Old Testament Commentary - Genesis 3

by Don R. Hender

Scriptural Text [& Editorial]	Commentary & Explanation	Footnotes ~ References ~ JST
CHAPTER 3 The Serpent (Lucifer) deceives Eve—She and then Adam partake of the forbidden fruit—Her Seed (Christ) shall bruise the Serpent's head—Role of woman, and of man—Adam and Eve cast out of the Garden of Eden—Adam presides— Eve becomes the mother of all living
1 NOW the ^aserpent was more ^bsubtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, ^cYea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? 2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3 But of the fruit of the ^atree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 4 And the serpent said unto the woman, ^aYe shall not surely die: 5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your ^aeyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, ^bknowing good and ^cevil.		1^a TG Devil ^b OR crafty, sly.; 2 Cor. 11:3; 1 John 3:8; Alma 12:4; D&C 123:12; Moses 4:5; ^c OR Has God actually said; 3^a Gen. 2:17; 4^a HEB (emphatic expression) Dying, ye shall not die; TG Death, Spiritural, First 5^a Mosiah 27:22; D&C 76:12 (12-19); D&C 88:11 (11-13); D&C 101:1; D&C 136:32; Moses 4:11 (10-13); Moses 5:10 ^b 2 Ne. 2:18 (18, 26); Mosiah 16:3; Alma 29:5; Moro. 7:16 (15-19); TG Earth, Purpose of; TG Knowledge ^c TG Evil
6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for ^afood, and that it was ^bpleasant to the eyes, and a tree ^cto be desired to make one wise, she took of the ^dfruit thereof, and did ^eeat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did ^feat. 7 And the eyes of them both were ^aopened, and they knew that they were ^bnaked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves ^caprons.		1^a TG Creation ^b Isa. 45:12; D&C 29:36; D&C 38:1; D&C 45:1; Moses 3:1; Abr. 5:1 2^a OR done ^b HEB stopped, ceased; from the verb shavat, the noun shabbat (Engl. Sabbath) means a stopping of cessation; D&C 77:12; Moses 3:2; Abr. 5:2 (1-3); TG Rest ^c TG Industry 3^a TG Sabbath ^b Ex. 20:11; Mosiah 13:19 (16-19); D&C 77:12; Moses 3:3 (1-3); Abr. 5:3 (1-3); TG Sacred ^c Ex. 31:17 ^d OR created through working
8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God ^awalking in the garden ^bin the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. 9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? 10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. 11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? 12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.		1^a TG Creation ^b Isa. 45:12; D&C 29:36; D&C 38:1; D&C 45:1; Moses 3:1; Abr. 5:1 2^a OR done ^b HEB stopped, ceased; from the verb shavat, the noun shabbat (Engl. Sabbath) means a stopping of cessation; D&C 77:12; Moses 3:2; Abr. 5:2 (1-3); TG Rest ^c TG Industry 3^a TG Sabbath ^b Ex. 20:11; Mosiah 13:19 (16-19); D&C 77:12; Moses 3:3 (1-3); Abr. 5:3 (1-3); TG Sacred ^c Ex. 31:17 ^d OR created through working
13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent ^abeguiled me, and I did eat. 14 And the LORD God said unto the ^aserpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art ^bcursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: 15 And I will put ^aenmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed^a; ^bit [he] shall ^cbruise thy head^b, and thou shalt ^dbruise his heel. Her Seed Now the 'Seed of the Woman' being spoken of here is Jesus Christ. All other children are the seed and children of men. But Mary was a virgin and in terms of this mortality and those pertaining unto it, only Mary was the mortal parent of Christ. He was 'Her Seed' as to this mortality. Of course, by the power of the Holy Ghost, Jesus Christ was the literal Son of God, God being his Father.	15^a her seed The 'seed of the woman' is man, but in particular it is in reference to that 'second man' or 'second Adam'; 'For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.' Thus Mary and her son Jesus Christ is specifically alluded to here. 15^b it [He] shall bruise [crush] thy head Here it speaks of Jesus Chirst and possibly all those who do follow after Him if 'seed' is to be taken in the plural. But the signficance is that Jesus Christ will have power over Satan to destroy him and his kingdom. This will be the end result at the end of days and Satan is then put away forever into the sides of the pit.
16 Unto the ^awoman he said, I will greatly ^bmultiply thy ^csorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth ^dchildren; and thy desire shall be to thy ^ehusband, and he shall rule over thee. 17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy ^awife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: ^bcursed is the ground for thy sake; in ^csorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; 18 ^aThorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 19 In the ^asweat of thy face shalt thou eat ^bbread, *till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for ^cdust thou art,* and unto ^ddust shalt thou return^a**.	19^a til thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou return This speaks singularly of this temporal body within which our spirit doeth dwell. It does not speak of our spirit which has been placed within this physical body. Thus the mortal body dies and returns to the dust of the earth to await the great day of resurrection which the spirit will be empowered by a holy ordinance of the priesthood to so resurrect a body of flesh and bone upon it again, an incorruptible, immortal and eternal body of whatever glory one has attained unto.
20 And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the ^amother of all living. 21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make ^acoats of skins, and ^bclothed them.
22 ¶ And the LORD God ^asaid, Behold, the ^bman is become as one of ^cus, to ^dknow good and ^eevil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: 23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of ^aEden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. 24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden ^aCherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the ^btree of life.