Gen 3:1 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Gen 3:1-24: 3:1-24 The rebellion of the man and the woman shattered their unity and harmony with earth, animals, each other, and God. 3:1 Genesis describes the deceiver as a serpent , one of the animals God created (see also 3:14 and study note). He is later identified as Satan, the great enemy of God’s people (Rev 12:9 ; 20:2 ). His manipulative language and his disguise as a serpent, the shrewdest of all creatures, show him as a master deceiver. Satan has various methods for opposing God’s people (see 1 Chr 21:1 ; Zech 3:1-2 ); deception remains among his key strategies (cp. 2 Cor 11:3 , 14 ). The Hebrew term for shrewd ( ‘arum ) can be positive (“prudent,” Prov 14:8 ) or negative (as here; see Job 5:12 ). It forms a wordplay with “naked” ( ‘arummim ) in Gen 2:25 . Adam and Eve were naked and vulnerable; the serpent was shrewd and cunning. • Probably the serpent asked the woman because the prohibition was given to Adam prior to Eve’s creation (see 2:16-17 ). Adam was probably aware of the serpent’s cunning, having assessed and named all the animals before Eve was created (2:19-20 , 23 ). • Did God really say? The deceiver began by twisting God’s language to cast doubt on God’s goodness. God’s original prohibition applied to only one tree (2:16-17 ), not to all ( any ) of them.

a3:1-24►

b3:1►

c3:14►

dRev 12:9►

e20:2►

f1 Chr 21:1►

gZech 3:1-2►

h2 Cor 11:3►

i14►

jProv 14:8►

kJob 5:12►

lGen 2:25►

m2:16-17►

n2:19-20►

o23►

p2:16-17►

‏ Genesis 3:1

Summary for Gen 3:1-24: 3:1-24 ^a The rebellion of the man and the woman shattered their unity and harmony with earth, animals, each other, and God. 3:1 ^b Genesis describes the deceiver as a serpent, one of the animals God created (see also 3:14 ^c and study note). He is later identified as Satan, the great enemy of God’s people (Rev 12:9 ^d; 20:2 ^e). His manipulative language and his disguise as a serpent, the shrewdest of all creatures, show him as a master deceiver. Satan has various methods for opposing God’s people (see 1 Chr 21:1 ^f; Zech 3:1-2 ^g); deception remains among his key strategies (cp. 2 Cor 11:3 ^h, 14 ⁱ). The Hebrew term for shrewd (‘arum) can be positive (“prudent,” Prov 14:8 ^j) or negative (as here; see Job 5:12 ^k). It forms a wordplay with “naked” (‘arummim) in Gen 2:25 ^l. Adam and Eve were naked and vulnerable; the serpent was shrewd and cunning.

• Probably the serpent asked the woman because the prohibition was given to Adam prior to Eve’s creation (see 2:16-17 ^m). Adam was probably aware of the serpent’s cunning, having assessed and named all the animals before Eve was created (2:19-20 ⁿ, 23 ^o).

• Did God really say? The deceiver began by twisting God’s language to cast doubt on God’s goodness. God’s original prohibition applied to only one tree (2:16-17 ^p), not to all (any) of them.