The eyes of
both Adam and Eve were opened.
They knew
they were naked.
In
my previous
email I explained the wordplay the ancient author used to make an
important point. A snake was more subtle, shrewd, clever, crafty, and
cunning than two humans – they had been shamed and exposed! Instead
of revealing the image of God through their actions, they acted like the snake.
After being exposed Genesis 3:7 reveals what they did -- they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.
When
they heard Yahweh walking in the
garden -- Adam hid! Then Eve hid too. They hid in the trees of the
garden.
● Yahweh: “Adam, where are you?”
● Adam: “I heard your voice and I was afraid because I was naked.
Then I hid myself.”
● Yahweh: “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten
from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”
● Adam: “The woman whom you gave me, gave me fruit from that tree,
and I ate.”
What
do you think about that conversation? Adam revealed some interesting things
about himself. Notice that Adam said, “I hid myself.” The Hebrew text
indicates that when Adam heard Yahweh, he literally left Eve standing
there alone, and hid himself. She then had to find a place to hide.
Did you notice how Adam tried to blame Yahweh for what he did with the words – “the
woman you gave me?” In other words, if Yahweh had given him the woman,
he wouldn’t have eaten the forbidden fruit!”
Now
pay close attention to what Yahweh does. Instead of replying to Adam, He turned
His attention to Eve.
● Yahweh: “Eve, what is this that you have done?”
● Eve: “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
What do you think Eve thought about what Adam said about Yahweh
and her? But she said nothing about Adam or what he failed to do while the
snake was talking to her. This is what she did.
She admitted
that the snake deceived her and she ate the forbidden fruit.
After hearing Eve’s words, Yahweh turned His attention back to the
snake and said, “Because you have done this, you are cursed
more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field.”
● The curse changed the
physical body and diet of the snake – it will crawl on its belly and eat dust!
● Yahweh put hostility between the snake and the woman,
and between their offspring. Her descendants will be stronger than those of the
snake.
Be
sure to note that Yahweh did not ask the snake why it did anything. It was a
wild animal, not a human. Yahweh simply cursed it. The Yahweh turned His
attention back to Eve. Below is the translation of what God said to her that you
find in most Bibles.
“I will greatly multiply your
sorrow and your conception; in pain you shall bring forth children; your
desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.”
For
at least 1,800 years those words have dominated Christian and Western views of
women, childbirth, and their status in marriages, the Church, and societies. The
Hebrew words, however, should have been translated in a very different way.
That will be the subject of my next email.
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Jim
Myers
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