Genesis 3:13

"Then the Lord God said to the woman, 'What is this you have done?'
"The woman said, 'The serpent deceived me, and I ate.'"
Genesis 3:13

Now God is giving the woman a chance to hear her side of the story, and she follows the man's example and shifts the blame right on over to the serpent.  "It's not my fault.  I was tricked." 

Maybe this is why man was placed in a authority - when the sin occurred it says the woman was tricked, not the man, but the woman followed his lead when it came time to fess up.  That can make it even harder to do the right thing, when those around us, especially those we look up to, are pointing the blame our way.

God, give us strength to confess our sins even when those stronger than we are fail to do so.

Genesis 3:12

"The man said, 'The woman you put here with me - she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.'" Genesis 3:12

Here it is, the thing everyone seems to do, the passing of the buck.  Not only is the man blaming the woman for giving him the fruit, but also he's blaming God for giving him the woman.  "Yes, God, I ate it, but it's your fault for giving me this temptress."  We are all tempted to do that very same thing, instead of accepting our guilt, we point the finger, "I only did it because of..." (insert excuse here).

What sins are we passing the blame on now?  Instead we should acknowledge our guilt and beg God for forgiveness and strength to resist the temptation. 

Genesis 3:11

"And he said, 'Who told you that you were naked?  Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?'"  Genesis 3:11

Now God is calling man out on his sin.  Here's the chance to step up and fully admit, "Yes, God, I'm sorry I did what you told me not to."  It's a hard thing to do, to admit fault.  As Gill points out in his commentary the other question God is asking is "What have you done to make you feel this shame and guilt?" 

God wants us to admit our sins.  Are you ready to admit your sins to God?  Sometimes that's not even the hardest part.  Sometimes even when we know we're doing wrong it's hard to let go and stop sinning.  Even intellectually knowing that our lives would be better without the sin doesn't make it any easier to get out of it.  I pray that God will forgive us of even these sins and he will give us the strength to get away from them.

Genesis 3:10

"He answered, 'I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.'"  Genesis 3:10

The Qbible includes one little phrase left out of the NIV.  It reads the man's answer as "I heard your call."  It's just like a child who knows they are doing (or did) something they shouldn't - they hear Mom or Dad calling them and try to hide the evidence.  In this case, their own changed perception was the evidence. 

It's still a common reaction.  We hear God calling us, and look around and see the mess we've made and vainly try to hide from God.  Most of the time we don't even realize that we're doing it.  It's instinctual. 

For the past few months, I've been trying to hide from God, and believe me, realizing isn't the hardest part.  The hardest part is getting out from under your rock and facing the Almighty, even knowing that he is loving and forgiving.  There's still a part of me that has trouble accepting that he'll even forgive the sins I'm having trouble letting go of.

I pray that he will give us each the strength to trust him and to let go of what's holding us back, so that we may hold on to him tightly with both hands.

Genesis 3:9

But the Lord God called to the man, "Where are you?"  Genesis 3:9

Man and woman are hiding from their sin and from God, so he calls out a simple question, "Where are you?"  Obviously, God knows exactly where they are.  Then why ask?  Perhaps he wants them to realize for themselves exactly where they are spiritually - separated from him.  He doesn't want them to hide from themselves either.  The first step to repentance is to realize you need to. 

So look around yourself now.  Are you really where you want to be?  Are you hiding from God?  from yourself?  Come out and face God.  He is merciful.

Genesis 3:8

"Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden."  Genesis 3:8

It's interesting to note that the word "sound" is translate in the Qbible as "call" or "voice."  So now after giving in to temptation, only to see that it wasn't all it was made out to be, the first man and woman hear God in the garden.  So what do they do?  They hide. 

They should have known, you can't hide from God.  They could have gone to him and admitted their sin, but they didn't.  Maybe they just reacted in a moment of panic.  Maybe they just weren't willing yet to face the full consequences of their actions.  Maybe they just didn't want to face God's disappointment in them.  Either way, that's what they did - they hide.

Even today we still do the same thing.  We sin, knowingly or not, and once it's done, we try to hide from it and from God.  It's hard to admit when you've done something wrong.  Most of us would rather ignore it and pretend it never happened, but we can't.  At some point we will have to deal with it, whether that's in this life or the next.

Genesis 3:7

"Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves." Genesis 3:7

The Qbible translates "coverings" as "aprons" or "belts."  So the coverings that the first couple made only covered the bottom.  I can't help but wonder how they sewed the fig leaves together...it doesn't sound like that would make very comfortable clothes or that it would stay together very well.

Of course the more important thing to take from this verse is that they received the knowledge that they were naked.  As pointed out on FGGAM the first thing they did with their knowledge was cover it up.  Can you imagine?  They were tempted by knowledge and then the knowledge immediately reveals what they're doing wrong.  Not only did they disobey God's only command for them, but what was gained from that was the knowledge of their own failures.

Genesis 3:6

"When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it.  She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it."  Genesis 3:6

In the Qbible "pleasing" can also be translated as "longing" as if it makes the eyes long for it.  This verse makes you wonder what the man was doing in the last verse.  If he was there with his wife the entire time why didn't he speak up and correct her and the serpent.  Was he just willing to go along with his wife whether or not it was doing something God had told them not to?  Or was he there listening to the snake and wanting that knowledge the tree would give?

Genesis 3:5

"'For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.'" Genesis 3:5

Here the serpent is tempting the woman with the promise of power and knowledge.  Just think, to be like God, in all his splendor and glory.  Who wouldn't want that?  And the knowledge of everything...The first temptation was a big one.  One bite had a lot of power.  The fall makes so much more sense now.

Genesis 3:4

"'You will not surely die,' the serpent said to the woman."  Genesis 3:4

And thus the first lie.  It's the perfect lie because it's also true.  The snake was right, they didn't drop dead from eating the fruit, but it's also a lie, because from that point on death entered creation. 

Genesis 3:3

"'but God did say, "You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die."'"  Genesis 3:3

The woman then goes on to not only repeat God's actual command to the serpent, but she makes it even more strict by adding "don't even touch it."  We still do that today.  We take the way to God and make the path even more narrow with impossible rules and standards.  If she had been in the garden any longer, she probably would have added, "don't even think about it."  (Which, of course, would have made it that much harder to not think about.)  She does have a point, however.  Touching it maybe the first step to picking it and once it's in your hand it's so much harder to resist.  In Gill's Exposition of the Bible he argues that the woman wasn't actually adding to God's law-that the not touching was implied.

It's also interesting to note that the woman followed the serpent's example and only said "God" not "the Lord God."  She may not have even realized she did it.  If we bring God down to our level to be equal with us, it's not difficult to reason with ourselves that he doesn't have that much authority and it's okay for us not to listen all the time.  Quite often, it's not even on a conscious level that we do that.

What can we learn from the first woman?  First, don't entertain the tempter with conversation, and second, guard your thoughts and words to keep God as the holy divine king that he is.  What other lessons can be learned from the woman?

Genesis 3:2

"The woman said to the serpent, 'We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,'"  Genesis 3:2

The first thing the woman does is try to correct the serpent, "Oh no, we can eat fruit from the garden's trees!"  But as it is pointed out in the Pulpit Commentary, that's her first mistake - entering into conversation with the serpent.  If you talk to the devil long enough, he'll convince you to see it his way, and for most of us, that doesn't take very long.

Genesis 3:1

"Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made.  He said to the woman, 'Did God really say, "You must not eat from any tree in the garden?"'"  Genesis 3:1

It's interesting to note that in every verse of chapter 2, God is referred to as the "Lord God".  Chapter 3 starts the same way until the serpent speaks.  As soon as he talks about God he leaves off the "Lord."  The serpent is acknowledging the supreme-ness of God, but not the self-eternalness of him.  He starts out not with lies, but with a question.  Is that all it takes to lead us astray?  A question?

Genesis 2:25

"The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame."  Genesis 2:25

The implication is that they felt no shame for more than just being naked.  They also felt no shame with each other.  They had a transparent relationship - nothing to hide.  If only we could be that way today.  It would do away with a lot of misunderstandings.

Genesis 2:24

"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh."  Genesis 2:24

In the Qbible "united to" can also be translated "catch by pursuit."  I always thought of the man doing the pursing in a relationship as a cultural thing, but now I wonder if this is the instinctual norm for all men and women.  

Genesis 2:23

"The man said, 'This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called "woman," for she was taken out of man.' "  Genesis 2:23

Man is continuing the work God gave him in verse 19, he is giving a name to his counterpart at the same time acknowledging that she is part of him - perfect opposites.

Genesis 2:22

"Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man." Genesis 2:22

So God took a piece of the man's side and built a female version of him and then brought her to the man.  The expression "two sides of the same coin" describes this perfectly.  Men and women are just different sides of the same coin, different but equal.

Genesis 2:21

"So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh."  Genesis 2:21

"Deep sleep" can also be translated as "trance" or "lethargy" in the Qbible.  And literally it says God took "one from out of his side."  This could just be a single rib, or it could be more than that.  It could include bone, muscle, tissue, fat, and whatever else people have in their sides.

The end phrase, "and closed up the place with flesh," is in the Qbible literally translated to "and shut the flesh below."  "Below" can mean "instead of" so that could be God put flesh in the place of piece of side he took out.

Genesis 2:20

"So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field."

"But for Adam no suitable helper was found."  Genesis 2:20

Before woman was created, God brought every living creature to man, except the fish, it appears.  And from all those animals, not even the dog was a suitable helper for the man, but even so man did his job and named all the creatures.

The QBible also translates "names" as "character" so the names man gave the animals also defined their character. 

Here's another article that talks about the names, but it goes on to say "Adam was able to perceive the spiritual components of the creative spirit that brought every animal into being, and named each animal in conjunction with its spiritual configuration."  This article also implies that Hebrew was the original language.  It seems more likely to me that the original language was lost at the tower of Babel mentioned in Genesis 11.  However, the idea that Adam could perceive the spiritual components of the animals and name them according to that does seem to fit. 

It is curious that it doesn't mention the fish at all here.  Were fish not important enough to name?  Or was just knowing that as one broad category good enough?

Genesis 2:19

"Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name."  Genesis 2:19

Here is man's first job, to name all the living creatures God created.  God even brought them to the man, so he didn't have to go search them out. 

The Qbible has translates the word "man" as "Adam" for the first time here, although, this is the same word used previously just translated as "man."  Adam means human being (either an individual or the species-mankind).  So by calling the first man "Adam," we're just calling him "man."

Genesis 2:18

"The Lord God said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.'"  Genesis 2:18

In defining "a helper suitable" the Qbible uses the word "complement."  So the helper for man will be his complement.  This counterpart is more than just a helper, it's the perfect match for him.  The New Revised Standard translates this as "a helper as his partner."  And the International Standard as "I will make the woman to be an authority corresponding to him."
 
Here's a footnote from usccb.org that explains very well:  "lit., 'a helper in accord with him.' 'Helper' need not imply subordination, for God is called a helper (Dt 33:7; Ps 46:2). The language suggests a profound affinity between the man and the woman and a relationship that is supportive and nurturing."  This article points out that man recognized that she belonged to the same category as he did.  Man is incomplete without woman.  And this article states, "Man was made to manifest God's authority; woman was made to manifest man's authority. The woman is a vice regent if you will who rules in the place of man as it were or carries out man's will as man rules in the place of God and carries out God's will."

It's good to realize that "helper" doesn't mean that woman is inferior to man, that God created man and woman together as equals, so they wouldn't be alone.

Genesis 2:17

"'but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.'"  Genesis 2:17

Here's the "but" statement following the last verse.  In the Qbible it notes that "surely die" is a casual statement and "die" can be either "die" or "kill."  Maybe the end of that verse should be read more like "the day you eat of it, it will cause your death."

This article states the proper translation should be "dying you shall die."  It argues that eating from this tree would cause them to begin dying immediately.  When you think about our one bodies that the older we get the more and more they wear out, this does make some sense.  Eating from this tree started the dying process.  It may have taken years or centuries, but in the end both Adam and Eve died.

This verse may also be pointing out that killing would enter the earth.  Nowhere before this point does God give any creature anything but plants to eat.  One eventual outcome from eating of this tree would be not only the killing of other humans, but also animals killing other animals.  It's amazing the impact of one sin had on all creation.  How much of an impact do our individual sins today have?

Genesis 2:16

"And the Lord God commanded the man, 'You are free to eat from any tree in the garden;'" Genesis 2:16

Man has a home and food to eat.  Both needs that must be filled to live.

Genesis 2:15

"The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it."  Genesis 2:15

The Qbible has several meanings for "put."  One of those is "to settle," and another is "to deposit."  The idea this brings to mind is that God put man in the garden to live there, with it as his home.  
The next thought is that God put him there to work it and take care of it.  Another definition of "work it" is "enslave it."  So Adam was to be the master of the garden, but that didn't just involve forcing it to his will, it also meant that he was to guard and protect it.

Genesis 2:14

"The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Ashur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates."  Genesis 2:14

Ashur is probably a region named for another one of Noah's grandsons.

Genesis 2:13

"The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush."  Genesis 2:13

Cush, may be a region named after one of Noah's grandsons, which is believed to be Ethiopia.

Genesis 2:12

"(The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there.)"  Genesis 2:12

The Qbible translates "aromatic resin" as "bdellium" which means "something in pieces, a fragrant gum" maybe amber.

Genesis 2:11

"The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold." Genesis 2:11

The Qbible translates "winds through" as "borders."  Havilah comes from the Hebrew word Chavilah.  Some believe that Havilah is a region named after one of Noah's grandsons.  So of the four rivers that branched off the river that flowed through Eden, the Pishon was the first.

Genesis 2:10

 "A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters."  Genesis 2:10

It's interesting to note that the word "Eden" simply means "the region of Adam's home."  So there was river that ran through Adam's home that kept this garden watered, and that river divided into four rivers.

Genesis 2:9

"And the Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground-trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food.  In the middle of the garden were the tree of the life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil."  Genesis 2:9

It's interesting here that God didn't just put trees that were edible or had edible fruit, but he also put trees that were purely decorative.  The Qbible translates that God planted every tree that is pretty and every tree that is good for eating in the garden.  So every type of tree was in Eden.  Then in the center of the garden were the two special trees.

Genesis 2:8

"Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed."  Genesis 2:8

In Hebrew, east can also mean before.  So this verse might be saying the garden was in the east, but it might also just be saying that God planted that garden before man was created.  After all, it was the third day he created all plant life when man was created the 6th day.  God created a home for man before creating man.

Genesis 2:7

"The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being."  Genesis 2:7

The Qbible has "formed" translated as "molded" and "dust" as "powdered or gray clay or mud."  It is interesting that this description is placed here after the creation week is completed.  After all, chapter1 verse 26 has mankind created on the 6th day.  Why not put the description of how man was created in that section instead of adding it in after the 7th day?

I think that the 1st chapter was describing the creation week and giving a basic run down on what God created which day.  Then the 2nd chapter is focusing in on the part important to us.  Which is us and our relationship to God.  So the Bible starts the story of the universe with God preparing a place for mankind and God literally breathing life into the first man.

Genesis 2:6

"But streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground-"  Genesis 2:6

The Qbible translates "streams" as mist or fog.  So although there is no rain, God is watering the surface of the planet with a mist.  Even in the times of our lives that we get no rain, God will still give us a mist to keep us going.