Genesis 3

NOTES ON Genesis 3, THE FALL OF MAN

CHAPTER 3

The Fall of Man

1. Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden.

Now: marker showing relationship between 2:25 and 3:1, i.e., but, further, to exhibit a contrast. Now the serpent: a snake (from its hiss); a creature of chaos opposed to God; a shining one; the tempter; liar or deceiver. The old serpent (2 Corinthians 11:3) transformed as “an angel of light” (= a glorious angel, 2 Corinthians 11:14). Compare Ezekiel 28:14, 17. was more subtil than: 1) (Above or to a greater degree in comparison to) cunning (in a bad sense); crafty, sly, artful, wise (with guile); skilled in all manner of deceit and mischief. 2) Naked (2:25) in the Hebrew sounds like subtil here, thus tying the two chapters together. Satan will concentrate his shrewdness on their integrity. Subtlety is a positive virtue when rendered “prudent” (Proverbs 12:16, 23; 14:8, 15, 18, 22:3). It is negative when rendered “crafty” (2:25, 3:1; Job 5:12, 15:5). In the prologue of Proverbs (1:4), one of the goals of the book is to “give subtilty (subtlety) to the simple” (compare Matthew 10:16). any [i.e., a particular of a totality] beast of the field [i.e., open country, countryside]: living creature or being, any living thing. which the LORD God: 1) Jehovah-Elohim, denoting that Elohim, the God of relationship, now requires order and obedience. While Elohim is God as the Creator of all things, Jehovah is the same God in covenant relation to those whom He has created (compare 2 Chronicles 18:31). Jehovah means the Eternal, the Immutable One, He Who WAS, and IS and IS TO COME. The Divine definition is given in 21:33, “the everlasting God”. 2) Here another name is added to God, His name Jehovah, expressive of His being and perfections, particularly His eternity and immutability being the everlasting and unchangeable I AM, Which IS, and WAS, and IS TO COME. These two names Jehovah-Elohim with the Jews make the full and perfect name of God, and which they observe is here very pertinently given Him, upon the perfection and completion of His works. 3) A God of power and perfection, a finishing God. had made: connoting primarily the fashioning of an object; to frame or fashion. And: Figure of Speech: Polysyndeton, or Many Ands, i.e., the repetition of the word “and” at the beginning of successive clauses, each independent, important, and emphatic, with no climax at the end. Used throughout this chapter emphasizing each detail. he said unto the woman: Hebrew ‘ishah, feminine form of ‘ish (male) = female; the female of the human race, grown to adult years. Yea [Hebrew Yea, because; really, indeed], hath God said: 1) Is it indeed that God has said? 2) Can it be that God hath said. Not a Question, but a Figure of Speech: Erotesis, or Interrogating, i.e., the asking of questions not for information, or for an answer; here used for emphasis. Such questions may be asked in doubts or disparagement or opposition. Opposition to God’s word is Satan’s sphere of activity. 3) More contemporarily, “Has God indeed said?” It emphasizes his amazement that God would restrict man’s freedom of choice in the Garden. Satan centers on a restriction, casting doubt on God’s word and not emphasizing the fact that God had said in 2:16 they might “freely eat” of all the trees. 4) Is it even so that God has said? or, Is it a fact that He will not allow you to take your will of all the produce of this delightful place? Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden: 1) A fenced piece of ground appropriated to the cultivation of herbs or plants, fruits and flowers. 2) An enclosure, i.e., a place of abundant trees, vegetables, fruits, water, etc. where conditions for life are maximized. 3) A plot of ground furnished with plants, trees, flowers, etc. protected by a wall or hedge. 4) Observe the place appointed for Adam’s residence was a garden; not an ivory house. As clothes came in with sin, so did houses. The heaven was the roof of Adam’s house, and never was any roof so curiously ceiled and painted: the earth was his floor, and never was any floor so richly inlaid: the shadow of the trees was his retirement, and never were any rooms so finely hung: Solomon’s in all their glory were not arrayed like them. The contrivance and furniture of this garden was the immediate work of God’s wisdom and power. The Lord God planted this garden, that is, He had planted it, upon the third day when the fruits of the earth were made. We may well suppose it to be the most accomplished place that ever the sun saw, when the All-sufficient God Himself designed it to be the present happiness of His beloved creature. The situation of this garden was extremely sweet; it was in Eden, which signifies delight and pleasure. It had all the best and choicest trees in common with the rest of the ground. It was beautified with every tree that was pleasant to the sight – It was enriched with every tree that yielded fruit grateful to the taste, and useful to the body. 5) Note the three gardens: (1) Eden, death in sin; (2) Gethsemane, death for sin; and (3) Sepulchre, death to sin. NOTE: This garden may have been additional to 1:11-12, 2:4, 5-. That creation concerns the “plants of the field” (1^st occurrence). This garden may have been a special planting, and lost when the garden and Eden were lost.

2. And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:

And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit [i.e., produce, crops] of the trees of the garden: 1) Eve’s reply reveals her carelessness with the wording of 2:16, as she disparages the privileges of by leaving out the word that conveys the sense of “freely eat” and leaves out the word every. 2) Misquoted from 2:16 by not repeating the emphatic Polyptoton, and thus omitting the emphatic “freely”. Figure of Speech: Polyptoton; or Many Inflections, i.e., the repetition of the same part of speech in different inflections for emphasis. Hebrew conveys very emphatically “you may feely eat [strengthened permission construction] to your heart’s content”, emphasizing the freedom and permission of a loving, gracious God. To consume victuals, devour, or partake of without impediment or hindrance. freely eat = Hebrew, “in eating thou mayest eat”.

3. But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of [i.e., middle, center] the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it: 1) Lay hand upon for any purpose; make mere physical contact. This sentence is added. Compare 2:16-17. 2) By adding to His command Eve exaggerates the limitations God set forth. Or it may just set forth the idea of consumption, with a parallel phrase used euphemistically of “touching a woman” [i.e., having sexual intercourse] in 20:6, 26:29; Ruth 2:9; and Proverbs 6:29. lest ye die: 1) that … not, for fear that; that separated or dismissed; that being removed or not observed, the fact being not so, ye will die. 2) A conjunction meaning so that, not; here it indicates a negative purpose or result. 3) In biblical Hebrew a conjunction that negatives dependent clauses. 4) Misquoted from 2:16-17 by not repeating the emphatic Figure of Speech Polyptoton, thus changing the emphasis preserved in the word “surely”. 5) Reveals Eve’s third error, toning down the penalty and certainty of death for eating. “Lest” expresses a fear of possibly dying when God had already expressed the certainty of it in 2:17!

TREE. Known by its fruits, Matthew 7:17-19 and Luke 6:43-44. Symbolical, Daniel 4:10-12. Of life, Genesis 2:9, 3:22, 24; and Revelation 22:2, 14. Of knowledge, Genesis 2:9, 17, 3:3-6, 11-12, 17.

4. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

[From 2:17, thou shalt surely die = Hebrew, “dying thou shalt die!” Figure of Speech Polyptoton; or Many Inflections, i.e., the repetition of the same part of speech in different inflections for emphasis. Here marked by the word “surely”, as in 2:16 by the word “freely”. The construction emphasizes in the strongest way the certainty of death upon eating. Certainly or undoubtedly cease to live, to expire, decease, perish, or be deprived of respiration.] And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 1) Satan’s contradiction of God’s word in 2:17. 2) This was an appeal to Eve’s self-love. Nay, he not only assured his eager listener of perfect impunity, but even held out the assurance of great and invaluable benefits from the partaking of that fruit. 3) Here Satan blatantly denies God with the same strong Hebrew expression God used in 2:17.

5. For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

For [i.e., But] God doth know [i.e., recognizes or understands fully since He is omniscient] that in the day [i.e., at/in the time when, at that time] ye eat thereof [i.e., of it], then your eyes shall be opened: 1) To open the senses, especially the eyes. 2) Figuratively to be opened to understanding, wisdom, or reality. 3) It was technically true that their eyes would be opened. But the problem was that their eyes were opened to behold all things in the light of their sinfulness. 4) Not the eyes of their bodies, as if they were now blind, but the eyes of their understanding; meaning that their knowledge should be enlarged, and they should see things more clearly than they now did, and judge of them in a better manner; yea, even together with the light of their mind, the sight of their bodily eyes would receive some advantage; and particularly, that though they saw the nakedness of their bodies; yet it was if they saw it not, and were unconcerned about it; did not see it as unseemly and indecent; and so were not ashamed; but now they should see as it was, and be filled with shame and confusion. and ye shall be as gods: 1) Be as [i.e., like, even, similar to] God. This is the foundation of Satan’s second lie: “The immanence of God in man”. 2) Is better translated “as God”, which was true in that they would have a fixed moral nature like God; but it was fixed in sin, not righteousness. They knew good, but were unable to do it; and they knew evil, but were unable to resist it. Here it suggests God is holding something back from Adam and Eve. 3) Satan’s sin led him to be as God, and this was the desire he placed in Eve’s mind. In fact, when one questions or changes the Word of God, he is for all practical purposes, making himself to be “god”. knowing good and evil: To have the experience of; to distinguish as the result of; that is, everything that is desirable to be known. good: moral virtue. evil: bad in a moral and ethical sense; depicts evil in an absolute, negative sense; wicked in ethical quality, what is disagreeable to God; employed as negative moral category that stands starkly opposed to goodness or holiness. good and evil = ethical standards, right living. [the tree of knowledge of good and evil: 1) Obedience proving what was “good” (Deuteronomy 6:24), disobedience revealing what was “evil” (Romans 3:20). 2) So called, because by eating of it man came to know experimentally the vast difference between good and evil; and the greatness of that good he formerly enjoyed, by the loss of it; and the greatness of that evil he had brought upon himself, by the feeling of it. And this was another sacramental pledge, which sealed death spiritual, temporal, and eternal, in case of disobedience. 3) So called, not because it had any virtue to beget or increase useful knowledge, but because there was an express positive revelation of the will of God concerning this tree, so that by it he might know moral good and evil. What is good? It is good not to eat of this tree. What is evil? To eat of this tree. The distinction between all other moral good and evil was written in the heart of man; but this, which resulted from a positive law, was written upon this tree. And in the event it proved to give Adam an experimental knowledge of good by the loss of it, and of evil by the sense of it. 4) So called because it was a test of obedience by which our first parents were to be tried, whether they would be good or bad, obey God or break His commands. That is of miserable experience, which came by disobeying God. 5) So called, either with respect to God, who by it tried man, when He made him, whether he would be good or evil; but this He foreknew: rather therefore with respect to man, not that the eating of the fruit of it could really give him such knowledge, nor did he need it; for by the law of nature inscribed in his heart, he knew the difference between good and evil, and that which God commanded was good, and what He forbad was evil: but either it had its name from the virtue Satan ascribed to it (3:5), or from the sad event following on man’s eating the fruit of it, whereby he became experimentally sensible of the difference between good and evil, between obedience and disobedience to the will of God; he found by sad experience what good he had lost, or might have enjoyed, and what evil he had brought on himself and his posterity, he might have avoided.]

6. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

And when the woman saw: realized, gained mental perception of; this was an evaluation process of the mind. that the tree was good: abstractly goodness, such as desirability, pleasantness, beauty. for food: used of more dainty foods or delicacies. was good for food: Fruitful, fruit producing, practically beneficial, useful; satisfying the senses of tasting and smelling; suitable to the taste or to health; wholesome, palatable, not disagreeable or noxious for produce or fruit. and that it was pleasant to the eyes: A longing; by implication delight (subjectively satisfaction, objectively a charm); object of desire or craving; giving pleasure, gratifying [expresses less than delightful]; something that is attractive and delightful to the eyes, desirable; desire, lust. and a tree to be desired [i.e., to delight in, desire strongly, covet; appeared inviting, desirable to look upon] to make one wise: 1) Causatively make circumspect or prudent and hence intelligent; relates to an intelligent knowledge of the reason. 2) There is the process of thinking through a complex arrangement of thoughts resulting in a wise dealing and use of good practical common sense. was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise: 1) Her imagination and feelings were completely won. The history of every temptation and of every sin is the same; the outward object of attraction, the inward commotion of the mind, the increase and triumph of passionate desire, ending in the degradation, misery, and ruin of the mind. In the brief account of this temptation there is the world or creature in all the forms in which it is possible that it can become an ensnaring object to mankind. Under the first head “good for food”, there is the gratification of the bodily sensual appetites; under the second, “pleasant to the eyes”, there is the indulgence of the tastes and affections of the animal spirit; and under the third, “a tree to be desired to make one wise”, there is the gratification of the nobler faculties of the intellect or rational soul [Compare 1 John 2:16, “Lust of the flesh” (compare Matthew 4:3); “Lust of the eyes” (compare Matthew 4:5); and “Boastful of life” (compare Matthew 4:8)]. 2) For the tree “was good for food” (an appeal to appetite or “lust of the flesh”); it was “pleasant to the eyes” (the same root word used Exodus 20 in the law against coveting, as “lust of the eyes”) and it was “to be desired to make one wise” (the verb for desired is used in the law in Deuteronomy 5 for coveting, and appeals to “pride of life”, compare 1 John 2:16). she took [i.e., to take with the hand, to lay hold of] of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave [i.e., to transmit from herself to another by hand, delivered] also [i.e., likewise, as well as, too] unto her husband with her [1) Therefore Adam present, compare “Ye” (the nominative plural of the second person) verses 4 and 5. 2) May imply that the man was in close proximity all the time]; and he did eat: 1) On which emphasis may be observed, for it was upon his eating the fate of his posterity depended; for not the woman but the man was the federal head, and he sinning; all his posterity sinned in him, and died in him; through his offense judgment come upon all to condemnation; all became sinners and obnoxious to death, Romans 5:12-19. 2) By voluntary disobedience our first parents fell from and lost their original rectitude and perfection of nature; which consisted in knowledge, holiness, and perfect happiness (Genesis 1:26; Colossians 3:10; Ephesians 4:24). By the fall of man all the powers of nature were depraved, polluted and corrupted: [1] The understanding was darkened (Ephesians 4:18). [2] The conscience defiled (Hebrews 10:22). [3] The will obstinate and rebellious (Isaiah 28:14; Romans 8:7). [4] The affections carnal and sensual (Ephesians 2:3). [5] All the thoughts uninterruptedly evil (Genesis 6:5) and the whole mind, or heart, a nest of all manner of abominations (Jeremiah 17:9; Matthew 15:19).

7. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

And the eyes of them both [i.e., two, the pair] were opened: 1) Of their minds, of things very disagreeable and distressing; the sense of guilt is immediate (compare 2:25). 2) Their consciences were touched with a sense of the heinousness of their sin, whereby they had defiled their souls: and of the greatness of the misery they had brought upon themselves and their posterity. 3) The words … intimate that amid the raptures of enjoyment, reflection was drowned, and Adam and his wife were lulled into dreamy oblivion of all but the present moment; but when that delirium had subsided, the time for reflection came, and then a train of new and painful feelings and emotions, to which they had hitherto been strangers, rushed like a torrent into their minds – a sense of their helplessness, grief, shame, remorse, and all the concomitants of guilt, distracted and agonized their bosoms. and they knew they were naked: 1) Nudity; indicates more than sex consciousness. It depicts an awareness of the openness of their guilt to God. Their relationship with God was impaired, upsetting their relationship to each other. 2) Figure of Speech: Metonymy, or Change of Noun (of the Subject), i.e., when the subject is put for something pertaining to it. They knew before, but their knowledge now received a new meaning. Adam became “naked” by losing something of Elohim’s glorious likeness. Roman’s 8:3 may refer to this. 3) The sudden recognition of their nakedness indicates the realization of Adam and Eve that their descendants, as well as themselves, would suffer the effects of this original sin. The ability and instructions to be fruitful, given by God as a unique blessing now would also convey the curse of sin and death. Adam was the federal head of the human race, and it was “through the offence of one many be dead”, Romans 5:15. 4) The following clause shows that this is to be taken in a literal sense. But nakedness frequently signifies in Scripture sin or folly, shame or misery (compare 2 Chronicles 28:19; Exodus 32:15; Ezekiel 16:36); and it includes that meaning here also. and they sewed fig leaves together [i.e., to sew together; plaited or twisted together; to tie, fasten, fit or adjust; united or fastened together, connected], and made [i.e., fashioned] themselves aprons: 1) Things to gird about; belts for the waist; that which girds about; a girdle, a covering; loin coverings, loin cloths; girding coverings. 2) The man-made coverings (human provisions) contrasted with Divine provisions (verse 21). 3) The hasty fabrication of fig leaf aprons might conceal their procreative organs from each other, but could hardly hide their sin from God. Neither will the “filthy rags” of self-made “righteousness” (Isaiah 64:6) cover sinful hearts today. The “garments of salvation” and the “robe of righteousness” (Isaiah 61:10) can be provided only by God, just as God provided coats of skins for Adam and Eve (3:21). 4) The leaves of the fig-tree were pitched upon because of the largeness of them; the leaves of the common fig-tree are very large. They took the tender branches of the fig-tree with leaves on them, as the word signifies, see Nehemiah 8:15, and twisted them around their waists; which served for girdles, as some render the word, and the broad leaves hanging down served for aprons, but these whatever covering they may be thought to have been to their bodies, which yet seem to be a slender one, they could be none to their souls, or be of any service to hide their sin and shame from the all-seeing eye of God; and of as little use are the poor and mean services of men, or their best works of righteousness, to shelter them from the wrath of God, and the vengeance of Divine justice. NOTE: It is somewhat a doubtful view of this act of our first parents by some, that the leaves of this tree were chosen in preference to those of every other tree, as, from the prickliness of the upper side of the leaf, it would be a natural sackcloth, which they assumed as emblematic of their contrition. Or, if this variety is like unto our figs, the leaves would wrinkle and dry up shortly as well as be a major skin irritant (like okra leaves) to constantly remind them of their dilemma and show another bad choice as the result of sin.

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.

And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden: 1) The sound [of God’s voice going on the wind] or sound, i.e., footsteps (as in 2 Samuel 5:24; 1 Kings 14:6; 2 Kings 6:32). 2) God is omnipresent (2 Chronicles 16:9; Psalms 34:15, 139:7-10; Jeremiah 23:23-24; Amos 9:2-3; Zechariah 4:10). In this instance the presence of God from which Adam and Eve fled was the visible and special manifestation to them at that time. These manifestations are called “theophanies”, appearances of God in human form. They are instances where God became man to relate to human weaknesses so that He might communicate with man in a more personal way. However, God is not a man, and He does not look like man (Isaiah 55:8-9). But God is a personal Being who seeks to fellowship man, like a loving Father. 3) Better translated “sound” as it appears in theophanies in the OT (compare Psalms 18:13, 29:3-9; Jeremiah 25:30; Ezekiel 1:24; Joel 3:16). 4) “They heard the Word of the LORD God walking” (Isaiah 30:27). The prophet, also in the phraseology of Moses, calls this Being “the voice of the Lord”, in Isaiah 30:30-31. Hence, “the voice of the Lord” must be considered as the proper designation of the Being who appeared to first parents (compare John 1:18). of the LORD God walking in the garden: 1) Actually “traversing back and forth” looking for Adam (verse 9). 2) Denoting movement in general, here possibly “the voice of the Lord God which was going through the garden in the wind of the day”. 3) This is not a crude figure of speech, but an actual appearance of God. The “Word of God”, Christ in His pre-incarnate state, regularly appeared in the garden for fellowship and communion with His people. in the cool of the day: 1) Breath, wind; here, a cool breeze [i.e., an invisible manifestation of the atmosphere]. 2) May be understood as the “spirit of the day”, as the Hebrew word for cool is the same for spirit. The day is a judgment day in context. 3) Literally the breeze of the day; the rest or silence of the day, i.e., the evening. 4) At the wind of the day or of that day; in the evening at sun-setting; for very often when the sun sets a wind rises, at least a gentle breeze; and this might bring the sound of the voice, and of the steps of this glorious Person. and Adam and his wife hid themselves: 1) To withdraw from the sight or violence of another; to conceal oneself; generally for the sake of security, from the fear of anger. 2) No “quest for God” in fallen man (compare 4:14; Luke 15:13; Ephesians 2:13; Jeremiah 23:24). 3) To hide out of consciousness of their alienation from the LORD God. 4) Conscious of their guilt, and vainly imagining they could flee from His presence, which is everywhere, and hide themselves from His sight, before Whom every creature is manifest, be it where it will. 5) No small wonder that as the sound of the LORD God was traversing back and forth in the garden seeking out Adam and Eve, they actively hid themselves from His presence, acknowledging that their intimate fellowship was broken (compare 4:14; Psalms 139:7). 6) … being filled with shame and conscious of their guilt, and dread of judgment. Shame, remorse, fear, a sense of guilt-feelings which they had never experienced till now, disordered their minds, and led them to shun Him whose approach they used to welcome. How foolish to think of eluding the notice of the Omniscient God (Psalms 139:1-12)! This was the first effect of sin on the nature of man. Guilty fear produced a disordered state of mind; and it is one of the most striking circumstances in the history of the fall of our first parents, that while the grand inducement to eating the forbidden fruit was then ambition to be as God in the clearness and extent of their knowledge, the lamentable consequence of their rash act was an experience in the very reverse, in the cloud of error and ignorance which from that moment darkened and impaired their faculties. from the presence of [i.e., face, appearance] the LORD God amongst [i.e., in the middle, midst, center, heart; surrounded on all sides by trees; mixed or mingled with trees] the trees of the garden: The Hebrew word “tree” may be either singular or plural. It is taken in the latter number (verse 2), and we think rightly here also. But some prefer to view it in the singular, “in the midst of the tree”, viz., the tree of life [others understand of the fig-tree].

9. And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?

And the LORD God called [i.e., to utter aloud sound, or to address by name, inquired of; summoned (for judgment)] unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?: 1) The first question of OT comes from God to the sinner. Compare first question in the NT of the seeking sinner, “Where is He?” (Matthew 2:2). 2) The enquiry was not made from ignorance of his hiding-place, for “all things are naked and opened to the eyes of God” (Hebrews 4:13). But it is characteristic of the simple, condescending style of communication, which the Creator established with the first pair, and the summons into His presence was prepatory to a formal process of enquiring into the reasons of their unwanted disappearance. 3) God always seeks out man, in the sense that He solicits a response from His Creation now separated from Him by sin. Thus God comes asking questions, not making accusations. 4) As pitying his case, saying, alas for thee, as some render the words, into what a miserable plight hast thou brought thyself, by listening to the Tempter, and disobeying thy God! Or as upbraiding him with his sin and folly; or else as the Saviour, looking up His stray sheep, and lost creature, man; or rather as a summons to appear before Him, the Judge of all, and answer for his conduct; it was in vain for him to secret himself, he must and should appear, the force of which words he felt, and therefore was obliged to surrender himself, as appears from what follows. 5) The arraignment of these deserters before the righteous Judge. The startling question with which God pursued Adam and arrested him: Where art thou?: In what condition? Is this all thou hast gotten by eating forbidden fruit?

10. And he said, I heard Thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.

And he said, I heard Thy voice [i.e., the voice of Thy Word] in the garden, and I was afraid: 1) To be timorous, apprehensive, sore afraid; to fear from apprehension of danger and a sense of our own weakness, joined therefore with trembling. 2) A state of being or attitude as a result of rebellion; terrified, frightened, the emotion of fear. 3) The trembling answer which Adam gave to the question of verse 9. He does not own his guilt, and yet in effect confesses it by owning his shame and fear. 4) The sense of nakedness could not produce fear, for it was only the effect of sin. But Adam tried to evade any reference to the cause, by attracting attention to the effect. 5) He was naked in his creation as to his body, and it caused no shame in him (2:25), nor any dread to appear before God; he conceals the true cause, which was sin, that made the nakedness of his body sinful, and had stripped his soul of its native clothing, purity and holiness; and therefore it was, he could not appear before a pure and holy Being. because I was naked; and [or, therefore] I hid myself: 1) The shame associated with nudity is no artificial inhibition of civilization, but has its source in this primeval awareness of sin. It is only lost when consciences are so hardened as to lose sensitivity to sin. 2) Among the trees of the garden, and his wife also; through fear of God, His wrath and displeasure, which he just incurred by his disobedience, and because of his sin, which had made his soul naked, though he was not as yet ingenuous enough to confess it.

11. And He said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?

And He said, Who told thee that thou wast naked?: 1) To place a matter high, conspicuous before a person; informed, made thee know; communicated this information. 2) Or showed it to thee; by what means has thou knowledge of it? What hast thou done that thou perceivest it, so as to shame and fear? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof [or, of which] I commanded thee [i.e., ordered, directed] that thou shouldest not eat?: God’s questions were not to obtain information, but to encourage Adam and Eve to confess their sin. Instead of repentance, however, they responded by feeble attempts at self-justification, each blaming someone else. In this, they behaved like their descendants who seldom readily accept responsibility or acknowledge wrong-doing.

SIN. Known to God, Genesis 3:11, 4:10; Exodus 16:8-9, 12; Numbers 12:2, 14:26-27; Deuteronomy 1:34, 31:21, 32:34; Joshua 7:10-15; Job 11:11, 14:16-17, 34:21-22, 25; Psalms 44:20-21; 69:5, 90:8, 94:11, Ecclesiastes 5:8; Isaiah 29:15; Jeremiah 2:22, 16:17, 29:23; Ezekiel 21:24; Hosea 5:3, 7:2; Amos 5:12, 9:1-4, 8; Malachi 2:14; Matthew 10:26. Fruits of, Deuteronomy 29:18; Job 4:8; Proverbs 22:8; Hosea 8:7, 10:13; Mark 7:21-23; Romans 6:23, 7:5; Galatians 5:19-21, 6:7-8; James 11:15. Moral insensibility, Proverbs 30:20. Consequences of: Debauched countenance, Isaiah 3:9. Guilty fear, Genesis 3:7-10; Proverbs 10:24, 28:1. Depraved conscience, Proverbs 30:20. Privations, Jeremiah 5:25. Trouble, Isaiah 57:20-21; Jeremiah 4:18. No escape from consequences of, Genesis 3:8-19; Isaiah 28:18-22; Amos 9:2-4; Matthew 23:33; Hebrews 2:3. Conviction of: Produced, by dreams, Job 33:14-17; by visions, Acts 9:3-9; by afflictions, Job 33:18-30; Lamentations 1:20; Luke 15:17-21; by adversity, Psalms 107:4-6, 10-14, 17-20, 23-30; by the gospel, Acts 2:37; by religious testimony, 1 Corinthians 14:24-25; by the conscience, John 8:9; Romans 2:15; and by the Holy Spirit, John 16:7-11. Punishment of, Genesis 2:17, 3:16-19, 4:10-14, 6:5-7, 19:13; Exodus 32:33-34, 34:7; Leviticus19:8, 26:14-21; Numbers 15:30-31, 32:23; Deuteronomy 28:15-68; 1 Kings 13:33-34; 1 Chronicles 21:7-27; Psalms 95:10-11; Proverbs 1:24-32; Jeremiah 44:2-6; Ezekiel 18:4, Matthew 25:41, 46; Romans 6:23.

12. And the man said, The woman whom thou Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.

And the man said, The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave of the tree, and I did eat: 1) His language virtually was this: “So long as I continued alone, I was steadfast and immovable in my integrity and allegiance. But Thou didst alter my condition, and from the moment I was allied to the wife whom Thou didst provide for me, I found elements of temptation and moral danger in domestic and social intercourse from which I was wholly free in my state of solitude.” 2) Implying blame to Jehovah as well as to his wife. 3) Adam blamed the woman and God, since God was the one who brought her to Adam in 2:22.

13. And the LORD God said unto the woman, what is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

And the LORD God said unto the woman, what is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled [i.e., led astray, deceived; imposed upon by artifice or craft, led into a pernicious error, mentally deluded] me, and I did eat: Eve was beguiled as 1 Timothy 2:14 confirms (compare 2 Corinthians 11:3, 14). But she did not take responsibility for eating, either. Blame-shifting is another evasive tactic employed by fallen man.

The Curse

14. And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life.

And the LORD God said [God asked the serpent no question. There is no parley. Sentence at once pronounced] unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above [i.e., specially (cursed), amongst, apart from or in a greater degree, more than] all cattle, and above every beast of the field: 1) To execrate, to curse, mostly as to its effect; to inflict with a curse, meaning that the serpent would be the lowest of all animals. You are banned/anathematized from all other animals. 2) An invoking of the curse and judgment of God upon sin. He pronounces upon him the doom of deep and hopeless degradation. 3) God‘s curse fell first on the serpent, representing man’s greatest enemy, the devil, as a perpetual reminder to man of his fall. All other animals were also placed under the curse, as part of man’s dominion, but the serpent was cursed above all others, becoming a universal object of dread and loathing. 4) Though the whole inferior creation suffered in common from the degradation of man its head (Romans 8:20), yet the serpent alone is the subject of this condemnatory sentence. It is specially cursed, for the original does not express a comparative degree – but “amongst all cattle – apart from every beast of the field”. cattle: 1) The herbivorous kind, capable of labor or domestication. 2) Livestock or domestic animals; any large quadruped or animal (often collectively). 3) Tame cattle, and such as are for the use of man, either for carriage, food, or clothing, as horses, asses, camels, oxen, sheep, goats, swine, etc. 4) The singular of behemoth, a word which is used to designate the larger class of pachyderms and ruminants, such as the elephant, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, etc. upon thy belly [i.e., external abdomen of creeping things or reptiles, which drags along the ground] shalt thou go [i.e., creep, slither, move]: 1) This figure of speech means infinitely more than the literal belly of flesh and blood; just as the words “heel” and “head” do in the following verse. It paints for the eyes of the mind the picture of Satan’s ultimate humiliation; for prostration was ever the most eloquent sign of subjection. When is said “our belly cleaveth unto the ground”, Psalm 44:25, it denotes such a prolonged prostration and such a depth of submission as could ever be conveyed or expressed in literal words. 2) The context makes it clear that this is a reference to the utter humiliation of the serpent by God, who condemns the beast for his role in deceiving Eve and Adam. 3) Whereas formerly thou hadst a privilege above other kinds of serpents, whereby thou didst go with erected breast, and didst feed upon the fruit of trees and other plants; now thou shalt be brought down to the same mean and vile estate with them. Others think that there is no probability that this animal was otherwise that what it is now; but what before the fall was natural to it, afterwards became painful, as nakedness was to man. and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: 1) Figurative of utter defeat (as in Psalms 72:9). This is not true to the letter, or to fact, but it is all the more true to truth. It tells of constant, continuous disappointment, failure, and mortification. 2) Figuratively he was to eat dust, (idiomatic for subservience) which conveys the idea of being cursed. 3) Just as going on the belly lowness of rank in scale of animal existence, and to bite or lick the dust is a common metaphor for the conquest and ignominious humility of a proud, presumptuous foe, so both these phrases are to be understood as intimating that Satan being originally “an angel of light”, belonging to a high order of intellectual beings, and formed for pure and exalted objects, would become a wretched creature, groveling in the dust of the basest pursuits, and doomed to a condition of perpetual meanness and ignominy. 4) This is applicable to Satan, designs the mean and abject condition in which he is, and the sordid food he lives upon; no more on angels’ food and joys of heaven, but on the base, mean, and earthly, and impure lusts of men; and this will be his case, condition, and circumstances, for ever.

15. And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her Seed; It shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

And I will put [i.e., to set or place something somewhere] enmity between [i.e., having mutual relation between the two] thee and the woman: 1) The quality of being an enemy; hostility, acrimony, animosity, ill will, unfriendly disposition, a perpetual theatre of conflict. 2) The curse was directed immediately towards the serpent, but its real thrust was against the evil spirit possessing its body, “that old serpent, called the Devil” (Revelation 12:9). Satan may have assumed that he had won the allegiance of the woman and all of her descendants, but God told him there would be enmity between him and the woman. 3) God is often represented as doing that which He permits to be done; and therefore, as it is contrary to His holy and benevolent character to produce disorder or sow seeds of dissension amongst any orders of His creatures, the statement here made must be regarded as a prophetic intimation of the moral state of this world, as a theatre of conflict between man and the powers of evil. There is a covert allusion to the temporary alliance between the serpent and the woman, for now she had found in her dire experience that she had been ensnared to her ruin, she would henceforth recoil from him as an insidious and deadly enemy. 4) The woman being beguiled by the serpent, she conceived an antipathy against it, and which is become natural between serpent and men, and this antipathy is stronger in the female sex: and this was not only true of the particular serpent that deceived Eve, and of the particular woman, Eve, deceived by him, but of every serpent and of every woman in successive ages; and is also true of Satan and the church of God in all ages, between whom there is an implacable and irreconcilable hatred, and a perpetual war. and between [i.e., having mutual relation between the two] thy seed [collectively, of many, of children] and her Seed [individually, of one alone, one child; i.e., Christ, Galatians 3:16]: 1) The Seed as the offspring in the promised line of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob or in other groups separate from this people of promise. Commencing with 3:15, the word “seed” is regularly used as a collective noun in the singular (never plural). This technical term is an important aspect of the promise doctrine, for Hebrew never uses the plural of this root to refer to “posterity” or “offspring”. Thus the word designates the whole line of descendants as a unit, yet it is deliberately flexible enough to denote either one person who epitomizes the whole group (i.e., the man of promise and ultimately Christ), or the many persons in that whole line of natural and/or spiritual descendants. Precisely so in 3:15; one such seed is the line of the woman as contrasted with the opposing seed which is the line of Satan’s followers. And then surprisingly the text announces a male descendant who will ultimately win a crushing victory over Satan himself. 2) The “seed of the woman” can only be an allusion to a future descendant of Eve who would have no human father. Biologically, a woman produces no seed, and except in this case biblical usage always speaks only of the seed of man. This promised Seed would therefore, have to be miraculously implanted in the womb. In this way, He would not inherit the sin nature which would disqualify every son of Adam from becoming a Saviour from sin. This prophecy clearly anticipates the future virgin birth of Christ. It [i.e., her Seed, He, Christ] shall bruise thy [to gape, i.e., snap at; figuratively to overwhelm; to strike, to crush, injure or oppress; to break or smite in pieces; greatly to injure or wound; lie in wait for] head [i.e., the vital part]: 1) Figure of speech for emphasizing the truth and the reality of what is said. Christ Jesus, the blessed seed of the woman, shall utterly overthrow the power, policy and works of the devil. 2) When it is said, “He shall crush thy head”, it means something more than a skull of bone, and brain, and hair. It means that all of Satan’s plans, plots, policy, and purposes will one day be finally crushed and ended, never more to mar or hinder the purposes of God. Denotes the complete destruction of Satan and his works (Hebrews 2:14; 1 John 3:8). This will be effected when Satan shall be bruised under our feet (Romans 16:20). This again, will not be our literal feet, but something much more regal. 3) Satan will inflict a painful wound on the woman’s Seed, but Christ in turn will inflict a mortal wound on the serpent, crushing his head. This prophecy was fulfilled in the first instance at the cross, but will culminate when the triumphant Christ casts Satan into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:10). and thou shalt bruise his [to gape, i.e., snap at; figuratively to overwhelm; to strike, to crush, injure or oppress; to break or smite in pieces; greatly to injure or wound; lie in wait for] heel [i.e., the hind part of the foot, the lower part]: 1) Figure of speech for emphasizing the truth and the reality of what is said. The bruising of Christ’s heel is the most eloquent and expressive way of foretelling the most solemn events; to point out that the effort made by Satan to evade his doom, then threatened, would become the very means of insuring its accomplishment; for it was through the death of Christ that he who had the power of death would be destroyed; and all Satan’s power and policy brought to an end, and all his works destroyed (Hebrews 2:14; 1 John 3:8; Revelation 20:1-3, 10). What literal words could portray the literal facts so wonderfully as these expressive figures of speech? 2) The heel of a man, being what the serpent can most easily come at; by the heel of Christ is meant His human nature, which is His inferior and lowest nature, and who was in it frequently exposed to the insults, temptations, and persecutions of Satan, and was at last brought to a painful and accursed death; though by dying He got an entire victory over him, and all His enemies, and obtained salvation for His people. It … head … heel: Or, “He shall seek to crush thy head, and thou shalt seek to bite his heel”. The leading idea is founded on the habit of the insidious serpent to bite its victim in the heel or behind, and that of mankind striking or dashing at a serpent’s head with a club. The same verb is used to describe the attack upon the head and the heel, to show that destruction is aimed at both. But though the bite of a serpent in the heel of a man, when the poison infects the blood, is dangerous, it is not incurable. The crushing of the serpent’s head, however, is destruction. NOTE: This verse has long been recognized as the first Messianic prophecy of the Bible. It reveals three essential truths: (1) That Satan is the enemy of the human race, explaining why God put enmity (related to the word enemy) between thee [Satan] and the woman; (2) that He would place a spiritual barrier between thy seed and her seed; and (3) that the representative Seed of the woman (i.e., a human being: Christ) would deliver the death blow to Satan, but in so doing would be bruised Himself. It [or, “He”] shall bruise [literally “crush”] thy head, but thou shalt bruise his heel refers to Christ’s bruising on the cross, which led to the eventual crushing of Satan and his kingdom.

16. Unto the woman He said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception: in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

Unto the woman He said [the woman receives her sentence next], I will greatly multiply: 1) Hebrew, multiplying I will multiply; in a great degree, much, very much, increase.