Biblical Hebrew Forum

["George Athas" <gathas AT globalfreeway.com.au>]

I'm with Jim on this one. Remember that despite the multiple narriaives in 
Genesis, we are
now dealing with a single narrative. In Gen 1, the ordered configuration of 
creation looks
something like this:

God
-----
Humanity: Male & Female
---------------------------
                     Animals
---------------------------
                    Environment


In Gen 3, we see a complete reversal. A vegetable ("Environment") becomes the 
object of
desire when the snake ("Animals") tells the woman what to do, who then leads 
her husband,
who want to usurp the place of God by attaining godhood themselves.

The "death" of Gen 3 seems to be the curse of living outside the garden in an
uncooperative environment. Blessing is now accompanied by curse. Life is now 
accompanied
by death, and humanity is destined to die a slow death in hard labour.  If 
God curses
humanity to death at the end of Gen 3, I can't see how the snake was telling 
the truth by
saying that humans wouldn't die.

Best regards,
GEORGE ATHAS
- Anglican Chaplaincy, UNSW;
- Southern Cross College,
Sydney, Australia
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