Genesis — Chapter 3

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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
Reflection

Summary

The serpent tempts Eve, Adam and Eve eat the forbidden fruit, sin and death enter creation, but God promises a Redeemer.

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?
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.
  • Charles Spurgeon: Sermon: "The Protoevangelium" on v.15 (MTP Vol. 14, No. 829) "It shall bruise thy head — a fatal wound. Thou shalt bruise his heel — a painful but not fatal wound. Here is the gospel in seed form: the woman's seed (Christ, born of a virgin) will crush the serpent's head (destroy Satan's power) at the cost of His own suffering (the cross — a bruised heel). The first promise of redemption — spoken not to Adam but to the serpent, in Adam's hearing. Grace announced in the very moment of judgment." Sermon: "Where Art Thou?" on v.9 (MTP Vol. 5, No. 264) "Where art thou? — not because God didn't know but because Adam needed to face his condition. God seeks the sinner. The sinner hides; God pursues. Adam ran; God called. This is the pattern of all redemption: God seeking those who are hiding from Him. He is the seeking God — and He has never stopped calling."

Reflection

  • 1. "Yea, hath God said?" (v.1). Where is Satan causing you to doubt God's word? His strategy hasn't changed: question what God said, deny the consequences, impugn God's motives. How do you respond?
  • 2. "She took... and did eat, and gave also unto her husband" (v.6). Sin rarely stays private — it spreads. Where might your sin be affecting others?
  • 3. "Where art thou?" (v.9). God seeks you even when you're hiding. Are you hiding from God right now — in shame, guilt, or fear? He's calling. Will you answer?
  • 4. "It shall bruise thy head" (v.15). Even in the darkest moment of human history, God promises redemption. The Redeemer is coming. Whatever darkness you face, God has already planned the victory.
  • 5. "The LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them" (v.21). Your fig leaves (self-effort, self-righteousness) are inadequate. Only God can provide proper covering — and it costs a life. Have you received His covering?