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The Forgotten Books of Eden · 24 of 293
First Adam and Eve: Chapter XXI
Adam and Eve attempt suicide.
1.THEN Adam and Eve went in search of the garden.
2.And the heat beat like a flame on their faces; and they sweated from the heat, and wept before the Lord.
3.But the place where they wept was nigh unto a high mountain, facing the western gate of the garden.
4.Then Adam threw himself down from the top of that mountain; his face was tom and his flesh was flayed; much blood flowed from him, and he was nigh unto death.
5.Meanwhile Eve remained standing on the mountain weeping over him, thus lying.
6.And she said, “I wish not to live after him; for all that he did to himself was through me.”
7.Then she threw herself after him; and was torn and scotched by stones; and remained lying as dead.
8.But the merciful God, who looks upon His creatures, looked upon Adam and Eve as they lay dead, and He sent His Word unto them, and raised them.
9.And said to Adam, “O Adam, all this misery which thou hast wrought upon thyself, will not avail against My rule, neither will it alter the covenant of the 5500 years.”
Asked of Guide
Why do Adam and Eve try to kill themselves after leaving the garden?
They try to kill themselves because overwhelming guilt and grief follow their expulsion: Adam throws himself from a mountain and Eve follows, each believing the other’s suffering is their fault. The chapter records their physical wounds and tears “before the Lord,” making remorse the immediate motive for self-destruction.
God intervenes and raises them by His Word, emphasizing His mercy and the continuing covenant of the 5,500 years. This scene echoes themes in Genesis about culpability and divine forbearance and resembles the later emphasis on repentance in the Apocalypse of Adam.
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