Daniel P. Barron

1 And the serpent ⁱ was more crafty ⁱⁱ than all the life of the field which Yehvah Gods had made. And he said ⁱⁱⁱ to the woman, “Has indeed Gods, he said, ‘You shall not eat from every tree of the garden.’?” ^iv 2 And the woman said ^v to the serpent, “From the trees of the garden we may eat, ^vi 3 but from the tree which is in the midst of the garden Gods, he has said, ‘You ^vii shall not eat from it nor touch it lest you die.’” 4 And the serpent said to the woman, “There will be no dying you will die. 5 For Gods, he knows that in the day you eat from it, and your eyes will be opened and you will be like Gods knowing ^viii good and bad.” ^ix 6 And the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was a desire to the eyes and the tree was desirable to make prudent. ^x So, she took from its fruit and ate, and she gave also to her husband with her and he ate. ^xi 7 And the eyes of both of them were opened ^xii and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed together fig tree foliage, ^xiii and made themselves belts. ^xiv

8 And they heard the sound of Yehvah Gods walking in the garden at the breeze ^xv of the day, and the man and his woman hid ^xvi themselves from the face of Yehvah Gods in the midst of the trees of the garden. 9 And Yehvah Gods called to the man and said to him, “ Where are you?” 10 And he said, “I heard your voice in the garden and I was afraid because I am naked. So I hid myself.” 11 And he said, “Who told you that you are naked. Did you eat from the tree which I commanded you not to eat from it?” 12 And Adam said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave to me from the tree and I ate.” 13 And Yehvah Gods said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman said, “The serpent deceived ^xvii me and I ate.”

14 And Yehovah ^xviii Gods, he said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you more than any beast, and more than any life of the field. Upon your belly ^xix you shall go, and dust you shall eat ^xx all the days of your life. 15 And I will put enmity ^xxi between you and the woman and between your seed ^xxii and her seed. ^xxiii He will bruise you on the head and you will bruise him on the heel. 16 To the woman he said, “Multiplying, I will multiply your toil and your conception. ^xxiv In pain you shall bear children, and your husband will be your desire, ^xxv and he will rule over you. 17 And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened ^xxvi to the voice of your woman and have eaten from the tree which I commanded you saying, ‘You shall not eat from it,’ cursed ^xxvii is the ground for your sake. ^xxviii In toil you shall eat it all the days of your life. 18 And thorn and thistles it shall sprout forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. 19 In the sweat of your nose you shall eat bread until you return to the ground. For from it you were taken, because dust you are, ^xxix and to dust you shall return.

20 And the man called the name of his woman Eve, ^xxx because she is the mother of all living. ^xxxi 21 And Yehvah Gods made for Adam and his woman tunics of skin and clothed them. 22 And Yehvah Gods said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us knowing good and bad. And now, lest he stretch out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat and live forever . . .” 23 So Yehvah Gods sent him from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. 24 So he cast out the man and caused cherubs, ^xxxii and the flaming turning sword, to dwell east of the garden of Eden to guard the way to the tree of life. ^xxxiii

Genesis 2 - Genesis 4

Translated by Darwin Fish. See original pdf. ^xxxiv

1. “serpent” vj;N: (nâhâsh) - This term is used for the animal snake (e.g. Ecclesiastes 10:8, 11; Proverbs 30:19; Amos 5:19). This serpent (Genesis 3:1), or snake, is identified in the New Testament as the Devil (see Revelation 12:9 & 20:2 “serpent of old”). The Devil sinned from the beginning (1 John 3:8), and here we see the devil, in the beginning, enticing the woman to sin. ^
2. “crafty” µWr[; (`ârum) - For some examples of the usage of this term see Job 5:12; 15:5; Proverbs 12:16, 23; 13:8, 16; 14:15, 18 (plural form); 22:3; and 27:12. 2 Corinthians 11:3 also records the serpents craftiness, here using the Greek word panourgia (panourgia). For usage of this term (panourgia) see Luke 20:23; 1 Corinthians 3:19; 2 Corinthians 4:2; and Ephesians 4:14. Is the snake (serpent) still crafty? Matthew 10:16 indicates it is. ^
3. Here we have a talking snake! The only other record of an animal talking is found in Numbers 22:28-30 (see also 2 Peter 2:16). Note also an interesting statement made in Revelation 13:11 (“spoke like a dragon”). How do dragons speak? ^
4. Somehow the serpent knows about the command God gave them, but he twists God’s words in his successful efforts of deception; and, like a lion (1 Peter 5:8), focuses on the weaker vessel (2 Peter 3:7). ^
5. The woman is talking to a snake! ^
6. She corrects his twist. ^
7. “You” here and in verses 4 & 5 is in the plural form. ^
8. “and your eyes will be opened and you will be like Gods knowing” - this phrase is entirely in the plural – y[ed]yo µyhiloaKe µt,yyih]wi µk,yney[e Wjq]p]niw] (veniphqechu `êynêychem vihyiytem kê'lohiym yod`êy) – even the “your” and “you” are in the plural, and participle “knowing” is plural. See also Genesis 3:22. ^
9. “you eat from ^
10. “to make prudent” lyKic]h'l] (lehaskiyl) - used, for example, in Psalm 36:3 (to be wise) and Daniel 9:13 (understand). It is not the desire for wisdom that is wrong here, it is the way in which it is obtained. ^
11. This one act of disobedience called for the utter destruction of countless people (Romans 5:12, 15 “many died,” 16 “condemnation,” 18 “judgment came to all men,” 19 “made sinners;” 1 Corinthians 15:22 “in Adam all die”) ^
12. “eyes of both of them were opened” - This speaks not of physical blindness and then being able to see, but rather the eyes of understanding (as in Ephesians 1:18). The woman could physically see before this (Genesis 3:6). Moreover, with this opening of the eyes, came an ignorance and a darkening of understanding (Ephesians 4:18).  ^
13. “foliage” hle[} (`alêh) is in the singular form. Singular usage of this word can be found in Genesis 8:11; Leviticus 26:36; Job 13:25; Psalm 1:3; Proverbs 11:28 (foliage); Isaiah 1:30; 34:4; 64:6; Jeremiah 8:13; 17:8; Ezekiel 47:12 (leaves 2x). The plural form can be found in Nehemiah 8:15 five times (leafy branches). ^
14. “belts” trogOj} (hagorot) - used in 2 Samuel 18:11 (NKJV “belt” KJV “girdle”); 1 Kings 2:5 (NKJV “belt that was around his waist”; KJV “girdle that was about his loins”); 2 Kings 3:21 (border); Isaiah 3:24 (NKJV “Instead of a sash, a rope”; KJV “ instead of a girdle a rent”; NAS “Instead of a belt, a rope”). ^
15. “at the breeze” j'Wrl] (leruah) - Here is the word for wind (j"Wr, ruah), which is also the word for spirit, with the preposition “to” (l], le). ^
16. Job 31:33 reveals Adam was in the process of hiding not only his body, but his transgression as well. But, even though God can hide (Psalm 10:1; 104:29; Isaiah 45:15), men can not, successfully (Job 34:21-22; Jeremiah 23:23-24; Isaiah 29:15). Yet, there is a time to hide (Isaiah 26:20-21). ^
17. The woman was deceived. Adam was not (1 Timothy 2:14). Yet, even though the woman was deceived, this gives her no excuse. Being deceived does not remove responsibility (e.g. Genesis 3:16; 1 Kings 13; John 3:17/2 Corinthians 4:4; Revelation 12:9; 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12). ^
18. ה הּהו מִי)Yehovah) “Yehovah” - יהוה) YHWH or YHVH) God's personal name is most often spelled this way in the Trinitarian Bible Society's text (Ben Chayyim), not as much in the BHS & WTT, but it is, as here, found (e.g. Genesis 9:26; Exodus 3:2; etc.). This is where KJV “Jehovah” comes from, but strangely is only found in Exodus 6:3; Psalm 83:18; Isaiah 12:2; 26:4. The name appears in the Hebrew thousands of times. ^
19. “your belly” ònÒjoGÒ (gehonekha) - This word for belly is used only one other time (Leviticus 11:42, ÷/jG:, gâchon). ^
20. Micah 7:17 illustrates this prophecy. Also, this eating of dust continues on into the future (Isaiah 65:25). ^
21. “enmity” hb;yae (êyvâh) - used, for example, in Numbers 35:21; Ezekiel 25:15; and 35:5 (hatred). This enmity goes both ways (see Psalm 15:4; 31:6; 119:113; 139:19-22; Proverbs 29:27; Matthew 10:34-36; Luke 12:51-53; and 1 John 3:11-12. There is no bad consequence for the righteous who hate like this, but there is for the ungodly (e.g. Psalm 34:22). ^
22. See John 8:44; 17:12; Acts 13:10; Colossians 1:13; Ephesians 2:3; and 2 Thessalonians 2:3. ^
23. “seed” has to do with descendants, both physical or spiritual, e.g. Genesis 4:25; 21:12-13; 22:18; 26:4; 28:14; 2 Samuel 7:12; 1 Chronicles 16:13; 17:11; Psalm 89:3-4, 29, 36; 105:6; Isaiah 45:19; Jeremiah 31:36-37; John 7:42; Acts 13:23; Romans 1:3; 4:16; 9:6-8; Galatians 3:8, 16-19, 29; 2 Timothy 2:8; Hebrews 2:16; and 11:11. Christ never married but has seed (Isaiah 53:10). ^
24. “your conception” JnErohe (hêronêkh) - “conception” ÷/yr;he (hêrâyon) is also found only in Ruth 4:13 and Hosea 9:11. With the conception being multiplied, this indicates an increase in the frequency of pregnancy. In other words, the woman (women) will get pregnant, conceive, more often. ^
25. “your husband will be your desire, and he will rule over you” - JB;Alv;m]yI aWhwÒ Jteq;WvT] JveyaiAla, (el-'iyshêkh teshuqâtêkh vehu' yimshâl-bâkh) - This statement is very similar to Genesis 4:7 where it is said of sin, “its desire is for you, and you should rule over it.” - /BAlv;m]Ti hT;a'wÒ /tq;WvT] òyl,ae (êleykha teshuqâto ve'attâh timshâl-bo). As sin desired to overpower Cain, so the woman is cursed with the desire to overpower her husband. But, along with this curse is the unchanging fact that the husband will nonetheless rule over her (1 Corinthians 11:9; 1 Timothy 2:13). This cursed desire of the woman is graphically portrayed in Proverbs 21:9, 19; 25:24; 27:15-16; and Ecclesiastes 7:26. For the only other use of this Hebrew word for desire (hq;WvT] [teshuqâh]), see Song of Solomon 7:10. ^
26. There is no record of any conversation, but from what God says, at the very least, Eve did say something to encourage Adam to eat. ^
27. Here is the beginning of the subjection of creation to futility (Ecclesiastes 1:1; Romans 8:19-22). ^
28. “for your sake” or “on account of you” ^
29. “dust you are” - See also Genesis 18:27; Job 34:14-15; Psalm 103:14; Ecclesiastes 12:6-7; and 1 Corinthians 15:48-49. ^
30. “Eve” - hW:j' (Havvah) - This name is traditionally translated “Eve” in English. In the Septuagint, in Genesis 3:20 it is translated “zwh” (zoa) which is the Greek word for “life.” The exact meaning of hW:j' (Havvah) is uncertain, but with the reason Adam gives for the giving of this name, it certainly implies having to do with those that are alive (“living” - yj;, hây). Used for “Eve” only here and in Genesis 4:1.

    ---

    The reason for the translation and spelling of “Eve” appears to go back to the Greek Old & New Testament and the 1611 KJV. In the Greek, “Eve” is euan (euan) in Genesis 4:1 and 2 Corinthians 11:3 and eua (eua) in 1 Timothy 2:13. In the 1611 KJV “Eve” is spelled “Eue” which appears to be an attempt to transliterate the Greek “eua” (eua). The “u” changed to “v” over time, as can be seen with other words in the 1611 KJV (e.g. “liuing” to “living,” “wiues” to “wives,” “euill” to “evil,” see Genesis 3:20-22 in the 1611 KJV).

    ---

    This same exact word for “Eve”, hW:j' (Havvah), is used for “tent-village” (BDB) in Numbers 32:41(2x, NKJV “small towns,” “Havoth”); Deuteronomy 3:14; 1 Kings 4:13; 1 Chronicles 2:23, also called “cities” (NKJV) in Joshua 13:30 (יר א עי [`iyr] Hebrew singular “city”) “cities” in Judges 10:4 (ים י רי הּי דֹע`] ayâriym] Hebrew plural "cities") and later called “large cities." עּה רי ו ים גִמ דָנלו ות (âriym gedolot) in 1 Kings 4:13. ^

31. “living” - yj; (chây) ^
32. µybiruK] (keruviym) - “cherubs,” KJV, NKJV, NAS, NIV, “cherubim” - “cherubim” is a transliteration of the plural form of the word for “cherub.” Cherubs are heavenly creatures that are closely associated with the Lord. Psalm 80:1; 99:1 and Isaiah 37:16 say the Lord dwells between the Cherubs. They are described in detail in Ezekiel chapters 1 and 10. The Lord flew upon a cherub (2 Samuel 22:11; Psalm 18:10). There is a fallen Cherub in Ezekiel 28:14, 16. Also, there was a man by the name of Cherub in Ezra 2:59 and Nehemiah 7:61. For every other verse which uses this term, see Exodus 25:18-20, 22; 26:1, 31; 36:8, 35; 37:7-9; Numbers 7:89; 99:1; 1 Samuel 4:4; 2 Samuel 6:2; 1 Kings 6:23-29, 32, 35; 7:29, 36; 8:6-7; 2 Kings 19:15; 1 Chronicles 13:6; 28:18; 2 Chronicles 3:7, 10-14; 5:7-8; Ezekiel 7:2; 9:3; 10:1-4, 5-9, 14-16, 18-20; 11:22; 28:14, 16; 41:18, 20, 25, and Hebrews 9:5. ^
33. Here it is evident the Lord did not want man to have eternal life via the tree of life. ^
34. Mirrored here. ^