←Genesis 3→BSB

• 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.

• She saw … that it was desirable: The woman made two serious mistakes:

  1. She assumed she could decide what was good or bad. But God is the only one who has the right to decide what is good or bad.

  2. She coveted God's wisdom, meaning she strongly desired something that did not belong to her (see Deuteronomy 5:21).

• her husband who was with her: Scripture highlights the woman's role in humanity's first sin (compare 1 Timothy 2:14). But, the man was also present and responsible. He becomes the focus in the following verses and in biblical teaching. His sin brought serious consequences for all people. The good news is that through Jesus Christ, the “second Adam,” God offers salvation to everyone (Romans 5:12–21).

• Shame is opposite to the naked innocence Adam and Eve enjoyed prior to their rebellion (2:25). Their relationship with one another and with God was fractured.
• sewed fig leaves together: These covered their physical bodies, but not their shame. They could not mend their broken relationships (see also 3:21 and study note).

• When the cool evening breezes were blowing: The Hebrew has traditionally been interpreted as referring to the cool part of the day, most likely the evening. Others think that the language refers to a powerful manifestation of God’s presence (a theophany; see Exod 19:16–25; 1 Sam 7:10) as a storm. If this view is correct, the man and the woman were hiding from the sound of the Lord appearing in judgment (see 2 Sam 5:24; Ps 29).
• God put trees in the garden as an environment for humanity to enjoy fellowship with God. Now the man and woman used them to evade the divine presence.

It was the woman you gave me: Rather than confessing, the man became evasive. He blamed the woman for giving him the fruit and God for giving him the woman.

• What have you done? is another rhetorical question that is really an exclamation of horror (cp. 4:10).
• The serpent deceived me: As the man implicated the woman (3:12), the woman accused the serpent. The serpent did play a role and would be punished (3:14), but that did not release the woman or the man from their guilt.

• to the serpent: Though later revelation identifies the deceiver as Satan, it is the created animal who was cursed, like the ground (3:17).
• Groveling in the dust reflects a posture of humiliation and defeat (Ps 72:9; Mic 7:17).

• hostility: The prophet Isaiah envisions the day when the Messiah’s kingdom will restore all of creation to a harmonious state like the Garden of Eden before humans sinned (see Isa 11:8).
• her offspring (literally her seed): This collective noun can refer to a single descendant or many. The ancient Near Eastern concept of corporate solidarity (e.g., “you and your descendants,” Gen 28:14) is also behind this description of the ongoing hostility that would exist between humans and snakes. The pattern is set using singular terms (He . . . you). Christian interpreters have traditionally understood this verse as a prophecy of Christ, the seed of Abraham and the culmination of the woman’s seed (Gal 3:16; 4:4).
• strike: The striking of his heel is a reference to the suffering of God’s servant (see Isa 53), while striking the serpent’s head—a more definitive blow—is ultimately fulfilled in Christ’s death, resurrection, and final victory over Satan (1 Cor 15:55–57; Rev 12:7–9; 20:7–10).

• Judgment falls on the woman’s unique role of childbearing and on her relationship with her husband.
• And you will desire to control your husband, but he will rule over you: The marriage relationship now included an element of antagonism rather than just security and fulfillment. New life in Christ allows for the restoration of a man and a woman’s marriage relationship (Eph 5:18–32; cp. Matt 20:25–28).

Eve (Hebrew khawah) sounds like a Hebrew term (khayah) that means “to give life.” Following God’s pronouncement of Adam’s impending death (3:19), Adam expressed hope by giving Eve a name associated with life. Adam’s naming of Eve in such close proximity to 3:16 may suggest that the narrator views it as Adam’s first act of ruling over the woman after the Fall (see study note on 2:19–20).

God mercifully provided more substantial clothing for Adam and Eve (cp. 3:7) before expelling them into the harsh environment outside the garden.

• like us: The plural probably reflects God’s conversation with his angelic court (see study note on 1:26).
• the tree of life . . . live forever! Mercifully, God prevented humankind from eating of the tree of life and having to live forever in a fallen state. Through Jesus Christ, however, eternal life is once again made available (see Rev 2:7; 22:2, 14, 19).

So the Lord God banished them from the Garden of Eden: Before the Fall, the garden was a sanctuary in which humans could move freely in God’s holy presence. Now their sin required expulsion from that environment. This same principle was behind the laws that restricted an Israelite’s access to God’s presence in the Tabernacle or Temple (e.g., Lev 16:1–2; Num 5:3).

• Cherubim are a class of angelic beings that guard access to God’s presence (Exod 26:31; Ezek 28:14).
• east . . . of Eden: In Genesis, movement eastward often implies leaving the presence or blessing of God, whether in judgment (see also Gen 4:16), self-aggrandizement (11:2; 13:11), or estrangement (25:6).