Chapter 29
On the following day the three false Gods, Osiris, Te-in and Sudga, wrote their account, each one in his own way. And when they were read, Osiris’ stood clearer than either of the others’; but nevertheless, Te-in’s and Sudga’s had much of merit. So it came to pass that Osiris’ account was adopted, with interpolations from the others’.
This, then, is the completed report:
These are the times of earth and heaven when created; the time the Lord God created them. And the Lord God formed man out of the dust of the earth, and quickened him through his nostrils with the breath of life, and man became a living creature.
And God caused mists to rise up from the waters, and spread over the earth, and rain upon it. And he caused trees and herbs to grow up out of the ground; everything that is pleasant for the sight and good for food. Thus out of the ground the Lord God caused man to come forth, being of the earth, of the land of Eden (Spe-a).
The Lord God commanded man to dress the land and keep it pleasant, saying: This shall be your labor, in which you shall be perfected to everlasting life. You may freely take and enjoy all things that are in the land of Eden.
And man prospered on the earth for a long season; and he was naked and not ashamed. And God planted the tree of knowledge in the land of Eden, and he said to man: I have planted this tree; do not partake of it, for it pertains to life and death.
And God called the name of the first man A’su (Adam). And the Lord God caused man to name all things on the earth, and in the waters, and in the air above the earth, and whatever man called every living creature, that was its name.
And the Lord God caused A’su to fall into a trance; and an angel of heaven came and stood by his side. And the Lord God drew from the flesh, and from the bones, and from the blood of A’su, and thus made woman, and brought her to A’su.
And the Lord God repeated his commandment to woman, saying: You shall dwell for a season on the earth, and cleave to A’su, for he is your husband, and you are his wife; and you shall partake of all things on the face of the earth, except for the tree of life, which is of both good and evil, for in the day you eat of it you shall surely die.
But because of the serpent (the earth) of the woman, she listened to him [her flesh –Ed.], and he said to the woman: I say to you, in the day you eat of the tree of knowledge you shall have your eyes opened, and shall become like a Goddess, creating offspring.
And the woman was more easily persuaded than man, for she had confidence in the serpent; and they partook of the fruit of the tree of knowledge; and, in truth, their eyes were opened, and they saw their nakedness.
And presently they heard the Lord God walking in Eden, and they hid themselves in the bushes. And the Lord God said: Where are you, A’su? And A’su said: When we heard you walking, we hid ourselves, for we are naked.
The Lord God said: Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree, which I told you that you should not eat from? A’su said: The woman you gave me to be with me, led me, saying: Behold, it is good fruit; and we ate it.
The Lord God said: Woman, what have you done? And the woman answered, saying: The serpent [her earth body –Ed.] beguiled me. And the Lord God said to the serpent [the flesh –Ed.]: Because you have done this, you are accursed, and you shall not rise up from the earth, but return to dust from which you came.
The Lord God said to the woman: Because you have conceived, you shall have great sorrow; in sorrow bring forth children; your desire shall be to your husband, and he shall rule over you. And I will put enmity between the serpent and your offspring; and the flesh shall call one way, which is to earth, but the soul of man shall call to me, the Lord God. And though the serpent bites, yet man shall bruise him, and subdue him.
And God taught man to make coats of skins and be clothed. And the Lord God said: Lest man partake further, becoming as one of us, he shall go out of Eden, where I created him. So he drove man out of Eden backward, and gave him cherubims to hold him on every side, to preserve to man the tree of life, so that man might not only fulfill the spirit, but the flesh also. ||
When Osiris had gone thus far, Sudga interposed, saying: If we say, Becoming as one of us, || will man not say: Behold, there are more Gods than the Lord God?
Te-in said: Because De’yus said: Let us make man, shall we not use us in this instance?
Osiris said: Hear me further, my brothers, for I previously found a way out. For I have divided the Lord from God; that is to say:
And the Lord God said: Because man has learned good and evil, I am like two entities to him, for I am Lord of the earth and God of heaven. And that which is on the earth is the Lord’s, and that which is in heaven is God’s.
And A’su called his wife’s name Eve (We-it), for she was the fountain of all men. And Eve brought forth a son, Cain, saying: I have begotten a son from the Lord. And she brought forth another son, Abel. And the firstborn was begotten in darkness, but the second in the light of the Lord. And the Lord had more respect for the second, Abel, than for the first, Cain.
In course of time Cain brought forth the fruit of the ground and offered it to the Lord. And Abel brought the firstlings of his flocks as his offerings for the Lord. And Cain perceived that the Lord had more respect for his brother, and Cain was angered, and his countenance fell.
And the Lord said to Cain: Why are you jealous? If you do well, shall you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at your door.
But Cain would not be reconciled (because of the darkness in him), and when he and his brother were walking in the fields, Cain turned upon Abel and slew him.
God said: Behold, darkness is between men; the son begotten in darkness falls upon the one begotten in the light. And it shall come to pass on the earth from this time forward that the righteous shall be persecuted by the unrighteous.
And the Lord said to Cain: Where is Abel, your brother? And he said: I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper? The Lord said: The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. Now you are accursed from the earth, for it has opened to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. In my sight you shall be a fugitive and a vagabond upon the earth. And because you have shed blood, blood shall not cease to flow from your sons and daughters forever.
Cain said: O Lord, my punishment is greater than I can bear. For I have become the first foundation of all the wars on the earth; for you have hidden your face from me; and it shall come to pass that everyone who finds of me in them shall be slain also.
And the Lord said to Cain: Whoever slays you or yours, vengeance shall be upon him sevenfold. And the Lord wrote upon Cain’s forehead the word Asugsahiben, signifying, BLOOD FOR SAKE OF SELF, a mark, lest any finding him might kill him.
And from this time forth Cain lost the voice of the Lord, because he went off into Nod (darkness). And Cain took a wife and begot heirs to himself, who were like him in manner, and they were called Cainites, and their heirs were called the tribe of Cainites, which survived him nine hundred and ten years, after which they were divided into twenty-six tribes. (And the name Cain was lost. But the people survived, and are known to this day as THE WORLD’S PEOPLE.)
And We-it bore another son, Seth, in place of Abel, whom Cain slew. And after these came the generations of men, good and evil. And the Lord God said: Behold, I created man without sin, and I gave him warning, so that he could remain holy on the face of the earth. But woman did not listen to my counsel, but to the serpent, and sin came into the world. Therefore in pain woman shall bring forth all the generations of the earth.
Thus it was that the Lord God created man in the likeness of God.
And the sons of Cain were called tribes, even to this day, but the sons of the righteous were sons of God; and for that reason it was said of old: Behold the sons of earth and the sons of heaven.
And the Lord said: Shall I not accord to myself to choose what I will? For this right I gave to man also. And from that time forward the sons of God were called God’s chosen.
And it came to pass that man multiplied on the face of the earth; and the tribes were mightier than the sons of the Lord God, and the wickedness of man became great in the earth, and the desires of his heart were continually evil.
And the Lord God repented that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him in his heart. And the Lord God said: I will destroy man whom I have created; neither will I spare beast nor creeping thing in the place I gave.
Behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the lands of the earth, and I will destroy all flesh which has the breath of life. But my covenant is with my chosen, who shall not be destroyed by the flood of waters.
And God’s sons in Noe took with them pairs of the living, of both beasts and birds, according to the commandments of God, to keep their seed alive on the earth.
And when the earth was six hundred years in Noe, the flood of waters came upon the earth. And for forty days and forty nights the rain fell, and the fountains of the sea came upon the lands of the earth. And man and beast alike that drew the breath of life, died, for the land was no more.
But the heirs of Noe did not suffer; and the ships of the arc, where the Lord had concealed them, rode upon the waters. And God made a wind to pass over the earth; and the fountains of the deep were stopped, and the rain of heaven restrained, and the ships of the arc brought to dry land.
And the Lord God said: Behold, I will build a new earth and a new heaven. For these, my sons, have proven their faith in me. Never will I again destroy the tribes of men because their hearts are set on evil. And the Lord God swore an oath by the bow of the arc, saying: This is the token of the covenant which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth. || And the sons of Noe spread over the whole earth, and the Lord blessed the earth, and said: Every moving thing that lives shall be meat for man; even as the green herb I have given. But flesh with the life in it, which is in its blood, man shall not eat.
For if you do, I will surely require your blood from your lives; no matter the type of beast thus eaten, I will require it. By the hand of every man’s brother I will take the life of man who feeds on living flesh and blood.
And he who sheds man’s blood, shall have his own blood shed by man; for I made man in my image. So be fruitful and multiply, and bring forth harvests abundantly from the earth, and inhabit it, for it is yours for perpetual generations. ||
Thus ended the words of Osiris. Te-in said: Because of flesh blood, you are wise, my brother. Sudga said: The glory of our enterprise hangs on this. For man being less restrained than in the Divan laws, will readily accept the new.
After this, Osiris prepared a book of generations of men on earth. And with that, the substance of the doctrines of De’yus and his Gods was finished. So Osiris, Te-in and Sudga departed, and descended to the earth, to their mortal wards, and by virtue of their presence inspired their wards to write the doctrines in mortal words, according to the languages in the places where they lived. And after these seers finished the writing, copies were made and put on file in the libraries containing the records of the kings and queens of earth, in Arabin’ya, Jaffeth and Shem. And these became the bible of that day.