“But when God made Adam go out of the Garden, He did not place him on the border of it northward, lest he should draw near to the sea of water, and he and Eve wash themselves in it, be cleansed from their sins, forget the transgression they had committed, and be no longer reminded of it in the thought of their punishment.
Then again, as to the southern side of the Garden, God was not pleased to let Adam dwell there; because, when the wind blew from the north, it would bring him, on that southern side, the delicious smell of the trees of the garden. Wherefore God did not put Adam there, lest he should smell the sweet smell of those trees, forget this transgression, and find consolation for what he had done, take delight in the smell of the trees, and not be cleansed from his transgression.
Again, also, because God is merciful and of great pity, and governs all things in a way He alone knows – He made our father Adam dwell in the western border of the Garden, because on that side the earth is very broad. And God commanded him to dwell there in a cave in a rock – the Cave of Treasures below the Garden.”
From the Ethiopic “Book of Adam and Eve”(Gedle Adam), Book I Chapter I, translation by Rev, S. C. Malan, London.