Lost Books of the Bible (7 page)

Author’s note:  There is a discrepancy between the 30 days mentioned first and the 35 days cited later in the chapter.  The number 35 is a combination of 3, the number of spiritual completion, and 5, the number of grace.

Chapter XXXIII

1 But Satan, the hater of all that is good, sought them in the cave, but did not find them although he searched diligently for them. 2 But he found them standing in the water praying and thought within himself, "Adam and Eve are standing like that in that water praying to God to forgive them their transgression, and to restore them to their former state, and to take them from under my hand. 3 But I will deceive them so that they shall come out of the water, and not fulfill their vow." 4 Then the hater of all that is good, did not go to Adam, but he went to Eve, and took the form of an angel of God, praising and rejoicing, and he said to her:  5 "Peace be to you! Be glad and rejoice! God is favorable to you and He sent me to Adam. I have brought him the glad tidings of salvation and of his being filled with bright light as he was at first. 6 And Adam, in his joy for his restoration, has sent me to you so that you would come with me in order that I might crown you with light like him. 7 And he said to me, 'Speak to Eve; if she does not come with you, tell her of the sign when we were on the top of the mountain, how God sent his angels who took us and brought us to the Cave of Treasures; and laid the gold on the southern side, incense on the eastern side, and myrrh on the western side.' Now come to him." 8 When Eve heard these words from him, she rejoiced much. And thinking Satan's appearance was real; she came out of the sea. 9 He went first and she followed him until they came to Adam. Then Satan hid himself from her and she saw him no more. 10 She then came and stood before Adam, who was standing by the water and she rejoiced in God's forgiveness. 11 And as she called to him, he turned around and found her there and cried when he saw her and beat his chest from the bitterness of his grief.  He sank into the water. 12 But God looked at him and at his misery and that he was about to breathe his last breath. And the Word of God came from heaven, raised him out of the water, and said to him, "Go up the high bank to Eve." And when he came up to Eve he said to her, "Who told you to come here?" 13 Then she told him the discourse of the angel who had appeared to her and had given her a sign. 14 But Adam grieved, and explained to her that it was Satan. He then took her and they both returned to the cave. 15 These things happened to them the second time they went down to the water seven days after their coming out of the garden. 16 They fasted in the water thirty-five days. It was altogether forty-two days since they had left the garden.

Chapter XXXIV

1 On the morning of the forty-third day, they came out of the cave, sorrowful and crying. Their bodies were lean, and they were parched from hunger and thirst, from fasting and praying, and from their heavy sorrow because of their transgression. 2 And when they had come out of the cave they went up the mountain to the west of the garden. 3 There they stood and prayed and asked God to grant them forgiveness of their sins. 4 And after their prayers Adam began to beg God, saying, "O my Lord, my God, and my Creator, You commanded the four elements to be gathered together, and they were gathered together by Your order. 5 Then You spread Your hand and created me out of one element, that of dust of the earth. You brought me into the garden at the third hour, on a Friday, and informed me of it in the cave. 6 Then, at first, I knew neither night nor day, because I had a bright nature so that the light in which I lived ever left me to know night or day. 7 Then, again, O Lord, in that third hour in which You created me, You brought to me all beasts, and lions, and ostriches, and fowls of the air, and all things that move in the earth, which You had created at the first hour before me of the Friday. 8 And Your will was that I should name them all, one by one, with a suitable name. But You gave me understanding and knowledge and a pure heart and a right mind from you, that I should name them after Your own mind regarding the naming of them. 9 O God, You made them obedient to me and ordered that not one of them break from my control according to Your commandment and to the dominion which You had given me over them. But now they are all estranged from me. 10 Then it was in that third hour of Friday, in which You created me, and commanded me concerning the tree, to which I was neither to go near, nor to eat from; because You said to me in the garden, 'When you eat of it, from death you shall die.' 11 But if You had punished me as You said, with death, I should have died that very moment. 12 When You commanded me regarding the tree, that I was neither to approach nor to eat of it, Eve was not with me. You had not yet created her, neither had You yet taken her out of my side, so had she yet heard this order from you. 13 Then, at the end of the third hour of that Friday, O Lord, You caused a sleep to come over me, and I slept, and was overwhelmed in sleep. 14 Then You took a rib out of my side and You created her after my own likeness and image. Then I awoke and when I saw her and knew who she was, I said, 'This is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh. From now on she shall be called woman.' 15 It was of Your good will, O God, that You brought a sleep over me and that You quickly drew Eve out of my side until she was fully out, so that I did not see how she was made, neither could I witness. O my Lord, Your goodness and glory are awful and great. 16 And of Your goodwill, O Lord, You made us both with bodies of a bright nature, and You made the two of us one. You gave us Your grace and filled us with praises of the Holy Spirit that we should be neither hungry nor thirsty nor know what sorrow is, nor know faintness of heart, neither suffering, fasting nor weariness. 17 But now, O God, since we transgressed Your commandment and broke Your law, You have brought us out into a strange land, and have caused suffering, faintness, hunger and thirst to come over us. 18 Now, therefore, O God, we pray you, give us something to eat from the garden, to satisfy our hunger with it, and something wherewith to quench our thirst. 19 For, behold, many days, O God, we have tasted nothing and drunk nothing, and our flesh has dried up and our strength is wasted. Sleep is gone from our eyes from faintness and crying. 20 Then, O God, we dare not gather anything from the fruit of trees, from fear of you. For when we transgress the first time You spared us and did not make us die. 21 But now, we thought in our hearts that if we eat the fruit of the trees without God's order He will destroy us this time and will remove us from the earth. 22 And if we drink of this water without God's order He will make an end of us and root us up at once. 23 Now, therefore, O God, I have come to this place with Eve, and we beg You to give us some fruit from the garden so that we may be satisfied with it. 24 For we desire the fruit that is on the earth and all else that we lack in it."

Author’s note: The four elements referred to are earth, air, fire, and water. Man was formed from dust, or earth.

Chapter XXXV

1 Then God looked again at Adam and his crying and groaning, and the Word of God came to him, and said to him:  2 "Adam, when you were in My garden, you knew neither eating nor drinking, faintness nor suffering, leanness of flesh, nor change; neither did sleep depart from your eyes. But since you transgressed and came into this strange land all these trials have come over you."

Author’s note: It is unclear as to if this implies that Adam did not sleep or if he had no trouble sleeping while in the garden. Other verses seem to hint at the fact that his “bright nature and the perpetual glory of God shining in the garden provided no need nor place for sleep. While in the garden, Adam may not have needed sleep.

Chapter XXXVI

1 Then God commanded the cherub, who guarded the gate of the garden with a sword of fire in his hand, to take some of the fruit of the fig-tree and to give it to Adam. 2 The cherub obeyed the command of the Lord God and went into the garden and brought two figs on two twigs, each fig hanging to its leaf. They were from two of the trees among which Adam and Eve hid themselves when God went to walk in the garden and the Word of God came to Adam and Eve and said to them, "Adam! Adam! Where are you?" 3 And Adam answered, "O God, here I am. When I heard the sound of You and Your voice, I hid myself, because I am naked." 4 Then the cherub took two figs and brought them to Adam and Eve. But he threw the figs to them from a distance because they would not come near the cherub, for their flesh that could not come near the fire. 5 At first, angels trembled at the presence of Adam and were afraid of him. But now Adam trembled before the angels and was afraid of them. 6 Then Adam came closer and took one fig, and Eve also came in turn and took the other. 7 And as they took them up in their hands they looked at them and knew they were from the trees among which they had hidden themselves.

Chapter XXXVII

1 Then Adam said to Eve, "Do you not see these figs and their leaves with which we covered ourselves when we were stripped of our bright nature? But now, we do not know what misery and suffering may come to us from eating them. 2 Now, therefore, Eve, let us restrain ourselves and not eat them. Let us ask God to give us of the fruit of the Tree of Life." 3 So Adam and Eve restrained themselves and did not eat these figs. 4 But Adam began to pray to God and to beg Him to give him of the fruit of the Tree of Life, saying: "O God, when we transgressed Your commandment at the sixth hour of Friday, we were stripped of the bright nature we had, and did not continue in the garden after our transgression more than three hours. 5 But in the evening You made us come out of it. O God, we transgressed against You one hour and all these trials and sorrows have come over us until this day. 6 And those days together with this the forty-third days do not redeem that one hour in which we transgressed! 7 O God, look at us with an eye of pity, and do not avenge us according to our transgression of Your commandment in Your presence. 8 O God, give us of the fruit of the Tree of Life that we may eat it and live and turn not to see sufferings and other trouble in this earth, for You are God. 9 When we transgressed Your commandment You made us come out of the garden and sent a cherub to keep the Tree of Life so that we should not eat thereof and live and know nothing of faintness after we transgressed. 10 But now, O Lord, behold, we have endured all these days and have borne sufferings. Make these forty-three days an equivalent for the one hour in which we transgressed."

Author’s note:  The day begins at sundown, or about 6 P.M. This would mean that is the sin occurred in the sixth hour it would have been midnight in the garden. If Adam and Eve were removed three hours afterward it would have been 3 A.M.

Chapter XXXVIII

1 After these things the Word of God came to Adam, and said to him: 2 "Adam, as to the fruit on the Tree of Life that you have asked for, I will not give it to you now, but only when the 5,500 years are fulfilled. At that time I will give you fruit from the Tree of Life and you will eat and live forever, both you and Eve, and also your righteous descendants. 3 But these forty-three days cannot make amends for the hour in which you transgressed My commandment. 4 Adam, I gave you the fruit of the fig-tree in which you hid yourself for you to eat. So, you and Eve go and eat it. 5 I will not deny your request; neither will I disappoint your hope. Therefore, endure until the fulfillment of the covenant I made with you." 6 And God withdrew His Word from Adam.

Chapter XXXIX

1 Then Adam returned to Eve and said to her, "Get up, and take a fig for yourself, and I will take the other; and let us go to our cave." 2 Then Adam and Eve each took a fig and went toward the cave. The time was about the setting of the sun and their thoughts made them long to eat of the fruit. 3 But Adam said to Eve, "I am afraid to eat of this fig. I do not know what may come over me from it." 4 So Adam cried and stood praying before God saying, "Satisfy my hunger, without my having to eat this fig because after I have eaten it, what will it profit me? And what shall I desire and ask of you, O God, when it is gone?" 5 And he said again, "I am afraid to eat of it; for I do not know what will befall me through it."

Chapter XL

1 Then the Word of God came to Adam and said to him, "Adam, why didn't you have this trepidation, or this will to fast, or this care before now? And why didn't you have this fear before you transgressed? 2 But when you came to live in this strange land your animal body could not survive on earth without earthly food to strengthen it and to restore its powers." 3 And God withdrew His Word for Adam.