Bad Boys of the Bible:. Barbara J. Essex

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СКАЧАТЬ will prove fatal—only death is a suitable consequence for overstepping these boundaries. To eat would represent adam’s declaration of independence from the Creator. Such independence implies separation. Adam risks a return to lifelessness if it chooses to violate the trust between it and its Creator. The choice to eat or not is clearly adam’s. God does not do anything except present the options.

      God takes inventory of the divine handiwork and discovers its incompleteness. Recognizing the enormity of the gardening task, God decides not to leave adam companionless (Gen. 2:18). God goes back to the dirt and out of it forms every animal and bird. Adam names each, and what imagination both God and adam exhibit—aardvark, zebra, rhinoceros, dodo bird, eagle, nightingale, elephant, giraffe, ant, firefly, hippopotamus, gnat, frog, hummingbird, lion, canary. God shows a leaning toward serious diversity and difference! God makes it so and declares it good.

      Despite the multitude of living creatures, a suitable partner for adam is not yet created. God tries again but uses a different strategy this time:

      So YHWH Elohim caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then he took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that YHWH Elohim had taken from the man was made into a woman and was brought to the man. (Gen. 2:21–22)

      God presents this new and different creature. God creates woman, and adam is not aware of God’s creative work until it is completed. She is created from adam’s rib and therein lies an issue. Some commentators equate the mode of her creation as a sign of her status with adam. That is, since she is created from adam, she must be inferior and subordinate. These two short verses have set the tone for the treatment of women for as long as we can remember. Woman, created from adam’s rib, is destined to be inferior and subordinate to man, the theory goes. There is no indication in the text, however, that her status is one of subordination. God creates her, just as God creates adam. She is the only creature not created directly from the dirt; but adam’s essential nature is dirt and indirectly the woman’s nature is also dirt. Their ultimate origin is rooted in the dust. God creates them both and does not indicate a ranking. Both are the result of God’s creative act. Day is not better than night; cows are not better than flies. They are different and no status or hierarchy is implied.

      Male and female, man and woman, are connected and share the same essence. They are different, but they are complementary. The Hebrew words for “man” and “woman,” ish and ishshah, share a common root. They, the words and the creatures, are the same and different. Together they are greater than either alone. Upon seeing the helper, adam speaks for the first time. Adam observes and finally names this helper:

      Then the man said,

      “This at last is bone of my bones

      and flesh of my flesh;

      this one shall be called Woman,

      for out of Man this one was taken.”

      (Gen. 2:23)

      Adam expresses wonder and awe at finally having a partner. He expresses their inexplicable connection, and there is joy and love in his poem. Adam remains on good terms with God. The earth-creature is creative, nurturing, active, and imaginative, exercising a wide range of freedom and staying within the will of God. The relationship between God and adam is good, close, and easy. God turns over the management of creation to the man and the woman and lets them take care of business. The man and woman establish a close relationship with each other; they are naked and not ashamed. All is well.

      Or is it? Chapter 3 opens with a line designed to pique our interest and curiosity (Gen. 3:1a). The shift from creation to this story is abrupt. We eavesdrop on a theological discussion between the serpent and the woman. They discuss God’s command prohibiting the consumption of the fruit of a certain tree in the garden (a command that neither received directly; see Gen. 3:1b).

      The woman clarifies the situation by stating what she believes is the command (Gen. 3:2–3). She does not identify the tree as that of the knowledge of good and evil. She embellishes the command—they are not to eat or even touch the tree. And the serpent tells her that God is a liar!

      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.” (Gen. 3:4–5)

      God has withheld important information, for rather than die, they will live with open eyes and knowledge. If they eat, they will be even more like God; the serpent implies that the knowledge of good and evil will make them more divine. If they eat, they will know as much as God, and that is a positive thing. The serpent raises the idea of doubt. It implies that God does not want the humans to know as much as the Creator even though God has commanded them to continue the creative process. Notice that the serpent speaks to the woman. Adam is silent, although we learn later that he is present during the conversation.

      The woman looks at the tree again and she eats. She seeks wisdom and shares with her partner (Gen. 3:6). She makes a choice and adam eats without hesitation or resistance. He is not tricked or coerced or seduced. He is as willing as she to take a chance.

      The consequences of their choice are dramatic. Remember that chapter 2 closes on a positive note (Gen. 2:25). Now there is a shift in their lives:

      Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves. (Gen. 3:7)

      The ease with which they have lived and related to each other is now disrupted. Their harmonious and shameless relationship has changed into one of discomfort. They hide their bodies from each other and each is filled with shame and embarrassment. It is not surprising that some have equated nudity and sexuality with shame and guilt. A simple reading of this text and the verses following leads one to think of the body as a necessary evil rather than a thing of beauty created by God.

      The stage is set now for the drama that haunts us to this day: God confronts the man and woman about their decision (Gen. 3:8–19). God reenters the story and interrogates adam. Adam behaves differently and speaks again for the first time since his love song to his companion and partner. And his speech is filled with fear and accusation and anger. Adam expresses dread at standing naked before God. Adam hides from the eyes of God. And God is puzzled and continues the interrogation. Then adam unleashes his anger—“the woman you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree and I ate!”

      Rather than claim his responsibility in the deed, adam tries to shift the blame to God and the woman. If God had not given the woman, adam would not have eaten. If the woman had not offered, adam still would have not eaten. Adam is fearful, embarrassed, ashamed, and resentful. Adam tries to justify himself before God by seeking a scapegoat. Adam does not state his willingness to eat despite God’s direct command to him not to eat. Adam does not confess his silence when offered the fruit—he never said a word in protest. He does not state the accurate command nor does he try to dissuade the woman from eating. He gives in and then blames the woman and her Creator.

      Likewise, the woman does not own up to her role in the eating of the fruit. She blames the serpent, but she does not blame God for creating the serpent. Further, she does not seek to blame adam. God quickly passes judgment upon all three. They must suffer the consequences of their actions. First, the serpent is cursed and alienated from its fellow creatures. It is forced to crawl on its belly and to eat the dust from which it was created. Both indicate total and complete degradation and humiliation. The serpent is to be an enemy of the woman and her children.

      Second, the woman СКАЧАТЬ