9 But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” 10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” 11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” 12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” 14 So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, “Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. 15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”
The story (or parable might be a more accurate term) of the Fall of Humanity is one of the most famous in the Bible, and the serpent is usually identified with Satan, although this interpretation does not occur in the Old Testament. It comes from a non-canonical book, “The Life of Adam and Eve” (also called “The Apocalypse of Moses” in Greek) dating from the first century AD but based on earlier oral legends. Here, the Fall comes about through communication – or rather miscommunication. The snake implies and suggests and offers its interpretations of God’s motives. The serpent twists the truth, suggesting that God’s love for humanity is envy, that service to others is a form of slavery and that they should look to their own interests. After eating, they discover that the serpent had not fully lied to them for their eyes are indeed opened but what they find is shame and guilt.
Note that Genesis does not present the idea that evil invaded paradise but that humanity rebelled – this is the eternal truth the authors want us to understand. Evil had always been possible in Eden because God gave humans free will. The story of the Fall tells us a great deal about how sin works. Adam and Eve put themselves first and seek what they think will be best for them; they listen to the snake (a creature) rather than to God (the creator). Paradise is ruined for them because now when they see it, they project evil onto a world of innocence. God’s question in verse 9 is the fundamental one: “where are you?” This does not mean that God doesn’t know where they are because they’ve hidden themselves away. It means that he wants to encourage them to think about what they’ve done. Now it is Adam’s turn to speak, and he says that they are afraid. Then the two humans blame each other for the debacle.
The fall has destroyed relationships between humans, between God and humans and between humans and other creatures. Communication has been reduced to blaming others. The point is simple: disobeying God leads to alienation. God issues his judgment immediately, and it’s a severe one. The serpent, once the cleverest of animals, becomes an outcast, crawling on the ground. For having misled Eve, serpents and humans become permanent enemies. In the final verse here, we learn that one day, Eve’s descendant will defeat the serpent, striking at its head. Many Christian commentators have seen this as a prophecy that Christ will defeat Satan through his death and resurrection.
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