Adam's name appears 32 times throughout Genesis, yet this passage uniquely presents him not as the pinnacle of creation but as a silent participant in humanity's first act of disobedience.
Genesis 3
The Fall and Expulsion from Eden
1Now the serpent was more subtle than any animal of the field which the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Has God really said, ‘You shall not eat of any tree of the garden’?”
2The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees of the garden,
3but not the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden. God has said, ‘You shall not eat of it. You shall not touch it, lest you die.’”
4The serpent said to the woman, “You won’t really die,
5for God knows that in the day you eat it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took some of its fruit, and ate. Then she gave some to her husband with her, and he ate it, too.
7Their eyes were opened, and they both knew that they were naked. They sewed fig leaves together, and made coverings for themselves.
8They heard the LORD God’s voice walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.
9The LORD God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?”
10The man said, “I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; so I hid myself.”
11God said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
12The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”
13The LORD God said to the woman, “What have you done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
14The LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, you are cursed above all livestock, and above every animal of the field. You shall go on your belly and you shall eat dust all the days of your life.
15I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will bruise your head, and you will bruise his heel.”
16To the woman he said, “I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth. You will bear children in pain. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”
17To Adam he said, “Because you have listened to your wife’s voice, and have eaten from the tree, about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ the ground is cursed for your sake. You will eat from it with much labor all the days of your life.
18It will yield thorns and thistles to you; and you will eat the herb of the field.
19You will eat bread by the sweat of your face until you return to the ground, for you were taken out of it. For you are dust, and you shall return to dust.”
20The man called his wife Eve because she would be the mother of all the living.
21The LORD God made garments of animal skins for Adam and for his wife, and clothed them.
22The LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand, and also take of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever—”
23Therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he was taken.
24So 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 guard the way to the tree of life.
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Theme
The serpent tempts Eve to eat from the forbidden tree by questioning God's command and promising divine knowledge. Both Adam and Eve disobey God's prohibition, resulting in shame, fear, and broken fellowship with their Creator. God pronounces judgments upon the serpent, woman, and man, introducing pain, toil, and death into human experience, while also providing the first hint of redemption and clothing them with compassion.
Context
This chapter marks the tragic turn from the perfect creation described in chapters 1-2 to the broken world that will require God's redemptive work throughout the rest of Scripture.
Key Themes
Outline
- 1-5 The Serpent's Temptation The serpent questions God's command and promises Eve that disobedience will make her like God.
- 6-7 The Disobedience Eve and Adam eat the forbidden fruit, immediately experiencing shame and awareness of their nakedness.
- 8-13 Divine Confrontation God seeks out the hiding couple and questions them about their disobedience, leading to blame and excuses.
- 14-19 The Judgments God pronounces curses upon the serpent, woman, and man, introducing conflict, pain, and death.
- 20-24 Grace and Expulsion Adam names his wife Eve, God clothes them, and expels them from Eden to prevent eating from the tree of life.
The Fall and Expulsion from Eden
3:1–3:24 narrative dialogue mournful
The serpent tempts Eve and Adam to eat from the forbidden tree, resulting in their fall and expulsion from Eden. This introduces sin, death, and separation from God into human experience.
person_contrast
Adam's name appears 32 times throughout Genesis, yet this passage uniquely presents him not as the pinnacle of creation but as a silent participant in humanity's first act of disobedience.
Insights
Cross-References
Connected passages across Scripture
Genesis 3:3 1 reference
Genesis 3:6 4 references
Lexicals 4
Genesis 2:9 Lexical
Out of the ground the LORD God made every tree to grow that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food, including the t…
Song of Solomon 2:3 Lexical
As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great d…
Ezekiel 47:12 Lexical
By the river banks, on both sides, will grow every tree for food, whose leaf won’t wither, neither will its fruit fail.…
Leviticus 19:23 Lexical
“‘When you come into the land, and have planted all kinds of trees for food, then you shall count their fruit as forbidd…
Genesis 3:8 1 reference
Genesis 3:16 1 reference
Genesis 3:17 1 reference
Genesis 3:18 2 references
Genesis 3:19 1 reference
Genesis 3:23 1 reference
Genesis 3:24 3 references
Lexicals 3
Genesis 2:8 Lexical
The LORD God planted a garden eastward, in Eden, and there he put the man whom he had formed.
Ezekiel 31:9 Lexical
I made it beautiful by the multitude of its branches, so that all the trees of Eden, that were in the garden of God, env…
Ezekiel 31:18 Lexical
“‘To whom are you thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? Yet you will be brought down with the tre…
Interlinear
Word-by-word original language
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Historical Context
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Timeline
Fall
c. 4004 BCAdam and Eve's disobedience in eating the forbidden fruit, introducing sin and death into creation. This pivotal event explains humanity's fallen condition and need for redemption.
Adam and Eve's disobedience introduces sin and death into God's perfect creation.
The Fall and Expulsion from Eden