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The Forgotten Books of Eden · 12 of 293

First Adam and Eve: Chapter IX

Water from the Tree of Life. Adam and Eve near drowning.

1.THEN Adam and Eve came out of the Cave of Treasures, and drew near to the garden gate, and there they stood to look at it, and wept for having come away from it.

2.And Adam and Eve went from before the gate of the garden to the southern side of it, and found there the water that watered the garden, from the root of the Tree of Life, and that parted itself from thence into four rivers over the earth.

3.Then they came and drew near to that water, and looked at it; and saw that it was the water that came forth from under the root of the Tree of Life in the garden.

4.And Adam wept and wailed, and smote upon his breast, for being severed from the garden; and said to Eve:—

5.“Why hast thou brought upon me, upon thyself, and upon our seed, so many of these plagues and punishments?”

6.And Eve said unto him, “What is it thou hast seen, to weep and to speak to me in this wise?”

7.And he said to Eve, “Seest thou not this water that was with us in the garden, that watered the trees of the garden, and flowed out thence?

8.“And we, when we were in the garden, did not care about it; but since we came to this strange land, we love it, and turn it to use for our body.”

9.But when Eve heard these words from him, she wept; and from the soreness of their weeping, they fell into that water; and would have put an end to themselves in it, so as never again to return and behold the creation; for when they looked upon the work of creation, they felt they must put an end to themselves.

Asked of Guide

Why do Adam and Eve try to drown themselves in the water from the Tree of Life?

They attempt suicide because seeing the lost garden and the life-giving water magnifies their grief and shame; Adam says they loved nothing in exile as they loved that water which “watered the trees of the garden.” Their sorrow over being severed from the garden turns into a desperate wish to escape the pain of remembrance.

The chapter makes grief into action: the beauty and memory of what they lost drive them to seek oblivion, and Eve’s reaction mirrors Adam’s — their tears cause them to fall into the water. This scene connects with other exile stories, like Genesis’ expulsion, where longing for an original state becomes the motive force of the narrative rather than theological argument.

Guide is the guide inside the Gnosis app, where every book on these shelves is free to read. Guide is the part you pay for — your guide has read all of them, and answers about the passage you’re actually on. Ask your guide your own question.