"This is, in my humble opinion, one of the single most misunderstood stories of the Bible. We have single-handedly (as a human race) managed to take the very Word of Our Father and twist it into some fairytale story about an apple and a snake. Neither the word apple nor the word for snake is ever used. We're going to shatter some common misconceptions today and let God's wonderful and awesome letter to us do all of the talking.

The story of the sin against God is found in Genesis 3. I'm going to assume that you are familiar with it at this point meaning that you have read it and not just heard your preacher preach on it. If you have not done so lately, quieten down the room, pray, and read Genesis 3. Then you can return to this lesson and finish it.

**This Bible Study should only be read by a mature audience. It's very deep and has some topics that are not really suitable for all ages.**

The creation of the world of Genesis 1 and Genesis 2 is interrupted by the appearence of the one whom is labeled "the serpent" in Genesis 3:1.

Genesis 3:1
Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

Let us familiarize ourselves with what the enemy is talking about here. God gave Adam some very simple and important commands back in Genesis 2:

Genesis 2:15
And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

There's some very, very important things going on right here. Number one, God has given Adam a command not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This is God's law in this case. Keep the phrase "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil" in your mind as we return back to Genesis 3. We'll make a very important connection to this term in a moment.

The Hebrew word rendered "serpent" in the KJV and other versions of the Bible is "nachash" which roughly means "shining one" amongst other definitions:

(Strong's Concordance)
serpent = Hebrew word # 5175: nachash (naw-khawsh'); a snake (from its hiss). From # 5172: nachash (naw-khash'); a primitive root; properly, to hiss,ie: whisper a (magic) spell; generally, to prognosticate: to practice divination, to divine, to observe signs, to learn by experience, to diligently observe, to practice fortune telling, to take as an omen.

This same term is also used in Revelation 12:9:
And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

One thing is quite clear here. This isn't a snake, its the old enemy alive and well in the Garden of Eden. So take a step back a moment and try to picture the woman having a conversation with a snake. I think the absolutely absurdity of it becomes clear quite quickly. The woman was approached by this shining one, nachash, and he's quite the handsome and appealing character. Certainly someone worth listening to if you rely on looks alone.

Now let us look at the word tree here:

tree = Hebrew word # 6086: `ets (ates); a tree (from its firmness) from # 6095:`atsah (aw-tsaw'); a primitive root; properly, to fasten (or make firm),ie: to close the eyes. figuratively:The spine giving firmness to the body (The body is the trunk, and the arms and legs are the limbs).

The serpent is not a snake and now we see that the trees are not quite trees at this point. It's clear from the above verse that the word used to denote tree is a completely figurative term. This is by no means the only appearance of the figurative use of this word:

Isaiah 61:1-3
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.

Jeremiah 17:7-10, Ezekiel 31:1-14, and Daniel 4:18-28.

Remember the reference to the "tree of the knowledge of good and evil" found back in Genesis 2:9? This tree is a being; one and the same as the serpent. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is the serpent; or that is to say, Satan. The important thing to note about the title given to Satan at this point that confirms it. Who was the one who had already rebelled from God? Who is the one condemned to the fiery lake? Who is the one who knew what it was to rebel from God?

Satan.

He was given the title of the "tree of the knowledge of good and evil" because he knew good and evil. He knew good because he once served God; he then knew evil because he committed evil in his rebellion from the Father. We'll come across one more tree towards the end of the chapter.

Genesis 3:2-5
And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

Thus are the first words of Satan in history and they immediately begin to do the dirty work. He jumps right to the use his best weapon; to twist and corrupt the Word into something that he can use to gain his ends. He offers the reward of being "as gods" to tempt the woman to commit the act that he desires at the moment. The phrase is very similar to what we hear many modern 'scripture lawyers' say - that "the Bible (God's Word) doesn't really say that, it means this instead, " Sound familar? Satan was at work then and is at work now. I thank God everyday for what he has given us to combat him and the power he has given us over him.

One more verse confirms the nature of Satan for us:

John 8:44
Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

We have some more important Hebrew words to understand. These are vital in understanding the figurative terms used.

fruit of the tree = Hebrew word # 6529 periy- fruit, in a wide sense: a) fruit, produce (of the ground), or b) fruit,offspring, children, progeny ( used of the womb), or figuratively c) fruit (of actions). eat of it = Hebrew word #398; 'akal (aw-kal'); This word has many uses, among which, one use means to lay with a woman (which is a sexual act). touch = Hebrew word # 5060; naga` (naw-gah'); Properly, to touch, ie: to lay the hand upon (for any purpose); euphemism for: to lie with a woman.

The sexual tone of Genesis 3:6 is unmistakable. We have multiple clues here that something more than looking at a fruit and eating it is going on.

Genesis 3:6
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

All doubt is erased. The act being committed here is a sexual act. One simply can speculate on the latter part of the verse, but that's another discussion for another day somewhere away from here. You now understand the important part, but it gets a little deeper than this.

Genesis 3:7
And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

An important point to make here is that Satan did this; he opened their eyes. We see what kind of power we are dealing with here. This is what happens when you let Satan take control. However, as I have already said, God has given us power against this, so take comfort in His Word.

Luke 10:19
Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

We continue on.

Genesis 3:8-13
And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in 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. And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

Focus in with me for a moment on verse 13. The key word here is "beguiled" and for this we look to the Hebrew once again:

beguiled = Hebrew word # 5377 nasha' (naw-shaw');a primitive root; to lead astray, i.e. (mentally) to delude, or (morally) to seduce: to beguile, to deceive utterly (infinitive).

We find that this same idea is used in the New Testament Greek.

2 Corinthians 11:3
But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

serpent = Greek word # 3789 ophis (of'-is); probably from 3700 (through the idea of sharpness of vision); a snake, figuratively (as a type of sly cunning) an artful malicious person

beguiled = Greek word #1818 "exapatao" (ex-ap-at-ah'-o); To seduce wholly.
Bingo. Further confirmation that this was indeed a sexual act. There is only one single meaning of the Greek "exapatao" and it's quite clear.

We now come upon the first prophecy in the Bible.

Genesis 3:14-15
And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou 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: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

upon thy belly shalt thou go = A Hebraism (figure of speech) for utter defeat as in Ps 72:9 & Isa 49:23. dust shalt thou eat = A Hebraism (figure of speech) meaning an ultimate term of degradation, as in Ps 44:25.

enmity = Hebrew word #342 'eybah (ay-baw'); from 340; hostility: a primitive root; to hate (as one of an opposite tribe or party); hence to be hostile. between thee and the woman = Not enmity between a garden snake and a woman, that doesn't even make sense! But enmity between the offspring of the serpent (satan) and the offspring of the woman (Eve, through Adam, and thus of God). between thy seed and her seed = seed:Hebrew word #2233 zera`- seed, sowing, offspring, a sowing, seed, semen virile, offspring, descendants, posterity, children. From #2232:to become pregnant, to be made pregnant. it = Jesus Christ. bruise thy head = Jesus destroying Satan.

thou = Satan.bruise his heel = Satan causing the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

A myriad of very important things are going on in these two verses. God has given us the first prophecy of the Bible, which has been fulfilled through Christ. This also sets the stage for the grand finale of the first sin, and it's something we're still feeling to this day in more ways than one.

Keep in mind that this line, starting with Adam and Eve, will go down through King David all the way to Yeshoua (Jesus Christ).

Jesus is the seed of Eve ("her seed" and Satan's seed is addressed as "thy seed"; the latter line is a line that still exists to this day. This is, in a nutshell, the entire prophecy of what will happen. It's up to us to make the choice and know which side to be on.

Genesis 3:16
Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

and = Read as: "And multiply thy conception."

Eve had twins and we will prove this in a moment. Keep reading.

conception = Hebrew word # 2032; pregnancy: from # 2029; harah to conceive, to become pregnant, to bear, to be with child, to be conceived, progenitor.sorrow = Hebrew #6089: Worry, toil. This is not talking about the physical pain of childbirth, it is mental anguish. After all, one son killed the other. And the remaining one was banished from Eve's sight forever. This brought Eve much sorrow, think like a mother to understand this word "sorrow."children = Hebrew word # 1121; ben: Son. Plural, this Hebrew word is unique in that it is only used of male offspring! It was talking about Cain and Abel.

God is revealing further prophecy which will be fulfilled in the following chapter. Eve is now pregnant with literally the child of Satan (called Cain) but she will bare another child that we know as Abel.

Genesis 3:17-22
And unto Adam he said, Because 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: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living. Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them. And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

The tree of life is Jesus Christ, who has not yet been revealed to the world.

Proverbs 11:30
The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.

Jesus Christ is the ultimate soul winner!

Revelation 2:7
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

Finally, we end out Genesis 3:

Genesis 3:23-24
Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

Cherubims are angelic beings. The way of the tree of life was not revealed until later with the coming of Yeshoua.

We shall look at the at first two verses of Genesis 4.

Genesis 4:1
And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.

knew = Sexual intercourse.

conceived = Second conception (Abel).
Cain = Born first (serpents son). The rest should read as: "I have gotten a son with the help of the Lord:" ('ish 'eth Jehovah). It's obvious Eve didn't quite know what was going on here. It's also worth mentioning that Cain's name means a possession or acquisition. Not quite the name given to a child of God.

Genesis 4:2
And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.

Again is the key word, let's look at the Hebrew:

again = Hebrew word # 3254; yacaph (yaw-saf'); a primitive root; to add or augment.

This means that this was a continuation of the first verse of Genesis 4. Cain and Abel were twins; one was of Satan, the other of Adam. There's simply no doubts about it when you let the Word doing the talking. Abel's name means "transitoriness" because of his short life. There's a lot of significance in all names in the Bible.

There you have the Truth of the first sin and its fruits. Satan has seduced and tempted both man and woman away from the word of God. This is a story repeated over and over throughout history. It is important to know that man is to blame as well. A lot of people want to blame things all on Satan, but the fact is, we are not infallible.

One may ponder why Satan did this. I think the answer is quite clear. We have already seen that Satan is a liar and works to corrupt God's plan. It is clear from this attempt that Satan was, in fact, trying to corrupt the very line of Christ. However, the Bible is a testament to his failure to do so. Hence the reason that we have the prophecy given by God in Genesis 3. He's already let us know that he's won. It's now simply up to choose sides.

Another important bit of information to walk away from is the existence of Cain's line; the line of the seed of Satan. We'll look at this in greater detail in another lesson in the future. However, we have seen that Satan has established his line here on earth from Cain down through his ancestors. This is spoken of in detail later in Genesis 4. However, we know that the line of Cain, known as Kenites, were there at the crucifixion chanting on to crucify our Lord. They managed to bruise his heal, but the victory in Christ is secure."

kmcutez:

Disclaimer: Please note, I did not write this article. I found it on the internet and thought it would be a good topic for discussion. Credit is given to the original author.

osegwu:

And did Adam sleep with him too?

Now let us look at the word tree here:

tree = Hebrew word # 6086: `ets (ates); a tree (from its firmness) from # 6095:`atsah (aw-tsaw'); a primitive root; properly, to fasten (or make firm),ie: to close the eyes. figuratively:The spine giving firmness to the body (The body is the trunk, and the arms and legs are the limbs).

We have some more important Hebrew words to understand. These are vital in understanding the figurative terms used.

fruit of the tree = Hebrew word # 6529 periy- fruit, in a wide sense: a) fruit, produce (of the ground), or b) fruit,offspring, children, progeny ( used of the womb), or figuratively c) fruit (of actions). eat of it = Hebrew word #398; 'akal (aw-kal'); This word has many uses, among which, one use means to lay with a woman (which is a sexual act). touch = Hebrew word # 5060; naga` (naw-gah'); Properly, to touch, ie: to lay the hand upon (for any purpose); euphemism for: to lie with a woman
The sexual tone of Genesis 3:6 is unmistakable. We have multiple clues here that something more than looking at a fruit and eating it is going on.

stimulus:

When deception is being spun, its weavers often go to great lengths to give words a completely different meaning than what was intended. Although hinting that Satan tried 'to twist and corrupt the Word into something that he can use to gain his ends', the author of the article does the exact same thing in his quoting Strong's reference for 'tree':

Notice how he cleverly introduced his own deception into that reference as highlighted in his construct above. In contrast, this is what Strong's Concordance offers for # 6086 and # 6095:

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H6086 עץ ‛êts ates - From H6095; a tree (from its firmness); hence wood (plural sticks): - + carpenter, gallows, helve, + pine, plank, staff, stalk, stick, stock, timber, tree, wood.

H6095 עצה ‛âtsâh aw-tsaw' - A primitive root; properly to fasten (or make firm), that is, to close (the eyes): - shut.

---

What is happening here is that the author cleverly weaves his own thoughts into references for his own ends, so that he could easily make it appear that the text would be saying what he tried to make it say, rather than what it actually says. The same thing again in another Strong's Concordance reference he cited:

So, we are here again challenged to look up Strong's Concordance on #6529, #398, and #5060. This is what Strong's offers us:

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H6529 פּרי p^erîy per-ee' - From H6509; fruit (literally or figuratively): - bough, ([first-]) fruit ([-ful]), reward.

H398 אכל 'âkal aw-ka[/i]l' - A primitive root; to [i]eat (literally or figuratively): - X at all, burn up, consume, devour (-er, up), dine, eat (-er, up), feed (with), food, X freely, X in . . . wise (-deed, plenty), (lay) meat, X quite.

H5060 נגע nâga‛ naw-gah' - A primitive root; properly to touch, that is, lay the hand upon (for any purpose; euphemistically, to lie with a woman); by implication to reach (figuratively to arrive, acquire); violently, to strike (punish, defeat, destroy, etc.): - beat, (X be able to) bring (down), cast, come (nigh), draw near (nigh), get up, happen, join, near, plague, reach (up), smite, strike, touch.

---

Let's observe a few things here:

First, Strong's Concordance of #398 [אכל 'âkal aw-ka[/i]l' ] does not include the meaning of a sexual act. The word simply means to 'eat'; and has been used in other verses as well without any sexual connotations, such as Gen. 3:18. Who would be inclined to say that Adam was having sex with the herb of the field in this statement: 'Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat [אכל 'âkal [i]aw-ka[/i]l' ] the herb of the field'?? If it does not apply in this verse, why make the eating of the fruit in verse 6 a sexual act?

Second, the word 'touch' [H5060 נגע nâga‛ [i]naw-gah'] in verse 3 includes the meaning of 'to lie with a woman' (as in Gen. 20:6 - 'therefore suffered I thee not to touch her'). However, there are other meanings of the word nâga‛, and in Gen. 3:3 it simply means to "touch" rather than to have sex. In vs. 6 when Eve "did eat" of the fruit of the tree, it is clear she was not having sex with the tree or its fruit.

Third, Gen. 3:6 said that Eve 'gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat', which would not suggest at all that Adam slept with Satan.

The whole article was cleverly spun by the author to present a sex act in Genesis 3 where there was none.

babaearly:

Doesn't it sound stupid to you that an apple on a tree caused all this mess in the world today? men it goes deeper than you think ah you own the bible but you don't know it has deep meanings. for the sake of reasoning figure it out! its not plain as you read it.

BRMJANE:

STIMULUS I THINK THE AUTHOR IS INSPIRED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT, I'VE ALWAYS HAD THAT THOUGHTS TOO. REMEMBER GOD MADE ALL FRUITS FOR FOOD, HE CAN'T CONDEMN THE FOOD WHICH HE BLESSED US WITH.

BRMJANE:

HOW CAN AN APPLE BE A SIN. THE AUTHOR WAS MAKING A GREAT POINT. I'VE GONE THROUGH THE BIBLE AND IF YOU WANNA KNOW THE TRUTH GO THROUGH THE GENERATION OF ADAM IN GENESIS CHAPTER 5.

BRMJANE:

WHEN I HEARD THAT YEARS BACK I WAS SO ANGRY, BUT I WENT THROUGH THE BIBLE DEEPLY AND I FOUIND THERE WAS A TRUTH IN THERE. WHEN A CHILD STARTS KNOWING GOOD AND BAD THAT CHILD TENDS TO COVER THEIR unclothedness MORE, THAT CHILD WON'T LIKE TO UnCloth IN THE PUBLIC BUT A KID THATS KNOWS NOTHING OF THAT KIND WILL RUN NAKED ARROUND THE HOUSE WITHOUT GIVING A HOOT. SO THINK AND PRAY TO GOD TO GIVE YOU AN INSPIRATION OF HIS WORD.

The True Sin In The Garden Of Eden: Eve Slept With Satan