VII. (1) God created ten canopies for Adam in the Garden of Eden, and all of them were made of precious stones, of pearls and of gold. Each bridegroom has as a rule but one canopy, a king has three, but in order to show great honour to the first man He made ten canopies for him in the Garden of Eden, as it is said, 'Thou hast been in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, the topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold; the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes (was prepared) for thee on the day when thou wast created.' These represent the ten canopies. The angels were beating their timbrels and dancing to the pipes, as it is said, 'The workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes.'
(2) On the day when the first man was created God said to the ministering angels, 'Come, let us descend and show kindness to man and his helper, for upon kindness the world rests.' He further said, 'Kindness is much more acceptable to Me than the sacrifices of burnt-offerings which the Israelites are destined in the future to offer to Me upon the altar,' as it is said, 'For kindness do I desire and not sacrifices.' The ministering angels walked before Adam like shepherds who watch the flocks of birds, as it
is said, 'For He commanded His angels to watch over thee in all thy ways.' They were like unto a bridal pair, and God may be compared to a precentor, for just as the precentor in the midst of the congregation blesses the bridal pair under the canopy, so did God bless man and his helpmeet, as it is said, 'And God blessed them, and said unto them, Be fruitful and multiply.' And they did so, as it is said, 'And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived and bore him Cain, and said, I have begotten a man of the Lord.' Why was Cain thus called? Because he was formed from Adam and his wife and from God.
