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Part III.Two
1
The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; but God said, “You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.’” (NRSV)
First, it is interesting here that the Woman refers to the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil as “the tree that is in the middle of the garden.” Back in 2.9 it was the Tree of Life that was identified as being in the middle of the garden. What was implied there has now been confirmed: both the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil are together.
Second, it is interesting that the Woman adds something to what God said, which we have not been informed of before: they were not to even touch the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Given that the Serpent had quoted God incorrectly, some have claimed that the Woman is here doing the same thing. I, however, see no reason to assume this. No story tells us everything that all its characters say during the course of the Story. Perhaps the no-touching command was simply left out till now.
2
Or it could be that the Woman is still so mentally young that she has mixed up God’s command not to eat with an agreement she had made with the Man that they would just stay away from the Tree altogether. The temporal location of this section of the Story is not given to us, after all, and therefore could have been anything from minutes to years after the Woman was first created. Just think of how long it takes babies to figure out that when things disappear they do not cease to exist, or how long it takes youngsters to be able to start to see the world as others see it. Both the Man and the Woman had a lot of growing to do, and so it would not be surprising that she would mix an ultimatum she and her husband had given themselves with the divine ultimatum it was meant to help them obey.
But then one would have to wonder if she was so young as to mix up these two different “rules,” how could she have been mature enough to have made up rules for herself? Given the fact that she changes from first person plural to second person plural in her statement, it seems clear that she is able to distinguish her actions from God’s commands. That is, when she quotes God, she speaks as if God were speaking. She does not say, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; but God said we shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall we touch it, or we shall die.’” Rather, when she begins to quote God she speaks as God would speak.
As with many of the other puzzles we have uncovered in Genesis 1 and 2, this one seems to be unsolvable. And as we have noted before, it is these puzzles that lend the Story much of its mystery and beauty. They both allow and invite continued contemplation.
Notice the serpent’s next claim:
3
But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die; for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (NRSV)
This is, of course, a blatant lie. But it is an extremely “subtil” one. It is subtle because it is almost entirely true. It is completely true except for the “You will not die” part.
Indeed, it is precisely because eating the fruit of the Tree will make them like God that they will die (see Part II.Eight). The right and responsibility for teaching the Humans to see good has been reserved by God for Himself. God, after all, can already see good, and has been passing on this ability to the Humans through teaching them. Therefore, to become like God by eating of the Tree is to usurp an authority God has not given away. To do so would be for the Woman to put herself in God’s place.
The Story does not imply that the humans are not allowed to know good and evil. This, however, has been read into the text for eons. Neither does the Story say they are not allowed to be like God. On the contrary, God made them to be “likenesses” of Himself!
Being like God is not the problem. Trying to be God is.
4
God has reserved the right to teach the humans to see good (and evil). God has reserved the right to help them become more godly. Eventually, as the lessons continued, they would have become “like God, knowing good and evil.”
It wasn’t the knowledge, then, that was deadly. If it was, the command would have been “Do not learn!,” rather than “Do not eat!” Gaining knowledge did not kill them. It was the attempt to do God’s job by giving themselves the knowledge that God is supposed to teach them that did.
By putting themselves in God’s place they are trying to be the very thing they were meant to be the image of. An image cannot simultaneously be an image and that which the image is of. Images cannot image themselves without destroying themselves. They make themselves infinitely empty by doing so, and an infinitely empty image is no image at all.
5
People usually think that God is somehow afraid of the humans achieving the knowledge of good and evil, and that the threat of death is to keep humans subservient. They agree with what the serpent implies: God is trying to keep the humans down.
The story, however, tells us the opposite. As Teacher, God is trying to raise the humans up by teaching them over time. They could get the information instantly by eating the fruit. But for some reason God likes processes (see Part I). God prefers interaction and relationship.
In her attempt to get to the head of the class, then, the Woman would end up standing behind the lectern. The Human desire to teach themselves cannot work, however, if they are images rather than subjects. The coup contradicts itself.
And the Teacher will return. But not immediately. We learn later in the Story that God will introduce a temporary substitute schoolmaster called “The Law.” But that is many plot twists away as of yet.
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[ Scripture quotations: Genesis 3:2-5, NRSV ]
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Tags: creation, Die, Evil, Genesis, Genesis 3, Genesis 3:2, Genesis 3:2-5, Genesis 3:3, Genesis 3:4, Genesis 3:5, God, Good, Knowledge, Serpent, Story, The First Story, Tree, Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil