I left off talking about the "blame game," where Adam blames Eve for his disobedience, Eve blames the serpent for her disobedience, and God begins to dish out the curses.
In Genesis 3:14-24, God begins by cursing the serpent, the serpent is "cursed...above all livestock." The serpent will now have to crawl on its belly, women and snakes will apparently hate one another, and the offspring of the woman will crush the snake's head - while the serpent will strike the woman's offspring's heel.
This curse seems to go from literal to metaphor. We all know that snakes crawl around on their bellies (which doesn't seem like much of a punishment compared to what humans got), so that seems kind of literal. However, not all women hate snakes - so that can't be literal. And there is not literal way to interpret the woman's offspring crushing the snake's head, while the snake strikes his heel. Unless we are merely talking about the fact that men kill snakes all the time.
My assumption has always been that Satan entered a serpent and got him to trick Eve. But why are all snakes punished to crawl because of the demon-possession of one snake, hundreds of thousands of years ago? Why did Satan choose a snake, when He could have chosen any other animal?
And this brings me to another point - we always assume that Satan has possessed this snake and caused it to tempt Eve, but the Bible never actually says that. In fact, the Bible says that "the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made (Gen 3:1)." So, according to the Bible - Satan was not Eve's tempter. A wild animal was.
How did this snake become evil? How was an evil snake able to enter a (presumably) perfect garden? Does any of this give weight to the idea that sin and evil existed in the earth before Adam and Eve disobeyed?
To Eve, God cursed her so that she will have pains in childbearing -again, how does the punishment fit the crime? And does this curse mean that she'd already had easy deliveries? If so, who were her other children? How many of them did she have? God's other punishment was that Eve's desire would be for her husband, and that her husband should rule over her. Is it possible that, because of this, God views men and women as unequal? Or does this have more to do with sexual and romantic desire, where it seems that women are always searching for a man and doing whatever they can to appear more beautiful and arousing, while men can (it seems, sometimes) non-chalantly begin and end relationships with no emotional, social, or physical consequences?
And Adam will only be able to eat through hard labor. This punishment is the only one that seems to fit, because it has to do with eating what comes from the earth and how that food is provided. Before this, God allowed the earth to just grow food and Adam could eat any of it. Now that Adam has eaten the one thing God told him not to eat, it is as if God is saying, "Fine then. Grow your own food." God also curses Adam with death, which somehow transfers over to Eve and all of creation, as well.
Adam names his wife Eve, saying that she would become the mother of all the living. This implies not only that Adam and Eve had no children yet, but that God was not making other people elsewhere, either.
God makes clothes for Adam and Eve - because the leaves they'd sewn together clearly were not good enough. God makes clothes out of animal skins. Could this be the first time in the Bible where one of God's creations dies? Obviously, we can get the skin of the animal without killing it (think of shearing a sheep?) But we do not know how God came by this animal skin.
Finally, God desires to keep Adam and Eve from eating from the tree of life and becoming immortal. There is no mention here that humans will now be inherently sinful, nor are Adam and Eve ever reported to have repented. They are, however, forced to leave the garden and that will be where we enter into the psuedopigraphia entitled "The Forgotten Books of Adam and Eve."
Monday, November 26, 2012
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Genesis 3:1-13. Yetzer HaTov, and Yetzer Hara.
The chapter I am writing about in this entry is Genesis 3:1-13, and as usual you can click the link to follow along on Bible Gateway - using the New American Standard Bible version or any version you like (just click the drop arrow at the top of the website to change versions).
Genesis 3 relays the story of the "fall of man." And, as usual, there are some things in this chapter of the Bible that I have some questions about. The first is the issue of whether or not eating from the tree is really the first sin. In my last post, I mentioned the fact that Adam was the only one who was given the instruction not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil - Eve had not yet been created. And yet in Genesis 3:2-3, after the serpent asks Eve - "Indeed, has God said, 'You shall not eat from any tree of the garden?' Eve replies, "...from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said 'You shall not eat from it, or touch it, or you will die.'"
Actually, though, what God said was "From any tree of the garden you may eat freely, but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die." (Genesis 2:16-17). God never mentioned anything about not touching the tree. This implies to me that either Adam added to God's instruction, or Eve added to the instructions that Adam had given her. Why does the narrator consider this inconsistency important enough to include in the Bible? Or, did the narrator not even notice it? Or, if God dictated each and every word of the Bible to man - as some believe - why did God consider this inconsistency important enough to include? It seems, here, that the first sin of man was not disobedience concerning the tree - but lying and/or adding onto God's words. Then again, if no law concerning lying or adding onto God's words had yet been given - perhaps it cannot be considered a sin.
After this, the serpent convinces Eve and Adam to eat the fruit. Adam, according to the Hebrew word for "with her," was standing right next to Eve as she conversed with the serpent -and did nothing to interject and keep Eve from sinning. And I want to talk a little bit about Yetzer Tov and Yetzer Hara here.
Yetzer Tov (or Yetzer Hatov) can be translated into "good inclination," while Yetzer Hara can be translated into "bad inclination." If you're Jewish and you're reading, feel free to correct any mistakes I make in explaining these. From what I understand, Jews believe that God breathed into us both the good and bad inclinations. The good inclination is just what it sounds - our desire to please God, to make good choices, to be kind to and care for others, etc. The bad inclination, however, is not exactly what it sounds. When the Jews think of a 'bad inclination,' they are not thinking necessarily of people who steal, murder, and hurt others. They are thinking of our natural desire for self-preservation. If we had no 'yetzer hara,' we wouldn't eat, we wouldn't procreate, we wouldn't start businesses, we wouldn't do anything -really. We would have no ambition. It is believed that God gave us the 'yetzer hara' so that we would have ambition. But we always have to remember to keep our yetzer hara in check. It's okay to eat when you're hungry - but should you eat so much that no one else gets any? It's okay to start a business and make money - but should you make large amounts of money at others' expense? It's okay to have sex and reproduce - but should you sleep with every woman you meet, get her pregnant, and leave her? This is the difference between yetzer hara that is in check, and yetzer hara that has gone unchecked.
And, since Adam and Eve are believed to have been immortal before the fall (to which I question - if they were immortal, why was there also a 'tree of eternal life?') there would have been no need for procreation (to which I question why God commanded them to reproduce?). If this is the case, none of us would be here if Eve had not eaten from the tree. So, from that perspective - Adam and Eve's disobedience allowed for all of us to live and have a chance to experience God. While Adam and Eve's obedience would have meant that only they would have lived - and none of us would be here.
The first thing that happens after they eat the fruit, is that Adam and Eve realize their nakedness. But why is nakedness a problem? Aren't they married? Hadn't they already slept together? If they are already married and had previously slept together, then their nakedness should not have mattered since being married and naked together is not shameful or sinful. If they had not already been married and were not already sleeping together - then what do we do with all of this talk in the previous chapter about the two becoming one flesh, and about Adam having a help-meet? And why were Adam and Eve - in their perfected state - not obeying God's command to 'be fruitful and multiply?'
I'm also wondering about two other things -the conversation between Eve and the serpent seems to end rather abruptly. After she ate the fruit and gave some to Adam, did the serpent just disappear? Was there any more to the exchange between the two of them? And, did all the animals in the garden talk? Why didn't Eve find it odd that a snake was talking to her?
Adam and Eve sew leaves to cover themselves, and I guess they just wait. God comes, as normal, in 'the cool of the day.' God didn't rush down to punish them or anything, He just waited for his normal time when He usually came to visit them. And Adam and Eve are hiding because they are naked - perhaps their shame in being naked wasn't about each other, but about how they would appear before God?
God asks them "Who told you that you were naked. Have you eaten from the tree...?" And then, the blame game commences. Adam blames Eve, Eve blames the serpent, and God curses them all.
Genesis 3 relays the story of the "fall of man." And, as usual, there are some things in this chapter of the Bible that I have some questions about. The first is the issue of whether or not eating from the tree is really the first sin. In my last post, I mentioned the fact that Adam was the only one who was given the instruction not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil - Eve had not yet been created. And yet in Genesis 3:2-3, after the serpent asks Eve - "Indeed, has God said, 'You shall not eat from any tree of the garden?' Eve replies, "...from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said 'You shall not eat from it, or touch it, or you will die.'"
Actually, though, what God said was "From any tree of the garden you may eat freely, but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die." (Genesis 2:16-17). God never mentioned anything about not touching the tree. This implies to me that either Adam added to God's instruction, or Eve added to the instructions that Adam had given her. Why does the narrator consider this inconsistency important enough to include in the Bible? Or, did the narrator not even notice it? Or, if God dictated each and every word of the Bible to man - as some believe - why did God consider this inconsistency important enough to include? It seems, here, that the first sin of man was not disobedience concerning the tree - but lying and/or adding onto God's words. Then again, if no law concerning lying or adding onto God's words had yet been given - perhaps it cannot be considered a sin.
After this, the serpent convinces Eve and Adam to eat the fruit. Adam, according to the Hebrew word for "with her," was standing right next to Eve as she conversed with the serpent -and did nothing to interject and keep Eve from sinning. And I want to talk a little bit about Yetzer Tov and Yetzer Hara here.
Yetzer Tov (or Yetzer Hatov) can be translated into "good inclination," while Yetzer Hara can be translated into "bad inclination." If you're Jewish and you're reading, feel free to correct any mistakes I make in explaining these. From what I understand, Jews believe that God breathed into us both the good and bad inclinations. The good inclination is just what it sounds - our desire to please God, to make good choices, to be kind to and care for others, etc. The bad inclination, however, is not exactly what it sounds. When the Jews think of a 'bad inclination,' they are not thinking necessarily of people who steal, murder, and hurt others. They are thinking of our natural desire for self-preservation. If we had no 'yetzer hara,' we wouldn't eat, we wouldn't procreate, we wouldn't start businesses, we wouldn't do anything -really. We would have no ambition. It is believed that God gave us the 'yetzer hara' so that we would have ambition. But we always have to remember to keep our yetzer hara in check. It's okay to eat when you're hungry - but should you eat so much that no one else gets any? It's okay to start a business and make money - but should you make large amounts of money at others' expense? It's okay to have sex and reproduce - but should you sleep with every woman you meet, get her pregnant, and leave her? This is the difference between yetzer hara that is in check, and yetzer hara that has gone unchecked.
And, since Adam and Eve are believed to have been immortal before the fall (to which I question - if they were immortal, why was there also a 'tree of eternal life?') there would have been no need for procreation (to which I question why God commanded them to reproduce?). If this is the case, none of us would be here if Eve had not eaten from the tree. So, from that perspective - Adam and Eve's disobedience allowed for all of us to live and have a chance to experience God. While Adam and Eve's obedience would have meant that only they would have lived - and none of us would be here.
The first thing that happens after they eat the fruit, is that Adam and Eve realize their nakedness. But why is nakedness a problem? Aren't they married? Hadn't they already slept together? If they are already married and had previously slept together, then their nakedness should not have mattered since being married and naked together is not shameful or sinful. If they had not already been married and were not already sleeping together - then what do we do with all of this talk in the previous chapter about the two becoming one flesh, and about Adam having a help-meet? And why were Adam and Eve - in their perfected state - not obeying God's command to 'be fruitful and multiply?'
I'm also wondering about two other things -the conversation between Eve and the serpent seems to end rather abruptly. After she ate the fruit and gave some to Adam, did the serpent just disappear? Was there any more to the exchange between the two of them? And, did all the animals in the garden talk? Why didn't Eve find it odd that a snake was talking to her?
Adam and Eve sew leaves to cover themselves, and I guess they just wait. God comes, as normal, in 'the cool of the day.' God didn't rush down to punish them or anything, He just waited for his normal time when He usually came to visit them. And Adam and Eve are hiding because they are naked - perhaps their shame in being naked wasn't about each other, but about how they would appear before God?
God asks them "Who told you that you were naked. Have you eaten from the tree...?" And then, the blame game commences. Adam blames Eve, Eve blames the serpent, and God curses them all.
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