על הנטיעה ח׳Concerning Noah's Work as a Planter 8
א׳
1[32] In agreement with what I have said is the planting of the garden; for we read, “God planted a garden in Eden facing the sun-rising, and placed there the man whom He had moulded” (Gen. 2:8). To imagine that he planted vines and olive and apple and pomegranate trees or the like, would be serious folly,
ב׳
2[33] difficult to eradicate. One would naturally ask What for? To provide Himself with convenient places to live in? Would the whole world be considered a sufficient dwelling for God the Lord of all? Would it not evidently fall short in countless other ways of being deemed meet to receive the Great King? To say nothing of the irreverence of supposing that the Cause of all things is contained in that which He has caused, and to say nothing of the fact that the trees of His planting do not yield annual fruits as ours do.
ג׳
3[34] For whose use and enjoyment, then, will the Garden yield its fruits? Not for that of any man; for no one whatever is mentioned as dwelling in the garden, for we are told that Adam, the man first moulded out of the earth, migrated thence.
ד׳
4[35] As for God, He stands in no need of food any more than of aught else. For one who uses food must in the first place experience need, and in the next place be equipped with organs by means of which to take the food that comes in, and to discharge that from which he has drawn its goodness. These things are not in harmony with the blessedness and happiness of the First Cause. They are utterly monstrous inventions of men who would overthrow great virtues like piety and reverence by representing Him as having the form and passions of mankind.
