The Garden of Eden story: The fall (or
perhaps rise) of humanity, & original sin.
Part 3: Analysis of Genesis 3:8-24
Analysis of Genesis 3:8 to 24:8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the
garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the
presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. 9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him,
Where are you? 10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I
was naked; and I hid myself.
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| Adam and Eve hid from God because they had sinned. |
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Author "J" views God as resembling a large, powerful human. He has
legs because he is walking in the garden. He has speech because Adam and Eve
hear him. Adam and Eve hide from God because, for the first time ever, they have
a moral sense and thus realize that they have sinned by disobeying God's
instructions. "J's" God is not omniscient. He apparently does not know where Adam
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11 And he said, Who told thee that you were naked? Have you eaten of the
tree, whereof I commanded thee that you should not
eat? 12 And the man said, The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me
of the tree, and I did eat. 13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that
you have done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
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| God accuses them of eating from the forbidden tree. Adam
tries to weasel out of personal responsibility, implying that he only ate
what Eve gave him. Eve tries to weasel out of personal responsibility,
blaming it on the seducing powers of the snake. |
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In the view of the author "J", God, lacks omniscience. However,
he was eventually able to deduce from the available evidence that Adam and Eve
probably ate of the fruit |
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14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because you have
done this, you are cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the
field; upon your belly shall you go, and dust shall you eat all the days of
thy life:
15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed
and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and you shall bruise his heel.
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God curses Satan for his involvement in the Eve and
Adam's sin. In verse 15, "her seed" refers to Jesus. "According to the Christian perspective, this verse is required in order to understand the concept that the impact of Adam’s and Eve’s sin in the Garden of Eden would be undone by a Messiah, who is this singular seed of a woman, and who will bring salvation to both Jews and Gentiles." 5
This is often called the "Protoevangelium" or "First message."
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God, expressing ungodly anger, takes revenge on the snake.
This passage is a good indication that the snake is a serpent and not Satan
in disguise. Otherwise it would make no sense for God to have punished all
later generations of snakes. After all, we don't "punish all soldiers
because a robber disguised himself as one for a bank-heist." 6
If this curse was performed by a human, it might be regarded as an act of
sorcery.
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16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy
sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow you shall bring forth children; and
thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
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| Eve is to suffer consequences for her sin: the pain of
childbirth, and -- ironically -- lust for her husband which will bring on
more pregnancies and births. This verse mentions God's intent for married
couples: the man is to rule and the woman is to be submissive. |
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God also curses Eve. There is an interesting symbolic meaning to the curse of
pain during childbirth. Birth for animals generally are not exceedingly
painful as they are for women. It is only after humanity developed a larger
brain that childbirth became so painful. This may be another reference to
humanity's rise.
The reference to husband ruling wives is one good indication that "J" is
probably male. |
17 And unto Adam he said, Because you have hearkened unto
the voice of thy wife, and have eaten of the tree, of which I commanded
thee, saying, You shall not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in
sorrow shall you eat of it all the days of thy life;
18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and you shall eat
the herb of the field;
19 In the sweat of thy face shall you eat bread, till you return unto the
ground; for out of it wast you taken: for dust you art, and unto dust shall
you return.
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| Adam is to suffer consequences for his sin. The ground is
cursed. Adam will have to struggle to survive. God promises that humans
henceforth are mortal and will die, only to return to dust. This is the
longest curse in history, having lasted over 6,000 years to date. |
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God has clearly lost control, by cursing Adam, Eve, and even
the earth itself. In other times and places, such curses would also be considered
sorcery. Note that only Adam and Eve were cursed. God did not mention the extension of the curse to Adam and Eve's children and later descendents. |
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20 And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the
mother of all living.
21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and
clothed them.
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| Here we have God killing animals in order to harvest leather
so that Adam and Eve might be clothed. This is the first instance of death
in history. Death is one of the consequences of Adam and Eve's sin. |
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Since God had cursed the ground, in addition to Adam and
Eve, then the first couple needed protection from wild animals, inclement
weather, thorns, etc. "J" has God generously making clothes for them,
presumably with his hands. |
22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one
of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take
also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of
Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. 24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden
Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of
the tree of life.
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"Us" does not refer to multiple Gods as in
polytheism. Rather, it refers to the Trinity of the Father, Son and Holy
Spirit.
God is concerned that Adam and Eve might eat of the Tree of Life and achieve
immortality, in spite of God's curse in Verse 19 that made humans mortal. So
he expels them from the Garden of Eden and places a guard so that they
cannot return.
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"Us" refers to multiple Gods. The passage was copied
from a Pagan Middle Eastern source who followed a polytheistic religion, and the author didn't convert it to show a monotheistic concept of God.
The serpent was accurate and truthful throughout this chapter. God's words are essentially identical
to the serpent's prediction in Verse 5. Adam and Eve had developed a moral sense,
previously possessed only by the Gods.
God is jealous of his immortality and does not want to share it with humans.
Having the foresight to realize what would happen if Adam and Eve remained in the Garden of Eden, God takes the
precaution of putting a
barrier between them and the Tree of Life.
A good indication that Genesis 3 is a myth is that no trace of the Garden of Eden and of the Cheribims have ever been found. Of course, if Noah's flood actually happened, it might have wiped out all trace of the Garden of Eden.
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A book concerning "Original Blessing:" Matthew Fox, "Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality Presented in Four Paths, Twenty-Six Themes, and Two Questions," Tarcher, (2000). Read reviews or order this book safely from Amazon.com online book store,"
Matthew Fox wrote this book in 1995. The New Age Journal named it in its list of "20 books that changed the world." Amazon.com customers gave it a rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars. Its title is taken from the assertion by Fox that the Genesis 3 account should be interpreted as an "original blessing," instead of an "original sin."
References used:
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Quoted in: Paul Laughlin, "Remedial Christianity: What every believer
should know about the faith, and probably doesn't," Polebridge Press, (2000),
Page 168. Read
reviews or order this book safely from Amazon.com online book store.
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Richard Bozarth, "The Meaning of Evolution," American Atheist
magazine, 1979-SEP, Page 30.
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Op Cit., Laughlin, Page 151 to 155.
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"How Sin Entered the World," The Way of Righteousness, at:
http://injil.org/TWOR/07.html
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"Is Genesis 3:15 a Messianic prophecy?," Messiah Truth, at:
http://www.messiahtruth.com/gen315.html
- Op Cit, Laughlin, Page 153.
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Copyright © 2003 to 2018 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Originally written: 208-MAR-18
Latest update: 2013-MAY-06
Author: B.A. Robinson
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