Ye shall not surely die = Satan's second utterance. Contradiction of God's Word in Genesis 2:17 . This has become the foundation of Spiritism and Traditional belief as to death. See note on Genesis 2:17 . read more
"And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die; for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as God, knowing good and evil.""Ye shall not surely die ..." This was a bold and cunning falsehood; and one is a little distressed by the scholars who are still treating this narrative as if the Devil told the truth. Their error is the same as that of Eve, in that they alter what God said and then claim that what God allegedly said... read more
Genesis 3:4. The serpent said, ye shall not die— The woman having urged God's malediction, the tempter was interested to remove its force, without which it was impossible for him to prevail. And therefore, with the most daring, yet subtle boldness, he contradicts the divine assertion, and throws the vilest aspersion upon God's goodness, by assuring the woman, that by eating the fruit she would be so far from dying, as she feared, that she would be made wise as God himself. And this he urges as... read more
4. Ye shall not surely die—He proceeded, not only to assure her of perfect impunity, but to promise great benefits from partaking of it. read more
The temptation of Eve 3:1-5As in chapters 1 and 2, the word of the Lord is very important in chapter 3. Here Adam and Eve doubted God’s integrity. This pericope also has something to teach about the acquisition of wisdom. Chapter 2 anticipated God’s gift of the Promised Land to the original readers, and chapter 3 anticipates their exile from it. [Note: Idem, "Genesis," pp. 48-49.] read more
The second step in Satan’s temptation was to deny God’s word. In denying it he imputed motives to God that were not consistent with God’s character. God’s true motive was the welfare of man, but the serpent implied it was God’s welfare at man’s expense.This added suggestion seemed consistent with what the serpent had already implied about God’s motives in Genesis 3:1. Having entertained a doubt concerning God’s word, Eve was ready to accept a denial of His word.What the serpent said about Eve... read more
1. The Garden of Eden 2:4-3:24This story has seven scenes that a change in actors, situations or activities identifies. [Note: For a different narrative analysis, see Waltke, Genesis, pp. 80-81.] Moses constructed this section of Genesis in a chiastic (palistrophic, crossing) structure to focus attention on the central scene: the Fall. The preceding scenes lead up to the Fall, and the following scenes describe its consequences. [Note: Wenham, p. 50.] A Scene 1 (narrative): God is the sole... read more
The Temptation and the Fall of ManThis chapter describes how ’by one man sin entered into the world and death by sin’ (Romans 5:12). Although there is here no ambitious attempt to search out the origin of evil in the universe, the biblical account of the Fall pierces the depth of the human heart, and brings out the genesis of sin in man. The description, as already said, is true to life and experience.There is no certain Babylonian counterpart to the biblical narrative of the Fall.1. The... read more
Paradise and the FallIn this famous passage we possess a wealth of moral and spiritual teaching regarding God and man. The intention of the writer is evidently to give an answer to the question: How did sin and misery find their way into the world? As is natural among Orientals he put his reply into narrative form; and though it is generally accepted that the details are to be interpreted symbolically rather than literally, yet they are in marvellous agreement with the real facts of human... read more
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Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Genesis 3:1-24
Human disobedience (3:1-24)Since human beings were made in God’s image, and since God was unlimited, the first human couple soon showed that they too wanted to be unlimited. They had to remember, however, that they were not God; they were only creatures made in the image of God. Just as the image of the moon on the water could not exist independently of the moon, so they could not exist independently of God. Their relationship with God contained an element of dependence, or limitation, and... read more