Genesis 3
Genesis 3 is organized around the event of humanity’s fall, and it unfolds in the following flow. First, the serpent tempts Eve to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Then, after both Eve and Adam eat the forbidden fruit, they become aware that they are naked and make clothes from fig leaves to cover themselves. God seeks them out and gives each of the figures a word of consequence (judgment). Finally, it concludes with the scene in which humanity is driven out of the Garden of Eden.
1verseNow the serpent was more subtle than any animal of the field which the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Has God really said, ‘You shall not eat of any tree of the garden’?”
2verseThe woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees of the garden,
3versebut not the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden. God has said, ‘You shall not eat of it. You shall not touch it, lest you die.’”
4verseThe serpent said to the woman, “You won’t really die,
5versefor God knows that in the day you eat it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6verseWhen the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took some of its fruit, and ate. Then she gave some to her husband with her, and he ate it, too.
7verseTheir eyes were opened, and they both knew that they were naked. They sewed fig leaves together, and made coverings for themselves.
8verseThey heard the LORD God’s voice walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.
9verseThe LORD God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?”
10verseThe man said, “I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; so I hid myself.”
11verseGod said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
12verseThe man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”
13verseThe LORD God said to the woman, “What have you done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
14verseThe LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, you are cursed above all livestock, and above every animal of the field. You shall go on your belly and you shall eat dust all the days of your life.
15verseI will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will bruise your head, and you will bruise his heel.”
16verseTo the woman he said, “I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth. You will bear children in pain. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”
17verseTo Adam he said, “Because you have listened to your wife’s voice, and have eaten from the tree, about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ the ground is cursed for your sake. You will eat from it with much labor all the days of your life.
18verseIt will yield thorns and thistles to you; and you will eat the herb of the field.
19verseYou will eat bread by the sweat of your face until you return to the ground, for you were taken out of it. For you are dust, and you shall return to dust.”
20verseThe man called his wife Eve because she would be the mother of all the living.
21verseThe LORD God made garments of animal skins for Adam and for his wife, and clothed them.
22verseThe LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand, and also take of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever—”
23verseTherefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he was taken.
24verseSo he drove out the man; and he placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.
The Main Meaning of the Passage
This chapter shows how human free will, responsibility, and God’s justice and grace are revealed. The pre-fall human beings and the post-fall human beings are contrasted very clearly, and the structure of choice and outcome surrounding the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is central. The narrative flow becomes clearly evident through the serpent’s (the tempter’s) appearance and conversation, awareness of sin, an encounter with God, and the resulting judgment and protection (having them be clothed with skins, and being sent out of the Garden of Eden).
The Symbolism of Genesis Chapter 3
The tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the serpent, garments of skin, and other elements carry various symbolic meanings. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil marks the boundary between obedience and freedom, the serpent symbolizes temptation and confusion, and garments of skin imply God’s protection and grace. Even actions such as being naked, fear, and hiding reveal—symbolically as well—changes within human hearts.
Reflection Points
- In the course of my life, what am I choosing when faced with temptation?
- Am I not trying to shift responsibility onto someone else?
- When God calls me, with what attitude am I answering?
- Even after the fall, how am I feeling God’s grace and protection?
Personal Application
- As I look back on the choices and responsibility of my own life, I resolve to take an honest attitude rather than to evade responsibility.
- Even with mistakes and weakness, I reflect on the meaning of the protection and new opportunities that God provides.
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