Genesis — Chapter 3

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1Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field that the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?’”

2The woman answered the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden,

3but about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You must not eat of it or touch it, or you will die.’”

4“You will not surely die,” the serpent told the woman.

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

6When the woman saw that the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eyes, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom, she took the fruit and ate it. She also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it.

7And the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; so they sewed together fig leaves and made coverings for themselves.

8Then the man and his wife heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the breeze of the day, and they hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.

9But the LORD God called out to the man, “Where are you?”

10“I heard Your voice in the garden,” he replied, “and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.”

11“Who told you that you were naked?” asked the LORD God. “Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”

12And the man answered, “The woman whom You gave me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”

13Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” “The serpent deceived me,” she replied, “and I ate.”

14So the LORD God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and every beast of the field! On your belly will you go, and dust you will eat, all the days of your life.

15And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

16To the woman He said: “I will sharply increase your pain in childbirth; in pain you will bring forth children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”

17And to Adam He said: “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat, cursed is the ground because of you; through toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.

18Both thorns and thistles it will yield for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.

19By the sweat of your brow you will eat your bread, until you return to the ground—because out of it were you taken. For dust you are, and to dust you shall return.”

20And Adam named his wife Eve, because she would be the mother of all the living.

21And the LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and He clothed them.

22Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil. And now, lest he reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever...”

23Therefore the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken.

24So He drove out the man and stationed cherubim on the east side of the Garden of Eden, along with a whirling sword of flame to guard the way to the tree of life.

1Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

2And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:

3But 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.

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

5For 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.

6And 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.

7And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

8And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.

9And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?

10And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.

11And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?

12And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.

13And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

14And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

15And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

16Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

17And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

18Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;

19In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

20And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.

21Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.

22And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

23Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.

24So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

1Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which Jehovah God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of any tree of the garden?

2And the woman said unto the serpent, Of the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat:

3but 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.

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

5for 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.

6And 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.

7And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig-leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

8And they heard the voice of Jehovah God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of Jehovah God amongst the trees of the garden.

9And Jehovah God called unto the man, and said unto him, Where art thou?

10And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.

11And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?

12And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.

13And Jehovah God said unto the woman, What is this thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

14And Jehovah God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, cursed art thou above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

15and I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed: he shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

16Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy pain and thy conception; in pain thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

17And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in toil shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

18thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;

19in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

20And the man called his wife`s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.

21And Jehovah God made for Adam and for his wife coats of skins, and clothed them.

22And Jehovah God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever-

23therefore Jehovah God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.

24So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden the Cherubim, and the flame of a sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

1Now the serpent was shrewder than any of the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Is it really true that God said, ‘You must not eat from any tree of the orchard’?”

2The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit from the trees of the orchard;

3but concerning the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the orchard God said, ‘You must not eat from it, and you must not touch it, or else you will die.’”

4The serpent said to the woman, “Surely you will not die,

5for God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will open and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

6When the woman saw that the tree produced fruit that was good for food, was attractive to the eye, and was desirable for making one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate it. She also gave some of it to her husband who was with her, and he ate it.

7Then the eyes of both of them opened, and they knew they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

8Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God moving about in the orchard at the breezy time of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the orchard.

9But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”

10The man replied, “I heard you moving about in the orchard, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.”

11And the Lord God said, “Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”

12The man said, “The woman whom you gave me, she gave me some fruit from the tree and I ate it.”

13So the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman replied, “The serpent tricked me, and I ate.”

14The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all the cattle and all the living creatures of the field! On your belly you will crawl and dust you will eat all the days of your life.

15And I will put hostility between you and the woman and between your offspring and her offspring; he will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.”

16To the woman he said, “I will greatly increase your labor pains; with pain you will give birth to children. You will want to control your husband, but he will dominate you.”

17But to Adam he said, “Because you obeyed your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ the ground is cursed because of you; in painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.

18It will produce thorns and thistles for you, but you will eat the grain of the field.

19By the sweat of your brow you will eat food until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you will return.”

20The man named his wife Eve, because she was the mother of all the living.

21The Lord God made garments from skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.

22And the Lord God said, “Now that the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil, he must not be allowed to stretch out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.”

23So the Lord God expelled him from the orchard in Eden to cultivate the ground from which he had been taken.

24When he drove the man out, he placed on the eastern side of the orchard in Eden angelic sentries who used the flame of a whirling sword to guard the way to the tree of life.

1Now the serpent was more subtle than any animal of the field which Yahweh God had made. He said to the woman, “Has God really said, ‘You shall not eat of any tree of the garden?’”

2The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees of the garden,

3but 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.’”

4The serpent said to the woman, “You won’t really die,

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

6When 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.

7Their eyes were opened, and they both knew that they were naked. They sewed fig leaves together, and made coverings for themselves.

8They heard Yahweh God’s voice walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of Yahweh God among the trees of the garden.

9Yahweh God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?”

10The man said, “I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.”

11God said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”

12The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”

13Yahweh God said to the woman, “What have you done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

14Yahweh God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, you are cursed above all livestock, and above every animal of the field. You shall go on your belly and you shall eat dust all the days of your life.

15I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will bruise your head, and you will bruise his heel.”

16To the woman he said, “I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth. In pain you will bear children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”

17To Adam he said, “Because you have listened to your wife’s voice, and ate from the tree, about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ the ground is cursed for your sake. You will eat from it with much labor all the days of your life.

18It will yield thorns and thistles to you; and you will eat the herb of the field.

19By the sweat of your face will you eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken. For you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

20The man called his wife Eve because she would be the mother of all the living.

21Yahweh God made coats of animal skins for Adam and for his wife, and clothed them.

22Yahweh God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand, and also take of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever—”

23Therefore Yahweh God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he was taken.

24So he drove out the man; and he placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.

Summary
Authorship & Background
Map & Geography
Commentary
Videos
Articles
Reflection

Summary

The serpent, the craftiest of the creatures, questions the woman about God's command and casts doubt on His word (vv. 1-5). She eats the forbidden fruit and gives some to her husband, who eats also, and their eyes are opened to their nakedness and shame (vv. 6-7). They hide from God, who confronts them, and each shifts blame - the man to the woman, the woman to the serpent (vv. 8-13). God pronounces judgment on all three: the serpent is cursed and told that a future offspring of the woman will crush its head though it will strike his heel, the first promise of a coming Redeemer (vv. 14-15); the woman's childbearing and marriage are marked by pain and struggle (v. 16); and the ground is cursed because of the man, bringing toil and eventual death (vv. 17-19). God clothes Adam and Eve with animal skins and expels them from Eden to keep them from the tree of life (vv. 20-24).

Authorship & Background

Author: Moses (see Chapter 1 notes for full authorship details).
Historical Context: Chapter 3 is the most consequential chapter in the Bible after Genesis 1. It records the fall of humanity — the entrance of sin, death, and curse into God's good creation. Everything that follows in Scripture (and in human history) is the result of what happens here. But even in judgment, God provides hope: the first gospel promise (v.15) and the first sacrifice (v.21). The chapter answers the question: What went wrong?
Classification: Historical Narrative
Key Themes: a serpent's opening question already reframing what God actually said rather than denying it outright, three appeals landing at once, food, beauty and wisdom, in the instant before the fruit is eaten, a couple who hide from the very God who has been walking with them and then blame each other the moment they are found, a curse on the serpent that doubles as the first promise of a deliverer, her seed shall bruise thy head, and coats of skin sewn by God himself as the first sacrifice covering the first shame
The Temptation (vv.1-6): The serpent (Satan, cf. Rev 12:9) questions God's word: "Yea, hath God said?" (v.1). He denies God's warning: "Ye shall not surely die" (v.4). He impugns God's motive: "God doth know..." (v.5). Eve sees three appeals: good for food (flesh), pleasant to eyes (eyes), desired for wisdom (pride) — cf. 1 John 2:16. She eats and gives to Adam (v.6).
The Consequences (vv.7-13): Eyes opened — shame, nakedness, fig leaves (v.7). They hide from God (v.8). God seeks them: "Where art thou?" (v.9). Adam blames Eve; Eve blames the serpent (vv.12-13).
The Judgments (vv.14-19): Serpent cursed — on its belly, enmity with woman's seed (vv.14-15). The protoevangelium (v.15): her seed will crush the serpent's head. Woman: pain in childbirth, relational conflict (v.16). Man: cursed ground, toil, sweat, death — "dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return" (vv.17-19).
Grace in Judgment (vv.20-24): Adam names Eve "mother of all living" — faith in God's promise of life (v.20). God makes coats of skins — the first death, the first blood sacrifice, the first covering (v.21). Expelled from Eden — but mercifully, to prevent eternal life in a fallen state (vv.22-24).

Map & Geography

  • Eden — humanity is expelled eastward (v.24). In Genesis, moving "east" consistently symbolizes movement away from God's presence (cf. 4:16, 11:2).
  • Cherubim and a flaming sword guard the eastern entrance to Eden (v.24), indicating Eden as sacred space with controlled access — a proto-temple.

Commentary

  • Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com Guzik covers the serpent's strategy, the fall, the consequences, the protoevangelium, and God's grace in judgment.
  • Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (1871): blueletterbible.org A critical and explanatory commentary on the whole Bible, more concise than Matthew Henry and closer to the Hebrew and Greek, with attention to historical and geographical detail. Public domain.
  • Matthew Henry's Exposition (1710): blueletterbible.org A devotional verse-by-verse commentary in the Puritan tradition, still among the most widely read three centuries on. Public domain.

Videos

Man's Temptation and Fall - Genesis 3:1-9
David Guzik

Sin's Confrontation and Curse - Genesis 3:10-24
David Guzik

How is a woman’s desire for her husband a curse in Genesis 3:16? | GotQuestions.org
Got Questions Ministries

What does Genesis 3:15 mean that “he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel”?
Got Questions Ministries

Genesis 3 | The Fall | Bible Study
Spoken Gospel

Articles

  • Crossway: crossway.org How the promise made to the serpent in this chapter is read as the first announcement of the gospel.
  • BibleProject: bibleproject.com On the whole book: how its opening chapters work as literature and how they set up everything that follows.
  • GotQuestions.org: gotquestions.org On the whole book: an overview of the book of Genesis -- who wrote it, when, why, and how it fits the rest of Scripture.

Links open on the publisher's own site. Nothing here is reproduced on this page.

Reflection

  • Questioning God's Word (v.1) — The serpent's opening move is to plant doubt about what God actually said, a strategy that hasn't changed. Where is doubt creeping into your confidence in what Scripture actually says?
  • Sin Spreads Beyond the Sinner (v.6) — Eve eats and immediately hands the fruit to Adam, showing that sin rarely stays contained to one person. Whose life might be affected by a compromise you're currently making?
  • God Pursues the Hiding (v.9) — God calls out to Adam not because He doesn't know where he is, but so Adam will face his own condition and be found. Are you hiding from God right now in shame or guilt, and will you answer when He calls?
  • The First Promise of a Redeemer (v.15) — In the very moment of judgment, God announces that the woman's offspring will one day crush the serpent, planting the first seed of the gospel. Whatever darkness you're facing, does this shape how confidently you expect God to make it right?
  • God Provides the Covering (v.21) — Adam and Eve's own fig leaves aren't sufficient, so God kills an animal and clothes them Himself, foreshadowing that only He can cover sin, and it costs a life. Are you still trying to cover your own shame instead of receiving what He's provided?