The serpent deceives Eve, 1-5. Both she and Adam transgress the divine command and fall into sin and misery, 6, 7. God arraigns them, 8-13. The serpent is cursed, 14. The promised offspring, 15. The punishment of mankind, 16-20. Their first clothing, 21. Their expulsion from paradise, 22-24.
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made, and he said to the woman, "Has God truly said, 'You shall not eat from every tree of the garden'?" 2 And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit from the trees of the garden, 3 But concerning the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat from it, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'" 4 And the serpent said to the woman, "You shall not surely die. 5 For God knows, that in the day you eat from it, your eyes shall be opened and you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." 6 And 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 some of its fruit and ate, and gave some also to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 And the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig-leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
8 And 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. 9 And the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, "Where are you?" 10 And he said, "I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself." 11 And he said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?" 12 And the man said, "The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me some from the tree, and I ate." 13 And the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this that you have done?" And the woman said, "The serpent beguiled me, and I ate."
14 And the LORD God said to the serpent,
"Because you have done this,/
you are cursed above all cattle/
and above every beast of the field./
Upon your belly you shall go,/
and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.
15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman/
and between your offspring and her offspring./
He shall bruise your head,/
and you shall bruise his heel."
16 To the woman he said,
"I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception./
In sorrow you shall bring forth children./
And your desire shall be for your husband,/
and he shall rule over you."
17 And 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, saying, 'You shall not eat from it'—
The ground is cursed for your sake./
In sorrow you shall eat from it all the days of your life.
18 Thorns and thistles it shall also bring forth to you,/
and you shall eat the herb of the field.
19 In the sweat of your face you shall 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."
20 And Adam called his wife's name Eve because she was the mother of all living. 21 For Adam and also for his wife the LORD God made coats of skins and clothed them.
22 And the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become as one of us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he should put forth his hand and take from the tree of life and eat and live forever—" 23 Therefore, the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. 24 So 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 keep the way of the tree of life.
Matthew Henry Commentary - Genesis, Chapter 3[➚]
[v.7] - "sewed" - From John Gill's Exposition: "And when they are said to sew these together, it is not to be supposed that they sewed them as tailors sew their garments together, since they cannot be thought to be furnished with proper instruments, or that they tacked them together with some sort of thorns, or made use of them instead of needles; but they took the tender branches of the fig tree with leaves on them, as the word signifies, see Nehemiah 8:15 and twisted them round their waists; which served for 'girdles', as some render the word, and the broad leaves hanging down served for aprons; but these, whatever covering they may be thought to have been to their bodies, which yet seem to be but a slender one, they could be none to their souls, or be of any service to hide their sin and shame from the all seeing eye of God; and of as little use are the poor and mean services of men, or their best works of righteousness, to shelter them from the wrath of God, and the vengeance of divine justice."
[v.8-10] - In these verses, Adam and Eve attempt to hide themselves from God because of their shame; however, no one can hide from God. By the mouth of the prophet Jeremiah, God made this clear when he said, "'Can a man hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him?' says the LORD. 'Do I not fill heaven and earth?' says the LORD" (Jeremiah 23:24). All sin is seen by God, even though we make every attempt to hide it.
[v.15] - Reference, Isaiah 53:5; Daniel 9:24; Romans 16:20; 1st Corinthians 15:3.
[v.16] - Reference, 1st Corinthians 11:3; Ephesians 5:23.
[v.19] - "out of it you were taken" - Reference, Genesis 2:7.
[v.20] - "Eve" - The Greek word used in the Septuagint here for Eve's name is "Ζωή" (Zoe), which means life. So this passage reads, "And Adam called the name of his wife Life, because she was the mother of all living." Curiously, in Genesis 4:1, the Septuagint then begins to refer to Eve as "Ευαν" (Eve).
[v.22] - "and live forever" - Literally, "and lived to the age." LXX: "and so he shall live forever."