Page:Legends of Old Testament Characters.djvu/32

10 made from me some should arise who would do evil upon the earth, and shed innocent blood?" Gabriel withdrew, respecting the oath, and took no earth; and he said to God, "Thou knowest what the earth said to me." Then God sent Michael and bade him fetch a little mud. But when Michael arrived, the earth swore the same oath.

And Michael respected the oath and withdrew.

Then God sent Azrael, the angel of death. He came, and the earth swore the same oath; but he did not retire, but answered and said, "I must obey the command of God in spite of thine oath." And the angel of death stooped, and took from forty ells below the earth clay of every sort, as we have said, and therefrom God made Adam. No one in the world had seen a form like that of Adam. Hâreth or Satan went to look at him. Adam had lain stretched in the same place for the space of about forty years. No one thought of him or knew what sort of a thing he was. Hâreth coming up to him, saw him stretched from east to west, of huge size and as dry as dry palm leaves. Then Hâreth pushed Adam, and the dry earth rattled. Hareth was astonished. He examined the form more attentively, and he found that it was hollow. Then he went to the mouth and crept in at it, and crept out again and let the angels know the doubt that was in his breast, for he said, "This creature is nothing, its inside is empty, and a hollow thing can easily be broken. Now that God has made him, He has given him the empire of the world, but I will fight against him and drive him from the earth as I drove out the Jins. What is your advice?"

The angels answered, "O Hâreth, if we overcame the Jins it was in obedience to God's command. Now that God has created this thing, if He orders us to submit to it, we must do so." Now when Hâreth saw that the angels thought otherwise, he changed his discourse and said, "You speak the truth, I agree with you, but I wanted to prove you."

When God gave the soul to Adam, it entered his throat and passed down into his bosom and belly, and wherever it passed, the earth, the clay, the dust, and the black mud became bones, nerves, veins, flesh, skin, and the like. And when his soul entered his head, Adam sneezed, and said, "Praise be to God." And when he turned his head, he saw Paradise and all its delights; and when the soul entered his belly, he