SUMMARY
The snake facilitates options for action on the part of the human beings, and they succumb to the temptation and sin against God.
ANALYSIS
The snake is an ambivalent symbol in Israel’s world, associated with both life and death (see Numbers 21:4-9), as is the word “crafty” (compare to “sly fox”). Traditionally, the snake has been identified with the devil (first evident in WisdomWisdom encompasses the qualities of experience, knowledge, and good judgment. The Old Testament book of Proverbs, which sometimes invokes a Woman as the personification of Wisdom, is a collection of aphorisms and moral teachings. Along with other biblical passages, it teaches, "The fear of the... More of Solomon 2:24), but it is doubtful that the writers of Genesis 3 had this idea in mind. The text itself does not make this identification, calling the snake a “wild animal that the Lord God had made” (3:1), the same word for “animal” that is used in 2:19. The snake is a part of God’s good creationCreation, in biblical terms, is the universe as we know or perceive it. Genesis says that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. In the book of Revelation (which speaks of end times) the author declares that God created all things and... More!
It seems best to understand that the snake is a metaphor, representing anything in God’s creation that could present options to human beings, the choice of which could lead them away from a true relationship with God. The snake facilitates the options that the tree of knowledge of good and evil presents (2:16-17). While the snake does not tell the whole truth to the human beings (did he know it?), neither does God (see the “God knows” of 3:5). It cannot be claimed with certainty that the snake lies (see the NIV translation of 3:4, “you will not surely die” [emphasis added], and the additional move God must make in 3:22 for death to be certain).
Notably, God does not accept Eve’s excuse that the snake had tricked her (3:13); human beings cannot escape responsibility by claiming that “the devil made me do it.” Nevertheless, God passes judgment on the snake (3:14-15) for being involved in the presentation of options. Indeed, God is not “off the hook” for what happens; God made a command regarding the tree, making possible both the salutary and the devastating effects of human choices.
What is the nature of the sin committed by both Adam and Eve? It should be noted that Adam is just as guilty as is Eve; he was standing with Eve during the entire conversation with the snake (3:6) and made no effort to stop things! While they are disobedient to the command of 2:16-17, that is symptomatic of a deeper issue, namely, mistrust that God has their best interests at heart in the making of the command.
The story of Genesis 3 is often referred to as the story of the “fall” of humankind, a word that the story itself does not use. In view of the severe disruption of relationships that follows upon the sin, the word may best be understood as a “falling out” or a “falling apart.” All the important relationships that the human beings have are disrupted, including relationships with God, with each other, with the animals, and with the ground.
