Tag: Genesis 3

Cool of the Day

Posted on by jovial_cynic
What is the “cool of the day?” Is it a time of day? An event that occurs within the day?

The word here is “ruah,” which is the same word that describes the Spirit of God. It’s the breath that brought life into humanity. It’s a wind, as though it happened during the windy time of day.

It’s fascinating.

Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
Genesis 3:8 (NIV)

But the rabbis point to a different strangeness in the verse: In what way did the man and his wife hear the sound of God walking? What does that sound like?

Connected by Dust

Posted on by jovial_cynic
Dust connects the serpent and the man in the weirdest way.

Then the Lord God said to the serpent,

“Because you have done this,
Cursed are you more than all the livestock,
And more than any animal of the field;
On your belly you shall go,
And dust you shall eat
All the days of your life;

Genesis 3:14 (NASB)

By the sweat of your face
You shall eat bread,
Until you return to the ground,
Because from it you were taken;
For you are dust,
And to dust you shall return.

Genesis 3:19 (NASB)

Flaming Sword

Posted on by jovial_cynic
The flaming sword is said to “flash back and forth” to guard the way to the Tree of Life.

This has two meanings in the form used here:

to transform oneself
to turn this way and that, turn every way

H2015: הָפַךְ

But also, we never hear about this flaming sword again.

It’s very odd.

So He drove the man out; and at the east of the Garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life.

Genesis 3:24 (NASB)

Sexuality

Posted on by jovial_cynic
I don’t believe temptation and the fall in Genesis 3 is specifically about sex, but there are things in the language that seem to link them.

I can’t shake this question: Is there anything more strongly linked to shame and sin than sexuality? Has it always been this way?

It’s an extremely heavy topic, and while I don’t think Genesis 3 is about sex, I think that the hints in the language are meant to help us understand that the brokenness we experience in our sexuality is like a living parable for what spiritual brokenness is.

Serpent

Posted on by jovial_cynic
The word “serpent” in Genesis 3 is rooted in another word that is noticeably… spiritual. It means a hiss, or whisper, and it suggests another path towards enlightenment and the knowledge of hidden things.

This is forbidden for God’s people. Always has been.

serpent, snake
serpent
image (of serpent)
fleeing serpent (mythological)

H5175: נָחָשׁ

to practice divination, divine, observe signs, learn by experience, diligently observe, practice fortunetelling, take as an omen
(Piel)
– to practice divination
– to observe the signs or omens

H5172: נָחַשׁ

A Foundation

Posted on by jovial_cynic
Genesis 3 introduces sin and death, and it’s understood to be tragic. In some ways, terrifying. But if you’ve spent time pouring over Genesis 1 and 2 and see that a foundation has been laid down by God, you can trust the God of the story to fix what has been broken.

So this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone,
a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation;
the one who relies on it
will never be stricken with panic.

Isaiah 28:16 (NIV)

Because You Did This

Posted on by jovial_cynic
So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,

“Cursed are you above all livestock
and all wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
and you will eat dust
all the days of your life.

Genesis 3:14 (NIV)

To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’

“Cursed is the ground because of you;
through painful toil you will eat food from it
all the days of your life.

Genesis 3:17 (NIV)

God doesn’t say this to the woman. Unlike with the Serpent and with Adam, God does not appear to assign blame to her.

Wrestling with God

Posted on by jovial_cynic
In Genesis 32, we read a story of Jacob wrestling with God, refusing to let go until he receives a blessing. This is not bad. It’s a defiant and hopeful tenacity that God honors.

After God pronounces death on Adam, perhaps Adam “wrestles” with God as well, defiantly naming his wife Eve… which means “Life.”