The Ancient Witnesses

106 • The Ancient Witnesses: A Journey to Discover Our Sacred Roots

angelic voices. They sung in a heavenly language unlike anything we’d yet heard. 40 It was as if this language was invented expressly for singing. The melody and the lyrics were of one piece that lifted us to the summit of the garden, then made us to feel the awesome sanctity of the holy place within the garden, and finally evoked a powerful sense of remorse at the Fall. “I never heard of a dog in the garden of Eden!” teased Preacher, about the first Syrian’s comment. “He didn’t say the serpent was a dog,” corrected Joseph, “he said that before the fall the serpent was like a pet to the man and woman.” “Yeah, but he said the serpent couldn’t even get into the garden, so how’d he tempt Eve?” “I wondered about that myself,” said Joseph. “Scripture doesn’t say the serpent was with Eve when she ate the fruit,” said Cesar, Joseph pulled his Bible from his pocket and began reading the passage silently. “Maybe Adam went outside the garden to name all the animals,” I said. “Adam was in the garden ’til he got kicked out,” said Preacher, “how could he name the animals if they wadn’t in the garden?” “Scripture says God put the man in the garden to tend it,” Father Greg agreed, “but it does not say he was forbidden to leave the garden.” “If he left the garden, how could he get past the guardian angels?” demanded Preacher.

40 Syriac, the language of Ephrem of Syria.