Bad Boys of the Bible:. Barbara J. Essex
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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 is not cursed, but her world has changed. It is not clear from the text exactly what is intended. We know that there is increased pain during childbirth, which mirrors the labor her husband is to experience in bringing forth food from the earth. Despite the pain of childbirth, she will desire her husband sexually. She is to be “ruled” over by her husband. And here lies the “curse” upon women throughout history. Some have interpreted this to mean that women are to be subordinate to men. This verse has been used to justify male dominance over women. Women have been second-class citizens and prevented from living a full life because it “says so in the Bible.” Feminist and womanist scholars, however, argue that only this particular woman is sentenced to a subordinate role to this particular man because of their mutual transgression. God has not assigned such a role to all women for all time. The status of the woman here has changed, as has that of the man. She is not declared more sinful than he; in fact, the word “sin” is not used in the text at all. The text does not declare the woman responsible for the downfall of humanity, nor does it indicate that she tricked or seduced or tempted the man to eat the forbidden fruit. This story has been distorted to place the ills of the world on the woman.
In addition, the Hebrew word that is translated “rule” is the same that is used when adam is told to have dominion over creation. The point to remember is that the power to “rule,” masal, comes from God and God appoints those to rule or have dominion over. This power is to serve God’s higher purpose. The humans are to care for creation. The use of “dominion” implies service. In the changed world, however, dominion is connected to judgment; dominion is now a kind of punishment for the woman and the man. Her freedom is restricted; she is no longer the creative, active, independent woman. She is under the control of adam.
Adam now has the added responsibility of providing for the woman. His world has changed dramatically. Adam is not cursed but the ground from which he gets his food and livelihood is. He is to labor long and hard to bring forth the earth’s bounty. And now he has to wrestle with thorns and thistles in order to grow his food. Contrast his new reality to his passive eating of the fruit. Now he can eat only by the sweat of his brow. The dust from which he was created is now his enemy and may not yield its fruit. He lives in fear that he will not be able to survive if the earth withholds its bounty. This fear may even carry over in his relationship with the woman: he may not be able to “control” her. She may withhold herself so that no offspring are produced and Adam’s task of providing food becomes even more difficult.
The garden had been a place of comfort and ease, a place where shame, guilt, and fear were absent. God had pretty much left the man and woman alone to manage things. But things are different now. God does not and cannot trust them to do the right thing, and the possibility of