Chapter LXVI

 Adam does his first day's work.

 

 

1 When it was morning, the day after they had eaten food, Adam and Eve prayed in the cave, and Adam said to Eve, "Look, we asked for food of God, and He gave it. But now let us also ask Him to give us a drink of water."

 

2 Then they got up, and went to the bank of the stream of water, that was on the south border of the garden, in which they had before thrown themselves. And they stood on the bank, and prayed to God that He would command them to drink of the water.

 

3 Then the Word of God came to Adam, and said to him, "O Adam, your body has become brutish, and requires water to drink. Take some and drink it, you and Eve, then give thanks and praise."

 

4 Adam and Eve then went down to the stream and drank from it, until their bodies felt refreshed. After having drunk, they praised God, and then returned to their cave, after their former custom. This happened at the end of eighty-three days.

 

5 Then on the eighty-fourth day, they took the two figs¹ and hung them in the cave, together with the leaves thereof, to be to them a sign and a blessing² from God. And they placed them there so that if their descendants came there, they would see the wonderful things God had done for them.

 

6 Then Adam and Eve again stood outside the cave, and asked God to show them some food with which they could nourish their bodies.

 

7 Then the Word of God came and said to him, "O Adam, go down to the westward³ of the cave until you come to a land of dark soil, and there you shall find food."

 

8 And Adam obeyed the Word of God, took Eve, and went down to a land of dark soil, and found there wheat* growing in the ear and ripe, and figs to eat; and Adam rejoiced over it.

 

9 Then the Word of God came again to Adam, and said to him, "Take some of this wheat and make yourselves some bread with it, to nourish your body therewith." And God gave Adam's heart wisdom, to work out the corn until it became bread.

 

10 Adam accomplished⁴ all that, until he grew very faint and weary. He then returned to the cave; rejoicing at what he had learned of what is done with wheat, until it is made into bread for one's use.

 

 

* In this book, the terms 'corn' and 'wheat' are used interchangeably. The reference is possibly used to indicate a type of ancient grain resembling Egyptian Corn also known as Durra. Durra is a wheat-like cereal grain frequently cultivated in dry regions such as Egypt.

 

1 figs   

figures 数字，图形，外形

参考例句：

• The effect of ring dyeing is shown in Figs 10 and 11. 环形染色的影响如图10和图11所示。
• The results in Figs. 4 and 5 show the excellent agreement between simulation and experiment. 图4和图5的结果都表明模拟和实验是相当吻合的。

2 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。

3 westward   

n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西

参考例句：

• We live on the westward slope of the hill.我们住在这座山的西山坡。
• Explore westward or wherever.向西或到什么别的地方去勘探。

4 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。