(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.")

Original Sin in the Old Testament

Old Testament meaning of Genesis 2-3. Norbert Lohfink points out that the basic relationship of the Israelites with God at the time of the Yahwist was one of covenant, and that the sin involved here was a breach of the covenant. He states that this "represents a reflection upon the entry of evil into the world at the beginning of history, on the basis of a religious experience which was first given and thought out within Israel's covenant with God. It is only through the idea of the covenant that all the dark side of human existence came to be regarded as a consequence of sin, and sin as an act of human freedom" (Lohfink 1968, 60).

Allusions to Genesis 2-3 in the Old Testament. Surprisingly, there are extremely few allusions to the story of Adam and Eve in the rest of the Old Testament. There is only one indirect one in the Hebrew Bible, the portrayal of the proud king of Tyre as an Adam-like figure on a mountain, headed for a fall (Ezekiel 28). In the Septuagint there are two more allusions, the statement in Sirach 25:24 that "Sin began with a woman, and thanks to her we all must die," and in the Book of Wisdom 2:24 that "Death came into the world only through the devil's envy, as those who belong to him find to their cost." Both are very late texts, written about 180 BC and 50 BC respectively. It seems clear from this paucity of references to the story of Adam and Eve that the Old Testament and the community in which it was written do not teach "original sin."

Inclination to evil or yetzer hara'. Judaism does not have the concept of original sin. Instead, it has the concept of "inclination to evil" (yetzer hara'). The Yahwist attributed the Flood to this "inclination to evil," because "every plan devised by his mind (kol yetzer macheshebot libbo) was nothing but evil (ra') all the time" (Genesis 6:5). At the same time, the Yahwist also attributed to this "inclination to evil" the fact that God would not repeat the Flood, for "the devisings of man's mind (yetzer leb ha'adam) are evil (ra') from his youth" (Genesis 8:21).

Universality of sin. Thus Judaism did not use the story of Genesis 2-3 as its explanation for human proclivity to sin. Nevertheless within the Old Testament there are several aspects of sin which reappear in the later traditional understanding of "original sin," especially the universality of sin, the idea that "everyone is a sinner":

1 Kings 8:46—"there is no one who does not sin"

Proverbs 20:9—"who can say, 'I have cleansed my heart, I am purified of my sin'?"

Qoheleth⁸ 7:20—"No one on earth is sufficiently upright to do good without ever sinning"

Qoheleth 9:3—"The human heart is full of wickedness.… Folly lurks in our hearts until we end among the dead."

Psalm 51:5—"I was born guilty; a sinner from the moment of my conception"

Corporate sin. The Old Testament also understands bonds between humans that unite them in sinfulness and guilt. Members of families and "generations" are often punished even though individually they had not committed any sins:

Genesis 20:9—[Abimelech to Abraham] "What wrong have I done to you, for you to bring such guilt on me and on my kingdom?" Abraham had said that Sarah was his sister and allowed her to be brought to Abimelech, who was warned by God not to touch her.

Exodus 34:7—"punishing the parent's fault in the children and in the grandchildren to the third and fourth generation"

Numbers 16: 31-32—"The moment [Moses] finished saying all this, the ground split apart under their feet, the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, their families, all Korah's people and all their property." This refers to the rebellion of Dathan, Abiram, and Korah, and their punishment, along with their families.

Joshua 7:25—"Joshua then took Achan son of Zerah and led him up to the Vale of Achor, with the silver and the robe and the ingot of gold, his sons, his daughters, his oxen.… And all Israel stoned him to death and they burned them and threw stones at them." This refers to the sin of Achan, and the punishment of him and his family.

Micah 3:8—"to accuse Jacob of his crime and Israel of his sin"

8. Qoheleth is the new name for the book of Ecclesiastes. "Ecclesiastes" is simply Latin for the Hebrew "Qoheleth." Both mean "church person," rather than being the name of an individual, but that is all the information we have.

Words highlighted in green appear in the Glossary.