A Commentary on the Book of Genesis, Chapter Three

One cannot study the opening chapters of the book of Genesis without getting into some very weighty issues. There is, of course, the first chapter that talks about Creation. But there are also other issues as well. For example, who wrote the book of Genesis? Not everyone will agree that it was Moses. Plus, when, if he did write it, did he actually write it? As will be seen in that part of this text, the higher critics have argued against Moses for a reason that will be shared at that time. But other critics have also argued against Moses, as being the author of the first five books of the scriptures, by speaking about something that is called the Documentary Hypothesis.

Each of those matters will be discussed in naming the author of the book of Genesis and the date of authorship. Then, after settling the Moses-authorship question, the next topic to be addressed will be the Moses-content question. The conclusion from those discussions will be that the opening chapters of the book of Genesis should be interpreted literally.

Next after those preliminary issues, the actual study of the third chapter of the book of Genesis will begin. As part of the discussion of verse one, the belief of dualism will be considered. Also the belief that Satan cannot make anyone do the wrong thing will be presented. The three mistakes that Eve had made when talking to the devil will be stated. The extent of her guilt, in eating fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, will be discussed. Was she less guilty than Adam, as guilty as he, or guiltier than he? Then, the exact moment when each of them had actually sinned against the Lord will be presented, along with the sin nature and the possibility that some sins might be worse than others. In that part of the discussion, though, it will be shown that all sin is sin. So no sins are any worse or any better than any others.

From there, the discussion will continue with the immediate results that Adam and Eve had felt right after eating the fruit. The consequences of sin will be discussed as they had applied to the serpent, to the devil, to Eve, and to Adam. Each of the four had suffered for their respective parts in the first human sins. Also as apart of that discussion, the very important verse fifteen, about the seed of the devil and the seed of the woman, will be examined. That is clearly one of the more important verses in the whole chapter. But following that, verse sixteen will also be examined because it is also very important. What did the Lord actually mean when He told Eve that her desire would be to Adam and that he would rule over her? Did Eve condemn all womanhood to be under the thumb of mankind just because of her sin? Those questions and more will be answered in that part of the text.

There is one note, however, to be made with respect to the organization of this text before concluding this Introduction. Something that the reader might find useful is boxes throughout that show the different passages that are being referenced at the times and in the places where they are being referenced. That way, he or she will not have to jump all over the place or get into or out of the scriptures to locate a particular reference. Hopefully that inclusion will help the reader in trying to understand the various events and to also quickly put them into their right context. So it is hoped that that addition will make this text easier to read and that the Lord will receive the praise, honor, and glory that He rightfully deserves.