Biblical Hebrew Forum

["George Athas" <george.athas AT moore.edu.au>]

If we read this text in the context of the larger narrative, we get to Gen
5, where we read the continuous refrain "And then he died". The text leaves
us certain that the man, and his descendants (excepting Enoch), all died. As
such, from the point of view of Gen 5, we can't read God's threat in Gen 2
as a clumsy lie -- the man did die. One could go so far as to say that the
ridiculously long lifespans listed in Gen 5 are evidence that God was rather
kind in not following through with the threat immediately. The irony of Gen
5 is that it conveys both the blessing and the curse of the early chapters:
blessing of fertility, and the curse of death.
 
In short, although we may be temped (excuse the pun) to think that the
threat is a lie, the plot at Gen 5 does not finally permit us to see it as
such. The threat was made and it was carried out, albeit with nearly a
millennium of grace in between.
 
Best Regards, 

GEORGE ATHAS 
Moore Theological College 
1 King St, Newtown 2042, Australia 
Ph: (+61 2) 9577 9774