The Story of Adam and Eve, Level B (Grade Level 3-4)

Adam and Eve

            On the Earth God had created a beautiful garden called Eden. A great river flowed into it, which separated into four rivers, named Pishon and Gihon and Tigris and Euphrates. The garden was filled with all kinds of trees which were pleasing to the eye and good for food. And in the middle of the garden were the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

            Then God formed a man from the dust of the earth, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and he became a living being. He named him Adam, and gave him the garden’s fruit to eat and its animals to care for and name. But each of the birds and the beasts had companions, and Adam had none. So God said, “It is not good for Man to be alone. I will create a helper for him.”

            God put Adam into a deep sleep. While he slept He took one of his ribs, and covered the place with flesh. And from the rib He made a made a woman, and took her to the man. Adam said,

                        “This is now bone of my bones

                        and flesh of my flesh;

                        she shall be called ‘woman’,

                        for she was taken out of man.”

            When Adam was first created, God had told him, “You may eat of any tree in the Garden of Eden, except for one. You must not eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, for if you eat from it, you will surely die.” So Adam warned his new wife not to eat from this tree.

            Now of all the wild creatures God had made, the serpent was the craftiest. One day he said to the woman, whose name was Eve, “Didn’t God say, ‘You may eat of any tree in the garden’?”

            Eve replied, “We may eat fruit from any tree in the garden, except for one. God said, ‘You must not eat from the tree in the middle of the garden, or even touch it, or you will surely die.’”

            “You will not surely die,” the serpent told her. “God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

            Eve looked at the fruit of the tree, and it was pleasing to the eye and looked as though it would be pleasing to the tongue as well. And now she knew that it would also give her wisdom. And so she took some of the fruit and ate it, and also gave some to Adam, who ate the fruit as well.

            Then both of their eyes were opened. First they saw that they were naked, which they had never noticed when they were like the animals and had not eaten of the fruit. They made themselves clothing out of fig leaves.

            Then Adam and Eve heard the sound of God walking through the garden, and they hid among the trees. God called to Adam and said, “Where are you?”

            “I heard you in the garden,” said Adam, “and I was afraid because I am naked, so I hid.”

            “Who told you that you were naked?” asked God. “Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”

            The man said, “It was the woman you put here with me! She gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”

            God said to the woman, “What is this that you have you done?”

            “The serpent deceived me,” said the woman, “and I ate.”

            So God told the serpent,

                        “Cursed are you, above all creatures,

                                    tame or wild.

                        You will crawl on your belly

                                    and eat the dust

                                    all the days of your life.

                        And I will put hatred

                                    between you and the woman,

                                    and between your children and hers;

                        he will crush your head,

                                    and you will strike his heel.”

            Then he said to the woman,

                        “I will greatly increase your pain in childbearing;

                                    with pain you will bring forth children.

                        Your desire will be for your husband,

                                    and he will rule over you.”

            And to the man he said,

                        “Cursed is the ground because of you;

                                    only through painful toil will you eat

                                    all the days of your life.

                        The Earth will produce thorns and thistles for you,

                                    and you will eat the plants of the field.

                        By the sweat of your brow

                                    you will find your food

                        until you return from the ground,

                                    since from it you were taken;

                        for dust you are

                                    and to dust you will return.”

            Then God made clothing of animal skins for Adam and Eve, and dressed them. And he said, “Now Man is like us, and he knows good and evil. He must not be allowed to eat also from the Tree of Life, and then live forever.” So God banished Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden to work the ground for their food. And he placed in front of the garden an angel with a flaming sword flashing back and forth, to guard the way to the Tree of Life.