The Torah · Old Testament
Genesis 3
Hiding and departure from Eden
General context
The serpent questions the command about eating from the garden's trees and denies the warning of death. The woman eats the fruit and gives some to her husband, who also eats. They recognize their nakedness, make coverings and hide. God's questions bring their actions into speech. The serpent and ground are cursed, and God speaks of enmity, pain in childbearing, the husband's rule, difficult cultivation and an eventual return to dust. Adam names his wife Eve, and God clothes them. The chapter closes with the man driven from Eden and the way to the tree of life guarded.
Cited passages: Genesis 3:1, Genesis 3:2, Genesis 3:3, Genesis 3:4, Genesis 3:6, Genesis 3:7, Genesis 3:8, Genesis 3:9, Genesis 3:11, Genesis 3:12, Genesis 3:13, Genesis 3:14, Genesis 3:15, Genesis 3:16, Genesis 3:17, Genesis 3:18, Genesis 3:19, Genesis 3:20, Genesis 3:21, Genesis 3:23, Genesis 3:24
Genesis 3 (KJV)
1Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
2And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
3But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
4And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
5For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
6And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
7And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
8And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.
9And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
10And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
11And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
12And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
13And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
14And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
15And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
16Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
17And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
18Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
19In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
20And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.
21Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
22And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
23Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
24So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
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Historical context
The scene continues the garden account, where God had permitted food from the trees while forbidding eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The serpent and the woman discuss that command; the chapter names no species of fruit. Fig leaves supply the first coverings, and God later makes garments of skins. The ground from which the man was formed becomes the place of difficult labour and his eventual return. Eve receives her name within this chapter, before the account ends outside the garden with access to the tree of life guarded.
Cited passages: Genesis 2:7, Genesis 2:9, Genesis 2:16, Genesis 2:17, Genesis 3:1, Genesis 3:2, Genesis 3:3, Genesis 3:6, Genesis 3:7, Genesis 3:17, Genesis 3:18, Genesis 3:19, Genesis 3:20, Genesis 3:21, Genesis 3:23, Genesis 3:24
Literary context
Dialogue begins with the serpent's question, the woman's reply and the serpent's denial of death. The eating of the fruit and God's questions follow. The promised opening of the eyes is followed by nakedness, fear and hiding. The man points to the woman, and the woman to the serpent, as their answers account for what happened. God's pronouncements follow in the order serpent, woman, man. Naming and clothing come before the final departure, so the closing movement includes provision as well as exclusion. The guarded tree of life leaves the earlier garden setting changed.
Cited passages: Genesis 3:1, Genesis 3:2, Genesis 3:3, Genesis 3:4, Genesis 3:5, Genesis 3:6, Genesis 3:7, Genesis 3:8, Genesis 3:9, Genesis 3:10, Genesis 3:11, Genesis 3:12, Genesis 3:13, Genesis 3:14, Genesis 3:15, Genesis 3:16, Genesis 3:17, Genesis 3:19, Genesis 3:20, Genesis 3:21, Genesis 3:22, Genesis 3:23, Genesis 3:24
Key moments
- Both eat the fruit (Genesis 3:6). The woman eats and gives fruit to her husband with her, and he eats too.
- A question in the garden (Genesis 3:9). God calls to Adam and asks where he is.
- Garments are provided (Genesis 3:21). God makes garments of skins and clothes Adam and his wife.
- The way is guarded (Genesis 3:24). The man is driven out, and cherubim and a flaming sword guard the way to the tree of life.
For reflection
How do the questions, the attempts to hide and the later act of clothing shape the way this chapter tells what has happened?