Why Did Adam Eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil?

[Exegetist]

Your points, that Adam deliberately disobeyed, and that he knew more about the serpernt, implies that he had the knowledge of good and evil before he ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Your points say that Adam's intent was disobedience - aka evil.

On the contrary, all that is saying is that because the man was created first and engaged in an activity that the woman did not engage in (not being created yet) the man knew something that the woman did not about the creature that was used to talk to her. I am not suggesting a knowledge of good and evil. The creature is said to have been the craftiest or cleverest of all creatures. Adam would have known something about that. The woman did not.

Neither of them knew about the knowledge of good and evil until after they disobeyed.

We know that Adam deliberately disobeyed, because he was not deceived (falling into disobedience) the way the woman was. They both disobeyed but differently. The woman was deceived and fell into sin, the man deliberately (connotating knowledge) walked into sin.

 

[James-49]

The creature is said to have been the craftiest or cleverest of all creatures. Adam would have known something about that. The woman did not.

Neither of them knew about the knowledge of good and evil until after they disobeyed.

We know that Adam deliberately disobeyed, because he was not deceived (falling into disobedience) the way the woman was. They both disobeyed but differently. The woman was deceived and fell into sin, the man deliberately (connotating knowledge) walked into sin.

I'm trying to understand what you're saying but it's still coming across as a contradiction.

I consider a man who has no knowledge of good or evil. So how would the serpent being the craftiest creature translate into Adam's experience prior to actually eating of the tree and gaining that knowledge. How would Adam have classified the craftiness of the serpent?

I think he was no different than a child in terms of innocence, and eating of the tree was not wilfull disobedience. He was told he and Eve would die if they ate of the tree, but Eve ate and did not die.

In his innocence, Adam was confused. But deliberate in disobedience I really think is not the best description.

 

[Exegetist]

I did some more research on this and found some interesting things on the meaning of the words in Hebrew.

The word for serpent in Gen. 3 is nachash, which is a primitive root word that as a verb means to practice divination, to observe signs or omens, practice fortunetelling, and similar. The elements of the word include the meaning of bright, shiny. Thus the noun form (the serpent – hannachash) means one who practices divination, or snake/serpent, or the shining one. Thus, it could really be a euphemism for Satan.
With that in mind, Eve may have not been talking to a snake or serpent at all but rather Satan who had taken the form of a beautiful bright and shiny (Daniel 10:4-6) creature that was serpentine in appearance. Or she could have been talking to a serpent that was being controlled by Satan, as is a common belief.

I’m not sure that changes much, but it does add to. So, now the curse to the ‘serpent’ to crawl on his belly, may be doubly a curse upon Satan for his jealousy toward God’s creation of humanity. This would metaphorically and actually put Satan and his minions (in the future as this section was prophetic) under the rule of the humans he so despised. And today, Christians in the name of Jesus do have authority over even the demons. We already see that the “seed” of the serpent that would rise up and attempt to kill off the seed of the woman (the promised Messiah) is indeed Satan.

The question is how much of this would the man have seen? Likely he would have seen both the serpent/snake and Satan, the Shiny One. I don't know how the first human would arrange his understanding around all this. The question is, why wasn’t the man deceived by all this? If he was not deceived then he disobeyed deliberately not out of confusion. It is the woman who was confused, not the man.

 

[James-49]

I did some more research on this and found some interesting things on the meaning of the words in Hebrew.

... Eve may have not been talking to a snake or serpent at all but rather Satan who had taken the form of a beautiful bright and shiny (Daniel 10:4-6) creature that was serpentine in appearance. Or she could have been talking to a serpent that was being controlled by Satan, as is a common belief.

The question is how much of this would the man have seen? Likely he would have seen both the serpent/snake and Satan, the Shiny One. I don't know how the first human would arrange his understanding around all this. The question is, why wasn’t the man deceived by all this? If he was not deceived then he disobeyed deliberately not out of confusion. It is the woman who was confused, not the man.

Thank you. That was very interesting research you've shared. I'm hoping to add some insight that maybe between the two of us we can gain a closer understanding.

I would consider at this stage, that the conversation Eve had with the serpent (Satan) was more in the form of inner dialogue, similar to what we experience today when either God or the adversary speaks to us. I would make this assumption in that it says Eve gave some (of the fruit) to her husband with her. If Adam had heard a verbal dialogue he would have also blamed the serpent instead of blaming Eve when God had asked.

I would venture further that Adam was not deceived ... by the serpent. But the woman was.

1Ti 2:14 "And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression." (KJV)

deceive (Merriam-Webster)
1.(of a person) Cause (someone) to believe something that is not true, typically in order to gain some personal advantage.
2.(of a thing) Give a mistaken impression: "the area may seem to offer nothing of interest, but don't be deceived".

From the definition, being deceived requires a deceiver, which was the serpent. Adam was only offered fruit by Eve, who he thought was going to die, but she didn't die.

*As a personal note, I feel somewhat dismayed when a converstation starts to swallow camels while straining at gnats. I do hope that my thoughts are not coming across like that to you.
I have appreciated what you are putting forward in this. I think we both search to find an answer that satisfies.

 

[Exegetist]

Thank you for the kind dialogue.

"I would consider at this stage, that the conversation Eve had with the serpent (Satan) was more in the form of inner dialogue"

I do not see this. What markers indicate it. And what then was the man listening to.

 

[jackmt]

Thank you for the kind dialogue.



I do not see this. What markers indicate it. And what then was the man listening to.

I had not considered this till I read your interesting exchanges. What if Satan spoke to Eve while she was out of earshot from Adam? Otherwise, why would Adam have let him speak lies to her and fail to correct him? Perhaps Eve made the decision to eat and picked the fruit and ate while Adam was nearing and offered it to him. Seeing she was not immediately affected by it, and it was pleasing to her, he ate as well.

I don't have my bible handy to see if it fits, but off hand it seems to. RSVP.

 

[seeingeyes]

I had not considered this till I read your interesting exchanges. What if Satan spoke to Eve while she was out of earshot from Adam? Otherwise, why would Adam have let him speak lies to her and fail to correct him? Perhaps Eve made the decision to eat and picked the fruit and ate while Adam was nearing and offered it to him. Seeing she was not immediately affected by it, and it was pleasing to her, he ate as well.

I don't have my bible handy to see if it fits, but off hand it seems to. RSVP.

Here you go, sir.

"Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”

“You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves."

 

[Exegetist]

I had not considered this till I read your interesting exchanges. What if Satan spoke to Eve while she was out of earshot from Adam? Otherwise, why would Adam have let him speak lies to her and fail to correct him? Perhaps Eve made the decision to eat and picked the fruit and ate while Adam was nearing and offered it to him. Seeing she was not immediately affected by it, and it was pleasing to her, he ate as well.

I don't have my bible handy to see if it fits, but off hand it seems to. RSVP.

To my knowledge there is no place anywhere in Scripture where it says and soandso SAID something and it meant in their brain and not out loud vocally.

As well, there is nothing recorded that the woman ever said to the man, and she turned and gave it to Adam "who was with her". "Who was with her does not mean who was walking toward her. So, we are still left with the man standing near her listening to her (and the conversation) and saying/doing nothing until accepting what was offered. It is curious that Adam just listened and did nothing. Though he was not deceived, he must have found the conversation interesting for some reason.

There is certainly a point about Adam not seeing her die immediately, if he even understood what dying actually meant and the full ramifications of it.

 

[James-49]

To my knowledge there is no place anywhere in Scripture where it says and soandso SAID something and it meant in their brain and not out loud vocally.

There is certainly a point about Adam not seeing her die immediately, if he even understood what dying actually meant and the full ramifications of it.

I'm not aware that exists either, but I recall Jesus "answered" the fig tree when He saw it had no fruit, and I'm sure the tree didn't verbalize.

Or when the voice spoke to Jesus from heaven at Lazaraus' tomb, some thought it thundered.

I consider my assumption that it was inner dialogue is as unsupported in scripture as the assumption that it was verbalized aloud.

My assumption comes then from what I thought logical when God asked what they had done. Eve blamed the serpent because she "heard" his arguments. Adam blamed Eve, but I would consider had he heard the dialogue he would have also blamed the serpent.

Re: death and die - God gave Adam and Eve every tree for food (except one) so the mere act of eating would be the lesson on death. The banana once alive on the tree was then an empty skin on the ground. So I think Adam had a good grasp of that concept.

 

[James-49]

I had not considered this till I read your interesting exchanges. What if Satan spoke to Eve while she was out of earshot from Adam? Otherwise, why would Adam have let him speak lies to her and fail to correct him? Perhaps Eve made the decision to eat and picked the fruit and ate while Adam was nearing and offered it to him. Seeing she was not immediately affected by it, and it was pleasing to her, he ate as well.

I don't have my bible handy to see if it fits, but off hand it seems to. RSVP.

Thanks for adding to this. I'm thinking more and more how much I have assumed in my reading of scripture. That the conversation was aloud, or that it was heard by Adam, is as much an assumtion as there were 3 wise men at Jesus' birth.

 

[James-49]

This has been very thought provoking. Thank you Exegetist, jackmt ... and seeingeyes for placing that portion of scripture in bold - it clicked with me.

I've come to following considerations:

Below is the closing portion of the serpent's dialogue with Eve.
Gen 3:4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
Gen 3:5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

How much time passed betwwen that encounter, and the woman's estimation of the tree? It could be minutes, hours, days.

Gen 3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

Adam was "with" Eve when she ate of the tree, but it doesn't say he was with her when the serpent spoke to her.

------------------------

Also, if the encounter all happened within the same time frame as one event, the word "with" is still vague in that I've gone shopping "with" my family, yet we each would often select differing rows during portions of our time there.

 

[razeontherock]

I've come to following considerations:

Below is the closing portion of the serpent's dialogue with Eve.
Gen 3:4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
Gen 3:5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

How much time passed betwwen that encounter, and the woman's estimation of the tree? It could be minutes, hours, days.

Or years, or millennia! We simply don't know. I don't think A & E had no concept of good and evil before their fall though. they knew good; they were surrounded by it! What they didn't "know," via first-hand experience, was evil.

satan was determined to change that; fortunately he doesn't get the last word.

 

[Exegetist]

Good point razeontherock about A & E knowing good. But that would not help them in knowing there was an 'other' that was so the opposite.

Good point also about time frames, although if it were a particularly long time, I believe that would have been noted. As is, it paints a picture of everything happening somewhat connectedly.

As to A being gone and then only there when E handed him the fruit, other aspects cancel it out IMO. A listened to E. Yet, there are no words she said to him. It is reasonable to think that if there were they would have been hugely important and noted. The only thing left via the evidence given is that he listened to E and the serpent speak, and that is why A was 'with' her during and after E and the Serpent were finished talking.

Because there are no recorded words spoken by either, they may have just stood there thinking when E decided to check it out. A wondering himself just watched until he saw her not die, at which point she gave it to him and he took it and ate. All silence until finally they both felt and saw some sort of difference happen in them which caused them to feel naked.

No matter what, they are both to blame in different ways. We learn from both of them. It doesn't matter if we are tricked into sinning, we will still suffer the consequences. We need to be careful who we talk to and whom we trust. Deliberate knowledgeable sin will bring some additional consequences.

 

[Leggomyegolas]

Eve was deceived by Satan, but Adam wasn't. He knew what the serpent was saying was wrong, but he was standing right there with Eve watching the whole drama play out and did absolutely nothing to stop it. He could easily have told the serpent that he was full of baloney. He could have told Eve not to believe the serpent. But he didn't. Thus he failed in his duty to God to keep His commands, and to his wife, as her protector.