Genesis, Chapter 3
I began a study of Genesis 3. It’s funny, I’ve read this chapter so many, many times before, but this time I decided to review this chapter with other Bible translations. Wow, what an eye opener.
My go-to Bible translation is the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures published by Jehovah’s Witnesses Bible & Tract Society. This is the publication I learned the Bible on and that I am most comfortable with. I trusted this publication and got my understanding of the Scriptures from it.
In reading Genesis 3:6, the NWT translates it as follows:
“Consequently, the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was something desirable to the eye, yes, the tree was pleasing to look at. so she began taking of its fruit and eating it. Afterward, she also gave some to her husband when he was with her, and he began eating it.”
What is the meaning we get from this translation? Firstly, the meaning of the word “consequently”; it means ‘as a result, effect or outcome” So we can surmise, that she gave thought to what the serpent said and as a result of that, she ‘began taking of its fruit and eating it.’ Is this an example of one being deceived? Let’s consider that later. What next does this scriptural translation tell us? That after a period of time, she gave some to her husband. How can I say this. What is the definition of ‘afterward”? dictionary.com defines is as “at a later or subsequent time.” Also, the NWT text reads ‘when he was with her’; this would agreed with the ‘afterward’ telling us that she was alone when she decided to eat of the fruit and later, when Adam was with her, gave to him. But why would he eat of it? What words could she possibly say to him that would induce him to eat? The Scriptures do not tell us, and for us to imagine anything else would not help.
But consider his actions. He was made first. He had a longer relationship with God and during that time, he never considered to eat of the tree. Why, now? Why by her hand? Let’s consider some other Bible translations to answer that question.
If you go to biblehub.com and put in Genesis 3:6, you will get over 20 translations of this one scripture. And in all 20, none of them include the words ‘consequently’ or ‘afterwards’. I’ll just list what the Interlinear Bible of the Hebrew Scriptures translate this verse:
“And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, and she took from its fruit and did eat, and gave also to the man with her and he did eat.”
So, what do we learn from this translation? That the man, Adam, was with her when she was having the conversation with the serpent. That the man heard the serpents words. Then, why didn’t he say something? Why did he remain silent? We can easily imagine the scene: Eve is in front of the tree, listening to the serpent, she glances back at her husband, he pretends to be inspecting his fingernails, all the while casting furtive glances her way. The serpent is aware of this and uses his guile. She looks to her husband for direction, he ignores her; so what does she do? She picks of the fruit and eats it. Again the question is why didn’t Adam speak up? Is there a principle of God that applies in this situation?
Look at Numbers, chapter 30. This chapter outlines God’s view on vows. The definition of ‘vow’ is (1) a solemn promise, pledge or personal commitment; (2) a solemn promise made to a deity or saint committing oneself to an act, service or condition; or (3) a solemn or earnest declaration.” There are other definitions for vow, but which of these would fit Numbers 30 and can we apply it to Genesis 3? Consider the 2nd definition of vows; in Numbers 30, God is tell us that if a man makes a ‘promise, pledge or personal commitment’ to an act, service or condition HE MUST KEEP IT! If a woman makes a vow and she is under the headship of father or husband, then (1) if he hears it and says nothing - she must keep the vow; (2) if he hears it and speaks up, she is not obligated to keep the vow. Considering Eve’s situation; she is under the authority of her husband, Adam. If he was there when this was going on, it is only natural that she would look to him for guidance, but he did not speak up. No where in the Scriptures does it tell us that Adam chastised her for her actions. Using the principle in Numbers 30, if Adam had spoke up, Eve, even though she ate of the fruit, would not be committed by that action. Adam was her head, and he was supposed to be her protector.
Why didn’t Adam speak up? If he was there hearing the words of the serpent and seeing the same things his wife saw, why didn’t he, as the head, respond? Could it be that he wanted to see what would happen to her? Could it be that he had just a little grain of doubt about God’s prohibition on this tree? He had never given thought to this tree, but once it was brought to his attention, did not wonder “is it really so”? We can only imagine why he behaved the way he did, so let’s consider God’s judgment on them and see if we are correct in our guessing.
At Genesis 3:16, God pronounces judgment on the woman, as per the New American Standard translation:
“To the woman He said, "I will greatly multiply Your pain in childbirth, In pain you will bring forth children; Yet your desire will be for your husband, And he will rule over you.”
We know that the first part has been true; what woman, when giving birth does not go through such pain. What about the second part, her ‘desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you”; how has this been proven true? Consider what a woman wants most of all in marriage - a man who will protect her and support her. Girls grow up dreaming of a ‘knight in shining armour;. Every woman on her wedding day believe she has married a man who would be a true supporter of her and any children they bring into their family. What most women get, though, is a man, like Adam, who expresses no concern for her, who ignores her, who uses her as a Guinea pig, and much worse due to our inherited sin. But she craves that protection.
I just submit this for consideration. Research and prayerful thought of this one Bible text can open a lot of roads for consideration, such as: How was Jesus and Adam the same? Was the spirit entity behind the serpent really speaking to the man behind the woman because he knew nothing would happen to the woman? Consider, after Adam ate, immediately both their eyes were open. With this consideration of the man being present at the temptation, in what way was the woman deceived? Since Jesus was born as a human man, in what way did he act differently than Adam? That’s just a few to consider for your prayerful consideration.
