the Word of God came to Adam, and said to him:--

2 "O Adam, as to the fruit on the Tree of Life that you have asked for,
I will not give it to you now, but only when the 5500 years are
fulfilled. At that time I will give you fruit from the Tree of Life,
and you will eat, and live forever, you, and Eve, and your righteous
descendants.

3 But these forty-three days cannot make amends for the hour in which
you transgressed My commandment.

4 O Adam, I gave you the fruit of the fig-tree to eat in which you hid
yourself. Go and eat of it, you and Eve.

5 I will not deny your request, neither will I disappoint your hope;
therefore, endure until the fulfillment of the covenant I made with
you."

6 And God withdrew His Word from Adam.

Chapter XXXIX - Adam is cautious--but too late.

1 Then Adam returned to Eve, and said to her, "Get up, and take a fig
for yourself, and I will take another; and let us go to our cave."

2 Then Adam and Eve took each a fig and went towards the cave; the time
was about the setting of the sun; and their thoughts made them long to
eat of the fruit.

3 But Adam said to Eve, "I am afraid to eat of this fig. I know not
what may come over me from it."

4 So Adam cried, and stood praying before God, saying, "Satisfy my
hunger, without my having to eat this fig; for after I have eaten it,
what will it profit me? And what shall I desire and ask of you, O God,
when it is gone?"

5 And he said again, "I am afraid to eat of it; for I know not what
will befall me through it."

Chapter XL - The first Human hunger.

1 Then the Word of God came to Adam, and said to him, "O Adam, why
didn't you have this dread, or this fasting, or this care before now?
And why didn't you have this fear before you transgressed?

2 But when you came to live in this strange land, your animal body
could not survive on earth without earthly food, to strengthen it and
to restore its powers."

3 And God withdrew His Word for Adam.

Chapter XLI - The first Human thirst.

1 Then Adam took the fig, and laid it on the golden rods. Eve also
took her fig, and put it on the incense.

2 And the weight of each fig was that of a water-melon; for the fruit
of the garden was much larger than the fruit of this land*.

3 But Adam and Eve remained standing and fasting the whole of that
night, until the morning dawned.

4 When the sun rose they were still praying, but after they had
finished praying, Ad