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Level 8 - Vociferous
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: south africa
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Re: aenima- problem 8
[edit]Genesis 3
The Serpent, "slyer than every beast of the field," tempts the woman to eat from the Tree of Knowledge, telling her that it will make her more like God and it will not lead to death. After some thought about the fruit's beauty and succulence, and its ability to grant wisdom, the woman decides to eat it. She then gives the fruit to the man, who eats also, "and the eyes of the two of them were opened." Aware now of their nakedness, they make coverings of fig leaves and hide from the sight of God. God asks them what they have done, and man and woman defer responsibility. The man blames the woman for giving him the fruit, but implies a sentiment that God is also at fault for making the woman in the first place ("The woman Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me the fruit of the tree, and I ate"), while the woman blames the serpent for seducing her to disobedience ("The serpent beguiled me and I ate"). God curses the Serpent "above all animals," causing it to lose its legs and to become an eternal enemy of the human race. God then passes judgment for the disobedience of the man and woman, condemning the man to sustain life through hard labor and the woman to create new life through painful childbirth, and banishes them from the garden. The woman is given the name Eve (Heb. hawwah) "because she was the mother of all living [Heb. hay]," and Adam receives his name when the text drops the definite article from the word for "the man," changing "ha-adam" to "Adam". Eve/woman is also established as subordinate to Adam/man, ending utopian unity between the sexes. God then posts 2 cherubs, with flaming swords, at the entrance to the Garden of Eden in order to block the way to the Tree of Life, "lest he put out his hand ... and eat, and live forever."
[edit]Genesis 4 and 5
Genesis 4 tells of the birth of Cain and Abel, Adam & Eve's first children, while Genesis 5 gives Adam's genealogy past that. Adam & Eve are listed as having three children named Cain, Abel and Seth, then "other sons and daughters" (Genesis 5:4, NIV). Adam lived for 930 years.
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