(Note: the blue horizontal menu bar directly above lists the subsections of "Original Sin in the Bible as Read Today." Beginning with "Acceptance of Evolution by Pope John Paul II," be sure to read each of these subsections before moving on to the next primary section, "New Interpretation of Original Sin.")

The Story of Adam and Eve

Introduction  >  Scene 1: Life in the Garden (Genesis 2)  >  Scene 2: Temptation, Judgment, and Punishment (Genesis 3)

Introduction  (return to top)

If humans were created according to the process of evolution, what happens to the central church doctrine of "original sin"? Certain aspects of it can be rethought in the mythic context, and indeed theologians have had much to say about it. First of all, the story of Genesis 2-3 about Adam and Eve is now generally acknowledged to be a mythic narrative used by the biblical author (the Yahwist, probably during the monarchy of Solomon or one of his successors) to dramatize the mysterious, non-divine origin of sin and its consequences. Further, the text should not be considered only in itself, but also as part of the whole theology of origins, Genesis 1-11, and of course from the viewpoint of its use by Paul in Romans 5:12-21 and elsewhere.

Genesis 1-11. Exegetes usually ascribe the following stories of Genesis 1-11 to the Yahwist: Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, sexual relations of the "sons of God" with human women, one version of the Flood, the drunkenness of Noah and the sin of his son Ham, and the Tower of Babel. These vignettes have as their primary purpose to manifest the origin and growth of sin, and at the same time to show God's response as one of justice (punishment) and of mercy. After dealing with humanity as a whole in Genesis 1-11, God initiates a new relationship with Abraham that becomes a blessing "for all nations" (Genesis 12).

Genesis 2-3. Within this larger context we can now consider Genesis 2-3, the story of Adam and Eve. It is structured into two basic panels: (1) creation of Adam, placement in the garden, and formation of a suitable partner (Genesis 2), and (2) temptation, sin, judgment, and expulsion from the garden (Genesis 3). The first scene serves as a foil and setup for the second, and gives us little information about the "state of original justice." The focus of attention is the temptation, sin, and threefold punishment of the serpent, Eve, and Adam. It provides etiological explanations for snake travel without legs, the pains of childbirth, hard labor in the field, and death. It also introduces the general themes of alienation and blaming others.

Scene 1: Life in the Garden (Genesis 2)  (return to top)

God planted a garden in Eden which contained the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He then placed Adam (which in Hebrew means "humankind") in it to cultivate and care for it. He gave Adam permission to eat from any of the trees except one, and threatened death as a punishment in case of infraction.

The Tree of Life. As long as Adam (humankind) was able to eat from the fruit of the tree of life he would live; he is expelled from the garden of paradise (Eden) with his wife precisely so he will no longer have access to that tree (Genesis 3:22-24). Bruce Vawter (1977, 68, 89) states that humankind was not created immortal: "immortality was not a gift that he forfeited but one that he failed to obtain."

Death in Other Legends. Various extra-biblical cultures also use the image of a plant of life or fountain of youth that would allow one to live forever, a "reality" which was almost in human grasp but finally not obtained. According to the Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh, Tablet XI, Gilgamesh heard about a plant of life at the bottom of the sea. Tying rocks to his feet, he went down there in search of it. He found it, cut the rocks from his feet, came to shore, and said: "This plant is a plant apart, whereby a man may regain his life's breath … Its name shall be 'Man Becomes Young in Old Age.' I myself shall eat it and thus return to the state of my youth." Then, when he and his companion Urshanabi were camping for the night at a well and Gilgamesh went into the water to bathe, "a serpent snuffed the fragrance of the plant; it came up [from the water] and carried off the plant. Going back it shed [its] slough" (Pritchard 1969, 96). Gilgamesh "lost," that is, failed to obtain, the means of living forever.

The same theme is expressed in the Babylonian Legend of Adapa. The hero Adapa from Eridu came to heaven to look for two gods who had disappeared, Tammuz and Gizzida. He had previously been told by the god who created him, Ea, that if he were offered "bread of death" or "water of death" he should not eat or drink, but if he were offered a garment and oil, he should put on the garment and anoint himself with oil. He arrived in heaven and was offered "bread of life" and "water of life," but he neither ate nor drank. He was also offered a garment and oil, and took them. He then found out that he would have had (eternal) life had he accepted the bread and water. He was cast back to earth (Pritchard 1969, 101-102).

In Egypt, according to an ancient pyramid text, King Pheops heard about a tree of life on a distant island and went in search of it. At times pharaohs are depicted standing next to a sacred tree in the company of Egyptian gods who promise the pharaoh "countless years of life" (Gaster 1969, 29-34).

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, nos. 374-79, discusses the "state of original justice," acknowledging the "symbolism of biblical language" (no. 375), and states that "as long as he remained in the divine intimacy, man would not have to suffer or die" (no. 376). All of these texts describe why people die even though they would like to live forever.

The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Adam (humankind) and the Woman (she is not named until after they are sentenced by God for their sin, Genesis 3:20) were forbidden to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but they did so (Genesis 3:6) and were punished by expulsion from access to the tree of life.

Gaster claims as a general background to this tree story the idea that trees in divine groves helped the gods' jealous guarding of their own prerogatives; they don't want ambitious humans to be as wise as they. Of Genesis 3 Gaster says, "consideration of the folklore background enables us to recognize that the true theme of the story is a similar abortive attempt on the part of man to usurp divine status and equality" (Gaster 1969, 35). This is not far off from the usual description of the sin of Adam and Eve as a sin of pride.

Nakedness. The only verse in Genesis 2-3 that describes the "state" of Adam (humankind) and the Woman before what is commonly thought of as the Fall, is Genesis 2:25, which reads "The man and his wife were both naked, yet they felt no shame." This verse, bridging creation and the Fall, is interpreted on the basis of Genesis 3:7, 10:

Genesis 2:25—naked, they felt no shame

Genesis 3:7—they realized that they were naked, so they made loincloths

Genesis 3:10—[Adam to Yahweh] "I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid."

The image of being naked and not self-conscious about it probably derived from the behavior of young children, who would have gone about naked in the Middle East. It is an image of peace, mutual trust, childlike simplicity, and closeness.

The image of nakedness in Genesis 2:25 prepares the reader for the transformation of its meaning that occurs in Genesis 3:7, 10. Does this mean that Genesis 2:25 cannot also be used to tell us about special gifts of Adam and Eve in paradise prior to the Fall? Bruce Vawter (1977, 89) strongly argues against the existence of any such "preternatural gifts."

Scene 2: Temptation, Sin, Judgment, and Punishment (Genesis 3)  (return to top)

The serpent is one "of all the animals that the Lord God had made" (Genesis 3:1). It is therefore not itself the devil, but simply a creature the ancients recognized as dangerous and cunning (Numbers 21; Proverbs 30:19). The temptation by the serpent is artfully expressed. Was the Woman forced to sin? No, she had that capacity even before the temptation. Vawter explains:

It is not true, as we see, that man and woman in their primordial state were conceived as in such a condition of innocence that they were incapable of contemplating transgressions even on their own. The tempter has made the suggestion, but the woman has made the decision based on her own judgment—'this thing is good to have.' In other words, while the story depicts a 'fall' of man in the sense that he commits a sin, misses the mark, transgresses a commandment imposed upon him—and, since the perspective is of the first man and woman, it can be viewed as the first sin and first transgression—still, it is not a fall in the sense that man after has become anything else than man was before. The potential for transgression is always present (Vawter 1977, 78f).

The result of this first transgression is alienation from one another (they are ashamed of their nakedness) and from God (they hide).

Yahweh did not abandon Adam (humankind). Adam even walked with God in the cool of the garden. But Adam (humankind) and the Woman hid before God even called their names. The consequences of their sin were automatic. The progression of events occured as follows:

Genesis 2:17— Prohibition from eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The Jerusalem Bible's note on Genesis 2:17 says:

This knowledge is a privilege which God reserves to himself and which man, by sinning, is to lay hands on, 3:5, 22… It is the power of deciding for himself what is good and what is evil and of acting accordingly, a claim to complete moral independence by which man refuses to acknowledge his status as a created being. The first sin was an attack on God's sovereignty, a sin of pride. This rebellion is described in concrete terms as the transgression of an express command of God for which the text uses the image of a forbidden fruit.

Genesis 3:11-13—Ungallant excuses!

Genesis 3:14—The snake is cursed: etiological explanation as to why snakes crawl on their bellies and eat dust (see also Micah 7:17; Isaiah 65:25).

Genesis 3:15—Proto-evangelium? This text has often been interpreted by the church as referring to Christ or to Mary as the one who would crush the serpent's head. Some modern translators and commentators emphasize the continuing struggle between humans and serpents (even as symbols of evil), but do not see any advantage to the human in that the bite of a venomous snake would be deadly also in the heel. Others, however, see a sign of optimism in the naming of the Woman as "Eve," the "mother of all the living" (Genesis 2:20), and, of course, also in the implied reference to Christ or Mary, both of whom were victorious over the forces of evil symbolized by the serpent.

Genesis 3:16—Punishment to the Woman was life as it was known in the time of the Yahwist: childbearing in great pain and attraction to a man who would then lord over her. The mythical elements of a primordial time and place that were set in Genesis 2-3 prepared us to explain the way things are now.

Genesis 3:17-19—Punishment to Adam (humankind): the ground is cursed and Adam must earn his keep by the sweat of his brow.

Genesis 3:20—"You are dust and unto dust you shall return"

By the mere fact that humanity is organic, made of "dust," it will die. Yet the point to be explained is not only the reality of death, but also its poignant, tragic character, the horrendous pain and terror connected with it. This second aspect of death is explained in the punishment for sin. At this point Adam names the Woman "Eve." His right to name her shows that she is under his authority, but since this authority is established after the divine sentence for sin, it is done so in the context of a sinful world.

Genesis 3:21—"God made leather garments with which he clothed them"
Divine graciousness: God does not abandon his people, even after they have sinned; he punishes, severely, but then continues communion of life.

Genesis 3:22—"the man has become like one of us, with his knowledge of good and evil" If we read Genesis 2:17 (prohibition from eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil) in the light of Genesis 3:5 (the tree as tempting: "good to eat, pleasing to the eye, and enticing for the wisdom that it could give") and Genesis 3:22 ("the man has become like one of us, with his knowledge of good and evil"), the argument that the sin of Adam and Eve is the sin of pride—of wanting to be independent like God, able to determine what is good and what is evil—comes full circle.

Genesis 3:23-24—They were expelled from access to the tree of life, lest they become immortal.

Words highlighted in green appear in the Glossary.