Genesis 3
The Snake Tricks Eve into Eating the Fruit
The snake was more devious than all the other land animals the Existing One had made, so he asked the woman,
“Did God really tell you not to eat the fruit from all the garden’s trees?”
The woman replied,
“We can eat fruit from the garden’s trees—just not the tree in the middle of the garden. God said we shouldn’t eat it or touch it, because if we do we’ll die.”
The snake said,
“You won’t die! God knows that the moment you eat it’s fruit your eyes will be opened. You’ll become like him and know right and wrong.”
Eve looked at the fruit. It seemed like it would be good food, it looked visually appealing, and it was desirable for enlightening her—so she grabbed it and bit into it. Her husband was with her, so she passed it to him, and he ate it too. Then both of them had their eyes opened and they realized how naked they were, so they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin-cloths.
Adam & His Wife Confess to God
They heard the Existing One walking in the garden during the breezy part of the day, so they avoided him and hid in the woods. The Existing One called to the man,
“Where are you?”
Adam said,
“I heard you in the garden and got scared because I’m naked, so I left.”
God asked,
“Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat the fruit I told you not to?”
The man said,
“The wife you gave me handed me the fruit, so I ate it.”
The Existing One asked the woman,
“What did you do?”
The woman said,
“The snake tricked me, so I ate it.”
Consequences for the Snake, Woman, and Man
God, the Existing One, told the snake,
“Because of your actions, you are cursed more than all the other land animals. You’ll slither on your belly and eat scraps for the rest of your existence. I’ll put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will bruise your head, and you will bruise his heel.”
He told the woman,
“I will increase your hardship throughout the reproduction process. Giving birth to children will be painful. You will long for your husband, but he will have dominion over you.”
He told Adam,
“You listened to your wife and ate the fruit I banned, so now the ground is cursed because of you. Getting the land to grow food will be difficult for the rest of your existence. It will grow weeds and thorns for you. You’ll scrounge for food and sweat to make bread until you return to the ground from which you were taken. You are soil, and you will turn back into soil.”
God Clothed Adam & Eve
The man ended up naming his wife “Eve,” [which means “life” or “living”] because she was the mother of every living thing. The Existing One made garments out of animal hides and clothed Adam and his wife with them.
God Banishes Adam & Eve so They Don’t Become Immortal
Then the Existing One said,
“Sure enough, mankind has become like one of us and can distinguish between right and wrong. Now they might eat fruit from the Life Tree and live forever.”
So the Existing One banished man from Eden’s garden to let him cultivate the ground from which he was taken. After God expelled them, he stationed angels in front of the garden that twirled flaming swords to guard the path to the Life Tree.
Related articles:
3 Categories of Temptation
Eve Followed Adam’s Example
Man’s Dominion Over Woman?
The First Sacrifice