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Genesis 3:1
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The Temptation and Fall of Man

1 Now athe serpent was bmore cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”  
2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the afruit of the trees of the garden;  
3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you atouch it, lest you die.’ ”  
4 aThen the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.  
5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6 So when the woman asaw that the tree was good for food, that it was1 pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit band ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.  
7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, aand they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves1 coverings.  
8 And they heard athe sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the2 cool of the day, and Adam and his wife bhid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.  
9 Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”
10 So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, aand I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.”  
11 And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?”
12 Then the man said, a“The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.”  
13 And the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, a“The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”  
14 So the Lord God said to the serpent:
“Because you have done this,
You are cursed more than all cattle,
And more than every beast of the field;
On your belly you shall go,
And ayou shall eat dust
All the days of your life. 
15 And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between ayour seed and bher Seed;
cHe shall bruise your head,
And you shall bruise His heel.”  
16 To the woman He said:
“I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception;
aIn pain you shall bring forth children;
bYour desire shall be1 for your husband,
And he shall crule over you.”  
17 Then to Adam He said, a“Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree bof which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’:
c“Cursed is the ground for your sake;
dIn toil you shall eat of it
All the days of your life. 
Commentaries:
John Wesley's Notes
<< Genesis 2:25   Genesis 3:2 >>


Genesis 3:1-5

We have here an account of the temptation wherewith Satan assaulted our first parents, and which proved fatal to them. And here observe, The tempter, the devil in the shape of a serpent. Multitudes of them fell; but this that attacked our first parents, was surely the prince of the devils. Whether it was only the appearance of a serpent, or a real serpent, acted and possessed by the devil, is not certain. The devil chose to act his part in a serpent, because it is a subtle creature. It is not improbable, that reason and speech were then the known properties of the serpent. And therefore Eve was not surprised at his reasoning and speaking, which otherwise she must have been. That which the devil aimed at, was to persuade Eve to eat forbidden fruit; and to do this, he took the same method that he doth still. 1. He questions whether it were a sin or no, Genesis 3:1-2. He denies that there was any danger in it, Genesis 3:4. 3. He suggests much advantage by it, Genesis 3:5. And these are his common topics.

As to the advantage, he suits the temptation to the pure state they were now in, proposing to them not any carnal pleasure, but intellectual delights. Your eyes shall be opened - You shall have much more of the power and pleasure of contemplation than now you have; you shall fetch a larger compass in your intellectual views, and see farther into things than now you do. You shall be as gods - As Elohim, mighty gods, not only omniscient but omnipotent too: You shall know good and evil - That is, everything that is desirable to be known. To support this part of the temptation, he abuseth the name given to this tree. 'Twas intended to teach the practical knowledge of good and evil, that is, of duty and disobedience, and it would prove the experimental knowledge of good and evil, that is, of happiness and misery. But he perverts the sense of it, and wrests it to their destruction, as if this tree would give them a speculative notional knowledge of the natures, kinds, and originals of good and evil. And, All this presently, In the day you eat thereof - You will find a sudden and immediate change for the better.




Other John Wesley's Notes entries containing Genesis 3:1:

Genesis 3:1-5

 

<< Genesis 2:25   Genesis 3:2 >>

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