translation_id: net-engnet

book_id: GEN

label: NET translator note

text: The chapter begins with a disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + predicate) that introduces a new character and a new scene in the story.


text: The Hebrew word עָרוּם (’ arum ) basically means “clever.” This idea then polarizes into the nuances “cunning” (in a negative sense, see Job 5:12; 15:5 ), and “prudent” in a positive sense ( Prov 12:16, 23; 13:16; 14:8, 15, 18; 22:3; 27:12 ). This same polarization of meaning can be detected in related words derived from the same root (see Exod 21:14 ; Josh 9:4 ; 1 Sam 23:22 ; Job 5:13 ; Ps 83:3 ). The negative nuance obviously applies in , where the snake attempts to talk the woman into disobeying God by using half-truths and lies. sn There is a wordplay in Hebrew between the words “naked” ( עֲרוּמִּים , ’ arummim ) in 2:25 and “shrewd” ( עָרוּם , ’ arum ) in 3:1 . The point seems to be that the integrity of the man and the woman is the focus of the serpent’s craftiness. At the beginning they are naked and he is shrewd; afterward, they will be covered and he will be cursed.


text: Heb “animals of the field.”


text: Heb “Indeed that God said.” The beginning of the quotation is elliptical and therefore difficult to translate. One must supply a phrase like “is it true”: “Indeed, [is it true] that God said.”


text: Heb “you must not eat from all the tree[s] of the orchard.” After the negated prohibitive verb, מִכֹּל ( mikkol , “from all”) has the meaning “from any.” Note the construction in Lev 18:26 , where the statement “you must not do from all these abominable things” means “you must not do any of these abominable things.” See Lev 22:25 and Deut 28:14 as well.


text: There is a notable change between what the Lord God had said and what the woman says. God said “you may freely eat” (the imperfect with the infinitive absolute, see 2:16 ), but the woman omits the emphatic infinitive, saying simply “we may eat.” Her words do not reflect the sense of eating to her heart’s content.


text: The Hebrew construction is פֶּן ( pen ) with the imperfect tense, which conveys a negative purpose: “lest you die” = “in order that you not die.” By stating the warning in this way, the woman omits the emphatic infinitive used by God (“you shall surely die,” see 2:17 ).


text: The response of the serpent includes the infinitive absolute with a blatant negation equal to saying: “Not – you will surely die” ( לֹא מוֹת תִּמֻתען , lo ’ mot tÿmutun ). The construction makes this emphatic because normally the negative particle precedes the finite verb. The serpent is a liar, denying that there is a penalty for sin (see John 8:44 ). sn Surely you will not die . Here the serpent is more aware of what the Lord God said than the woman was; he simply adds a blatant negation to what God said. In the account of Jesus’ temptation Jesus is victorious because he knows the scripture better than Satan ( Matt 4:1-11 ).


text: Or “you will have understanding.” This obviously refers to the acquisition of the “knowledge of good and evil,” as the next statement makes clear.


text: Or perhaps “like God, knowing.” It is unclear how the plural participle translated “knowing” is functioning. On the one hand, יֹדְעֵי ( yodÿ ’ e ) could be taken as a substantival participle functioning as a predicative adjective in the sentence. In this case one might translate: “You will be, like God himself, knowers of good and evil.” On the other hand, it could be taken as an attributive adjective modifying אֱלֹהִים (’ elohim ). In this case אֱלֹהִים has to be taken as a numerical plural referring to “gods,” “divine beings,” for if the one true God were the intended referent, a singular form of the participle would almost certainly appear as a modifier. Following this line of interpretation, one could translate, “You will be like divine beings who know good and evil.” The following context may favor this translation, for in 3:22 God says to an unidentified group, “Look, the man has become like one of us , knowing good and evil.” It is probable that God is addressing his heavenly court (see the note on the word “make” in 1:26 ), the members of which can be called “gods” or “divine beings” from the ancient Israelite perspective. (We know some of these beings as messengers or “angels.”) An examination of parallel constructions shows that a predicative understanding (“you will be, like God himself, knowers of good and evil,” cf. NIV, NRSV) is possible, but rare (see Gen 27:23 , where “hairy” is predicative, complementing the verb “to be”). The statistical evidence strongly suggests that the participle is attributive, modifying “divine beings” (see Ps 31:12 ; Isa 1:30; 13:14; 16:2; 29:5; 58:11 ; Jer 14:9; 20:9; 23:9; 31:12; 48:41; 49:22 ; Hos 7:11 ; Amos 4:11 ). In all of these texts, where a comparative clause and accompanying adjective/participle follow a copulative (“to be”) verb, the adjective/participle is attributive after the noun in the comparative clause.


text: Heb “And the woman saw.” The clause can be rendered as a temporal clause subordinate to the following verb in the sequence.


text: Heb “that the tree was good for food.” The words “produced fruit that was” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.


text: The Hebrew word תַּאֲוָה ( ta ’ avah , translated “attractive” here) actually means “desirable.” This term and the later term נֶחְמָד ( nekhmad , “desirable”) are synonyms. sn Attractive ( Heb “desirable”) …desirable . These are different words in Hebrew. The verbal roots for both of these forms appear in Deut 5:21 in the prohibition against coveting. Strong desires usually lead to taking.


text: Heb “that good was the tree for food, and that desirable it was to the eyes, and desirable was the tree to make one wise.” On the connection between moral wisdom and the “knowledge of good and evil,” see the note on the word “evil” in 2:9 . sn Desirable for making one wise . The quest for wisdom can follow the wrong course, as indeed it does here. No one can become like God by disobeying God. It is that simple. The Book of Proverbs stresses that obtaining wisdom begins with the fear of God that is evidenced through obedience to his word. Here, in seeking wisdom, Eve disobeys God and ends up afraid of God.


text: The pronoun “it” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied (here and also after “ate” at the end of this verse) for stylistic reasons. sn She took…and ate it . The critical word now discloses the disobedience: “[she] ate.” Since the Lord God had said, “You shall not eat,” the main point of the divine inquisition will be, “Did you eat,” meaning, “did you disobey the command?” The woman ate, being deceived by the serpent ( 1 Tim 2:14 ), but then the man ate, apparently willingly when the woman gave him the fruit (see Rom 5:12, 17-19 ).


text: The Hitpael participle of הָלָךְ ( halakh , “to walk, to go”) here has an iterative sense, “moving” or “going about.” While a translation of “walking about” is possible, it assumes a theophany, the presence of the Lord God in a human form. This is more than the text asserts.


text: The expression is traditionally rendered “cool of the day,” because the Hebrew word רוּחַ ( ruakh ) can mean “wind.” U. Cassuto ( Genesis: From Adam to Noah , 152-54) concludes after lengthy discussion that the expression refers to afternoon when it became hot and the sun was beginning to decline. J. J. Niehaus ( God at Sinai [SOTBT], 155-57) offers a different interpretation of the phrase, relating יוֹם ( yom , usually understood as “day”) to an Akkadian cognate umu (“storm”) and translates the phrase “in the wind of the storm.” If Niehaus is correct, then God is not pictured as taking an afternoon stroll through the orchard, but as coming in a powerful windstorm to confront the man and woman with their rebellion. In this case קוֹל יְהוָה ( qol yÿhvah , “sound of the Lord ”) may refer to God’s thunderous roar, which typically accompanies his appearance in the storm to do battle or render judgment (e.g., see ).


text: The verb used here is the Hitpael, giving the reflexive idea (“they hid themselves”). In v. 10 , when Adam answers the Lord , the Niphal form is used with the same sense: “I hid.”


text: The Hebrew verb קָרָא ( qara ’, “to call”) followed by the preposition אֶל־ or לְ (’ el- or lÿ , “to, unto”) often carries the connotation of “summon.”


text: Heb “and he said.”


text: Heb “your sound.” If one sees a storm theophany here (see the note on the word “time” in v. 8 ), then one could translate, “your powerful voice.”


text: Heb “and he said.” The referent (the Lord God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.


text: The Hebrew construction in this sentence uses an independent nominative absolute (formerly known as a casus pendens ). “The woman” is the independent nominative absolute; it is picked up by the formal subject, the pronoun “she” written with the verb (“she gave”). The point of the construction is to throw the emphasis on “the woman.” But what makes this so striking is that a relative clause has been inserted to explain what is meant by the reference to the woman: “whom you gave me.” Ultimately, the man is blaming God for giving him the woman who (from the man’s viewpoint) caused him to sin.


text: The words “some fruit” here and the pronoun “it” at the end of the sentence are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for stylistic reasons.


text: The use of the demonstrative pronoun is enclitic, serving as an undeclined particle for emphasis. It gives the sense of “What in the world have you done?” (see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax , 24, §118).


text: This verb (the Hiphil of נָשָׁא , nasha ) is used elsewhere of a king or god misleading his people into false confidence ( 2 Kgs 18:29 = 2 Chr 32:15 = Isa 36:14 ; 2 Kgs 19:10 = Isa 37:10 ), of an ally deceiving a partner ( Obad 7 ), of God deceiving his sinful people as a form of judgment ( Jer 4:10 ), of false prophets instilling their audience with false hope ( Jer 29:8 ), and of pride and false confidence producing self-deception ( Jer 37:9; 49:16 ; Obad 3 ).


text: The Hebrew word translated “cursed,” a passive participle from אָרָר (’ arar ), either means “punished” or “banished,” depending on how one interprets the following preposition. If the preposition is taken as comparative, then the idea is “cursed [i.e., punished] are you above [i.e., more than] all the wild beasts.” In this case the comparative preposition reflects the earlier comparison: The serpent was more shrewd than all others, and so more cursed than all others. If the preposition is taken as separative (see the note on the word “ground” in 4:11 ), then the idea is “cursed and banished from all the wild beasts.” In this case the serpent is condemned to isolation from all the other animals.


text: Heb “go”; “walk,” but in English “crawl” or “slither” better describes a serpent’s movement.


text: The Hebrew word translated “hostility” is derived from the root אֵיב (’ ev , “to be hostile, to be an adversary [or enemy]”). The curse announces that there will be continuing hostility between the serpent and the woman. The serpent will now live in a “battle zone,” as it were.


text: Heb “he will attack [or “bruise”] you [on] the head.” The singular pronoun and verb agree grammatically with the collective singular noun “offspring.” For other examples of singular verb and pronominal forms being used with the collective singular “offspring,” see Gen 16:10; 22:17; 24:60 . The word “head” is an adverbial accusative, locating the blow. A crushing blow to the head would be potentially fatal.


text: Or “but you will…”; or “as they attack your head, you will attack their heel.” The disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + verb) is understood as contrastive. Both clauses place the subject before the verb, a construction that is sometimes used to indicate synchronic action (see Judg 15:14 ).


text: Heb “you will attack him [on] the heel.” The verb (translated “attack”) is repeated here, a fact that is obscured by some translations (e.g., NIV “crush…strike”). The singular pronoun agrees grammatically with the collective singular noun “offspring.” For other examples of singular verb and pronominal forms being used with the collective singular “offspring,” see Gen 16:10; 22:17; 24:60 . The word “heel” is an adverbial accusative, locating the blow. A bite on the heel from a poisonous serpent is potentially fatal. sn The etiological nature of v. 15 is apparent, though its relevance for modern western man is perhaps lost because we rarely come face to face with poisonous snakes. Ancient Israelites, who often encountered snakes in their daily activities (see, for example, Eccl 10:8 ; Amos 5:19 ), would find the statement quite meaningful as an explanation for the hostility between snakes and humans. (In the broader ancient Near Eastern context, compare the Mesopotamian serpent omens. See H. W. F. Saggs, The Greatness That Was Babylon , 309.) This ongoing struggle, when interpreted in light of v. 15 , is a tangible reminder of the conflict introduced into the world by the first humans’ rebellion against God. Many Christian theologians (going back to Irenaeus) understand v. 15 as the so-called protevangelium , supposedly prophesying Christ’s victory over Satan (see W. Witfall, “ Genesis 3:15 – a Protevangelium?” CBQ 36 [1974]: 361-65; and R. A. Martin, “The Earliest Messianic Interpretation of Genesis 3:15 ,” JBL 84 [1965]: 425-27). In this allegorical approach, the woman’s offspring is initially Cain, then the whole human race, and ultimately Jesus Christ, the offspring ( Heb “seed”) of the woman (see Gal 4:4 ). The offspring of the serpent includes the evil powers and demons of the spirit world, as well as those humans who are in the kingdom of darkness (see John 8:44 ). According to this view, the passage gives the first hint of the gospel. Satan delivers a crippling blow to the Seed of the woman (Jesus), who in turn delivers a fatal blow to the Serpent (first defeating him through the death and resurrection [ 1 Cor 15:55-57 ] and then destroying him in the judgment [ Rev 12:7-9; 20:7-10 ]). However, the grammatical structure of Gen 3:15 b does not suggest this view. The repetition of the verb “attack,” as well as the word order, suggests mutual hostility is being depicted, not the defeat of the serpent. If the serpent’s defeat were being portrayed, it is odd that the alleged description of his death comes first in the sentence. If he has already been crushed by the woman’s “Seed,” how can he bruise his heel? To sustain the allegorical view, v. 15 b must be translated in one of the following ways: “he will crush your head, even though you attack his heel” (in which case the second clause is concessive) or “he will crush your head as you attack his heel” (the clauses, both of which place the subject before the verb, may indicate synchronic action).


text: The imperfect verb form is emphasized and intensified by the infinitive absolute from the same verb.


text: Heb “your pain and your conception,” suggesting to some interpreters that having a lot of children was a result of the judgment (probably to make up for the loss through death). But the next clause shows that the pain is associated with conception and childbirth. The two words form a hendiadys (where two words are joined to express one idea, like “good and angry” in English), the second explaining the first. “Conception,” if the correct meaning of the noun, must be figurative here since there is no pain in conception; it is a synecdoche, representing the entire process of childbirth and child rearing from the very start. However, recent etymological research suggests the noun is derived from a root הרר ( hrr ), not הרה ( hrh ), and means “trembling, pain” (see D. Tsumura, “A Note on הרוֹן ( Gen 3,16 ),” Bib 75 [1994]: 398-400). In this case “pain and trembling” refers to the physical effects of childbirth. The word עִצְּבוֹן (’ itsÿvon , “pain”), an abstract noun related to the verb ( עָצַב , ’ atsav ), includes more than physical pain. It is emotional distress as well as physical pain. The same word is used in v. 17 for the man’s painful toil in the field.


text: Heb “and toward your husband [will be] your desire.” The nominal sentence does not have a verb; a future verb must be supplied, because the focus of the oracle is on the future struggle. The precise meaning of the noun תְּשׁוּקָה ( tÿshuqah , “desire”) is debated. Many interpreters conclude that it refers to sexual desire here, because the subject of the passage is the relationship between a wife and her husband, and because the word is used in a romantic sense in Song 7:11 HT ( 7:10 ET). However, this interpretation makes little sense in Gen 3:16 . First, it does not fit well with the assertion “he will dominate you.” Second, it implies that sexual desire was not part of the original creation, even though the man and the woman were told to multiply. And third, it ignores the usage of the word in Gen 4:7 where it refers to sin’s desire to control and dominate Cain. (Even in Song of Songs it carries the basic idea of “control,” for it describes the young man’s desire to “have his way sexually” with the young woman.) In Gen 3:16 the Lord announces a struggle, a conflict between the man and the woman. She will desire to control him, but he will dominate her instead. This interpretation also fits the tone of the passage, which is a judgment oracle. See further Susan T. Foh, “What is the Woman’s Desire?” WTJ 37 (1975): 376-83.


text: The Hebrew verb מָשַׁל ( mashal ) means “to rule over,” but in a way that emphasizes powerful control, domination, or mastery. This also is part of the baser human nature. The translation assumes the imperfect verb form has an objective/indicative sense here. Another option is to understand it as having a modal, desiderative nuance, “but he will want to dominate you.” In this case, the Lord simply announces the struggle without indicating who will emerge victorious. sn This passage is a judgment oracle. It announces that conflict between man and woman will become the norm in human society. It does not depict the NT ideal, where the husband sacrificially loves his wife, as Christ loved the church, and where the wife recognizes the husband’s loving leadership in the family and voluntarily submits to it. Sin produces a conflict or power struggle between the man and the woman, but in Christ man and woman call a truce and live harmoniously ( Eph 5:18-32 ).


text: Since there is no article on the word, the personal name is used, rather than the generic “the man” (cf. NRSV).


text: The idiom “listen to the voice of” often means “obey.” The man “obeyed” his wife and in the process disobeyed God.


text: The Hebrew phrase בַּעֲבוּרֶךָ ( ba ’ avurekha ) is more literally translated “on your account” or “because of you.” The idiomatic “thanks to you” in the translation tries to capture the point of this expression.


text: The Hebrew term עֵשֶׂב (’ esev ), when referring to human food, excludes grass (eaten by cattle) and woody plants like vines.


text: The expression “the sweat of your brow” is a metonymy, the sweat being the result of painful toil in the fields.


text: Or “Adam”; however, the Hebrew term has the definite article here.


text: The explanatory clause gives the reason for the name. Where the one doing the naming gives the explanation, the text normally uses “saying”; where the narrator explains it, the explanatory clause is typically used.


text: The explanation of the name forms a sound play (paronomasia) with the name. “Eve” is חַוָּה ( khavvah ) and “living” is חַי ( khay ). The name preserves the archaic form of the verb חָיָה ( khayah , “to live”) with the middle vav ( ו ) instead of yod ( י ). The form חַי ( khay ) is derived from the normal form חַיָּה ( khayyah ). Compare the name Yahweh ( יְהוָה ) explained from הָיָה ( hayah , “to be”) rather than from הַוָה ( havah ). The biblical account stands in contrast to the pagan material that presents a serpent goddess hawwat who is the mother of life. See J. Heller, “Der Name Eva,” ArOr 26 (1958): 636-56; and A. F. Key, “The Giving of Proper Names in the OT,” JBL 83 (1964): 55-59.


text: The particle הֵן ( hen ) introduces a foundational clause, usually beginning with “since, because, now.”


text: The infinitive explains in what way the man had become like God: “knowing good and evil.”


text: Heb “and now, lest he stretch forth.” Following the foundational clause, this clause forms the main point. It is introduced with the particle פֶּן ( pen ) which normally introduces a negative purpose, “lest….” The construction is elliptical; something must be done lest the man stretch forth his hand. The translation interprets the point intended.


text: The verb is the Piel preterite of שָׁלַח ( shalakh ), forming a wordplay with the use of the same verb (in the Qal stem) in v. 22 : To prevent the man’s “sending out” his hand, the Lord “sends him out.”


text: The verb with the vav ( ו ) consecutive is made subordinate to the next verb forming a temporal clause. This avoids any tautology with the previous verse that already stated that the Lord expelled the man.


text: Or “placed in front.” Directions in ancient Israel were given in relation to the east rather than the north.


text: The Hebrew word is traditionally transliterated “the cherubim.” sn Angelic sentries ( Heb “cherubim”). The cherubim in the Bible seem to be a class of angels that are composite in appearance. Their main task seems to be guarding. Here they guard the way to the tree of life. The curtain in the tabernacle was to be embroidered with cherubim as well, symbolically guarding the way to God. (See in addition A. S. Kapelrud, “The Gates of Hell and the Guardian Angels of Paradise,” JAOS 70 [1950]: 151-56; and D. N. Freedman and M. P. O’Connor, TDOT 7:307-19.)


text: Heb “the flame of the sword that turns round and round.” The noun “flame” is qualified by the genitive of specification, “the sword,” which in turn is modified by the attributive participle “whirling.” The Hitpael of the verb “turn” has an iterative function here, indicating repeated action. The form is used in Job 37:12 of swirling clouds and in Judg 7:13 of a tumbling roll of bread. Verse 24 depicts the sword as moving from side to side to prevent anyone from passing or as whirling around, ready to cut to shreds anyone who tries to pass.