M3 Bible: Language: Creation & Eden

            Yeah, you thought we were done with Eden, didn’t you. One last bit.

            Okay, we’ve been through all of four chapters of Genesis and a smidgen of the Talmud to talk about Lilith. All told, we haven’t been through that much material, but it’s densely packed with story metaphors, and implications. And that was just separately. Now let’s tackle them together.

Bible: Eden: Consequences

            The consequences of Adam and Eve are tough for most people. There have been centuries of interpretations of this story, but tradition alone doesn’t mean that a given interpretation is correct. There are other considerations such as translation, but, more importantly, how the story is read.

            God is often interpreted as being stern and a punisher. Adam and Eve disobeyed, so he will take out his divine wrath upon them. Pronouncements about their death, their cursings, and even the fate of the serpent all lend themselves to this interpretation.

M3 Bible: Eden: Eve's Choice

            It’s clear that Eve is soaking this up. But then, why wouldn’t she? Eve is not a rube. She’s not completely clueless. She’s intelligent, but unexperienced. This can lead people into thinking that she’s naïve, and well, in a way, she is. But, factually, she’s never had any dealings with someone of a duplicitous nature. There’s no reason for Eve not to believe the serpent. She’s spoken to God and she’s spoken to Adam, and neither of them have been duplicitous for any reason, so she has no way to gauge that.

M3 Bible: Eden: The Serpent's Pitch

            So, now we’re moving into this. Our first stop is that Eve is approached by the serpent. As said last week, the serpent is clever. This doesn’t adequately convey the serpent’s abilities. The serpent could have a blindfolded chess match with Odysseus and win.

            We’re not sure where that cleverness comes from. It’s easy to attribute the serpent as being someone else in disguise, but as discussed last week, we’re not doing that. We just don’t have the evidence for it. However, it could just as easily be a reference to how serpents (snakes) are able to insinuate themselves into places where they can strike. They are cunning hunters, and very stealthy, so it could be these attributes that are referenced.

M3 Bible: Eden: The Setup

            Like with Creation, get ready, this is going to be a wild ride.

            We’re all familiar with how it goes. Life in the garden is good, there are two trees, but don’t eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Stop. That’s important. It’s not the Tree of Knowledge. It’s the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. It’s quite specific on that point. I’ve looked at half a dozen translations, twice that number of commentaries, and that point is never abridged: the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Again, it’s very important.