In which an alternative view is offered regarding the exit of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, the action of women and the relationship of men and women are explored and the story of Cain and Abel is reinterpreted in light of the actions taken during the Garden of Eden Story.

In order to fully appreciate this discussion, it is recommended that the posts comprising the series “In God’s Image” and “Imagination and the Mind of Man” be read before reading the posts in this series.

Another Interpretation of the Garden of Eden Story

Preview of this post

This post, post number 1 of 19 introduces the topic.

1. Introduction

The Garden of Eden story has been the source of contemplation, consternation, study, discussion^[1], argument and writings^[2] for centuries. The main cause of this mystery and the associated consternation^[3] is the view that Adam and Eve, two lowly figures who were enjoying total bliss in the Garden[4], chose to defy God and were punished for this act of defiance in a manner which has affected all mankind ever since. The posts in this series explore another interpretation of this story which avoids this conundrum.

The Garden of Eden Story relates the episode of Adam and Eve disobeying God’s commandment forbidding them from eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge and leaving the Garden as a result[5]. There are many interpretations of this story^[6], the most common seems to be that of Adam and Eve being cast out of the Garden of Eden for their disobedience^[7]. The story has also been interpreted as telling how evil entered the world – because man let it in and is the product of human behavior, not an inherent characteristic of the world that God created^[8].

It would seem that the story of Adam and Eve being cast out of the Garden of Eden for disobedience fits the Bible’s objective of providing a theocentric history to inform people of how they arrived at where they are and giving guidance for continuing a relationship with a protecting Deity^[9].

The posts in this series explore this episode in another light.

Preview of the next post.

The next post, post number 2 of 19, is the first post in a series of posts discussing various arguments that have been proposed for the “banishment” of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden and speculates as to why Adam and Eve were not provided an opportunity to repent for their transgression.

^[1] There are some, such as Christine Hayes in Introduction to the Bible (Yale University Press, New Haven, 2012) at pages 43-50, demonstrate that the Garden of Eden story is based on the story of Epic of Gilgamesh, but with important changes to make a point as is the general pattern of the Bible.

^[2] Among the many explanations offered for this act are: God provided a choice so men could choose good or evil whereby man can accept responsibility for transgressions and learn from the event; man, himself, introduced the evil into the world; it is a post-facto explanation of why humans must die, why men must work, and women must endure pain at childbirth, and why certain animals (specifically snakes) are reviled by humans; by eating the fruit of the Tree, the humans gained the ability to discern the difference between good and evil. Of course there are many, many more explanations as befits a story as enigmatic and important as this one. Philo in his three-part treatise “Allegorical Interpretation” contends that every single event in the Adam and Eve Garden of Eden story (Gen 2:1) is allegorical (whereby Biblical stories, laws and truths become universal laws and truths, applicable to everybody, Jew and non-Jew, even to atheists, non-believers, and agnostics).

^[3] For example, Reb Zisha of Hanipol (1718-1800)  is said to have blamed himself for the “Fall” of Adam and Eve because his soul was part of Adam’s soul and he blamed himself for not stopping the “transgression”.

[4] See, the paintings “Adam and Eve in Paradise” by Peter Paul Rubens, “Adam and Eve under the Apple Tree” by Edvard Munch, “”The Expulsion from Paradise” by Charles Joseph Natoire, among many other paintings and works of art.

[5] Some have found this story, The Fall of Man, to be rooted in the more ancient Gilgamesh Epic where Enkidu is creatd by the Sumerian Love-goddess Aruuru and became the blood brother of Gilgamesh in the city of Uruk. When Gilgamesh sought the ancient herb of immortality he learned of its existence and location from Utnapishtim (the Sumerian Noah). However, when Gilgamesh found the herb, it was stolen by a serpent and was resigned to death instead of immortality. Still others have found the story to be similar to the Akkadian myth of Adapa, found on a tablet at Tell Amarna. Adapa was attacked by a Storm-bird and broke its wing. His father warned him that Anu, King of Heaven would retaliate by offering him food and drink of death, which he must refuse. However, Anu learned of this disclosure and offered Adapa the bread and water of life, which he refused. Anu then sent him back to earth as a mere mortal, this myth parallels the theme of the serpent’s warning to Eve that God had deceived her about the properties of the forbidden fruit. Yet another parallel in ancient myths is the Persian myth where Meshia and Meshiane at first live on fruit alone but are persuaded by the Demon Ahriman to deny God which causes them to lose their purity and commit evil acts.

^[6] See, for example, G. von Rad, Genesis (rev. ed.; OTL; Philadelphia: Westminster, 1972); Wenham, Genesis 1-15 (WBC 1; Dallas: Word, 1987). The first time this story seems to be viewed as being a story of the “Fall of Man” seems to come from the time of Augustine.

^[7] As discussed in other series, such as “The Concept of Original Sin Revisited,” at this time,  humans had no reason to believe that this entity calling itself God, was, indeed, God and there was no reason that Eve should be bound or blamed for not following an order she received in a hearsay manner from another human who may not have been a reliable source and who had doubtful listening, memory, reasoning and communication skills and who attributed the order to an entity who she did not know and had never heard of or from.

^[8] See, for example, Understanding Genesis by Nahum M. Sarna, published by Schocken Books of New York in 1966. But see the series “The Original Sin Revisited” for a discussion of evil entering the world..

^[9] The Bible was offering an explanation of why people had to work and why women suffered pain at childbirth. It was also offering the explanation in a way which allowed them to view the miracle of their being at that exact place at that time as being achieved through events which were guided by God, and that God would continue the miracle if they obeyed His commandments. The banishment of Adam and Eve might be viewed as an example of what happens to those who disobey God’s commandments. However, Adam and Eve leaving the Garden was not a “banishment” or “punishment” but a step in their development as human beings.