Apocalypse Of Moses
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This is the story of Adam and Eve after they had gone out of
Paradise. And Adam knew his wife Eve and went upwards to the sun-rising and
abode there eighteen years and two months. And Eve conceived and bare two sons;
Adiaphotos, who is called Cain and Amilabes who is called Abel. 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, 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 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 and see what has happened to them. (I fear) lest the adversary may
be assailing them somewhere.' And they both went and found Abel murdered. I by
the hand of Cain his brother. And God 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 to Adam. But he kept the word in his
heart, and with him also Eve, though they grieved concerning Abel their son. And
after this, Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bare Seth. And Adam
said to Eve: 'See! we have begotten a son in place of Abel, whom Cain slew, let
us give glory and sacrifice to God.' 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 voice and said, 'Let all my sons come to me that I may see
them before I die.' And all assembled, for the earth was divided into three
parts. And Seth his son said to him: 'Father Adam, what is thy complaint?' And
he saith, 'MY children, I am crushed by the burden of trouble.' And they say to
him, 'What is trouble?' 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 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 I have (much) sickness and trouble!'
Seth saith to him: 'And how hath this come upon thee?' 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 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.
Then she gave also to me to eat. '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."' 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 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 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.' 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 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 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 cried out
and said: '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
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, if I begin to reprove thee.' 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 the beast to Seth: 'Behold, I stand off
from the image of God.' And he went to his lair. 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 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. 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 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.' 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 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 our children and our children's children
and tell them the manner of our transgression.' 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." xxvii , 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 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: "JA'EL, 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 begun 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 thyself 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, JA'EL, 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 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. xxxvii 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.' 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 burial; 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 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. 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.']