Genesis 3:1–8, 15–19, 22–24

Bible Studies for Life
Assistant Professor of Religion, Samford University

What’s the Big Problem?
Genesis 3:1–8, 15–19, 22–24
Genesis begins with an exploration of the origins of the physical universe but quickly turns its attention to the moral one that humans inhabit. The question of how the cosmos came to be gives way to a question both simple and profound: how did the world, created by a good and powerful God, become so marred by sin and evil?

God’s Commands are for Our Good (1–3)
Later Jewish and Christian interpretations associate the serpent with Satan, but the Genesis story makes no such identification. Rather it is simply presented as a part of the world that God has made, albeit “more crafty” than other animals. Despite our desire to know why such crafty creatures exist in God’s good creation, the text shows little interest in such questions. Rather than the origin of temptation, the story focuses upon the human response and so invites readers in to consider their own responses to temptation.

The story begins in what seems to be the middle of a theological conversation between the serpent and the woman. The serpent’s question is deceptively simple: it invites the woman to continue the conversation by means of clarification. Temptations often begin innocuously enough, with situations that we could easily explain away to others or to ourselves (“We were just talking”).

Although the conversation takes place between the serpent and the woman, the Hebrew “you” in verse 1 is plural, which, when read alongside the “with her” of verse 6, implies the man’s presence.

Temptation Strikes at Me (4–6)
The serpent develops the conversation by dismissing the woman’s explanation and casting doubt upon God’s motives. Whereas previously the couple had trust in God’s good provision, now they pause to doubt whether God truly has their best interests at heart. The facts of their situation have not changed — they live in a world of freedom with a single limitation — but their interpretation of them has. They fail to trust in the word of their Creator and presume to know more than God.

Although part of the woman’s disobedience was a desire to be wise, one should not conclude that knowledge itself is evil. Here the manner of acquiring wisdom may be condemned: the woman seeks knowledge — specifically moral knowledge — distinct from God and so transgresses the bounds of status as a creature within God’s creation.

Sin Carries Dire Consequences (7–8, 16–19)
A lack of trust always undermines relationships. The consequences of the couple’s choice reverberate throughout creation as multiple bonds are fractured. In contrast to the originally harmonious relationship between humans and animals, enmity now exists. Even the relation between humans and the natural world (“the ground”) is made more difficult. The partnership between man and woman is tainted by the man’s blaming the woman for his own failure, and part of the woman’s punishment is that her husband will rule over her. Notable here is the fact that patriarchy is presented not as part of the original divine plan but as a result of human disobedience. Both men and women suffer in a world where a woman’s full humanity is devalued. Finally the couple’s relation with God is changed from the innocent familiarity of the garden to estrangement. Although God does not abandon them (e.g., the provision of clothing in verse 21), the idyllic life of the garden is ended forever by their expulsion.

God Responds to Our Sin (15, 22–24)
The disobedience of Adam and Eve did not result in their immediate physical death, though this now loomed on the horizon. But death surely carries a larger connotation here of alienation and separation from God and one another. The expulsion from the garden meant that Adam and Eve would not live forever in their present state, which can be understood as a type of blessing from God. The world as it is, with sin and evil and brokenness, will not continue forever.