TEACHING NOTES Genesis 3:14 ESV 14 The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. Poem: Notice that God’s speech is a poem. Poems are used in the Torah to get the reader’s attention. The author wants us to see the elements in this poem as patterns that will play and be further explained by reading the rest of the Torah. Cursed = Heb. אָרַר (ʾā·rǎr) - To be under a curse or set of consequences. Notice that only the serpent and the ground are cursed. The humans are not cursed, but feel the effects of the serpent’s and ground’s curse. Notice the Hebrews wordplay: In Gen. 2:25 the humans are arom (naked), the serpent is arum (crafty, shrewd), now the serpent is arar (cursed). On your belly you shall go = Another indicator that this is no ordinary snake. If he was a seraphim (winged serpent) this would make sense of why he is cursed to the ground. ​ Genesis 3:15 ESV 15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” Enmity = Heb. אֵיבָה (ʾê·ḇāh) - hostility, animosity between two parties. Offspring = Heb. זֶרַע (zě·rǎʿ) - seed. This word is singular, not plural. Between your offspring and her offspring = Literally, “between your seed and her seed”. This raises a question: Does this mean the serpent will have offspring? We know that the woman will have offspring, but where does the Bible indicate that this spiritual rebel had offspring? Gen. 6 tells a story about spiritual rebels that mate with human women who give birth to giant offspring. These giants and their descendants become to enemies of God’s people. He shall bruise your head = Notice that this refers to a single offspring, meaning a single person. This one person will bruise (Heb. yesup - crush) the serpents head. The picture here is death. One of Eve’s offspring is going to kill the serpent. You shall bruise his heel = Literally, “you shall snap at his heel”. The picture is that the serpent will strike the heel of Eve’s offspring while he crushes the serpents head. The serpent is going to try to kill Eve’s offspring but will himself be killed in the process. This points to the cross of Jesus. Satan thinks he is winning by getting Judas, the Jewish leaders, and Roman rulers to kill Jesus. However, killing the Messiah is exactly what defeats Satan. ​ Genesis 3:16 ESV 16 To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.” Pain = Heb. עִצָּבוֹן (ʿiṣ·ṣā·ḇôn) - Everywhere else in the Hebrew Bible this word is used to describe emotional anxiety. Adam will have issabon from having to work the ground. Noah’s name means comfort and his father hopes that he will bring them comfort from all the issabon of working the ground. Therefore, this is not referring to physical but emotional distress. Childbearing = Heb. הֵרוֹן (hē·rôn) - conception, NOT childbirth. This word is not used to describe childbirth but rather conception. It refers to some kind of anxiety or grief in the process of getting pregnant. Therefore, a better translation might be “I will surely multiply your anxiety in getting pregnant”. In pain you shall bring forth children = “Pain” here is Heb. עֶצֶב (ʿě·ṣěḇ) - difficulty, struggle, sorrow, from hard work. “Bring forth children” Heb. yalad banim - to have or bring up or raise children. Interpretive Option: Perhaps a better way to interpret the “sorrow in conception” is to see the next line “Your desire shall be contrary to you husband, but he shall rule over you” as the explanation. Often in biblical poetry, the second line is an explanation or retelling of the first line with different words. Perhaps the conflict between the man and woman for control IS the sorrow or SOURCE of the sorrow in childbearing. In other words, the desire to rule over or control each other will create sorrow in raising children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband = A consequence of sin is conflict between the man and woman. In Gen. 2 they are co-rulers of God’s creation who are one flesh and unashamed of each other. Now the woman will seek to rule over the man. He shall rule over you = Another consequence of sin is a loss of co-ruling. The woman will try to rule the man, but he will rule over her. The man ruling over the woman is NOT God’s will. This is a negative consequence of sin. God’s will was for the man and woman to rule together as one. Pattern: Gender Conflict Gen. 3:16 begins a pattern that threads through Genesis. As we keep reading Genesis, the meaning of Gen. 3:16 gets explained further. Read the following stories with Gen. 3:16 in mind: Abraham & Sarai (Gen. 12:10-20; 16:1-6), Isaac & Rebekah (Gen. 27), Jacob, Rachel, Leah (Gen. 29-30), Judah & Tamar (Gen. 38). ​ Genesis 3:17–19 ESV 17 And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; 18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” Listened to the voice of your wife = The Hebrew word for “listened” is שָׁמַע (šā·mǎʿ) or Shema which means to hear. The Shema will later be the main prayer or declaration of Israel (Deut. 6:4-5). This word is often translated “obey” which tells us that listening is associated with obedience. The Hebrew word for “voice” is קוֹל (qôl), which is the same word used in Gen. 3:10 when Adam heard the windy sound/voice of God coming through the garden. This is meant as a contrast between listening to God and listening to anyone other than God. This is also a pattern that will be repeated, where men will listen to their wives instead of God (Gen. 16:2; 27:8; 30:1-13). Cursed is the ground = Now the ground will not produce food easily. In pain = Heb. עִצָּבוֹן (ʿiṣ·ṣā·ḇôn) - This is the same word used in Gen. 3:16. It refers to stress, anxiety, or grief - not physical pain. Thorns and thistles = Instead of the ground naturally producing abundant fruit trees, the ground will now naturally grow inedible plants. You shall eat the plants of the field = This is a contrast from the food they had easy access to in the garden. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread = Instead of easily eating from naturally grown fruit trees, now the humans must work to get wheat to grow which they must grind and bake into bread. Dust you shall return = Since the man was made from the “dust” of the adamah (ground), he will return to the dust. Man was made out of the dust to live forever (with access to the tree of eternal life), but now will die and become dust again. Pattern: Blessing vs. Curse The Divine Blessing now includes curses and consequences. Each curse in Gen. 3:16-19 corresponds to the parts of the blessing in Gen. 1:28; 2:15. Blessing to be fruitful, now includes pain and anxiety. Blessing to care for the earth, now includes stress and anxiety. To “serve and protect” has now become “strife and death”. This pattern of blessings and curses get repeated throughout the biblical story. In Deut. 7:12-15, Moses tells the Israelites that God wants to reverse the Gen. 3 curses for Israel. In Deut. 11:26-28, Moses tells Israel that they have a choice between blessing or a curse. Also see Joshua 8:30-35 where Joshua copies the law of Moses on the stones of an altar and reads the law of blessing and cursing to Israel. ​ Genesis 3:20–21 ESV 20 The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. 21 And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them. Eve = Heb. חַוָּה (ḥǎv·vāh) - life. Adam means “human” and Eve means “life”. An interesting fact is that in Jewish Aramaic havvah means “snake”. Garments of skin = The Hebrew word for “garment” is כֻּתֹּנֶת (kǔt·tō·něṯ), which refers to a robe. Apparently, looking like trees is not a longterm solution. Leaves rot away quickly. God clothes them with animal skins. The word for “skins” is עוֹר (ʿôr) is a wordplay on עֵזֶר (ʿē·zěr) “deliverer” which God calls the woman in Gen. 2:18. Pattern: Deception & Garments Rebekah and Jacob trick Isaac with deceptive garments and food (Gen. 27:15-17). Joseph’s brothers deceive Jacob with a bloody garment (Gen. 37:31-33). Tamar deceives Judah by “covering” herself with deceptive garments (Gen. 38:14). Joseph is elevated from prison and given new garments (Gen. 41:42) that disguise him from his brothers so he can deceptively get them to tell the truth (Gen. 42-44). God attempts to reverse this problem and assigns “divine garments” to Israel’s priests which will cover their nakedness while they serve in the tabernacle (Ex. 21:26; 28:39-43). In Gen. 2, humans and animals lived together peacefully. Now in Gen. 3, and after, animals will be killed to cover humans. God is providing for human failure by covering their shame with the skin of animals. Pattern: God Covers Sin In Gen. 3:21 God covers the shame of the humans by killing an animal. An animal dies in their place. This begins a pattern of what theologians call “substitutionary atonement”. God provides a way for our sin to be covered so we can remain in relationship (at-one) with Him. Atonement = at-one-ment. This is why God commanded the Israelites to make sacrifices as a covering for sin. Once-a-year the high priest would sacrifice a bull for himself and a goat for the nation. This was called the Day of Atonement (Lev. 16). In the New Testament we find out that Jesus offered the ultimate sacrifice that not only covered sin but forgave and defeated sin and its power. Jesus fulfilled the Old Covenant and provided a new and better one (see Heb. 7:18-8:13). ​ Genesis 3:22 ESV 22 Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” Like one of us = Yahweh is speaking to the heavenly/spiritual beings. In knowing good and evil = The human (singular) has become like the elohim in terms of knowledge. Before, they only knew good (tov), but now also know evil (ra). Take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever = This tells us that the humans were not immortal unless they had access to the tree of life. As long as they are in the garden eating from the tree of life they would not die. ​ Genesis 3:23–24 ESV 23 therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. 24 He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life. The LORD God sent him out = The humans are exiled from the garden. Why? Because if they eat from the tree of life and live forever, they will be forever sinful. Exile, as harsh as it may seem, is an act of mercy. Death is the only way out of sin. Pattern: Exile and Return This begins the pattern of exile. Throughout the Old Testament we will find God’s people breaking the covenant. God will plead with His people to repent. When they refuse to repent, they will be exiled from the land. However, God never leaves His people in exile forever. God brings them back repeatedly and continues His plan for His people (Jer. 29:4-14). To work the ground = In the garden the humans cultivated fruit which was fairly easy. Now they will have difficultly working the ground outside the garden to produce food. Before, they worked (Heb. abad - serve) the abundant, life-giving garden. Now they must serve ground that will work against them. At the east of the garden of Eden = The humans are still in the region of Eden but are no longer allowed in the garden. Cherubim = This word is plural. These are spiritual beings that have physical appearance. They serve as guardians of sacred space. This is why every layer of the tabernacle and temple had a curtain/veil with images of cherubim sewn into them. The Ark of the Covenant (God’s footstool on earth) also has two gold cherubim on its lid. In Revelation 4, these beings are called the “four living creatures” and their appearance is similar to those described in Ezekiel 1. Flaming sword = There are many ideas about this flaming sword. The mostly likely interpretation is that it is a weapon entrusted to the cherubim. Guard the way to the tree of life = Again, immortality is now off limits to humans. In Gen. 2 the humans are to serve and protect the garden. In Gen. 3 the garden needs to be protected from humans. Main Points: The serpent is a supernatural being, not a literal snake. The disobedience of the humans is taking knowledge of good and evil for themselves, instead of trusting God to give them knowledge. Disobedience always has consequences (pain, stress, exile). God’s response is relational and merciful.