GenesisLesson #3

“Sin Enters the World”(3: 1-6: 6)

Review

Lesson #1 established four “foundational principles” for our Bible study:

1. The Bible is rooted in geography2. The Bible emerges from history3. The Bible—in its final, finished form—is a

unified literary work4. The Bible is the Word of God

Review

Lesson #1 also recognized four “cultural principles” of the biblical world. The world of the Bible is:

1. Patriarchal2. Monarchial 3. Polytheistic4. Slaveholding

Review

Lesson #2 presented two creation stories:1. The first creation story viewed creation from a

“God’s-eye” perspective, looking down from the cosmos (Genesis 1: 1 – 2: 3)1. Balanced and symmetrical: A-B-C Prologue/7-

days/ C-B-A Epilogue2. God’s name is Elohim: majestic, mighty

Review

2. The second creation story viewed creation from “man’s” perspective, from the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2: 4 – 25)1. Linear, with dialogue2. God’s name is YHWH Elohim: intimate,

covenantal

Genesis 1 & 2 raise the curtain on our story of Scripture with the 7 days of creation, followed by a recapitulation into day 6.

“God looked at everything he had made, and found it very good.”

(Genesis 1: 31)

And then sin enters the world!

Titian. Adam and Eve (oil on canvas), c. 1550Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, Spain.

SinSin is not an act we commit, but a condition

we are in, and that condition has four characteristics:

1. Sin is subtle2. Sin distorts our judgment3. Sin escalates4. Sin cascades down through generations

Both humans and animals have a natural fear and loathing of snakes(Well, most do! Egyptian snake charmer with his cobras.)

The Snake• Hebrew = Nachash (imagery of “shining”)• In ancient literature a frequent symbol of

chaos and death from the underworld• A serpent steals immortality from Gilgamesh in

“The Epic of Gilgamesh” (c. 2100 B.C.)

• In Christianity the snake is identified as Satan• “He seized the dragon, the ancient serpent, which

is the devil or Satan . . .” (Revelation 20: 2)• “Even Satan masquerades as an angel of light” (2

Corinthians 11: 14)

“The personality that approached the mother of us all in the garden was not a snake, evidently inferior to herself, but a ‘shining one,’ apparently superior.”

G. Campbell Morgan

Snake = Satan

1. Revelation 20:22. Revelation 12: 7-9 (flashback)3. Isaiah 14: 12-154. Ezekiel 28: 11–195. Luke 10: 17-18

The war in heaven, Satan’s fall and his quest for revenge becomes the subject matter for John Milton’s Paradise Lost, (1667/1674) the greatest epic poem in the English language.

The Trajectory of Sin

1. Adam & Eve disobey God and they are ashamed (Genesis 3: 1-24)

2. Cain murders his brother Able and he is impudent (Genesis 4: 9)

3. Lamech takes two wives, murders a stranger for insulting him, and is arrogant (Genesis 4: 23-24)

Hubert and Jan van Eyck. Ghent Altarpiece, detail (c. 1432).Cathedral of St. Bavo, Ghent, Belgium.

The Trajectory of Sin, Cont.1. “When the Lord saw how great the wickedness of

human beings was on earth, and how every desire that their heart conceived was always nothing but evil, the Lord regretted making human beings on the earth and his heart was grieved” (Genesis 6: 5-6).

2. “More tortuous than anything is the human heart, beyond remedy; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17: 9).

3. “There is no distinction: all have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God” (Romans 3: 23).

Jewish/Christian Interpretations

1. The Jewish canon of Scripture consists of 39 books written in Hebrew, organized as: Law, Prophets and Writings (the TANAKH or Old Testament); the Christian canon of Scripture consists of 73 books (the Old Testament, 46 books; the New Testament, 27 books).

2. Both Jewish and Christian Scriptures are expressions of our living faith communities: past, present and future.

3. Deliberate ambiguity abounds in Scripture, opening the text to an infinite variety of readings.

Questions for discussion and thought

1. God is called Elohim in Genesis 1 and YHWH Elohim in Genesis 2. Why are both names used in Genesis 3?

2. Why is the Snake called “cunning” in 3: 1? Give three concrete examples to illustrate.

3. The Snake tempted Eve, but who tempted Adam?4. The temptation is 3-fold in Genesis 3. Is there

another similar 3-fold temptation later in the Bible? (Hint: see Luke 4).

5. How do Jewish and Christian readings of Genesis 3 differ? Why?

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