Chapter XXI.—Of the Fall of Man.

Chapter XXI.—Of the Fall of Man.

“Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And the serpent said to the woman, Why hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We eat of every tree of the garden, but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die. For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise; and having taken of the fruit thereof, she did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her: and they did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking p. 103 in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said unto Him, I heard Thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself. And He said unto him, Who told thee that thou wast naked, unless thou hast eaten of the tree whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? And Adam said, The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And God said to the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art accursed above all the beasts of the earth; on thy breast and belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: and I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. ⁵⁹¹ And to the woman He said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy travail: in sorrow shalt thou bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. And unto Adam He said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it; cursed is the ground in ⁵⁹² thy works: in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat thy bread, till thou return unto the earth; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” ⁵⁹³ Such is the account given by holy Scripture of the history of man and of Paradise.

Footnotes

103:591

Theophilus reads, “It shall watch thy head, and thou shalt watch his heel.”

103:592

Or, “by thy works.”

103:593

Gen. ii. 8-iii. 19. [See Justin M., Dial., cap. lvi. p. 223, vol. 1. this series.]