1The serpent deceiveth Eve. 6Man's fall. 9God calleth them to account. 14The serpent is cursed, and his overthrow by the seed of the woman foretold. 16The punishment of mankind. 21Their first clothing. 22Their expulsion out of paradise.
1NOW the 1serpent was more subtila than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And 2he said unto the woman, 3Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
1 A creature, being very subtle, the devil misused here, thereby to carry off man from God, his Creator, (from Whom he himself, together with all his evil angels, was fallen away before, John 8:44; 2 Peter 2:4; Jude verse 6) for which reason he is likewise called a serpent, 2 Cor. 11:3; Rev. 20:2.
a cunning*
2 That is, the devil spoke through her, using a most subtle and deceitful way of reasoning; as the words of this text and the sequel plainly show.
3 The devil plays here with God’s command, and labors by ambiguity to question on the same, or to obscure it, and so to render it of no effect.
2And the woman said unto the serpent, We 4may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
4 That is, we are freely permitted to eat.
3But of the fruit of the 5tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, 6neither shall ye touch it, 7lest ye die.
5 Or, of the trees.
6 Namely, to eat thereof.
7 Other, that peradventure ye die not; perceiving that Eve began to waver here already.
4And the serpent said untob the woman, 8Ye shall not surely 9die:
b 2 Cor. 11:3.
8 A bold, shameless and obvious lie of the devil. Therefore he is justly called a liar, and the father of lies, John 8:44.
9 Hebr. not dying die. Other, ye shall not die the death.
5For Godc doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as 10gods, 11knowing good and evil.
c John 8:44.
10 Or, as God.
11 The word knowing, has a double sense, namely, to get and comprehend wisdom, whereby one may attain to glory and happiness, or to feel wretchedness which makes one shameful and condemnable. The former sense Satan promises deceitfully, knowing well enough that only the latter was to ensue of necessity.
6And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be 12desired 13to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband 14with her; andd15he did eat.
12 Other, desirable, that is, to be wished or longed for.
13 Or, for to get understanding.
14 Or, being with, or, by her.
d Rom. 5:12, 14, 15; 1 Tim. 2:14.
15 Namely, being enticed to it by the woman, as appears below verse 17.
7And the 16eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked;e and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves 17aprons.
16 Understand here not so much the eyes of their bodies, whereby they saw their shame, as of the spirit, whereby they came to feel their sin, and the punishment, which thereby they had brought upon themselves and their posterity, being convinced thereof in their consciences.
e Gen. 2:25.
17 Other, coverings, to hide their nakedness.
8And they heard the 18voice of the LORD God walking in the garden 19in 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.
18 Or, the sound of.
19 That is, (as some expound it), in the cool or windy part of the morning or evening, or at the blowing of a certain wind on a set time of the day, whereby the voice of the Lord was conveyed to Adam.
9And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
10And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
11And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
12And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be 20with me, she gave me 21of the tree, and I did eat.
20 Other, didst put by me, that is, given or placed to be with me.
21 That is, of the fruit of the tree, as also verse 6.
13And the LORD God said unto the woman, 22What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, Thef serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
22 Other, What! Hast thou done that? or, Why hast thou done that?
f Rev. 12:13.
14And the LORD God said 23unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, 24thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
23 As having been the devil’s instrument; by reason of which this entire curse does corporally touch the serpent and spiritually the devil. Yet the serpent is not questioned here (as Adam and Eve were before) because the devil had no excuse.
24 Or, be thou, as Gen. 4:11.
1525And I will put enmityg between thee and the woman, and between 26thy seed and 27her seed; ith shall bruise thy head, 28and thou shalt bruise his heel.
25 This sentence is principally announced against the devil, who was the greatest cause of man’s fall.
g Mat. 4:1.
26 Understand hereby all the children of the devil, John 8:44.
27 This seed is properly the Lord Christ alone, the only begotten Son of God, Who was to be born in the fullness of time of a woman, being a virgin, by the operation of the Holy Ghost, for to dispossess the devil through the merit of His death and the power of His Spirit of all his force, and to tread him under His and His church’s feet. See Psalm 110:1; John 12:31; Rom. 16:20; Heb. 2:14; 1 John 3:8. This is the first evangelical promise of life, put in opposition to the first preceding announcement of death.
h Col. 2:15.
28 That is, the devil and his seed shall persecute Christ and His church, but never be able to extirpate or destroy them.
16Unto the woman 29he said, 30I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth 31children; and thy 32desire shall be to thy husband, andi33he shall rule over thee.
29 Namely, God.
30 Hebr. multiplying multiply.
31 Hebr. sons; which word is much used in Holy Scripture to signify children, that is, both sons and daughters. Also Exod. 22:24; Psalm 128:6.
32 That is, thou shalt be obliged to comply with thy husband’s will, and seek for protection under him, and to be ruled by his prudence.
i 1 Cor. 14:34; 1 Tim. 2:11, 12; Titus 2:5; 1 Peter 3:6.
33 That is, he shall have power to command thee, which shall be troublesome now for thy flesh, whereas before the fall it was but delightful.
17And unto Adam he said, 34Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: 35cursed is the ground for thy sake; 36in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
34 See the annotation on verse 6.
35 See Rom. 8:19, 20, 21.
36 That is, thou shalt provide for thyself with a great deal of toil and trouble upon the earth.
18Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat 37the herb of the field;
37 Or, the growth of the field, which thou shalt be put to find outside this garden, of whose fruits thou shalt be debarred.
19In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat 38bread, 39till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
38 That is, to obtain food and nourishment. Thus the word bread is taken for all manner of food and sustenance, Gen. 18:5; 28:20.
39 That is, until you die.
20And Adam called his wife's name 40Eve; because she was the mother of 41all living.
40 Hebr. Chavvah.
41 Or, of all the living, that is, of every person.
21Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
22¶And the LORD God said, 42Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, 43lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
42 Here God reproaches man’s pride whereby he perceived that he would be equal as God, whereas now on the contrary he had brought himself and all his posterity into the greatest misery and scorn.
43 God would not permit man to make use of the token of life, since he had forfeited the same by his transgression.
23Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
24So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden 44Cherubims, and 45a flaming sword 46which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
44 Understand hereby angels, called thus, and known by this name to the Israelites, seeing the ark of the covenant, within the Holy of Holies, was covered with two cherubims (in human shape with wings spread abroad), Exod. 25:18; 1 Kings 6:23; 2 Chron. 3:10.
45 Whether it was fiery indeed, or had the resemblance of a mounting flame.
46 Or, wavering, shaking to and fro.