Genesis 3:1-24 - The Fall Narrative

#j-source #fall-narrative #anthropomorphic-god #moral-theology

The Temptation (3:1-7)

Genesis 3:1 #j-source

“Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the YHWH Elohim (YHWH Elohim) had made. And he said to the woman, ‘Has God indeed said, “You shall not eat of every tree of the garden”?’”

  • Divine Name: YHWH Elohim (characteristic J usage)
  • Serpent Introduction: Subtle creature, not explicitly Satan
  • Questioning Authority: Challenges divine command
  • Narrative Continuity: Direct continuation from Genesis 2

Genesis 3:2-3 #j-source

“And the woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, “You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.”’”

  • Divine Prohibition: Woman knows the command
  • Added Restriction: “Nor shall you touch it” (not in original command)
  • Death Consequence: Remembers the warning

Genesis 3:4-5 #j-source

“Then the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die. For Elohim knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’”

  • Direct Contradiction: “You will not surely die”
  • Divine Jealousy: Implies God is withholding something
  • Knowledge Promise: Like God, knowing good and evil
  • Temptation Strategy: Appeal to wisdom and status

Genesis 3:6-7 #j-source

“So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.”

  • Threefold Appeal: Good for food, pleasant to eyes, desirable for wisdom
  • Shared Disobedience: Both eat together
  • Immediate Consequences: Awareness of nakedness
  • Shame Introduction: Loss of innocence
  • First Technology: Clothing from leaves

Divine Confrontation (3:8-13)

Genesis 3:8 #j-source

“And they heard the sound of the YHWH Elohim walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the YHWH Elohim among the trees of the garden.”

  • Anthropomorphic God: Walking in garden (characteristic J)
  • Divine Presence: Regular fellowship pattern
  • Human Hiding: Fear replaces intimacy
  • Cool of Day: Evening time

Genesis 3:9-11 #j-source

“Then the YHWH Elohim called to Adam and said to him, ‘Where are you?’ So he said, ‘I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.’ And He said, ‘Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?’”

  • Divine Questions: Not for information but for confession
  • Fear Introduction: Replaces trust
  • Investigative Process: Leading to acknowledgment

Genesis 3:12-13 #j-source

“Then the man said, ‘The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.’ And the YHWH Elohim said to the woman, ‘What is this you have done?’ The woman said, ‘The serpent deceived me, and I ate.’”

  • Blame Shifting: Man blames woman and implicitly God
  • Responsibility Avoidance: Neither takes full responsibility
  • Chain of Blame: Man → Woman → Serpent

Divine Judgments (3:14-19)

Genesis 3:14-15 #j-source

“So the YHWH Elohim said to the serpent: ‘Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; on your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.’”

  • Serpent Curse: Crawling and dust-eating
  • Protoevangelium: First gospel promise (traditional interpretation)
  • Enmity Declaration: Ongoing conflict between humans and serpents
  • Messianic Interpretation: Seed who crushes serpent’s head

Genesis 3:16 #j-source

“To the woman He said: ‘I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; in pain you shall bring forth children; yet your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.’”

  • Childbirth Pain: Increased suffering in reproduction
  • Marital Tension: Disrupted relationship dynamics
  • Male Dominance: Rule rather than partnership
  • Desire Complication: Complex marital dynamics

Genesis 3:17-19 #j-source

“Then to Adam He said, ‘Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, “You shall not eat of it”: cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return.’”

  • Ground Curse: Agricultural difficulty
  • Labor Intensification: Toilsome work
  • Death Sentence: Return to dust
  • Human-Soil Relationship: Disrupted connection with adamah

Expulsion from Eden (3:20-24)

Genesis 3:20 #j-source

“And Adam called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.”

  • Naming Act: Adam names Eve
  • Life Affirmation: Despite death sentence, hope in offspring
  • Etymology: Eve (Hawwah) related to living (hay)

Genesis 3:21 #j-source

“Also for Adam and his wife the YHWH Elohim made tunics of skin, and clothed them.”

  • Divine Provision: God provides better clothing
  • First Death: Animals killed for clothing (implied)
  • Divine Care: Even in judgment, compassion shown

Genesis 3:22-24 #j-source

“Then the YHWH Elohim said, ‘Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever’—therefore the YHWH Elohim sent him out of the garden of Eden to tend the ground from which he was taken. So 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.”

  • Divine Plural: “Like one of Us” (divine council)
  • Knowledge Acquisition: Humans now know good and evil
  • Expulsion Rationale: Prevent access to tree of life
  • Cherubim Guard: Supernatural protection
  • Return to Labor: Back to working the ground