half years old, and Cain seventeen years and a half when Abel was killed. Cain and Luluwa were twins. Abel and Aklia were twins. Cain married his twin sister.  Aklia was fifteen and a half when Abel died. Adam and Eve did not come together (have intercourse) for seven years after Abel's funeral. Aklia would now be twenty-two and a half. Eve carried Seth for nine months. At the time of Seth’s birth, Aklia would have been twenty-three years old.

Chapter III.

1 At the end of seven years from the day Adam had been separated from his wife Eve, Satan envied him, and when he saw Adam was separated from her, Satan strove to make him live with her again.

2 Then Adam arose and went up above the Cave of Treasures and continued to sleep there night by night. But every day as soon as it was light he came down to the cave to pray there and to receive a blessing from it.

3 But when it was evening he went up on the top of the cave, where he slept by himself, fearing that Satan could overcome him. And he continued apart in this way for thirty-nine days.

4 Then when Satan, the hater of all that is good, saw Adam alone, fasting and praying, he appeared unto him in the form of a beautiful woman who came and stood in front of him in the night of the fortieth day, and said to him:

5 "Adam, from the time you have dwelt in this cave, we have experienced great peace from you, and your prayers have reached us, and we have been comforted because of you.

6 "But now, Adam, that you have gone up over the roof of the cave to sleep, we have had doubts about you, and a great sorrow has come upon us because of your separation from Eve. Then again, when you are on the roof of this cave, your prayer is poured out, and your heart wanders from side to side.

7 "But when you were in the cave your prayer was like fire gathered together. It came down to us, and you found rest.

8 "Then I also worried over your children who are separated from you, and my sorrow is great about the murder of your son Abel because he was righteous, and over a righteous man every one will grieve.

9 "But I rejoiced over the birth of your son Seth. But after a little while I sorrowed greatly over Eve, because she is my sister. For when God sent a deep sleep over you, and drew her out of your side, He brought me out with her. But He raised her by placing her with you, while He lowered me.

10 "I rejoiced over my sister for her being with you. But God had made me a promise before, and said, 'Do not grieve; when Adam has gone up on the roof of the Cave of Treasures, and is separated from Eve his wife, I will send you to him and you shall join yourself to him in marriage, and bear five children for him, as Eve gave him five children.'

11 "And now, look!  God's promise to me is fulfilled because it is He who has sent me to you for the wedding, because if you wed me I shall bear you finer and better children than those of Eve.

12 "You are still young. Do not end your youth in this world in sorrow. Spend the days of your youth in happiness and pleasure. Your days are few and your trials have been great. Be strong and end your days in this world in rejoicing. I shall take pleasure in you, and you shall rejoice with me in this way and without fear.

13 "Get up and fulfill the command of your God," she then came near Adam and embraced him.

14 But when Adam saw that he was going to be overcome by her, he prayed to God with a fervent heart to deliver him from her.

15 Then God sent His Word to Adam, saying, "Adam, that apparition is the one that promised you the Godhead, and majesty. He does not intend good for you, but shows himself to you at one time in the form of a woman and in another moment in the likeness of an angel, and on another occasions in the apparition of a serpent, and at another time in the semblance of a god. But he does all of this only to destroy your soul.

16 " Adam, now that you understand this in your heart you will see that I have delivered you many a time from his hands in order to show you that I am a merciful God. I wish you good and I do not wish your ruin."

Chapter IV.

1 Then God ordered Satan to show himself to Adam in his own hideous form, plainly.

2 But when Adam saw him he feared and trembled at the sight of him.

3 And God said to Adam, 'Look at this devil, and at his hideous sight, and know that he it is who made you fall from brightness into darkness, from peace and rest to toil and misery.

4 And look at him, Adam. He is the one who said that he is God! Can God be black? Would God take the form of a woman? Is there any one stronger than God? And can He be overpowered?