Gen 3:1-5 | 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.

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.
Summary for Gen 3:2-3: 3:2-3 ^q The woman attempted to set the record straight; in the process, she belittled the privileges God had given her and her husband in several ways: (1) She reduced God’s “freely eat” (2:16 ^r) to may eat; (2) she downplayed God’s emphasis on the availability of fruit from every tree but one (2:17 ^s); (3) she added not touching to God’s prohibition against eating (2:17 ^t); and (4) she softened the certainty of death (2:17 ^u).
Summary for Gen 3:4-5: 3:4-5 ^v You won’t die! This is the exact negation of God’s clear and emphatic words: “you are sure to die” (2:17 ^w). The serpent capitalizes on the woman’s uncertainty by baldly denying the penalty and quickly diverting her attention to the supposed prize—to be like God, knowing both good and evil. The deceiver falsely implies that this would be an unqualified good for them. The term rendered God is Elohim; it can also mean “divine beings” (i.e., God and the angels; e.g., Pss 29:1 ^x; 89:7 ^y).