NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible | Page 25
Genesis 3:6 | 29
2:19 u Ps 8:7 v Ge 1:24
2:22 w 1Co 11:8, 9, 12
2:23 x Ge 29:14;
Eph 5:28‑30
2:24 y Mal 2:15
z Mt 19:5*; Mk 10:7-
8*; 1Co 6:16*;
Eph 5:31*
2:25 a Ge 3:7, 10‑11
3:1 b 2Co 11:3;
Rev 12:9; 20:2
3:4 c Jn 8:44; 2Co 11:3
3:5 d Isa 14:14;
Eze 28:2
3:6 e Jas 1:14-15;
1Jn 2:16
19 Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals u and all the
irds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and what
b
ever the man called each living creature, v that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to
all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.
But for Adam a no suitable helper was found. 21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall
into a deep s leep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs b and then c losed
up the place with f lesh. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib c w he had taken
out of the man, and he brought her to the man.
23 The man said,
“This is now bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh; x
she shall be called ‘woman,’
for she was taken out of man.”
24 That is why a man l eaves his father and mother and is united y to his wife, and they be
come one flesh. z
25 Adam and his wife were both naked, a and they felt no shame.
The Fall
3
Now the serpent b was more c rafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had
made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in
the garden’?”
2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but
God did say, ‘You must not eat f ruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and
you must not touch it, or you will die.’ ”
nows that
4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. c 5 “For God k
when you eat from it your eyes will be o
pened, and you will be like God, d knowing good
and evil.”
6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the
eye, and also desirable e for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some
a 20 Or
the man b 21 Or took part of the man’s side c 22 Or part
2:19 – 20 God’s search for a helper involves
the man’s naming the animals. The man here
discerns the purpose of the animals and so
calls the creatures according to their role in
creation. He exercises dominion over creation
in general (see notes on 1:26,28).
2:22 rib. Always means “side” where it occurs
elsewhere. As always, the Lord God initiates
the action and takes from the man’s side
so that the woman is in every way human
( ʾ ādām; see 1:26; 2:7 and notes), just like the
man.
2:23 bone of my bones. The man recognizes
that the woman originates from himself.
“woman” . . . man. Hebrew ʾ iššâ . . . ʾ iš. Like
ʾ ādām (masculine word for humans and the
man) and ʾ ădāmâ (feminine word for ground)
in v. 7 that connect man with the ground (see
note on v. 7), these words sound similar and
connect man with woman.
2:24 why a man leaves his father and mother
and is united to his wife. The physical cre-
ation of the woman by taking her from the
man implies a natural relationship that is
restored when the man and woman become
“one flesh” by physically reuniting.
2:25 naked . . . felt no shame. The two a re in
perfect harmony. There are no barriers and
no shame from the absence of barriers. Ch. 2
ends with harmony between God and cre-
ation, between God and the human couple,
between the couple and creation, and be-
tween the man and the woman (cf. 3:7).
world has become the corrupted place that
we know.
3:1 serpent. People in the ancient world
considered snakes to be sources of long life,
healing, and wisdom, but Israelites who were
familiar with the food regulations of Leviticus
would associate the serpent with unclean
animals (Lev 11:42) and be suspicious. crafty.
Hebrew ʿ ārûm. This rare Hebrew word, con-
sistent with the snake’s reputation for wis-
dom, sounds like the Hebrew for “naked” in
2:25 ( ʿ ămrûummîm). The wordplay suggests
that the serpent’s craftiness will overturn the
innocence symbolized by the couple’s naked-
ness. Did God really say . . . ? God invites the
man to eat from “any tree” (2:16), but the
serpent denies what God says by adding
the word “not.” Such lies characterize the
serpent’s speech (3:4). Genesis does not ex-
plicitly identify the serpent as Satan, but the
NT describes the devil as “a liar and the father
of lies” (John 8:44) and “that ancient serpent”
(Rev 12:9; 20:2). If everything was “very good”
in 1:31, then evil has now entered the world.
The source of this evil is not given, but it ex-
isted before Adam and Eve disobeyed God.
Something was already amiss in the world.
3:2 We may eat fruit from the trees. The
woman correctly qualifies the serpent’s
charge, but she diminishes God’s grace by
not emphasizing that they are “free” to eat
from “any” tree (2:16).
3:3 the tree that is in the middle of the gar-
den. She omits the name of the tree, which
3:1 – 24 The Fall. Continuing the creation ac- contains the rationale for not eating from it.
count, the biblical story recounts what went you must not touch it. A statement that God
wrong with the perfect harmony of ch. 2 apparently never made. The effect creates an
and how sin changed everything so that the arbitrary command (God just chose any tree)
and trivializes the offense in contrast to the
punishment (death for touching fruit!). God
originally spoke this command only to the
man. Although the man is present in this
exchange (v. 6), the woman speaks. How did
she know what God said? We are not told
whether God told her directly or whether the
man passed the words along to her. The re-
sult indicts both the man and the woman in
this transgression.
3:4 You will not certainly die. The snake lies,
again quoting God’s words (2:17) and placing
a negative (“not”) in front of them (see 3:1
and note).
3:5 God knows. Satan accuses God of selfish
motives (cf. Job 1:9 – 11; 2:4 – 5). your eyes will
be opened . . . knowing good and evil. This
seems to coincide with the tree’s purpose.
The man and woman both become aware
of their nakedness (v. 7). But this knowledge
does not exclude the punishment that God
promised. So the serpent denies the sin’s
punishment but glorifies its reward. The
lure is to “be like God” in a manner differ-
ent from God’s intent. Ironically, the human
couple have been made in the “image of God”
(1:27). They are to be like God by ruling over
the earth on his behalf. God has provided a
way in the garden (through obedience) and
will ultimately provide another way (through
the sacrifice of Christ; see 2 Pet 1:4), but God’s
way lacks the attractive false promise of the
serpent’s seemingly easier way.
3:6 good. God created everything “good” (ch. 1).
All the food in the garden was good, but
the woman thought only of this food and
made what God had said was not good (to
eat) into something that seemed good.