understood the phrase: that God brought the animals to Adam, not so that he, God, might see
70 On Genesis: A Refutation of the Manichees third river is the Tigris; this is the one that streams down over against the Assyrians. And thefourth river is called the Euphrates.
And the Lord God took the man whom he hadmade andput him in Paradise to work there, and to guard it. And the Lord God commandedAdam, saying: From every tree that is in Paradise you shall eatforfood; but of the tree ofknowledge ofgoodand evilyou all shall not eatfrom it;foron the dayyou all eatfrom it, you all shall die the death.
And the Lord God said: lt is notgoodfor the man to be alone; let us make him a help like him. And whatever God hadfashioned, from every kind ofcattle and from every kind ofbeasts ofthefield, andfrom every kind offlying thingsflying under heaven, he brought them to Adam, for him to see what to call them;2 and whatAdam called them all, live soul, that is its name. And after this Adam called out the names of all cattle and of all the birds ofheaven and of all the beasts of the field; and according to what Adam called them, that is their name until the present day.
Butfor Adam himself there was not yet any help like him. And God sent a slumber on Adam, and hefell asleep; and God took one of his ribs, andfilled up itsplace withflesh, and Godformed the rib which he had takenfrom Adam into a woman. And he brought her to Adam to see what he would call her. And Adam said: This now bone out of my bones andfleshfrom myflesh, this shall be called woman since she was taken from her man; and she shall be my help. For this reason a man shall leavefather and mother and shall bejoined to his wife; and they shall be two in oneflesh. And they were both naked, Adam and his woman, and they were not embarrassed.
2. Now the serpent was wiser than all the beasts which were upon the earth which the Lord God had made. And the serpent said to the woman: Why did God say that you are not to eatfrom every tree that is in Paradise? And the woman said to the serpent: From every tree that is in Paradise we do eat; butfrom the fruit of the tree which is in the middle ofParadise God said we are not to eat, not even to touch it, lest we die. And the serpent said to the woman: You will not die the death; for God knew that on the day you take a bitefrom it your eyes will be opened, and you will be as gods, knowing good and evil.
And the woman saw that the tree was goodfor eating and that it was goodfor the eyes to see and to gain knowledge; and she tookfruitfrom that tree and took a bite, and gave to her man; andAdam accepted it and took a bite; and their eyes were opened, and then they knew that they were naked; and they tookfig-leaves for themselves and made themselves aprons. And when they heard the voice of the Lord strolling in Paradise at evening, Adam and his woman hid themselves
2. From 9,16 below it does seem as if this is how Augustine at this stage of his study of Genesis understood the phrase: that God brought the animals to Adam, not so that he, God, might see what Adam would call them, but so that Adam might see what he himself should call them.
Book II 71 from before theface of the Lord God at that tree which was in the middle ofPara dise.
And the Lord God called Adam and said to him: Adam, where are you ? And he said to him: l heardyour voice. Lord, in Paradise, and l was afraid, and l hid myselfbecause l am naked. And the Lord God said: Who told you that you are naked—unless it 's that you have taken a bitefrom that treefrom which lhad told youfrom it alone not to take a bite ? AndAdam said: The woman whom you gave me, she gave it me to eat, and l took a bite. And God said to the woman: Why did you do this ? And the woman said: The serpent ledme astray, andl tooka bite.
And the Lord God said to the serpent: Accursed are youfrom all cattle and every kind ofbeasts. Upon your bosom andyour belly shallyou crawl, and earth shall you eat all the days of your life. And l will set enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and between her seed. She will look outforyour head, and youfor her heel.
And to the woman he said: Multiplying l will multiply your pains and your sighs, and in pains shall you bringforth children, and your turning round shall be towards your man, and he shall lord it over you.
And then God said to Adam: Because you have listened to the voice of your woman, and have taken a bitefrom the tree about which l commandedyoufrom it alone not to eat, accursed shall the earth be to you in all your works, and in your sadness and groaning shallyou eat ofit all the days of your life. Thorns and thistles shall it sproutfor you, and you shall eat thefodder ofyourfield. ln the sweat of your countenance shall you eatyour bread, until you turn back into the earthfrom whichyou were taken; because earth you are and into earth you shall go-
And then Adam laid upon his wife the name Life, because she is the mother of all the living. And then the Lord God made Adam and his woman tunics ofskin and clothed them. And God said: Behold, Adam has become as ifone ofusfor the knowledge ofgetting to know good and evil. And then lest Adam stretch out his hand to the tree of life and takefrom therefor himselfand eat and liveforever, the Lord God sent him awayfrom the paradise ofdelight, to work the earthfrom which he had been taken. Andon being thrown out outside Paradise, he lingered over against theparadise ofpleasure. And the Cherubim and thatflaming sword which turns, these God set to guard the way to the tree of life (Gn 2:4—3:24).3
3. 1t is to be noted that this text of chapters 2 and 3 of Genesis differs in several particulars from the one Augustine comments on in his greater work, The Literal Meaning of Genesis. Sometimes this one looks like a closer translation, and sometimes it seems to incorporate little comments, or amplifications of the text.