![[#38] Genesis 3:1 – Scapegoating Eve](https://redeeminggod.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/serpent-eve-apple-150x150.jpg)
This study of Genesis 3:1 introduces the most important truth in all of Scripture. I believe that the truth you will learn today is discussed or explained or revealed in some way on almost every page of the Bible, and yet, amazingly, most of us have never seen that it is there. This is because the truth we see today is a truth hidden from the foundation of the world. It is also a truth revealed most clearly by Jesus.
The Text of Genesis 3:1
Genesis 3:1. Now the serpent was more 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’?”
In this discussion of Genesis 3:1 we look at:
- The word for “serpent” and “cunning” in Genesis 3:1
- What might have really happened between Genesis 2:25 and Genesis 3:1
- Why Eve might not be the guilty one after all
- Why scapegoating is the most important truth in Scripture
Resources:
- Buy The Atonement of God on Amazon
- Zevit, What Really Happened in the Garden of Eden
- Hardin, Reading the Bible with Rene Girard
- Subscribe and Leave a Review on iTunes
Downloadable Podcast Resources
Those who are part of my online discipleship group may download the MP3 audio file for this podcast and view the podcast transcript below.
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Great great podcast!! Love the example with the two boys, in relation with this text. I am in agreement, terrific work!!
what little i”ve learned from Girard is so powerful. scapegoating. yes. one question for you, when you refer to the “account” in Genesis, are you teaching it actually happened?
I believe Genesis 1 is more poetic-theological, while Genesis 2-4 is more historic-theological. Did the events happen exactly as described? I’m lean toward “Yes” but I don’t mind at all when people say “No.”
gottcha. i think it is all storytelling. which doesn’t reduce the power of the narrative at all to me.
That’s right. Historical or not, it is still all true.
What do you think about the possibility of Adam using Eve for “bait”? Just like the story of the older boy using his little brother to do the shoplifting…Adam hung back to see what would happen if Ever ate the fruit. After all, if Eve did “die” from eating the fruit, Adam would be in the clear and God could easily make another “Eve”. Adam would be in the clear, making it look like it was all Eve’s fault.
I thought the same thing Adam used her as bait
An why don’t most churches teach that Adam was standing right next to her he could of slap the fruit out of her hand killed the snake called God
It would have been GREAT if Adam had slapped the fruit out of her hand, called God to kill the snake, and the whole human race could have lived happily ever after! Or if they had just turned to God and been forgiven and then He could have used that Jedi mind trick to erase their memories of good and evil.
Of course you can only speculate, but do you think if Adam and Eve had passed the test the first time around, that would have been the end of temptation? Or would the snake/Satan have been back the next day with another temptation? Is it possible the account is a conflation of several, maybe even numerous temptations? Was it possible to pass the test, or impossible?
That’s why I said Adam should have slapped the fruit out of Eve’s hand and asked God to KILL the snake! Who needs a talking snake anyway?
Very interesting. It’s so liberating to hear a different interpretation of this scripture. The scapegoating concept has changed my understanding of the word of God. Thanks Jeremy.
Yes indeed Adam was right there with Eve.
http://www.revisedenglishversion.com/Genesis/chapter3/6
Gen 3:6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.
“husband who was with.” We could translate that more freely as, “who was right there with her,” because that is the clear implication of the Hebrew text. Everett Fox in The Schocken Bible: The Five Books of Moses says Adam was “beside” Eve. Adam failed in his duty as Priest and Protector.
Adam and Eve. The story of the world’s first beta male.
Genesis 3:17
17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
Are you saying we should all be alpha males? Make sure you listen to Episode 47 when it comes out soon!
Adam defaulted on his responsibility to become the master of his destiny, and therefore reaped what he sowed: “Cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life.”
Genesis 2:16-17
16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
1 Corinthians 11:3
3 But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.
I could not really understand what Street Preacher meant, either. But I can’t WAIT for Episode 47. Every time I listen to one of the podcasts, I feel just a little closer to the heartbeat of God. Thank you so much for putting in all that study time and praying time to get those words of wisdom to share with us all.