Genesis 3
1Now the serpent was more subtle than any of the beasts of the earth which the Lord God made. And he said to the woman: Why hath God commanded you, that you should not eat of every tree of paradise?
2And the woman answered him, saying: Of the fruit of the trees that are in paradise we do eat:
3But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of paradise, God hath commanded us that we should not eat; and that we should not touch it, lest perhaps we die.
4And the serpent said to the woman: No, you shall not die the death.
5For God doth know that in what day soever you shall eat thereof, your eyes shall be opened: and you shall be as Gods, knowing good and evil.
6And the woman saw that the tree was good to eat, and fair to the eyes, and delightful to behold: and she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave to her husband who did eat.
7And the eyes of them both were opened: and when they perceived themselves to be naked, they sewed together fig leaves, and made themselves aprons.
8And when they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in paradise at the afternoon air, Adam and his wife hid themselves from the face of the Lord God, amidst the trees of paradise.
9And the Lord God called Adam, and said to him: Where art thou?
10And he said: I heard thy voice in paradise; and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.
11And he said to him: And who hath told thee that thou wast naked, but that thou hast eaten of the tree whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldst not eat?
12And Adam said: The woman, whom thou gavest me to be my companion, gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
13And the Lord God said to the woman: Why hast thou done this? And she answered: The serpent deceived me, and I did eat.
14And the Lord God said to the serpent: Because thou hast done this thing, thou art cursed among all cattle, and the beasts of the earth: upon thy breast shalt thou go, and earth shalt thou eat all the days of thy life.
15I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel.
16To the woman also he said: I will multiply thy sorrows, and thy conceptions: in sorrow shalt thou bring forth children, and thou shalt be under thy husband's power, and he shall have dominion over thee.
17And to Adam he said: Because thou hast hearkened to the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldst not eat, cursed is the earth in thy work; with labour and toil shalt thou eat thereof all the days of thy life.
18Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou eat the herbs of the earth.
19In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread till thou return to the earth, out of which thou wast taken: for dust thou art, and into dust thou shalt return.
20And Adam called the name of his wife Eve: because she was the mother of all the living.
21And the Lord God made for Adam and his wife, garments of skins, and clothed them.
22And he said: Behold Adam is become as one of us, knowing good and evil: now, therefore, lest perhaps he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever.
23And the Lord God sent him out of the paradise of pleasure, to till the earth from which he was taken.
24And he cast out Adam; and placed before the paradise of pleasure Cherubims, and a flaming sword, turning every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
Hebrew/English - Please check Part 1 (one post up), for explanation
יח. וְקוֹץ וְדַרְדַּר תַּצְמִיחַ לָךְ וְאָכַלְתָּ אֶת עֵשֶׂב הַשָּׂדֶה
18. And it will cause thorns and thistles to grow for you, and you shall eat the herbs of the field.
Commentary:
And it...thorns...for you: The
earth - when you sow it with various species of seeds-will sprout thorns
and thistles, artichokes and cardoons, which are edible only after
preparation. [Rabbah 20:10. Beizah 34a]
and you shall eat the herbs of the field: Now
what [kind of] curse is this?
Was it not said to him in the blessing: “Behold I have given you every seed-bearing herb, etc?
But
what is stated here [refers to] the beginning of the section: ”Cursed
be the ground for your sake; with toil shall you eat of it,“ and after
the toil, ”And it will cause thorns and thistles to grow for you." When
you sow it with legumes or garden vegetables, it will cause thorns and
thistles and other grasses of the field, to grow for you and you shall
have no choice but to eat them.
יט. בְּזֵעַת אַפֶּיךָ תֹּאכַל לֶחֶם עַד שׁוּבְךָ אֶל הָאֲדָמָה כִּי מִמֶּנָּה לֻקָּחְתָּ כִּי עָפָר אַתָּה וְאֶל עָפָר תָּשׁוּב
19. With the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, until you return to the ground, for you were taken therefrom, for dust you are, and to dust you will return."
כ. וַיִּקְרָא הָאָדָם שֵׁם אִשְׁתּוֹ חַוָּה כִּי הִוא הָיְתָה אֵם כָּל חָי
20. And the man named his wife Eve, because she was the mother of all life.
Commentary:
And the man named: Scripture
returns to its previous topic (2:20): “And the man named,” and it
interrupted only to teach you that through the giving of names, Eve was
mated to him, as it is written (above 2:20): “but for man,he did not
find a helpmate opposite him.”
Eve: This coincides with the expression of חַיָה, living, because she gives life to her offspring, as you say, (Ecc. 2:22):“For what does a man have?” with the expression“being” (הֹוֶה) . [The “vav” and the “yud” are interchangeable]
כא. וַיַּעַשׂ יְ־הֹוָ־ה אֱ־לֹהִים לְאָדָם וּלְאִשְׁתּוֹ כָּתְנוֹת עוֹר וַיַּלְבִּשֵׁם
21. And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife shirts of skin, and He dressed them.
Commentary:
shirts of skin: Some
Aggadic works say that they were as smooth as fingernails, fastened
over their skin [Rabbah 20:12]
Others say that they were a
material that comes from the skin, like the wool of rabbits, which is
soft and warm, and He made them shirts from it (Rabbah Sotah 14a).
כב. וַיֹּאמֶר יְ־הֹוָ־ה אֱ־לֹהִים הֵן הָאָדָם הָיָה כְּאַחַד מִמֶּנּוּ לָדַעַת טוֹב וָרָע וְעַתָּה פֶּן יִשְׁלַח יָדוֹ וְלָקַח גַּם מֵעֵץ הַחַיִּים וְאָכַל וָחַי לְעֹלָם
22. Now the Lord God said, "Behold man has become like one of us, having the ability of knowing good and evil, and now, lest he stretch forth his hand and take also from the Tree of Life and eat and live forever."
Commentary:
has become like one of us, having the ability: He
is unique among the earthly beings, just as I am unique among the
heavenly beings, and what is his uniqueness? To know good and evil,
unlike the cattle and the beasts. [Rabbah
21:5]
and now, lest he stretch forth his hand..: And
if he were to live forever, he would be likely to mislead people to
follow him and to say that he too is a deity [Rabbah 9:5].
כג. וַיְשַׁלְּחֵהוּ יְ־הֹוָ־ה אֱ־לֹהִים מִגַּן עֵדֶן לַעֲבֹד אֶת הָאֲדָמָה אֲשֶׁר לֻקַּח מִשָּׁם
23. And the Lord God sent him out of the Garden of Eden, to till the soil, whence he had been taken.
כד. וַיְגָרֶשׁ אֶת הָאָדָם וַיַּשְׁכֵּן מִקֶּדֶם לְגַן עֵדֶן אֶת הַכְּרֻבִים וְאֵת לַהַט הַחֶרֶב הַמִּתְהַפֶּכֶת לִשְׁמֹר אֶת דֶּרֶךְ עֵץ הַחַיִּים
24. And He drove the man out, and He stationed from the east of the Garden of Eden the cherubim and the blade of the revolving sword, to guard the way to the Tree of Life.
Commentary:
east of the Garden of Eden: outside the garden. [Rabbah 21:9]
the cherubim: Angels of destruction [Rabbah 9:11]
the revolving sword: It
had a blade to frighten him from re-entering the garden.
Judaism
has a very different outlook on the story. We don't look at it as some
kind of 'damning punishment' but a consequence for ones actions (which
is why 'original sin' doesn't fit). The names foreshadow the story
itself.
God throws the tree in the garden and gives Adam and
Chavah one commandment. It is not the fact that they ate from the tree
that caused consequences for their actions.
It was their response.
I'll add the interesting little commentary on this:
- Chavah believed she would die if she ate the fruit
- Because of this belief, she didn't want to put her life at risk, so she makes Adam eat it first
What are the actual reasons for the consequences though?
- Adam blames Chavah for his choice to eat the apple
- Chavah blames the snake for her choice to eat the apple
What
we see is both individuals trying to divert guilt away from choices
they themselves made. If they had admitted what they did right away,
there wouldn't have been an issue.
We aren't born into sin in
life, but without it (in Judaism of course). Sin is acquired through our
negative actions and we are 100% accountable for them.
Taking
up a choice doesn't mean you aren't aware of the consequences of that
choice: You decide if the consequences are worth the gamble. Free will
was never without limitations: This does not include things completely
out of control in life, but how we deal with those issues and
circumstances.
The moral of the story, parables parenting and life itself.
From
birth there is an inherent tension, because while our children are
created in our image they are also created as separate beings with free
will to do as they will and to defy us, if they choose.
God first 'searched' for Adam/Chavah and discreetly encouraged them to admit guilt. Where are you? God was not asking them about physical whereabouts, but inviting them to consider the situation.
After
they admitted guilt, God gave the man and the woman different
punishments, individually tailored to correct flaws within each one,
which initially led them to make their mistakes.
Chavah, who
only thought of herself first, would learn to think of others beforehand
and Adam, who had everything given to him, would learn to work for what
he earned.
After pronouncing the consequences, God personally
clothes them, to alleviate their shame and help them with the new
circumstances they found themselves in. This is the parent who, in spite
of everything, takes care of his or her children.
First,
we must refrain from confronting our children with conclusions about
guilt; instead, we should encourage them to tell us themselves. Second,
our consequences should not be arbitrary, but designed to help the child
correct his/her behavior. Finally, we must let them know that despite
everything we are still with them.
JW believe that the flood cleansed the earth of the evil at that time and preserved the righteous man Noah and 7 others, they had a choice to listen so they perished in the flood instead of going on the Ark. Jehovah allows things to go on for a while to see if humans will change, then if it gets too bad he takes action to protect right hearted ones <3 Realizing from the Bible they had several years to make up their minds and in the meantime being abused by bullies and so much hate in the world, looks like they would of wanted to escape too but they didn't
The Study Styler
The tree of life is associated with a reptile (snake, lizard or dragon) in many mythologies, from China to Scandanavia. We have cylinder seals from Akkadia showing it, dating back earlier than 2250 BCE.
In Jewish mythology it is heavily tied into the mystical side.
The flower of life:
can be used to derive various basic geometrical shapes:
and also a shape called the tree of life:
of which there's a rather good explanation here:
Quoting Clairwil:The tree of life is associated with a reptile (snake, lizard or dragon) in many mythologies, from China to Scandanavia. We have cylinder seals from Akkadia showing it, dating back earlier than 2250 BCE.
In Jewish mythology it is heavily tied into the mystical side.
The flower of life:
can be used to derive various basic geometrical shapes:
and also a shape called the tree of life:
of which there's a rather good explanation here:
Considering seems everybody that was not Jews was left out to the cold. I believe there was kind beliefs yrs ago. I never seem any compassion, or anything in the OT at all anyways. Like everybody was left to there own devices completely.
Where was God Love in the OT? Where was God? God was only protecting the Jews that is all. How I understand and read. Everything was all center around the Jews. Everybody else was left in the dark. Thank God Jesus came to bring into our lives now :-)
16 Now Sarai the wife of Abram
- LilyofPhilly
on Feb. 20, 2012 at 3:32 PM