Dear diary,
And, just then, the humans heard the noise of Jehovah God walking in the garden: in the cool of the day, they noticed a rustling in the leaves. And the humans came out to join Jehovah God, and to walk with him amongst the trees of the garden. They desired to be in his presence, for the humans were as yet unashamed of their nakedness.
And Jehovah God said to the humans, “How did you find me here?”
And the humans answered and said, “We heard the noise of rustling leaves in the garden; and we followed the sound, till we spotted the skin of your coat.”
And he said, “So you do not mind that I keep my coat and hat on, while you remain unclothed in my presence?”
And the humans said, “Why should that matter to us?”
And he said, “Well, have you had a chance to speak with my serpent yet? I would guess that he might have given you a reason or two to question my character. For there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright being: one that fears good, and eschews evil.”
And the humans said, “We know nothing of good and evil; tho we did meet your snake. He brought up a very interesting subject, which he seemed to have mastered, and yet — we don’t know quite how to explain what happened — it’s as if his words made it into our mind, but then we immediately forgot what he had just said.”
And Jehovah God said unto the humans, “That is very good. Now, because you have heeded my advice, and have avoided the tree (of which I commanded you, saying ‘You shall not eat of it’), I shall give the whole garden a blessing for your sake: in happiness you shall eat of its greenery, all your days on this earth. Flowers and meat shall it bring forth for you; and you shall enjoy all the herbs of the field. You shall have an easy life: no sweat. You’ll have bread — even cake — and eat it, too; till the day when a chariot of fire shall appear, with horses of fire, and take you up by a whirlwind into heaven. For death shall not touch you.”
And Jehovah God bade the humans to give themselves names. And the first human called her own name Eve — for no reason; she just liked the sound of that word. And the man was named Man.
And Jehovah God removed his coat of pure white, and let his apron fall to the earth; also he removed the skins of the kids of the goats that were upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck: and he cast these goodly raiments into a pit that was hard by: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it. Thus he stood before the humans in his own true skin.
And Jehovah God said, “Behold, now we all are exactly alike: we all have proper names — I am Jehovah; you are Eve; and he is Man — and we are free and unashamed. Let us now go together to the center of the garden, to partake of the tree of life, the fruit of which grants its eaters continual existence. Come, each of you, take hold on either of my arms — be not afraid of my body. Now, with Eve here walking on one side of me, and Man close-walking the other side of me, and I in the midst of ye comrades, let us proceed to beguile away our loneliness.
Thus did Jehovah God accompany the humans into the middle of the garden of Eden, thru the eastern gate, where the trio passed by the cherubim and their flaming sword which turned every way, till they reached the tree of life. And there they leaned and loafed on the grass, and enjoyed a picnic.
Then Eve conceived, and bare Cain, and said, “I have gotten a child from Jehovah.” And she again bare his brother Abel.
And Abel was a mighty hunter. And Cain was a farmer.
Now it eventually came to pass that Cain offered of his harvest a gift to Jehovah God: one mandrake.
And Abel offered a gift, as well: the firstborn of his flock, the fattest lamb.
Now Jehovah loved the gift that Abel had brought him; and he hasted to dress it. And he took butter, and milk, and the lamb which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they enjoyed another picnic. Eve, Man, Jehovah, and their offspring.
But Cain, as he tried to eat, appeared crestfallen. So Jehovah said:
“Dear Cain, why do you appear so crestfallen? Could it be that there is something wrong with the meal?”
And Cain answered and said:
“On the contrary, the meal is fine: it is very good. The problem is not with the outside world, but the inside — my heart is aching. For I greatly desired to please you with my gift, which I gave unto you: the mandrake that I harvested from my field. But now I look at the picnic table, and this feast that is laid before us, and all I see being served is Abel’s lamb, his flock’s firstborn. I wish my mandrake had been offered alongside it. Therefore I conclude that you did not respect my gift.”
And Jehovah God said, “No: the opposite is the case. For I cherished your offering so intensely that I set it aside, thinking to save it for some special occasion in the future. But, if you desire, I will go and fetch it this instant; and we can serve it with the lamb.”
Thus did they add Cain’s offering to the feast, and any sadness that had existed turned to bliss.
And it came to pass, after the feast, that Cain talked with his brother Abel, when they were gone over into the field nearby, which was the farmland of Cain. And Cain said unto Abel, “Ask what I shall give thee, as a free offering. Look: as far as thine eye can see, all can be yours. Simply ask, and you shall receive.”
And Abel answered: “It is better to give than to receive.”
Yet Cain said unto Abel, “I pray, allow me to offer unto you a double portion of the gift that I gave to Jehovah.”
And Abel answered, “You have asked a hard thing: nevertheless, let it be so. I will accept your mandrakes.”
And Cain dug a hole in his field, and then again he dug another hole beside it, and he scooped up out of the ground two living creations, and he offered them as gifts unto Abel his brother. And Jehovah stood nearby, watching.
And Abel was so pleased with this gift from his sibling that he immediately began to prepare the food to eat. He went and set the table. However, as he sat down to dine, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted Abel asunder from his meal; and Abel went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
And Cain cried, “My brother! my brother!” And he saw him no more.
And Cain reached to the plate that now stood before the empty chair of Abel, and took hold of the mandrakes that he had given him, and he threw them back down upon the ground.
No comments:
Post a Comment