Genesis 3:1

Genesis 3:1

Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

a. NLT: The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the LORD God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”

b. NIV: 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’?”

c. YLT: And the serpent hath been subtile above every beast of the field which Jehovah God hath made, and he saith unto the woman, 'Is it true that God hath said, Ye do not eat of every tree of the garden?'

d. Amplified Bible Classic: Now the serpent was more subtle and crafty than any living creature of the field which the Lord God had made. And he [Satan] said to the woman, Can it really be that God has said, You shall not eat from every tree of the garden?

e. Septuagint: Now the serpent was the most crafty of all the brutes on the earth, which the Lord God made, and the serpent said to the woman, Wherefore has God said, Eat not of every tree of the garden?

f. Stone Edition Torah/Prophets/Writings: Now the serpent was cunning beyond any beast of the field that HASHEM God had made. He said to the woman, “Did, perhaps, God say: “You shall not eat of any tree of the garden?”

1. “Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made…”

a. [Now the] serpent [Strong: 5175 nachash naw-khawsh' from 5172; a snake (from its hiss):--serpent.]

b. was [Strong: 1961 hayah haw-yaw a primitive root (Compare 1933); to exist, i.e. be or become, come to pass (always emphatic, and not a mere copula or auxiliary):--beacon, X altogether, be(-come), accomplished, committed, like), break, cause, come (to pass), do, faint, fall, + follow, happen, X have, last, pertain, quit (one-)self, require, X use.]

c. more subtil [Strong: 6175  `aruwm aw-room' passive participle of 6191; cunning (usually in a bad sense):--crafty, prudent, subtil.]

d. than any [Strong: 3605 kol kole or (Jer. 33:8) kowl {kole}; from 3634; properly, the whole; hence, all, any or every (in the singular only, but often in a plural sense):--(in) all (manner, (ye)), altogether, any (manner), enough, every (one, place, thing), howsoever, as many as, (no-)thing, ought, whatsoever, (the) whole, whoso(-ever).]

e. beast [Strong: 2416 chay khah'-ee from 2421; alive; hence, raw (flesh); fresh (plant, water, year), strong; also (as noun, especially in the feminine singular and masculine plural) life (or living thing), whether literally or figuratively:--+ age, alive, appetite, (wild) beast, company, congregation, life(-time), live(-ly), living (creature, thing), maintenance, + merry, multitude, + (be) old, quick, raw, running, springing, troop.]

f. of the field [Strong: 7704 sadeh saw-deh' or saday {saw-dah'-ee}; from an unused root meaning to spread out; a field (as flat):--country, field, ground, land, soil, X wild.]

g. which [Strong: 834 'aher ash-er' a primitive relative pronoun (of every gender and number); who, which, what, that; also (as an adverb and a conjunction) when, where, how, because, in order that, etc.:--X after, X alike, as (soon as), because, X every, for, + forasmuch, + from whence, + how(-soever), X if, (so) that ((thing) which, wherein), X though, + until, + whatsoever, when, where (+ -as, -in, -of, -on, -soever, -with), which, whilst, + whither(- soever), who(-m, -soever, -se). As it is indeclinable, it is often accompanied by the personal pronoun expletively, used to show the connection.]

h. the LORD [Strong: 3068 Yhovah yeh-ho-vaw' from 1961; (the) self-Existent or Eternal; Jehovah, Jewish national name of God:--Jehovah, the Lord.]

i. God [Strong: 430 'elohiym el-o-heem' plural of 433; gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative:--angels, X exceeding, God (gods)(-dess, -ly), X (very) great, judges, X mighty.]

    

j. had made [Strong: 6213 `asah aw-saw' a primitive root; to do or make, in the broadest sense and widest application (as follows):--accomplish, advance, appoint, apt, be at, become, bear, bestow, bring forth, bruise, be busy, X certainly, have the charge of, commit, deal (with), deck, + displease, do, (ready) dress(-ed), (put in) execute(-ion), exercise, fashion, + feast, (fight-)ing man, + finish, fit, fly, follow, fulfill, furnish, gather, get, go about, govern, grant, great, + hinder, hold ((a feast)), X indeed, + be industrious, + journey, keep, labour, maintain, make, be meet, observe, be occupied, offer, + officer, pare, bring (come) to pass, perform, pracise, prepare, procure, provide, put, requite, X sacrifice, serve, set, shew, X sin, spend, X surely, take, X thoroughly, trim, X very, + vex, be (warr-)ior, work(-man), yield, use.]

1). Adam named all the animals, perhaps after their nature and character. Adam named the serpent because of his subtleness. Subtle means mentally acute, crafty, cunning. Jesus told his disciples to be “wise as serpents” in Matthew 10:16. This was not in a bad sense because after God created the animal kingdom including the serpents God saw that it was good: Genesis 1:25. The serpent we see today is not the same as the animal in the garden. What we see today is a result of the curse: Genesis 3:14.

2). The devil did not turn himself into a serpent, but the serpent agreed to be used by the devil to tempt Eve. It is possible that the serpent had the ability to talk before the fall and curse placed on the animal kingdom.

2. “…And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?”

a. [And he] said [Strong: 559 'amar aw-mar' a primitive root; to say (used with great latitude):--answer, appoint, avouch, bid, boast self, call, certify, challenge, charge, + (at the, give) command(-ment), commune, consider, declare, demand, X desire, determine, X expressly, X indeed, X intend, name, X plainly, promise, publish, report, require, say, speak (against, of), X still, X suppose, talk, tell, term, X that is, X think, use (speech), utter, X verily, X yet.]

b. unto [Strong: 413 'el ale (but only used in the shortened constructive form sel {el}); a primitive particle; properly, denoting motion towards, but occasionally used of a quiescent position, i.e. near, with or among; often in general, to:--about, according to ,after, against, among, as for, at, because(-fore, -side), both...and, by, concerning, for, from, X hath, in(- to), near, (out) of, over, through, to(-ward), under, unto, upon, whether, with(-in).]

c. the woman [Strong: 802 'ishshah ish-shaw' feminine of 376 or 582; irregular plural, nashiym {naw-sheem'}; a woman (used in the same wide sense as 582):--(adulter)ess, each, every, female, X many, + none, one, + together, wife, woman. Often unexpressed in English.]

d. Yea [Strong: 637 'aph af a primitive particle; meaning accession (used as an adverb or conjunction); also or yea; adversatively though:--also, + although, and (furthermore, yet), but, even, + how much less (more, rather than), moreover, with, yea.]

e. [hath] God [Strong: 430 'elohiym el-o-heem' plural of 433; gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative:--angels, X exceeding, God (gods)(-dess, -ly), X (very) great, judges, X mighty.]

f. said [Strong: 559 'amar aw-mar' a primitive root; to say (used with great latitude):--answer, appoint, avouch, bid, boast self, call, certify, challenge, charge, + (at the, give) command(-ment), commune, consider, declare, demand, X desire, determine, X expressly, X indeed, X intend, name, X plainly, promise, publish, report, require, say, speak (against, of), X still, X suppose, talk, tell, term, X that is, X think, use (speech), utter, X verily, X yet.]

g. [Ye shall] not [Strong: 3808 lo' lo or lowi {lo}; or loh (Deut. 3:11) {lo}; a primitive particle; not (the simple or abs. negation); by implication, no; often used with other particles (as follows):--X before, + or else, ere, + except, ig(-norant), much, less, nay, neither, never, no((-ne), -r, (-thing)), (X as though...,(can-), for) not (out of), of nought, otherwise, out of, + surely, + as truly as, + of a truth, + verily, for want, + whether, without.]

h. eat [Strong: 398 'akal aw-kal' a primitive root; to eat (literally or figuratively):--X at all, burn up, consume, devour(-er, up), dine, eat(-er, up), feed (with), food, X freely, X in...wise(-deed, plenty), (lay) meat, X quite.]

    

i. of every [Strong: 3605 kol kole or (Jer. 33:8) kowl {kole}; from 3634; properly, the whole; hence, all, any or every (in the singular only, but often in a plural sense):--(in) all (manner, (ye)), altogether, any (manner), enough, every (one, place, thing), howsoever, as many as, (no-)thing, ought, whatsoever, (the) whole, whoso(-ever).]

j. tree [Strong: 6086 `ets ates from 6095; a tree (from its firmness); hence, wood (plural sticks):--+ carpenter, gallows, helve, + pine, plank, staff, stalk, stick, stock, timber, tree, wood.]

k. [of the] garden [Strong: 1588 gan gan from 1598; a garden (as fenced):--garden.]

1). Perhaps it is minor, but there is a difference in the various translations. One group of translations uses the wording “any tree” while the other uses “every tree”. The Hebrew gives room for both.

a). [New Living Translation] The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the LORD God had made. One day he asked the woman, "Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?"

b). [Young’s Literal Translation] And the serpent hath been subtile above every beast of the field which Jehovah God hath made, and he saith unto the woman, `Is it true that God hath said, Ye do not eat of every tree of the garden?'

2). The devil began by placing doubt on God’s word. Corruption of the Word of God began in the garden and we see the devil was the author of it. When anyone who is preaching or teaching asks the question, “Did God really say that?” Put your guard up and cling to Romans 3:4, “let God be true and every man a liar!”