Genesis 3:1-3

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Genesis 3:2-3

"And the woman said unto the serpent, Of the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but 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.""God hath said ..." The glaring error on Eve's part is her mishandling of God's Word. She added to it, saying "neither shall ye touch it"; and the old Hebrew legend tells how the Tempter took advantage of it. The serpent is said to have taken the fruit and touched... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Genesis 3:1

Genesis 3:1. The serpent— If, in the account of the fall, there should be many difficulties, it will not seem strange to any who observe, that Moses gives only general hints, sufficient to acquaint us indeed with the fact, that man transgressed the divine command; but by no means sufficient to inform us of every minute particular respecting that fact. We are, however, sufficiently assured from those texts, in which Satan is spoken of as the tempter of man, and the introducer of sin and death... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Genesis 3:3

Genesis 3:3. Neither shall ye touch it— Words which some expositors have supposed to contain a prevarication on the part of Eve; but they express no more than a strong confirmation of the former clause. read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Genesis 3:1

1. the serpent—The fall of man was effected by the seductions of a serpent. That it was a real serpent is evident from the plain and artless style of the history and from the many allusions made to it in the New Testament. But the material serpent was the instrument or tool of a higher agent, Satan or the devil, to whom the sacred writers apply from this incident the reproachful name of "the dragon, that old serpent" [ :-]. Though Moses makes no mention of this wicked spirit—giving only the... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Genesis 3:2

2. the woman said, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden—In her answer, Eve extolled the large extent of liberty they enjoyed in ranging at will amongst all the trees—one only excepted, with respect to which, she declared there was no doubt, either of the prohibition or the penalty. But there is reason to think that she had already received an injurious impression; for in using the words "lest ye die," instead of "ye shall surely die" [ :-], she spoke as if the tree had been... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Genesis 3:1

Who was the tempter? Among evangelicals there are two major views regarding the identity of the serpent.It was a literal snake.a. Moses called it a beast of the field (Genesis 3:1).b. Though snakes do not speak, Satan could have spoken through a snake. He did this through demoniacs in Jesus’ day. Also, a spirit being spoke through Balaam’s donkey (Numbers 22:21-30).c. God judged a snake in this case (Genesis 3:14). [Note: See Jacqueline Tabick, "The Snake in the Grass: The Problems of... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Genesis 3:1-5

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

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Genesis 3:2-3

Eve was vulnerable to this suggestion because she distorted the word of God. She added to it "or touch it" (Genesis 3:3)."In her reply to [the serpent’s] question, she perverted and misquoted three times the divine law to which she and Adam were subject: (1) She disparaged her privileges by misquoting the terms of the Divine permission as to the other trees. (2) She overstated the restrictions by misquoting the Divine prohibition. (3) She underrated her obligations by misquoting the Divine... read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 3:1-24

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

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Genesis 3:1

III.(1) Now the serpent.—Literally, And. The Hebrew language, however, is very poor in particles, and the intended contrast would be made plainer by rendering “Now they were both naked (arumim) . . . but the serpent was subtil (arum), more than every beast of the field.” This quality of the serpent was in itself innocent, and even admirable, and accordingly the LXX. translate prudent; but it was made use of by the tempter to deceive Eve; for, it has been remarked, she would not be surprised on... read more

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