Gen 3.1-24 tells us about the temptation by the Nachash and the fall of Adam and Chava; God’s confrontation with Adam and Chava about their sin .
v 1…And the serpent (“nachash”) was more crafty (Hebrew “arum” and a wordplay on “naked” in Gen 2.25; the Nachash was not going to tell the “naked truth”) than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said (the nachash empowered by HaSatan, like Balaam’s donkey could speak). And he said to the woman (unsuspecting), “Is it really so that God (he leaves out God’s name Yehovah) has said, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden?’ ”
v 2…And the woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees in the garden we may eat;
v 3…but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it (not in the original prohibition) lest you die.’ “
v 4…And the serpent said to the woman, “You surely shall not die (denying the validity of God’s word).
v 5…For God knows that in the day you eat from it, your eyes will be opened (new sources of knowledge that are hidden), and you will be like God (endowed with a power which is only for him, like omniscience, and then you can reject his authority over you) knowing good and evil (and ironically this is what will happen-3.22; God gave no reason for the prohibition so the nachash suggests one).
v 6…And when the woman saw (what was right in her own eyes) that the tree was good (she didn’t see anything that showed the tree to be unfit) and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise (a source for intellectual wisdom) she took from the fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her (either who was with her or to eat with her; sin always has a desire for companionship in guilt) and he ate (Adam needed to see that the serpent was after him; he needed to guard what God said to protect her and defend the garden and God’s kingdom, but he didn’t).
v 7…And the eyes of both of them were opened (and instead of wisdom and happiness, a conflict with the will of God occurred) and they knew that they were naked (before God spiritually; stripped of the glory they once had), and they sewed fig leaves (very large) together and made themselves aprons (not to cover their whole body, but the parts that mankind has been ashamed to expose in public ever since).
v 8…And they heard the sound (voice) of the Lord God walking (manifesting) in the garden in the cool of the day ( toward evening; literally “at the wind, breeze of that day”) and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence (face) of the Lord God among the trees (Hebrew is “tree” and singular, possibly alluding to the tree they ate from) of the garden.
v 9…Then the Lord God called to the man and said to him (as the head of influence and who was given the original command), “Where are you (God knew where he was, this was said to initiate a discussion with him and hear his confession)?”
v 10…And he said, “I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked (the leaves did not cover his whole body) so I hid myself (Adam was not being honest here, he implies it was because of modesty).”
v 11…And he (God) said, “Who told you you were naked (how did the awareness of being naked come to you and that nakedness was shameful)? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat (giving him a chance to confess, but he didn’t)?
v 12…And the man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree and I ate (instead of confessing, his sin nature kicks in and implies he didn’t know from which tree she took it from; and he blames God for giving her to him).”
v 13…Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done (not a question but an exclamation)!” And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me (her sin nature kicks in) and I ate (if I am being accused of deceiving my husband, then the serpent deceived me).”
v 14…And the Lord God said to (regarding) the serpent (nachash), “Because you have done this, cursed (the serpent is cursed, not Adam and Chava) are you more than (from) all cattle, and more than all beasts of the field; upon your belly shall you go (cast down from its former condition; continue to crawl on your belly; not on equal footing with the other animals; this relates to Lev 11.42 and whatever goes on its belly), and dust shall you eat (as you creep) all the days of your life (as long as your species exists).
v 15…And I will put enmity (loathing) between you and the woman (eschatologically meaning between Satan and the Kahal of God), and between your seed (the unbeliever-John 8.44) and her seed (the Messiah); and he will crush you on the head, and you shall bruise him (hiss) on the heel (what a serpent can easily get at; his human nature).”
v 16…To the woman he said, “I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth; in pain shall you bring forth children; yet your desire shall be for your husband and he shall rule over you (her desires shall be subject to her husband-Num 30.1-16; 1 Cor 14.34-35; 1 Tim 2.11-15; he shall be her head of influence-1 Cor 11.1-2).”
v 17…Then to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife (which was opposite of what God’s voice said), and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, you shall not eat from it’ cursed is the ground because of you (the whole earth which he made for man); in toil (great difficulty) you shall eat of it all the days of your life.
v 18…Both thorns and thistles (more trouble) it shall grow for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field (wild herbs, not the fruits of the garden).
v 19…By the sweat of your face (labor) you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground (buried), because from it you were taken; for you are dust and to dust you shall return.”
v 20…Now the man called his wife’s name Chava (a personal name; Ishah was a general name) because she was the mother of all living (what she would be; this shows Adam’s affection for her and he would not forsake her).’
v 21…And the Lord God made garments of skins (suited for their rough life ahead) for Adam and his wife and clothed them (this also alludes to the substitutionary covering of the Messiah).
v 22…Then the Lord God said, “Behold (take note), the man has become like one of us (the triune Godhead; the power to determine for himself good and evil, apart from the word of God) and now, lest he stretch out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever (thinking he could save himself from God’s decree of death in 2.17; no physical works could save him now; God wanted man to receive justification by faith in the Messiah).”
v 23…Therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to cultivate the ground from which he was taken (God originally made man and brought him into the garden to keep it with minimum effort, now he is taken out of the garden and returned him back to where he came from-Gen 2.8).
v 24…So he drove the man out (this is used in a divorce, they did not want to go) and at the east of the garden of Eden (the Temple is a picture of the garden of Eden, and the entrance to the Temple was on the east) he stationed the keruvim (plural so there were at least two) and the flaming sword (a type of the fiery law that was now broken) which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life (now without Messiah, there would be no access to eternal life; one of the lessons here is this, we have the word of God, which is a tree of life to those who grasp it, as opposed to listening to the counterfeit tree or “conscience” in our hearts which is in contradiction to what God has said in his word).
Gen 4.1-26 tells us about the murder of Abel by his brother Cain; God confronts Cain and the curse; Cain’s descendants; the birth of Seth.
v 1… Now the man had relations (Hebrew “yada” meaning to know by experience) with his wife Chava and she conceived and gave birth to Cain and she said, “I have gotten a manchild with the help of the Lord (Hebrew root “kanah” means to acquire).
v 2…And again she gave birth to his brother Abel (Havel). And Abel was a keeper of the flocks (because it was a lighter task being younger), but Cain was a tiller of the ground (helped his father in cultivating the soil).
v 3…And in the process of time it came to pass (literally “end of days” possibly alluding to a Sabbath), that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering (“minchah” as a thank offering) unto the Lord.
v 4…And Abel on his part brought of the firstlings (bikur) of his flocks and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering (this is proof that even back then they knew about clean and unclean; this was a Korban Chata’at or sin offering).
v 5…But for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain became angry and his countenance fell (thinking that his status as first born was being rejected).
v 6…Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen?
v 7…If you do well (if you were innocent and blameless your thank offering would have been accepted) will not your face be lifted up. And if you do not well (if you have sinned, a sin offering is necessary-Hos 4.8; 2 Cor 5.21; Heb 9.28; Eph 2.14; Isa 53.10-11) sin (offering) is crouching at the door (available to you, at hand) and unto you be his desire (Abel would be subject to to him as the elder brother), you shall be ruler over him (as first born-he ruled over Abel and feared he had lost that status; to rest his fears, God told him all he had to do was bring an animal from the flock, but pride will get in his way; this is alluded to in Jude 11).
v 8…And Cain talked with Abel his brother (to get him to go into the field). ANd it came about when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.
v 9…Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother (to get a confession; later the first born Israel will kill the younger brother Yeshua instead of bring the “lamb”)?” And he said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper (Cain was being insolent here; that was God’s job, and Abel was of age and could take care of himself?”
v 10…And he said, “What have you done (pleading with Cain, like Peter did with Israel in Acts 3.17; God was willing to count their murer of Yeshua as a sin of ignorance, but their murder of Stephen showed their insolence)? The voice of your brother’s blood (Hebrew “bloods” alluding to Abel’s descendants that would have come from him) is crying to me from the ground Heb 12.24 says that the blood of Yeshua speaks better than the blood of Abel, meaning if Abel’s blood “spoke”, how much more will Yeshua’s).
v 11… And now you are cursed from the ground (Cain will receive no benefit from the ground anymore; he would be a fugitive like Israel), which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.
v 12…When you cultivate the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you (not bring him much benefit), you shall a vagrant and a wanderer (no settled place to live; a fugitive fleeing persecution) on the earth.”
v 13…And Cain said to the Lord, “”My punishment is too great to bear (complaining about God’s mercy and acting as if Yehovah is cruel)!
v 14…Behold (see), you have driven me this day from the face of the ground (where he made his living and was brought up); and from your face (favor) I shall be hidden, and I shall be a vagrant and a wanderer on the earth, and it will come about that whoever finds me will kill me (there were many others alive on the earth at this time; like Israel after the first century).”
v 15…So the Lord said to him, “Therefore whoever kills Cain vengeance will be taken on him seven-fold (completely).” And the Lord appointed a sign for Cain (to confirm what he has just said; God reassured him in his mercy that he would not be killed; what this sign was is unknown), lest anyone finding him should slay him.
v 16…Then Cain went out from the presence (face) of the Lord and settled in the land of Nod (wandering) east of Eden (further east from where his father had settled).
v 17…And Cain had relations (“yada”) with his wife (this was about 130 years after creation so this was a descendant of one of Adam’s other sons-Gen 5.4) and she conceived, and gave birth to Enoch (teaching) and he built a city (being a wanderer did not apply to his descendants), and called the name of the city Enoch, after his son.
v 18…Now to Enoch was born Irad, and Irad became the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael became the father of Methushael, and Methushael became the father of Lamech.
v 19…And Lamech took to himself two wives (a departure from the idea in Gen 2.24), the name of the one was Adah and the name of the other was Zillah.
v 20…And Adah gave birth to Jabal, he was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock (tents could be moved along with their livestock).
v 21…And his brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all those who play the lyre and pipe (music is very ancient).
v 22…As for Zillah, she also gave birth to Tubal-cain, the forger of all implements of bronze and iron, and the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah (Josephus says that the number of children Lamech had with is two wives was 77).
v 23…And Lamech said unto his wives (to comfort and assure them)), “Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; you wives of Lamech hearken to my speech (a parallelism); for I have slain a man for wounding me, and a young man (young and strong) for bruising me (these were in self defense);
v 24…if Cain shall be avenged sevenfold (for an intentional murder), truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold (God will show his mercy to me even greater because I acted in self-defense).
v 25…And Adam had relations with his wife again (following the murder of Abel), and she gave birth to a son, and named him seth (appointed compensation), for she said, “God has appointed me another offspring in place of Abel, for Cain killed him.”
v 26…And to Seth, to him also a son was born; and he called his name Enosh (man). Then (in the days of Seth and Enosh) men began to call (in a formal, organized way as opposed to individual worship before this time) upon the name of the Lord (Yehovah).
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