Wednesday, March 31, 2010

GOD DID NOT CURSE EVE

So over the past couple of months we have been talking a lot about the roll of women in the Bible and in ancient mythology. I find myself always going back to Genesis to look at what exactly happened there.  There are still things I am trying to figure out.  I have talked a bit about the fact that God did NOT curse Eve. {He only cursed the devil}I've talked about the Sumerian goddess Inanna and the myth of her garden tree. Now I want to put everything all together. I'm not totally sure on all my thoughts but really just thinking out loud and working some ideas out. As we approach good Friday I think it is important to see what Jesus accomplished and fulfilled on the cross in regards to women. So here are my latest thoughts on the subject.

In my research yesterday I came across a woman named Katharine Bushnell. She was a bible scholar, doctor and missionary in China in the early 1900s. She helped translate the Bible into Chinese{Mandarin or Cantonese; I'm not sure}. She has come across several interesting findings that co-inside with what we have been discussing. I have just begun to uncover her writings. So far I am in agreement with what she has to say about what happened in Eden and especially the mistranslation of Genesis 3:16. Which we will get to in a moment.

First let's recap some of the things that we have discussed in the other posts on Eden. I think that Eve was the one tempted by the Devil because of her dominion and her ability to bring forth life. I also believe that Eve could see in the spirit differently than Adam. This could of been part of how she was to "help" Adam, just as the Spirit a "helper" of God and those that yield to him. It's curious that Adam never mentions the serpent and I think that is because he couldn't see him. Notice it wasn't until after Adam ate the fruit that "both their eyes were opened" maybe Eve's eyes already were.

After sinning God first addresses Adam since it was his responsibility to tell Eve not to eat from the tree. That command had been given to Adam before Eve was made. The words of Eve about the command in Gen 3:2 sound a little mixed up, so it must have been Adam's incorrect interpretation. Since he was the one that would have told her the command. After they sin Eve tells God exactly what happened;that she was deceived by the serpent {the Devil} and disobeyed God. In this way she repents for her wrong choice. Notice Adam does not "repent" or tell the whole truth. He doesn't even mention the serpent, he just blames it all on Eve and God for giving him "the woman". Again giving Adam the benefit of the doubt, maybe he could not see the serpent. Now lets take a closer look at what happens to Eve and some of the mistranslation of the verses.

"Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children;..." Gen 3:16a {KJV}

"To the woman he said, Great will be your pain in childbirth; in sorrow will your children come to birth;..." Gen 3:16 {BBE}

First of all the Basic English Bible is correct in not including the "I". The "I" is not in the Hebrew. God did not curse Eve or Adam for that matter. The only thing God "did" was towards the Devil.

"And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou [art] cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." Gen. 3:14-15

Genesis 3:16-19 are the curses of the Devil not of God. These are the consequences of sin=death. Sin is the punishment. OK? Now let's look at Gen 3:16a a little closer.

el- 413 toהָאִשָּׁ֣ה ha·'i·shah 802 the woman
אָמַ֗ר a·mar 559 saidהַרְבָּ֤ה har·bah 7235 will greatly
אַרְבֶּה֙ ar·beh 7235 multiplyעִצְּבֹונֵ֣ךְ i·tze·vo·v·nech 6093 your pain
וְהֵֽרֹנֵ֔ךְ ve·he·ro·nech, 2032 childbirth
בְּעֶ֖צֶב be·'e·tzev 6089 painתֵּֽלְדִ֣י te·le·di 3205 will bring
בָנִ֑ים va·nim; 1121 children{Hebrew Transliteration with Strong's Numbers}


Notice again no "I". God is not saying "I" am doing this. He is simply telling Eve this is what is going to happen as a result of your bad choice. So the consequence for sin is NOT God's plan it is the Devil's plan. This is happening to Eve because the Devil is pissed at Eve! Why is the Devil so pissed? Because Eve was brought back from his side to the side of God. "I will put enmity between you and the woman". Moreover it is through the woman that the Devil will be defeated. So really in Gen 3:15 God is saying "Devil, this is what will happen to you by the woman" and Gen 3:16 "Eve, this is what will happen to you by retaliation of the Devil." Because really why would God tell of the wonderful prophecy of Jesus that the woman will bring about, then tell her "but I'm going to cripple you in pain for it". That is not loving and that is not God! That is however a destructive, pissed off Devil that has made war against the women ever since this episode in the garden. {Rev. 12:13-17}

Now I want to show you the insight that I gained from Katherine Bushnell on these verses. Look again at the Hebrew words in Gen. 3:16a.

el- 413 to
הָאִשָּׁ֣ה ha·'i·shah 802 the woman
אָמַ֗ר a·mar 559 said
הַרְבָּ֤ה har·bah 7235 will greatly
אַרְבֶּה֙ ar·beh 7235 multiply
עִצְּבֹונֵ֣ךְ i·tze·vo·v·nech 6093 your pain
{Hebrew Transliteration}


See the words harbah and arbeh. They are given the same Strongs # 7235 but they are two different words. Harbah #7235 means become great, multiply. Arbeh is actually #697 meaning swarm of locust and is a root word of harbah. But what Katherine Bushnell proposes is that the word arbeh should really be 'arab #693 meaning ambush, lie in wait, lurk. Here is the explanation from Pat Joyce on Ms. Bushnell's findings. To read the whole article click here.

"The translation of five words or phrases in this verse should be questioned. They are shown in bold. Let's start with the phrase, “I will greatly multiply your sorrow . . .”

In the explanation below, Upper case represents the original Hebrew letter. Lower case represents vowel signs, which are a relatively recent invention added to make the language easier to read. Remember, if you read the original Hebrew, there are no vowel signs.
Bushnell holds that the first section should be translated “a snare has increased your sorrow . . ." She gets “snare” from the Hebrew word ARB (ARB) translated “ambush” and” liers in wait” or “in ambush” fourteen times in Joshua and Judges. The difference is between the two translations given below is only in the vowel signs.

HaRBeh, AaRBeh, "multiplying I will multiply," which is usually translated as I will greatly multiply your sorrow and HiRBah AoReB, "has-caused-to multiply a lying-in-wait.” Remember that lyer-in wait can also be translated an ambush or snare" So it can be translated “a snare has increased your sorrow," or it is also possible to read here, "A lyer-in-wait (the subtle serpent) has increased your sorrow." Regardless it does not say that God is planning to greatly multiply her sorrow. It is falling for Satan’s snare that has put her in this place."
Isn't that interesting! So not only does that confirm to me that God was not saying "I am the one cursing you" it gives a great reference point as to what we found in the myths of Inanna. Click here and here. It was the child-killing demon Lilitu that made her nest in the tree of Inanna. Just as the devil made his nest in the tree in the garden. The devil had set up the tree of the knowledge of good and evil as an ambush to get dominion and control of the seed. Remember in the myth of Inanna she made her throne{power} and her bed{seed} in the tree. When Eve repented and didn't go along with the devils plan he was pissed and subsequently created his own goddess. He cursed woman for it! {Read all the "goddess" posts}.

I love the fact that Eve means "life or living". Adam gives her this name just before they leave the garden "because she was the mother of all living". Maybe this Adam's way of saying sorry to Eve for blaming her in the whole fiasco. She will be the one that delivers him from death via the birth of the Savior. Adam walks out of the garden with the curse of death on his shoulders and Eve walks out with the promise of Life. Notice God never kicks Eve out of the garden {Gen 3:23-24} It is man that is driven out "to work the ground from which he was taken" and to which he will return. But Eve knows that if she is to fulfill the prophecy she needs Adam and Adam needs her. Eve honors God and her husband and so leaves paradise to fulfill her call; to bring life in the physical and to help man see life in the spiritual.

To be continued....


7 comments:

  1. Hi Cheri,

    Really enjoy reading your articles. :) I just finished reading the one about God not cursing Eve and I have a few thoughts I'd like to share...
    A seriously interesting article. I never thought of Adam and/or Eve in quite that light. I believe that because God created the heavens and the earth and everything in it, that He indeed created consequences for sin. The devil's plan is to kill, steal and destroy, but his plans are always limited by God's will. Satan is never equal to God and by putting “Satan's plans” for us in motion, so-to-speak, your thoughts seemingly put both on an equal playing field.
    In Gen. 2:8-9, it says that the Lord God made ALL the trees in the garden, including the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. I don't see where the devil now set it all up. I believe that since the serpent was a living creature and Adam, “who was with her (Eve)”, had to have seen him. It says in Gen. 3:1 that the serpent was the craftiest of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made in the garden. This leads me to believe that he was extremely sneaky in his dealings with Eve, but not that Adam didn't see the serpent in the first place.
    I don't think Adam mentioned the serpent because at the very moment that the fruit was taken, sin entered, and so did Adams selfishness, thus the separation from God, outside of His protection, kicking Eve curbside.

    I don't in anyway think that Eve repented at that moment God questioned her. She said, “The serpent deceived me and I ate.” She only gave the facts of the situation. Kinda like when our kids take the cookie and we ask them what they did, “I took the cookie, Mom”. Period. Repenting consist of more than that. If her heart was contrite before God at that very moment, we will never know because it doesn't tell us, but I don't think her ability to tell the facts of what she had done equals repentance.
    I totally agree about the consequences of sin = death, for if it didn't, then oh, boy we'd all be in trouble now. But really, thats a whole other topic.
    With regard to what God said to the devil here again, I believe that the devil was cursed further for his own original sin. That because he deceived the woman and tried to once again interfere with God's plan, he will now suffer the consequences of his own sin... Thus the crushing his head under her heel.
    All of this doesn't change that the sin of Adam and Eve brought consequences that still affect us today.

    I do love what Eve's name means. It's beautiful <3. And I do find it interesting that Adam only decided to give her a name once they already had sinned. Hmmmm....still thinking on that one. Again, perhaps because he was so lax in his demeanor, he just never paid attention to the details or what was going on around him, just like with the fruit. Certainly we can agree, he didn't have good administrative skills.
    Another thought about just Adam being banished from the garden is Gen. 1:27, God says that God created man in his own image and in the image of God He created them, male and female, He created them. Which in reading that, it is my understanding that now that sin has entered the world, when God is talking or instructing, He is referring to all of us, collectively, man, as in plural form.
    There are many points that you make that I just never gave much thought too, but I am now. You brought some new ideas to the table for me.
    But the ones that I've pointed out here, I have given some thought too and just wanted to share them with you. Really do enjoy your writings.....keep writing :) btw...our families know one another...small world :)

    Lori (DeFebbo) Bizzell

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  2. Thank you so much for your comment Lori. A lot of what you said gets me thinking too. Which most of my post are me thinking out loud and working ideas out. Believe me I don't think I have all the answers yet. :D

    So some "thoughts" in response. it does say that God created the garden and all that was in it and the trees that were "pleasing to the eye and good for food" We know that the {the tree of the knowledge of good and evil} was NOT good for food {for you will surely die}. So while I don't think the devil created the tree, he did make a nest there causing the tree to be something other than what God created it to be.

    We know that the devil's plans don't "equal" Gods plans because the devil doesn't win in the end. But in the meantime he has taken much dominion of this world by the freewill of man. That was one of his temptations of Jesus from Satan "I will give you the kingdoms if you bow and worship" Many kingdoms were and are under the rule of the enemy.

    As for Eve repenting...I guess we can agree that they both repented before leaving the garden. Not that it says so but when they left they were covered in animal skins that God had made from the first sacrifice.

    Thanks for reading a helping me think things through. :D

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  3. There is a Christian mysticism afoot in the world, and we can thank "Eve" for having tasted it first and given it to her helpmate. . . .

    Some of the early Church Fathers (Irenaeus, Origen) regarded Adam and Eve as literally children growing up in their Parent’s Garden. Being children, the fruit of the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (Gen 2:17) was naturally inaccessible to them; yet, God planted this tree in the middle of the Garden because he definitely wanted them to eat of it when he discerned that they were ready. As often happens, however, children rush ahead and seize adult ways prematurely. According to Origen, Eve’s initiative merely represents the well-known case that girls mature earlier than boys. The serpent in this narrative is not what will later be identified as Satan in disguise (Wis 2:24; Rev 20:2) but the wisdom figure of ancient cultures. The serpent, accordingly, reveals quite rightly to Eve that by touching the fruit, she will not die—on the contrary, “God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened [so as to discern good and evil], and you will be like God” (Gen 3:5). They ate and “the eyes of both were opened” (Gen 3:7)—just as the serpent revealed.

    The fact that they notice, for the first time, that they are naked only demonstrates that they are indeed seeing with adult eyes (and have lost the innocence of childhood). Then, once God discovers what has happened, he does not curse them (as you note). How could he? Rather, God says, “See, the man [lit., “earthling”] has become like one of us, knowing good and evil” (Gen 3:22). Thus, God excludes them from the Garden where they might also eat of the tree of life and live forever.

    In so doing, God, acting like a good father, gets Adam ready for the curses of farming, and Eve is prepared for the curses of childbearing. In brief, Adam and Eve enter into the adult world wherein their Parent will no longer do everything from them.

    This reading of Genesis (which prevails today within the Eastern Orthodox Churches and within many Jewish circles as well) captures much more of the deep nuances of the ancient narrative than do those later readings that imagine Adam and Eve were tempted by Satan and committed a grievous sin worthy of death. Anselm regarded the crime as one of unpardonable treason since the children of God had taken the side of God’s enemy against him. In Anselm’s day, the punishment for treason was death, not only for the guilty participants in the crime, but for their children as well. It thus seemed natural that the death penalty imposed (‘spiritual death”) fell not only upon our first parents but upon all their future children as well.

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  4. Genesis 3, to Satan and Adam, "Because you did this", does not say that to "the woman" ( who does not get her name till just after the fall hmmm), and Satan is cursed and the ground is cursed because of what Adam did, says so eh? no curse is used to anything "the woman" did.....

    It's when Adam eat of the tree is when "both eyes opened", so when she eat nothing happened, or she would of reacted, correct? correct. Adam saw she didn't die, felt God lied to him? and thus he eat of it, "THEN" both of there eyes opened.....

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  5. Job 31:33....If I covered my
    transgressions as Adam,
    by hiding mine iniquity in my bosom.....(says Adam, not Eve)....

    Hosea 6:7 (ESV)
    But like Adam they transgressed the covenant;
    there they dealt faithlessly with me....( again, nothing about Eve)

    Romans 5...Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses......For as by one man's ( Adam's ) disobedience many were made sinners....

    1 Corinthians 15:21 For since by man came death,
    by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
    22For as "in Adam" all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.......

    2 Corinthians 5:14 For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge,
    that if one died for all, (Adam )
    then were all dead....

    1 Timothy 2:13 For Adam was first formed,
    then Eve 14 And Adam was not deceived,
    but the woman being deceived was in the transgression......

    wait, it says in other verses i posted it was "Adam" that transgressed....so then???

    lastly? if Adam was "not deceived", then what happened that made Adam eat of it also? because as I said??? she did not die when she eat, or she would of reacted in some way, just as they both reacted when Adam eat of the fruit....it says clearly its "when he eat" is when the eyes of both of them opened....yes? :-)

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  6. another verse: Genesis 4 Eve said, I have gotten a man from the LORD....this proves Eve had repented? as she gives thanks to the Lord for her child....note, Adam says nothing of the sort, anywhere.....nowhere in the bible does it even "hint" that Adam repented, like it at least does for Eve here. On the contrary, whenever Adam is mentioned in the bible, its always in a negative light, as in "what HE did to the world" ......interesting? :-)

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  7. "IF" then "the woman" did not die when she eat of the fruit first but it was after "the man, Adam" eat of it, then would this not mean then that the Serpent, Satan, did "not" lie to "the woman" that she would "not" die if "she" eat of the tree?......Satan "used" the woman to get to the man?........Satan "knew" that "the woman" would not die if "she eat of it" so Satan told "the woman" the truth, so Satan could get "Adam" to eat of it?.......Satan "knew" that Adam would see that "the woman" did not die, so then Adam would also eat of it, and thus, then they would "die"........after all, the serpent is called "the most subtle" of all, right? meaning what is so great about what the Serpent did if he just told "the woman" a simple lie and she eat of it then she died?.....but ah.....wait a sec.....IF the serpent "knew" she would "not" die until "Adam" eat of it, then now "that" is "crafty" to get to her, to get to Adam......eh? hmmmmmm

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