The First Deception, Disobedience, and Discharge ~ Genesis 3 Study Notes

Please read my disclaimer to these study notes first. This is how I start my studies. I do a read through first in one translation – most likely Kings James Version. I do not look at the original language yet. The purpose of this first reading is to see what the scriptures say first. Below is the result of my first read through.

Study Notes for Genesis 3

The First Deception and Disobedience (Genesis 3:1-7)

My Notes

1. The serpent was smarter than any beast of the field
2. The serpent spoke to the woman
   1. Did God really say she couldn’t eat from any tree in the garden?
3. The woman replied
   1. Can eat the fruit of trees in the garden
   2. Cannot eat the fruit of the tree in the midst of the garden
   3. Cannot not even touch the tree in the midst of the garden
   4. If eat or touch that tree, they will die
4. The serpent’s response
   1. She won’t die
   2. God knows that if they did eat
      1. their eyes will be open
      2. they would be like gods, knowing good and evil
5. The woman
   1. saw tree was good for food
   2. was pleasant to the eyes
   3. it was a tree to be desired to make one wise
   4. took the fruit and eat it
   5. gave some to her husband who was with her and he ate

My Questions

• Why did the serpent only address the woman?
• Was the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the midst of the garden also?
• Why did the woman lie?
• Why didn’t Adam say anything to correct the woman or stop her?
• Did all animals in the garden speak?

My Thoughts

The serpent was the smartest beast in the field. He was not smarter than human beings, yet he got the victory over them. He actually spoke to the woman. It was interesting that the serpent spoke to the woman as if the man wasn’t even there. His first question wasn’t a deception or lie. He asked a question he already knew the answer to. Eve, for whatever reason, added to God’s command and lied on him. God never told her she couldn’t touch it.

If this tree was not in the midst then the woman lied about not being able to eat from the tree of life. The woman equated being wise with knowing good and evil like the gods. Adam was by her side the whole time and never said a word. He didn’t correct Eve when she lied or tell her no when she offered him the fruit.  It seemed normal to talk to an animal.

 

The Blame Game (Genesis 3:8-13)

My Notes

1. The voice of the Lord God was walking in the garden
2. Adam and his wife hid themselves in the trees from the presence of the Lord God
3. God called for Adam
   1. He wanted to know where Adam was
4. Adam answered him
   1. Heard his voice
   2. Was afraid because he was naked
   3. Hid himself
5. God’s response
   1. He wanted to know who told him he was naked
   2. Did he eat from the tree that he was commanded not to eat from?
6. Adam blamed the woman, whom God gave him
7. Lord God asked Eve what she had done
8. Eve blamed the serpent, who deceived her

My Questions

• How did the serpent deceive Eve when she was the one who lied?
• What actually is the voice of the Lord God?
• Is the voice of the Lord God equated to the presence of the Lord God?
• Why is the woman never referred to by name?

My Thoughts

I find it interesting that the serpent spoke to the woman first while God spoke to the man first. It’s funny that Adam told God it was the woman he gave to Adam. Adam didn’t ask for a helpmeet. God did this all by himself. He wouldn’t even be in trouble if she hadn’t come along. The woman never even said she lied; instead, she said the serpent tricked her. She choose to believe the serpent instead of her creator.

 

God curses the serpent, the woman, and the man (Genesis 3:14-19)

My Notes

1. Lord God curses the serpent first
   1. He was cursed above all cattle and every beast of the field
   2. He had to crawl on his belly now
   3. Dust is all he was going to eat for the rest of his life
   4. There will be enmity between him and the woman
   5. There will be enmity between his seed and her seed
   6. Her seed shall bruise his head
   7. He shall bruise her seed’s heel
2. Lord God curses the woman next
   1. Her sorrow and conception shall be greatly multiplied
   2. In sorrow she will bring forth children
   3. Her desire will be to her husband
   4. Her husband will rule over her
3. Lord God curses the man finally
   1. Because he obeyed the voice of his wife and did eat of the tree God had commanded him not to
   2. The ground was cursed for his sake
   3. In sorrow shall he eat of the ground all the days of his life
   4. The ground will bring thorns and thistles
   5. He will eat the herb of the field
   6. He will eat bread by the sweat of his face
   7. He will do all this until he returns to the ground from where he came from

My Questions

• Did the serpent walked upright or have feet?
• Did the woman have some pain during conception and labor already?
• Does this mean that she already had children, but the pain wasn’t a problem?
• What does it mean that her desire would be to her husband?
• How does each punishment correlate to their transgression?
• Who or what would be classified as the serpent’s seed?

My Thoughts

Adam used to eat freely and in comfort. He didn’t work hard for anything. Since God cursed the ground he would work hard to get his food. He would hate every moment of it with regret lingering over him until he die.

 

The expulsion from the garden (Genesis 3:20-24)

My Notes

1. Adam gave his wife a name – Eve – who was the mother of all living
2. Lord God made coats of skins to clothe them
3. Lord God spoke to someone
   1. The man has become as one of us, knowing good and evil
   2. The man should not be able to eat the tree of life, which will allow him to live forever
4. Lord God sent Adam out of the garden of Eden to till the ground
5. Lord God close off the garden of Eden
   1. He placed Cheubims at the east
   2. He placed a flaming sword that turned every way to keep the way of the tree of life

My Questions

• Why didn’t Adam give Eve a name while in the garden of Eden?
• Who was Lord God talking to when he said “us”?
• Was there only one entrance into the garden?

My Thoughts

These first three chapters cause me to ask way too many questions. I wonder if Adam and Eve ever left the garden. Maybe Adam never called her by a name because up to that point they were one. There was no need to be singled out as an individual.

Having knowledge meant knowing the difference between good and evil. There was no more innocence. No more purity. There was now sorrow and death. This is what being like a god was like – knowing all of evil that could take place. Unlike the movies, which make it seem like it is a great thing to be a god, I’m not sure being like a god is what I would want. I would much rather live in innocence where everything is only good and carefree.