《Expository Notes on the Whole Bible – Genesis》(Thomas Constable) Commentator

The creation of woman 2:18-25

Verse 19-20

The text does not mean that Adam named every individual animal. He apparently gave names to the different kinds God brought before him. This exercise demonstrated Adam's authority over the animals and the dissimilarity between humans and animals. He became aware of his own need for a companion as he named the animals.

"Adam" comes from the Hebrew word for "earth" (adamah). "Adam" means "one that is red," like the earth. [Note: Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 1:1:2.] Likewise the names of the animals probably expressed the nature of each animal. Names of humans in Old Testament times usually reflected the nature of the persons who bore them. This indicates that Adam must have had great intelligence and wisdom to be able to identify and label the various types of animals according to their natures.

Man is not like the other animals. Adam could find no suitable partner among them. God graciously provided for his need by creating Eve.

Verse 21-22

More than once when God initiated a new relationship for someone He first put that person to sleep (cf. Genesis 15:12; Genesis 28:11). He evidently did so to assure the recipient that his own works had no part in his receiving it. [Note: Sailhamer, "Genesis," p. 46.] It was totally a gift of God's grace.

". . . the woman was made of a rib out of the side of Adam; not made out of his head to rule over him, nor out of his feet to be trampled upon by him, but out of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected, and near his heart to be beloved." [Note: Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible, p. 7.]

"Just as the rib is found at the side of the man and is attached to him, even so the good wife, the rib of her husband, stands at his side to be his helper-counterpart, and her soul is bound up with him." [Note: Umberto Cassuto, A Commentary on the Book of Genesis. Part I: From Adam to Noah, p. 134.]

God fashioned Eve to be a suitable companion for Adam. Then He presented her to him as a gift.

"That woman was taken from man no more implies the inferiority of woman to man than the taking of man from the ground ('adam from 'adamah) implies the inferiority of man to the ground." [Note: Merrill, p. 19.]

". . . the whole account of woman's creation has a poetic flavor: it is certainly mistaken to read it as an account of a clinical operation or as an attempt to explain some feature of man's anatomy ... Rather, it brilliantly depicts the relation of man and wife.... Here the ideal of marriage as it was understood in ancient Israel is being portrayed, a relationship characterized by harmony and intimacy between the partners." [Note: Wenham, p. 69.]

Verse 23

The word "woman" (Heb. ishah) sounds similar to the Hebrew word translated "man" (ish). This similarity reflects the close union between the two. Moses named Adam by his relation to the ground, but Adam named himself in relation to his wife. [Note: Sarna, p. 23.]

"Name-giving in the ancient Orient was primarily an exercise of sovereignty, of command." [Note: von Rad, p. 83. George W. Ramsey, "Is Name-Giving an Act of Domination in Genesis 2:23 and Elsewhere?" Catholic Biblical Quarterly 50:1 (January 1988):24-35, disputed this view.]

"Genesis 2 is unique among the creation myths of the whole of the Ancient Near East in its appreciation of the meaning of woman, i.e., that human existence is a partnership of man and woman." [Note: Westermann, p. 232.]

"Though they are equal in nature, that man names woman (cf. Genesis 3:20) indicates that she is expected to be subordinate to him, an important presupposition of the ensuing narrative (Genesis 3:17)." [Note: Wenham, p. 70.]

When Adam discovered that God had provided him with a partner like himself, not like one of the other animals, he rejoiced greatly. He received his mate as God's good gift to him because he trusted in God's wisdom, goodness, and integrity. Adam was now beside himself! (Pardon the pun.)

Likewise it is essential for every husband and wife to thankfully receive the mate God has given us as His best provision for us. To do so we must know and trust God's goodness. Our mate's differences are good things God brings to us that He will use as tools to shape us into the people He wants us to be. Failure to accept one's mate as a good gift from a loving God leads to many problems in marriage and frustrates God's purpose and plan for marriage. It expresses rejection of God and His provision for one's life. It also demonstrates unbelief, disobedience, and displeasure with God's character. Your mate needs your unconditional acceptance.

Verse 24

This verse clarifies God's purpose in marriage. It involves leaving parents and cleaving to one's spouse. [Note: See Mathews, pp. 222-24.]

". . . Israelite marriage was usually patrilocal, that is, the man continued to live in or near his parents' home. It was the wife who left home to join her husband." [Note: Wenham, p. 70.]

Leaving and cleaving probably means both psychological and physical separation and union under normal conditions. A newly married couple is wise to establish relative independence from both sets of parents emotionally, physically, financially, and in other ways. The couple also needs to establish commitment to one another. Cleaving resembles weaving two threads into one new piece of cloth. The word suggests the ideas of passion and permanence. In marriage a man's priorities change. Before they were primarily to his parents, but now they are primarily to his wife. Moses was probably correcting cultures that gave parental bonds priority over marital bonds. [Note: Waltke, Genesis, p. 90.] Marriage also involves physical consummation that unites two individuals as "one flesh" (i.e., in union or unity, [Note: Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, 2:334.] "a new family" [Note: The NET Bible note on 2:24.] ). This is a strong argument for monogamy. "One flesh" is not the same as marriage (1 Corinthians 6:16). For a marriage to exist there must also be a commitment to "leave" parents and "cleave" to one's spouse from then on (cf. Matthew 19:5; et al.). The bond of marriage (spouse) also takes priority over the bond of procreation (children).

Verse 25

The naked condition of Adam and Eve does not just describe their unclothed physical appearance. It also refers to the physical and psychological oneness and transparency that existed in their relationship. Physically they were naked; they shared their bodies with each other openly. Psychologically they were not ashamed; they hid nothing from each other. They were at ease with one another without any fear of exploitation for evil. Transparency should increase with trust, commitment, and friendship. It involves communicating what we know, think, feel, and are with the person or persons we choose. We should not be transparent with everyone, however, only with people who commit themselves to us. A transparent person is an open and vulnerable person.

This is a hinge (janus) verse. It looks backward into chapter 2 and forward into chapter 3. The similarity of the Hebrew words for naked ('arom) and "crafty" (Genesis 3:1, 'arum) points to a word play. This word for nakedness means unclothed whereas the one in Genesis 3:7 ('erom) and elsewhere describes those under God's judgment (cf. Deuteronomy 28:48; Ezekiel 16:39; Ezekiel 23:29). [Note: Sailhamer, "Genesis," p. 49.]

Genesis 2:18-25 teach us much about marriage.

1. God instituted it.

2. God intended it to be monogamous (not monotonous). One woman completed Adam (cf. Matthew 19:8).

3. God intended it to be heterosexual.

4. It involves both a physical and a spiritual union (Genesis 2:24; cf. Matthew 19:4-5).

5. The husband was to be the head of the wife. God created Adam before Eve, and He created Eve for Adam (cf. 1 Corinthians 11:8-9; 1 Timothy 2:13).

6. A woman can be a complete person without bearing children. A wife's primary function in marriage is to complement her husband, not to bear children.

7. Normally, a couple, following the lead of their representatives, Adam and Eve, should "be fruitful and multiply" (Genesis 1:28). God did not specify how early in the marriage and to what extent. He left this up to the couple. Couples may choose when and how many children they plan to have, though God may sovereignly overrule their plans.

The Family Ministry organization has summarized these purposes as five. Marriage should mirror God's image, multiply a godly heritage, manage God's realm, mutually complete one another, and model Christ's relationship to the church. [Note: Family Life Conference, p. 45.]

The Bible writers made use of the creation account in many different ways, and we too can use it in these ways for our own personal profit. These purposes include glorifying the God of creation, stimulating praise and worship, and fortifying faith in God's promises. They also include learning about God's attributes, expressing wonder at man's position in God's universe, dispelling fear, and exalting the Lord Jesus. [Note: Ted S. Rendall, "Using the Creation Account for Maximum Spiritual Profit," Prairie Overcomer 60:8 (September 1987):3-5, 22.]

However a main point of this unit (Genesis 2:4-25) seems clearly to be that God made human beings male and female with a spiritual capacity and mutually dependent. He did so that they might serve and obey Him and so enjoy His creation. As Adam and Eve, God later placed Israel in a place of blessing. The nation could enjoy His blessing by being obedient and trusting with the assistance He had provided for them in marriage. Even today serving and obeying God is man's greatest privilege, and we find help to do this in the marriage relationship.

"Two primary themes dominate the Creation account [Genesis 1:1 to Genesis 2:25]: the land and the blessing." [Note: Sailhamer, The Pentateuch . . ., pp. 81-82. Cf. 12:1-3, 7.]

The theme of descendants (seed) is also present, though perhaps not as prominent (Genesis 1:28).
03 Chapter 3
Verse 1

Who was the tempter? Among evangelicals there are two major views regarding the identity of the serpent.

It was a literal snake.

a. Moses called it a beast of the field (Genesis 3:1).

b. Though snakes do not speak, Satan could have spoken through a snake. He did this through demoniacs in Jesus' day. Also, a spirit being spoke through Balaam's donkey (Numbers 22:21-30).

c. God judged a snake in this case (Genesis 3:14). [Note: See Jacqueline Tabick, "The Snake in the Grass: The Problems of Interpreting a Symbol in the Hebrew Bible and Rabbinic Writings," Religion 16 (April 1986):155-67, who traced the symbolic use of the snake as a servant of God, a symbol of rebellion against God, and a creature independent of God.]

2. It was Satan himself described here as a snake.

a. God called Satan a serpent elsewhere in Scripture (e.g., Revelation 20:2).

b. Satan can and does speak as recorded elsewhere in Scripture (e.g., Job 1).

c. What he said here is in character for Satan who is the "father of lies" (John 8:44).

Probably the tempter was Satan who possessed and controlled a literal snake. Temptation came to Eve disguised, unexpectedly, and from a subordinate, as is still often true.

The pattern of temptation observable here is one Satan has used often and still uses (cf. the temptations of Achan, David, and Jesus Christ).

Satan's first step was to plant a seed of doubt in Eve's mind concerning God's ways (Genesis 3:1-3). The key phrase is "from any" (Genesis 3:1). Satan focused Eve's attention on God's one prohibition. He suggested that God did not really want what was best for Adam and Eve but rather was withholding something from them that was essentially good. He hinted that God's line of protection was actually a line that He drew because He was selfish. Satan still tempts women to believe that God's role for them is primarily for His benefit rather than for their welfare. [Note: Family Life . . ., p. 99.]

The Hebrew word translated "crafty" ('arum) does not mean wicked as much as wise. Eve's sin was not so much an act of great wickedness as it was an act of great folly. She already had all the good she needed, but she wanted more. She wanted to glorify self, not God.

Verses 1-5

The temptation of Eve 3:1-5

As in chapters 1 and 2, the word of the Lord is very important in chapter 3. Here Adam and Eve doubted God's integrity. This pericope also has something to teach about the acquisition of wisdom. Chapter 2 anticipated God's gift of the Promised Land to the original readers, and chapter 3 anticipates their exile from it. [Note: Idem, "Genesis," pp. 48-49.]

Verse 2-3

Eve was vulnerable to this suggestion because she distorted the word of God. She added to it "or touch it" (Genesis 3:3).

"In her reply to [the serpent's] question, she perverted and misquoted three times the divine law to which she and Adam were subject: (1) She disparaged her privileges by misquoting the terms of the Divine permission as to the other trees. (2) She overstated the restrictions by misquoting the Divine prohibition. (3) She underrated her obligations by misquoting the Divine penalty." [Note: W.H. Griffith Thomas, Genesis: A Devotional Commentary, p. 48.]

God reveals His character through His word. When we do not retain His word precisely, a distorted concept of God is often the result. This led Eve to doubt God's goodness.

The serpent's claim directly contradicted the main point of chapters 1 and 2, namely, that God would provide what is good for mankind.

"It is because 'Yahweh Elohim' expresses so strongly the basic OT convictions about God's being both creator and Israel's covenant partner that the serpent and the woman avoid the term in their discussion. The god they are talking about is malevolent, secretive, and concerned to restrict man: his character is so different from that of Yahweh Elohim that the narrative pointedly avoids the name in the dialogue of Genesis 3:1-5." [Note: Wenham, p. 57.]

One natural tendency that we have when we do not understand or recall God's word precisely is to make it more restrictive than He does. This is what Eve did. This is a form of legalism.

Verse 4-5

The second step in Satan's temptation was to deny God's word. In denying it he imputed motives to God that were not consistent with God's character. God's true motive was the welfare of man, but the serpent implied it was God's welfare at man's expense.

This added suggestion seemed consistent with what the serpent had already implied about God's motives in Genesis 3:1. Having entertained a doubt concerning God's word, Eve was ready to accept a denial of His word.

What the serpent said about Eve being as God was a half-truth. Ironically she was already as God having been made in His image (Genesis 1:26). She did become like God, or divine beings (Heb. 'elohim), in that she obtained a greater knowledge of good and evil by eating of the tree. However, she became less like God because she was no longer innocent of sin. Her relationship with God suffered. Though she remained like God she could no longer enjoy unhindered fellowship with God (Genesis 3:24). The consequent separation from God is the essence of death (Genesis 2:17).

The first doctrine Satan denied in Scripture was that sin results in death (separation from God), or, we could say, the doctrine that God will not punish sin. This is still the truth he tries hardest to get people to disbelieve.

Verse 6

Having succumbed to temptation Eve disobeyed God's will. Whereas the serpent initiated the first two steps, he let Eve's natural desires (her flesh) carry her into his trap.

All three avenues of fleshly temptation are present in Genesis 3:6.

1. She saw that the tree was "good for food" (the lust of the flesh: the desire to do something contrary to God's will, i.e., eat the tasty fruit).

2. It was a "delight to the eyes" (the lust of the eyes: the desire to have something apart from God's will, i.e., possess the beautiful fruit).

3. It was "desirable to make one wise" (the pride of life: the desire to be something apart from God's will, i.e., as wise as God, or gods). It was the quest for wisdom that led Eve to disobey God. [Note: Sailhamer, "Genesis," p. 51.]

Eve saw, coveted, and took the fruit (cf. Joshua 7:21; 2 Samuel 11:2-4). We perceive, then lust, then act.

"We have already noted ... how the scenes themselves are arranged in a concentric palistrophic pattern (ABCDCBA). Within this central scene, the same device is used; the midpoint 'and he ate' employs the key verb of this tale-'eat.' On either side we have the woman's hopes of eating, 'good to eat,' 'delight to the eyes,' 'giving insight,' balanced by its effects, 'eyes opened,' 'knowing they were nude,' 'hiding in the trees.' These contrasts are deliberately drawn." [Note: Wenham, p. 75.]

"The proposition that an adult can gaze at anything is ludicrous and naive, for gazing is too often followed by desiring and sinning." [Note: Davis, p. 90. Cf. 9:20-27.]

In view of Jesus' statement that a lustful look is as sinful as an overt act of sin (Matthew 5:27-28), did Eve commit the first sin when she desired the forbidden fruit? Sinful desires are sinful, but temptations are not sins until we respond by giving in to them. Eve did this when she ate the fruit. Until she did that, she was only experiencing temptation.

"Here is the essence of covetousness. It is the attitude that says I need something I do not now have in order to be happy." [Note: Hamilton, p. 190.]

"What Adam and Eve sought from the tree of knowledge was not philosophical or scientific knowledge desired by the Greeks, but practical knowledge that would give them blessing and fulfillment." [Note: K. Armstrong, In the Beginning, p. 27.]

Ignorance or disregard of God's word makes one very vulnerable to temptation (Psalms 119:11). These conditions produce distrust, dissatisfaction, and finally disobedience. Failure to appreciate God's goodness leads to distrust of His goodness. God's prohibitions as well as His provisions are for our good.

"The root of sin should be understood. The foundation of all sin lies in man's desire of self-assertion and his determination to be independent of God. Adam and Eve chafed under the restriction laid upon them by the command of God, and it was in opposition to this that they asserted themselves, and thereby fell. Man does not like to be dependent upon another, and subject to commands upon another, and subject to commands from without. He desires to go his own way, to be his own master; and as a consequence he sins, and becomes 'lord of himself, that heritage of woe.'" [Note: Thomas, p. 49. Cf. Waltke, Genesis, p. 103.]

God has always asked people to believe and trust His word that His will for us will result in our blessing. However, Satan has always urged us to have experiences that will convince us that we can obtain even greater blessings. He says, "Try it; you'll like it!" But God says, "Trust me, and you'll live." Satan's appeal to get us to experience something to assure ourselves of its goodness directly contradicts God's will for us. It is the way of sight rather than the way of faith.

Adam chose to obey his wife rather than God (cf. Genesis 3:17).

Verses 6-8

The Fall 3:6-8

In this section the relationship that God had established with man, which is the focus of the creation story, is broken. We can gain great insight into human nature from this story. Adam and Eve's behavior as recorded here has been repeated by every one of their descendants.

"It is hardly too much to say that this chapter is the pivot of the Bible . . . . With the exception of the fact of Creation, we have here the record of the most important and far-reaching event in the world's history-the entrance of sin." [Note: Thomas, p. 46.]

". . . Genesis does not explain the origins of evil; rather, the biblical account, if anything, says where evil does not have its source. Evil was not inherent in man nor can it be said that sin was the consequence of divine entrapment. The tempter stands outside the human pair and stands opposed to God's word." [Note: Mathews, p. 226.]

Verse 7-8

The separation that sin produces in man's relationship with God stands out clearly in these verses. Their new knowledge that the serpent promised would make them as God actually taught them that they were no longer even like each other. They were ashamed of their nakedness and sewed fig leaves together to hide their differences from each other (Genesis 3:7). [Note: Sailhamer, "Genesis," p. 52.] Perhaps they chose fig leaves because fig leaves are large and strong.

The "cool" of the day is literally the "wind" of the day. God came to Adam and Eve in this wind. He came in a wind earlier in Creation (Genesis 1:2) and later to Job (Job 38:1), Israel (Exodus 20:18-21; cf. Deuteronomy 5:25), and Elijah (1 Kings 19:11).

"A more complete transformation could not be imagined. The trust of innocence is replaced by the fear of guilt. The trees that God created for man to look at (Genesis 2:9) are now his hiding place to prevent God seeing him." [Note: Wenham, p. 76.]

Genesis 3:7 marks the beginning of the second dispensation, the dispensation of conscience (or moral responsibility). Adam and Eve had failed in their responsibility under the dispensation of innocence; they were now sinners. They had rebelled against a specific command of God (Genesis 2:16-17), and this rebellion marked a transition from theoretical to experiential knowledge of good and evil. Their new responsibility now became to do all known good, to abstain from all known evil, and to approach God through blood sacrifice, which anticipated the sacrifice of Christ. As a period of testing for humanity, the dispensation of conscience ended with the Flood. However people continued to be morally responsible to God as He added further revelation of Himself and His will in succeeding ages (cf. Acts 14:14-16; Romans 2:15; 2 Corinthians 4:2).

Eve did not die at once physically, but she did die at once spiritually. She experienced alienation in her relationship with God. Death means separation in the Bible, never annihilation. Sin always results in alienation: theologically (between God and man), sociologically (between man and man), psychologically (between man and himself), and ecologically (between man and nature). We might also add, sexually (between men and women) and maritally (between husbands and wives).

Three kinds of death appear in Scripture: physical-separation of the body and soul (the material and immaterial parts of the person), spiritual-separation of the person and God, and eternal-permanent separation of the person and God.

The Apostle Paul wrote that Eve was deceived (1 Timothy 2:14). This does not mean that women are by nature more easily subject to deception than men.

"There is nothing in Scripture to suggest that the woman was inferior to the man in any way or more susceptible to temptation than he was." [Note: Susan Foh, Women and the Word of God, p. 63.]

"The tempter addresses himself to the woman, probably not because she is more open to temptation and prone to sin, for that is hardly the conception of the Old Testament elsewhere. The reason may have lain in this, that the woman had not personally received the prohibition from God, as Adam had." [Note: Gerhardus Vos, Biblical Theology, p. 45.]

She may have received God's word through Adam. Perhaps Satan appealed to Eve because she was not only under God's authority but also under her husband's authority and, therefore, more inclined to think God was withholding something from her.

"It is interesting to observe that when this sin is referred to throughout Scripture, it is not referred to as the sin of Eve-but rather as the sin of Adam! The phrase in Genesis 3:6, 'with her,' seems to suggest that Adam was at Eve's side when she was tempted by Satan. As God's theocratic administrator, and as the appointed head of the family, it was Adam's responsibility to safeguard Eve and to assure that she remained in submission to the command of God. But Adam failed in his God-given responsibility and permitted Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit." [Note: Pentecost, p. 37.]

Adam, however, was not deceived (1 Timothy 2:14). He sinned with his eyes wide open (Genesis 3:6 b). Eve's was a sin of initiative whereas Adam's was one of acquiescence. [Note: Hamilton, p. 191.] Too much aggressiveness by a woman and too much passivity by a man still are tendencies of the respective sexes. Death "passed unto all men" (Romans 5:12) when Adam sinned because Adam, not Eve, was the head of the human race under God's administration (cf. Genesis 3:18-23). [Note: See Jimmy A. Milliken, "The Origin of Death," Mid-American Theological Journal 7:2 (Winter 1983):17-22.]

Some commentators have interpreted eating the forbidden fruit as a euphemism for having sexual intercourse. [Note: E.g., E. A. Speiser, Genesis, p. 26.] They say that the original sin was a sexual sin. However the text makes such an interpretation impossible. Eve sinned first (Genesis 3:6), she sinned alone (Genesis 3:6), and God had previously approved sex (Genesis 1:28).

"Adam and Eve's nakedness (Genesis 2:25) does not idealize nudity but shows why human beings must wear clothes. With the Fall came a tragic loss of innocence (together with resulting shame). When people's minds are enlightened by the gospel, they understand their moral frailty and practice customs of dress that shield them against sexual temptation." [Note: Waltke, Genesis, p. 103.]

The timeless lesson of these verses is that victory over temptation to violate God's good will depends on a thorough knowledge of God's word and unwavering confidence in God's goodness. As Israel faced temptations to depart from God's revealed will from the pagans she encountered, this record would have provided a resource for remaining faithful, as it does for us today. Often these temptations attract because they promise superior blessing and fulfillment, even divinity. Therefore, knowing God's word is extremely important (cf. Deuteronomy 6:5-9; Deuteronomy 6:13-25; Psalms 119:9-16). Satan tempted Jesus similarly to the way he tempted Eve. However, Jesus overcame victoriously by accurately using the word of God to remain faithful to the will of God. True wisdom comes by obeying, not disobeying, God's word.

Verses 9-13