ris3n's Apologetics Codex
Genesis 3.5
Page Nav

Passage

Genesis 3.5

Book: Genesis · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

There are ads on our codex that pay for hosting and keep the codex free. If you can, please consider whitelisting ris3n.com or allowing scripts to support the work.

Sponsored

Brands, events, influencers advertise here

ASV

3. 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. 4. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

5. 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.

  1. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat; and she gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat. 7. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig-leaves together, and made themselves aprons. (Genesis 3:3-7, ASV)
WEB

3. but not the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden. God has said, ‘You shall not eat of it. You shall not touch it, lest you die.’” 4. The serpent said to the woman, “You won’t surely die,

5. for God knows that in the day you eat it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

  1. When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took some of its fruit, and ate; and she gave some to her husband with her, and he ate it, too. 7. Their eyes were opened, and they both knew that they were naked. They sewed fig leaves together, and made coverings for themselves. (Genesis 3:3-7, WEB)
KJV

3. 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. 4. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

5. For 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.

  1. And 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. pleasant: Heb. a desire 7. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. aprons: or, things to gird about (Genesis 3:3-7, KJV)
YLT

3. and of the fruit of the tree which [is] in the midst of the garden God hath said, Ye do not eat of it, nor touch it, lest ye die.' 4. And the serpent saith unto the woman, 'Dying, ye do not die,

5. for God doth know that in the day of your eating of it, your eyes have been opened, and ye have been as God, knowing good and evil.'

  1. And the woman seeth that the tree [is] good for food, and that it [is] pleasant to the eyes, and the tree is desirable to make [one] wise, and she taketh of its fruit and eateth, and giveth also to her husband with her, and he doth eat; 7. and the eyes of them both are opened, and they know that they [are] naked, and they sew fig-leaves, and make to themselves girdles. (Genesis 3:3-7, YLT)

See this page's graph and discover linked topics

Setting

  • Speaker: the serpent, whom later Scripture identifies as "the old serpent, he that is called the Devil and Satan" (Revelation 12:9).
  • Audience: the woman, with the man present (Genesis 3:6).
  • Location: the garden of Eden, at the tree in the midst of the garden (Genesis 3:3).
  • Time period: before the Fall, directly after the serpent's flat denial, "Ye shall not surely die" (Genesis 3:4).

Theological reading

A promise of what they already had. The serpent offers, "ye shall be as God, knowing good and evil." But the man and woman were already made like God: "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness" (Genesis 1:26-27). The temptation sells as a prize what had been given as a gift, and teaches that likeness to God is something to be seized rather than received.

A half-truth that delivers the opposite. The serpent's words come true only in a twisted sense. Their eyes were opened, but what they saw was shame: "the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked" (Genesis 3:7). They wanted to know good and evil as God knows it, from above as Judge; they came to know evil as sinners know it, from the inside. God's later words, "the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil" (Genesis 3:22), were read by John Chrysostom as God "mocking his folly": expecting to become a god, Adam "lost even what he had" (Homilies on Matthew, NPNF1 vol. 10, PDF p. 66).

The speaker behind the serpent. Genesis names only "the serpent," but the rest of Scripture identifies the voice. Jesus calls the devil "a murderer from the beginning" and the father of lies (John 8:44), and the first lie in Scripture is this one, the lie that brought death. Paul writes that "the serpent beguiled Eve in his craftiness" (2 Corinthians 11:3) and that "Satan fashioneth himself into an angel of light" (2 Corinthians 11:14): the tempter arrives looking like help. Christians agree on the identification; they differ on whether Satan spoke through an actual animal or "serpent" is a title for a spiritual being.

The gospel aimed at him. The same chapter answers the lie: the woman's seed "shall bruise thy head" (Genesis 3:15).

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Concepts:

Lexicon:

Passages:

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

  • ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
  • WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
  • KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
  • YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.