The Real Story vs. The Story We Think We Know

Tuesday, September 2   The real (biblical) story vs. the story we (think we) know

    Read Genesis 2:4-3:24 (in any translation; for a choice, see biblegateway.com).

a)  As you read, compare the Garden of Eden story in Gen 2:4-3:24  to your own.  Note the parts you sort of remembered but didn't put in your version, and whatever came as a complete surprise.  Also note what you put into the biblical story that isn't actually there.  In addition to the blog, bring these notes to class for discussion.

b) Reread the story slowly and write down what questions are left open in the narrative.  Find at least five.  Note one item that really puzzled you.

a) Unsurprisingly, my version of the story of the Garden of Eden was missing quite a few details. There were also a couple of things that were in my version of the story but were not in the biblical version.

I had the order of some of the events mixed up; I thought the story began after Adam and the animals are already present. However Gen 2:4-6 is spent describing Earth having no plant or animal life and also noting that there is no rain – mist springs up from the ground. The creation of Adam does not begin until Gen 2:7. I also confused the order of creation of man and animals. I originally thought that the animals were created and then man was created to rule over them. This is not the case, man was created and then the animals were created so Adam would not be alone.

I completely missed the part of the story explaining the four rivers in the Garden and that the Garden was created in the east.

Although I was aware that Adam was made from dust, I did not know that God himself breathed the breath of life into Adam’s nostrils. I knew that God took a rib from Adam to create Eve but I thought dust was also involved in her creation.

Perhaps the biggest mistaken belief I had was about the serpent. I thought Satan took the form of the snake to tempt Eve. However, there is no mention of Satan in the biblical story, it just says that the serpent was the most subtle wild creation God had created.

Ironically, I remember, but did not include, what would happen if Adam and Eve ate the fruit. I remember that God warned Adam and Eve that they would die but I did not write it down. However, I did include that God said they would die when he was punishing them after they ate the fruit. In other words, I forgot to write about the warning but remembered to write about the punishment.

I also remember, but forgot to include, how the serpent convinced Eve to eat the fruit. The serpent said God was wrong and they would not die; the fruit would actually let Adam and Eve “be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5).

A part that was in my version of the story but not in the biblical version is that Eve had to convince Adam to eat the fruit. Adam did not reprimand her for eating the fruit and he did not need to be convinced to eat the fruit. Genesis 3:6 only says that “she also gave some [fruit] to her husband, and he ate”.

Part of Eve’s punishment from God surprised me: women would want to serve their husbands. For a very long time women it was considered a mark of a moral woman to be subservient to their husband. I find it entertaining that God considered being subservient a curse, not a virtuous trait.

I did not know that God made Adam and Eve clothes, as stated Genesis 3:21. I thought the only clothing that they had were the leaves they used when they hid from God.

Finally, I was incorrect when I wrote that there were two angels with fiery swords guarding the entrance to the Garden. The biblical story has only one angel. I was also incorrect in thinking that the angel was there to block the Garden. In the Bible the angel was to “guard the way to the tree of life”, while the angel blocks the entire Garden, its purpose is to protect the tree.

b) If Adam and Eve had no knowledge of right and wrong, did that mean they were ‘innocents’? That they were naturally (for lack of a better term) ‘well-behaved’? In other words, does that mean humans are innately good?

How did the snake talk to Eve? Was she hallucinating or were animals able to speak?

Why did the snake beguile Eve into eating the fruit? There was nothing for the snake to gain from Eve disobeying God.

Genesis 3:6 describes the fruit as a “delight to the eyes”. Did God intentionally create the fruit to be appealing, to see how well they controlled their temptation?

This may not seem significant but it bothers me; part of God’s curse on the serpent is that “upon your belly you shall go”. Was the serpent not already on his belly?

Until Genesis 3:17 Adam and Eve are simply called man/husband and woman/wife. In Gen 3:20 Eve is named ‘Eve’ because she is the “mother of all living”. However when the first time Adam’s name comes up (when God curses him Gen 3:17), there is no explanation. It literally only says “And to Adam He said…” Assume someone has been living under a rock their entire life and has never heard the name ‘Adam’ before, how are they supposed to know that Adam is the man/husband?

As previously mentioned, Eve is named ‘Eve’ because she is the “mother of all things”. Why is she called mother when she was the last being to be created by God? All other creatures were already there.

This is the biggest part of the story that has always puzzled me: If God did not want them to eat the fruit, why did he make it?