And the woman saw that it was a good tree to eat of, and fair to the eyes, and a tree desirable to give understanding. And she took of the fruit of it and ate, and gave to her husband also with her, and he ate. (Genesis 3:6)
Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived, and was in transgression. (1 Timothy 2:14)
Adam and Eve answered God truly
When I first read the account of the fall in Genesis 3, many years ago now, I was struck by the simplicity of the answers Adam and Eve gave to God when he asked them why they had eaten the forbidden fruit. Eve admitted that she had been deceived by the serpent; this was the straightforward truth. Then Adam admitted that he took the fruit from her when she offered it, and he also ate. However, the apostle Paul tells us that Adam was not deceived when he ate, as Eve had been (1 Timothy 2:14).
This raises the question, why did Adam eat the apple if he was not deceived? He knew that to eat of it was to transgress God’s command, and also that there would be terrible consequences. I cannot be dogmatic, because the Scripture does not say, but I believe Adam’s reason may be inferred from his answer to God in verse 12 of Genesis 3.
Let’s see the verse in fuller context. After Adam and Even had both partaken of the forbidden fruit, then:
Genesis 3:7-13
7…the eyes of both of them were opened, and they understood that they were naked. Then they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.
8And they heard the voice of the Lord God as he walked in the garden in the cool of the day. And Adam hid himself, and his wife also, from the face of the Lord God, among the trees of the garden. 9And the Lord God called Adam and said to him, Where are you?
10And he answered, I heard your voice in the garden, but I was afraid because I was naked, and therefore hid myself.
11And he said, Who has told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree from which I bade you not to eat?
12And Adam answered, The woman that you gave to keep me company, she gave to me from the tree, and I ate.
13And the Lord God said to the woman, Why did you do this?
And the woman answered, The serpent deceived me, and I ate.
Why did Adam eat the fruit if he wasn’t deceived?
So, why did Adam eat the fruit if he was not deceived, and therefore knew that to eat it would bring death: that he would surely die (Ge 2:17)? Why did Adam disobey God, despite the consequences? He did not deny his act, nor pretend that he had been deceived. And in fact, he must have known that Eve had eaten the fruit in error; and yet he chose to join her in her fall. Perhaps he did not fully comprehend what death was, what it meant. After all, he was still in a state of innocence. He was at that time walking in the pure love of God, and no doubt desired to obey God. But yet, knowing God had forbidden it and warned against it, he accepted the fruit from Eve. Why?
I believe a clue may lie in Adam’s explanation that God had given Eve to him as his companion. She was his very own; she was “bone of his bones and flesh of his flesh” (as he happily proclaimed when he received her, Genesis 2:23). Further, he was to “cleave unto his wife,” and they would be “one flesh” always (Genesis 2:24). Note, it was he, the man, who was stated to be responsible to cleave unto his wife. However, Adam could not remain cleaved to Eve and at the same time let her fall into death.
Adam’s dilemma: How to love God and love Eve; how to be obedient to God in the face of competing demands
It could well have been love for Eve and, paradoxically, a desire to obey God, that motivated Adam to eat. He was on the horns of a dilemma, commanded both to cleave to Eve and not to eat the fruit. Eve was his very flesh, and he should remain as one with her forever, as God had ordained. But if he did not join her in her fall, he would lose her: they would no longer be as one, but would be separated forever. Further, she would be alone in her fate.
Adam was, therefore, torn between God’s command not to eat the fruit, and God’s purpose in giving Eve to him forever. He must have trusted in God when he took the fruit, trusted that his God would provide in this terrible situation. And so it came to pass that Adam followed his companion into the dark depths of the fall.
And, of course, God did provide. Further, God knew all along that the fall would occur, and his provision of the promised seed, the Messiah who would bruise the head of the serpent and through whom man would be saved, was planned from eternity. And God would be glorified, and has been glorified, through the fall of man and our subsequent redemption in the Messiah. Further, now that we have known the darkness of lies, God’s truth is more excellent to us (Romans 3:7).
Thus, when we leave these mortal bodies, having known both good and evil, and are raised in incorruptible bodies to eternal good with our Lord and God – and with Adam and Eve – we will have all the more reason to praise God, and his love and mercy, eternally.
Adam and Eve were not wrongly blaming anyone
Some say that Eve was wrong to blame the serpent for her terrible mistake, as if it was false or evasive to explain that the serpent had deceived her. Matthew Henry, for example, accuses both she and Adam as “backward to confess their sins” and “endeavouring to excuse and extenuate their fault.” (1) However, I do not agree. Eve’s response was simple, direct, and true. The serpent DID deceive her. And if my understanding is correct, Adam was not blaming anyone or excusing himself, but only explaining that he ate the apple in order to remain with Eve, his forever companion by God’s gift and command. But even if I am wrong as to Adam’s reason, still his response was true!
Many questions remain, but in my view we should beware of accusing Adam and Eve of evasiveness or any type of dishonourable conduct in their responses to God in the garden after the fall. They answered as honestly as anyone could. Their answers would be satisfactory in a court of law (I write as a lawyer). And given that God forgave and clothed them, may we not be confident that their answers were satisfactory to God, and their repentance full?
R.M.D.
(All Scripture quotations are from the New Matthew Bible [NMB], being our gentle update of the 1537/1549 Matthew Bible. Genesis in the Matthew Bible was William Tyndale’s translation. Genesis 1-25 from the NMB can be read here. Even better, the newly released Pentateuch, called the Five Books of Moses is for sale on Amazon. And check our our bookstore for all editions of The Five Books of Moses, as well as the updated New Testament of the New Matthew Bible, called The October Testament, and more.
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(1) Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible, Volume 1 (MacDonald Publishing Company: McLean, Virginia, no date), pages 26 (bottom left) and 27 (bottom right).
Keywords, Why did Adam eat the apple? Why did Adam eat the fruit? What caused Adam to disobey God? Did Adam sin willfully? What is the meaning of 1 Timothy 2:14?