Introduction

The first book of the Old Testament in the first phrase in the Hebrew text is 'Bereshit' (in [the] beginning), which is also the Hebrew title of the book (בְּרֵאשִׁית). The English title, Genesis, is Greek in origin and comes from the word 'geneseos,' which appears in the pre-Christian Greek translation – Septuagint. Depending on its context, the term can mean birth, genealogy, or history of origin. In both its Hebrew and Greek forms, the traditional title of Genesis appropriately describes its contents since it is primarily a book of beginnings.

A total of 50 chapters of the book, 14 chapters, or nearly one-third, are related to Joseph's life.

Genesis speaks of beginnings – of the heavens and the earth, of light and darkness, of seas and skies, of land and vegetation, of sun and moon and stars, of sea and air and land animals, of human beings (made in God's own image, the climax of his creative activity), of marriage and family, of society and civilization, of sin and redemption. The list could go on and on. A key word in Genesis is account, which also divides the book into its ten major parts (see Literary Features and Literary Outline) and includes concepts such as birth, genealogy, and history.

The book's message is often enhanced by its literary structure and characteristics. Genesis is divided into ten main sections, each beginning with the word account (see 2:4; 5:1; 6:9; 10:1; 11:10; 11:27; 25:12; 25:19; 36:1 – repeated for emphasis at 36:9 – and 37:2). The first five sections can be grouped together and, along with the introduction to the book as a whole (1:1 – 2:3), can be appropriately called primeval history (1:1 – 11:26). This introduction to the main story sketches the period from Adam to Abraham and tells about the ways of God with the human race as a whole. The last five sections constitute a much longer (but equally unified) account and relate the story of God's dealings with the ancestors of his chosen people Israel (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph and their families) – a section often called patriarchal history (11:27 – 50:26). This section is in turn composed of three narrative cycles (Abraham – Isaac, 11:27 – 25:11; Isaac – Jacob, 25:19 – 35:19; 37:1; Jacob – Joseph, 37:2 – 50:26), interspersed by the genealogies of Ishmael (25:12 – 18) and Esau (ch. 36).

Numbers with symbolic significance figure prominently in Genesis. The number ten, in addition to being the number of sections into which Genesis is divided, is also the number of names appearing in the genealogies of chs. 5 and 11. The number seven also occurs frequently. The Hebrew text of 1:1 consists of exactly seven words, and that of 1:2 of exactly 14 (twice seven). There are seven days of creation, seven names in the genealogy of Ch. 4., various sevens in the flood story, 70 descendants of Noah's sons (ch. 10), a sevenfold promise to Abram (12:2 – 3), seven years of abundance and then seven of famine in Egypt (ch. 41), and 70 descendants of Jacob (ch. 46). Other significant numbers, such as 12 and 40, are used with similar frequency.

The book of Genesis is foundational to understanding the rest of the Bible. Its message is rich and complex, and listing its main elements outlines the Biblical message. It is supremely a book that speaks about relationships, highlighting those between God and his creation, God and humankind, and human beings. It is thoroughly monotheistic, taking for granted that there is only one God worthy of the name and opposing the ideas that there are many gods (polytheism), that there is no god at all (atheism), and that everything is divine (pantheism). It teaches that the one true God is sovereign over all that exists and that he often exercises his unlimited freedom to overturn human customs, traditions, and plans. It introduces us to how God initiates and makes covenants with his chosen people, pledging his love and faithfulness to them and calling them to promise theirs to him. It establishes sacrifice as the substitution of life for life (ch. 22). It gives us the first hint of God's provision for redemption from the forces of evil. It contains the oldest and most profound statement concerning the significance of faith. More than half of Heb 11 – a New Testament list of the faithful – refers to characters in Genesis.

During the last three centuries, many interpreters have claimed to find in the Pentateuch four underlying sources. The presumed documents, allegedly dating from the tenth to the fifth centuries BC, are called J (for Jahweh/Yahweh, the personal Old Testament name for God), E (for Elohim, a generic name for God), D (for Deuteronomic) and P (for Priestly). Each document is claimed to have its characteristics and theology, which often contradicts the other documents. The Pentateuch is thus depicted as a patchwork of stories, poems, and laws. However, this view needs to be supported by conclusive evidence, and intensive archaeological and literary research has tended to undercut many of the arguments used to challenge Mosaic authorship.

Historically, Jews and Christians alike have held that Moses was the author of the first five books of the Old Testament.

The historical period during which Moses lived is fixed with a fair degree of accuracy by 1 Kings. We are told that the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel was the same as the four hundred and eightieth years after the Israelites had come out of Egypt (1 Kings, 6:1). Since the former was BC 966., the latter – and thus the date of the exodus – was BC 1446 assuming that the 480 in 1 Kings 6:1, is to be taken literally. The 40-year period of Israel’s wanderings in the desert, which lasted from BC 1446 to BC 1406, would have been the most likely time for Moses to write the books of what is today known as the Pentateuch.

What I had in mind and the principles that guided me in studying the texts of the Book of Genesis:

• The rules in the interpretation of the text limit the possible interpretation outside those rules.

• Just reading the text without interpretation opens the door to contradictions and confusion and comes down to understanding only the first level of meaning.

• Each translation of a text is also an interpretation of it.

• In different historical periods, people's knowledge and experiences about themselves and their environment can significantly influence the understanding and interpretation of the text.

• The book of Genesis is the word of God that was written with human words in certain historical circumstances. This sufficient argument inevitably imposes the need to interpret the text. As the most banal reason, it is enough to remind ourselves that the human words used in Genesis do not have the same meaning today and at the time when Genesis was written.

• More than just understanding the meaning of words from the time when Genesis was written is required to understand the text. Nevertheless, this kind of understanding is enough to understand the thinking of the people of that time, their relationships with each other, and their relationship with God, which is very important for the overall understanding.

• And an exegetical approach and thinking, and then hermeneutic principles and thinking.

• And lastly, for me, perhaps the most important, some undefined inner feeling that can't be described in words, or at least I can't.

Adam

The Greatest Love Story

INTRODUCTION

In this chapter, we will not deal with the search for evidence of the actual historical existence or non-existence of Adam and Eve. We will not deal with the search for evidence of the existence or non-existence of the Garden of Eden or anything similar. We will deal exclusively with the text from Genesis, the interpretation and meaning of the text in a completely new light compared to the traditional interpretation.

Although this book deals with the biblical text about the events in the Garden of Eden, you will not find anything that aims to convince you to believe or not to believe in something. This book seeks to (as far as possible) decipher the biblical text that has significantly impacted the cultural development of human communities throughout the centuries of human history. Unfortunately, the most common interpretation that has followed people throughout history is negative, frustrating, confusing, illogical, and incorrect.

This book will show how the report - story can be viewed on a simple, deeper, and profound level. We will show how the report - story can be seen from different angles and perspectives.

According to Genesis, Adam and Eve were the first human beings on the planet. In Genesis, we are told God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. This man, called Adam, was the first human being. But God did not create Adam to be alone.

But for Adam, there was not found a helper fit for him. So, the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept, took one of his 'ribs' and closed up its place with flesh. And the 'rib' that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. The man called his wife Eve because she was the mother of all living.

In the reading of Genesis, we learn that God created the first two people: Adam and Eve. They were placed in the Garden of Eden and given everything they needed: food, work, companionship, and fellowship with God as they walked with him in the cool of the day.

Then something happened!

A serpent entered the Garden of Eden to tempt Adam and Eve. God had given food from every Tree in the garden but commanded the man and woman not to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Eve believed the serpent and ate the fruit, then gave it to Adam, who also ate the fruit.

This event was catastrophic. Now known as the Fall, God judged Adam and Eve for disobeying his command. And true to his word, Adam and Eve began the death process.

Adam and Eve died because of the Fall, but the Fall didn't just affect them.

Since their sin, every other person born after them was plunged into rebellion against God's order. That includes you and every other human being you know. And this rebellion is also the reason we die today. Through Adam's and Eve's sin, death came into the world.

God curses all three: the man to a lifetime of hard labor followed by death, the woman to the pain of childbirth and subordination to her husband, and the serpent to go on his belly and suffer the hostility of both man and woman.

God then clothes the nakedness of Adam and Eve, who have become god-like in knowing good and evil, then banishes them from the garden lest they eat the fruit of a second tree, the Tree of Life, and live forever.

Some early Christian church fathers held Eve responsible for the Fall of man and all subsequent women to be the first sinners because Eve tempted Adam to commit the taboo. Based on the Christian doctrine of the Fall of man came the doctrine of original sin. Original sin became a concept that man is born into a condition of sinfulness and must await redemption. This doctrine became a cornerstone of the Western Christian theological tradition.

This literal interpretation of the report can only be acceptable to those who have yet to read the report because this interpretation does not provide answers to the many ambiguities and illogicalities that appear in the text.

In Islam, Adam (Adam; Arabic: آدم), whose role is being the father of humanity, is revered by Muslims. Eve (Hawwaʼ; Arabic: حواء) is the mother of humanity. The creation of Adam and Eve is referred to in the Qurʼan, although different Qurʼanic interpreters give different views on the actual creation story. According to the Qurʼan, Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit in a Heavenly Eden. As a result, they were both sent down to Earth as God's representatives. The concept of original sin does not exist in Islam because, according to Islam, Adam and Eve were forgiven by God.

Genesis

2:8-9 And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden from the east, and He placed there the man whom He had formed. And the Lord God caused to sprout from the ground every Tree pleasant to see and good to eat, and the Tree of Life in the midst of the garden, and the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil. 2:15-23 Now the Lord God took the man, and He placed him in the Garden of Eden to work it and to guard it. And the Lord God commanded man, saying, Of every Tree of the garden you may freely eat. But of the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it, for on the day you eat thereof, you shall surely die. And the Lord God said, It is not good that man is alone; I shall make him a helpmate opposite him. And the Lord God formed from the earth every beast of the field and every fowl of the heavens, and He brought [it] to man to see what he would call it, and whatever the man called each living thing, that was its name. And man named all the cattle and the fowl of the heavens and all the beasts of the field, but for man, he did not find a helpmate opposite him. And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon man, and he slept, and He took one of his sides, and He closed the flesh in its place. And the Lord God built the side that He had taken from man into a woman, and He brought her to man. And the man said, This time, it is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. This one shall be called ishah (woman) because this one was taken from ish (man). 3:1-24 Now the serpent was cunning, more than all the beasts of the field that the Lord God had made, and it said to the woman, Did God indeed say, 'You shall not eat of any of the trees of the garden?' And the woman said to the serpent, Of the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat. But of the fruit of the Tree that is in the midst of the garden, God said, You shall not eat of it, and you shall not touch it, lest you die.' And the serpent said to the woman, You will surely not die. For God knows that on the day that you eat thereof, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like angels, knowing good and evil. And the woman saw that the Tree was good for food and that it was a delight to the eyes, and the Tree was desirable to make one wise; so she took of its fruit, and she ate, and she also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. And the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves and made themselves girdles. And they heard the voice of the Lord God going in the garden to the direction of the sun, and the man and his wife hid from before the Lord God in the midst of the trees of the garden. And the Lord God called to man, and He said to him, Where are you? And he said, I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I am naked; so I hid. And He said, Who told you that you are naked? Have you eaten from the Tree of which I commanded you not to eat? And the man said, The woman whom You gave [to be] with me she gave me of the tree; so I ate. And the Lord God said to the woman, What is this that you have done? And the woman said, The serpent enticed me, and I ate. And the Lord God said to the serpent, Because you have done this, cursed be you more than all the cattle and more than all the beasts of the field; you shall walk on your belly, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. And I shall place hatred between you and between the woman, and between your seed and between her seed. He will crush your head, and you will bite his heel. To the woman, He said, I shall surely increase your sorrow and your pregnancy; in pain, you shall bear children. And to your husband will be your desire, and he will rule over you. And to man, He said, Because you listened to your wife, and you ate from the tree from which I commanded you saying, 'You shall not eat of it,' cursed be the ground for your sake; with toil shall you eat of it all the days of your life. And it will cause thorns and thistles to grow for you, and you shall eat the herbs of the field. With the sweat of your face, you shall eat bread until you return to the ground, for you were taken therefrom, for dust you are, and to dust you will return. And the man named his wife Eve because she was the mother of all life. And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife shirts of skin, and He dressed them. Now the Lord God said, Behold man has become like one of us, having the ability of knowing good and evil, and now, lest he stretch forth his hand and also take from the Tree of Life and eat and live forever." And the Lord God sent him out of the Garden of Eden, to till the soil, whence he had been taken. And He drove the man out, and He stationed from the east of the Garden of Eden the cherubim and the blade of the revolving sword to guard the way to the Tree of Life.

This biblical text's traditional and well-known interpretation deals with something other than the contradictions and illogicalities that appear in describing the events in the Garden of Eden. However, the text of the report itself leaves many doubts and unanswered questions.

If we pause and think more deeply about this text, many ambiguities and illogicalities will appear. For example:

From whom or what should Adam guard the Garden of Eden?

Why was the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil created if it should not be used?

Does Adam know what it means to 'die'? No one around Adam died, and Adam never saw anyone dead.

Why is it not good that Adam is alone? Does Adam even know what loneliness is?

How does Adam know that none of the animals brought before him are of his kind, not like him? Adam never saw another man.

Adam's loneliness and the lack of assistance to him is the reason for the creation of a woman - Eve! Why does Adam need an assistant or helper?

What does 'helpmate opposite him' mean?

Why was Eve not created in the same way as Adam?

Before tasting the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, how does Eve see that it was good for food and desirable to make man wise?

What was the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of good and evil?

Why did Adam agree to eat the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil? Adam was not 'deceived' by the serpent or persuaded by Eve.

They had to die after Adam and Eve ate the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Why did Adam and Eve not die but were cast out from the Garden of Eden?

For eating the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, it is announced that death will occur and nothing more. Where, then, and why is the expulsion from the Garden of Eden, the 'punishment' of the snake, birth pains, cursing the earth, etc.?

Why does God curse the Earth? Is the Earth to blame for something?

The text nowhere mentions that Adam and Eve sinned. So, how do we know that the first sin happened in the Garden of Eden?

Why did God create Adam and Eve at all?

Why does the human being need freedom of choice?

Why is the story about the events in the Garden of Eden not about the Fall, sin, and punishment but a love story?

And so on...

Different interpretations of the biblical text arise in different historical settings. The environment, way of life, and way of thinking (the state of human consciousness and understanding of what surrounds him) significantly influence the interpretation and understanding of the text. In addition, for different variations, the interpretation's goal should be considered about the one to whom the interpretation is directed. The exact text in other historical circumstances can be interpreted differently due to the need to present a theological message that is considered correct for the people of that historical moment and is in accordance with their possibilities of understanding (state of consciousness).

Many biblical texts are multi-layered, and the structure is carefully designed. The text about the events in the Garden of Eden is multi-layered. If someone wants to know more about multi-layered texts, my books Pharaoh's Dream, Noah, and Samson - Call of Sin give a precise and exciting insight into the existence of the mentioned layers and levels.

Furthermore, God creates man in his image and likeness, the most revolutionary idea ever conceived. In all earlier and later texts, people were created as executors or by some means (slaves of the gods). Also, in all human systems of organizing life, a man was, and still is, the executor or the means. The progressive idea of equality among people appears for the first time in the 'Torah,' and history is seen as something that is not cyclical but linear.

Interestingly, in the act of creating man, as God's last and dearest creature, for whom the whole world was created, it is not a command but God's agreement and consultation. God did not say, ‘Let there be a man!’ but: ‘Let us create man.’ This, according to the Christian understanding, reveals the Holy Trinity during the creation of man. The Holy Trinity held a council when it decided to create man. Jewish interpreters try to understand this verb, which appears in the plural, as an ‘agreement out of modesty’ between God and the Angels.

Two key expressions of biblical anthropology: (Hebrew ‘tselem demut’ - בְּצַלְמֵנוּ כִּדְמוּתֵנוּ), which can be translated as 'in Our image' (God's); 'in the likeness of Ours'; 'as the likeness of Ours', indicate the exaltation of a man with god-like dominion over all other creatures. But also, on the divinity of man according to the Archetype, the Triune God is a community of personalities, and here is indicated the creation of man as a personality and community. Hence, the noun man – 'adam,’ without an article, in the singular, has both an individual and a collective, congregational meaning here. Therefore, it denotes the human race because it comes together with the verb in the plural, ‘to rule.’ The creation of the first man is the creation of human nature - humanity. ‘To rule,’ the verb in the plural, also shows God's intention of creating male and female.

Man's rule over other creatures is due to being endowed with the image of God, imperial dominion, self-government, freedom of will - godlikeness. God creates man 'in His image and likeness.' Image - godlikeness is given to human nature, created in the image of the immortal Divine nature, and likeness is premeditated and indicated by God as a task for man, that is, as a dynamic, synergistic realization of godlikeness. And it is predicated on man's free will, love, and cooperation with God. Because God created us for this world without us, and participation in eternal life does not happen without us.

For the creation of man (‘adam’), a special term is used; ‘bara’ = to create, as in the 1st verse: ‘At the beginning of the ‘bara’ - God created heaven and earth.’

1:1 בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֵת הָאָֽרֶץ׃

1:27 וַיִּבְרָא אֱלֹהִים אֶת־הָֽאָדָם בְּצַלְמוֹ בְּצֶלֶם אֱלֹהִים בָּרָא אֹתוֹ זָכָר וּנְקֵבָה בָּרָא אֹתָֽם׃

The verb 'bara' is used to emphasize God's action, and it means creation without pain and existing matter. Furthermore, while animals were created at God's command (the word 'jasa’ = let) is used, the creation of man is still described as a thoughtful, busy, and well-balanced work of God's free will: ‘Let us make man in our image, like unto ourselves’.

The creation of the soul by God is magnificent (in addition to the verses about the creation of man from Gen 1:26-27) witnessed by the verse: Yahweh, God, make ('jitsar,’ not ‘bara’ as in Gen 1:27) a man from the dust of the Earth, and the breath of life breathed into his nostrils. Thus, man becomes a living soul (Genesis 2:7).

2:7 וַיִּיצֶר יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים אֶת־הָֽאָדָם עָפָר מִן־הָאֲדָמָה וַיִּפַּח בְּאַפָּיו נִשְׁמַת חַיִּים וַֽיְהִי הָֽאָדָם לְנֶפֶשׁ חַיָּֽה׃

The shaping of man is described in two acts: the act of shaping dust and the act of breathing in the breath of life. By this, the writer wants to point out that man was created from already existing matter, which God transformed into a man through direct and merciful action, giving him something (the soul, which is the beginning of life) from himself.

WHAT DOES THE AVERAGE Person know about Adam and Eve?

God created a man and a woman and gave them a perfect place to live, a garden called Eden. Well, the garden is depicted as an orchard. God gives them this wonderful orchard and tells them they can eat all the fruit they want. And they live in peace with the animals and with one another. It's an image of peace, completion, and wholeness. When we imagine the Garden of Eden, most of us think of a paradise like this, better than anything we could ever find on Earth.

But what does the Bible say about where it all began? The biblical description is very short. It just says there are four rivers. Tigris and Euphrates are two, and the other two are unknown. That's the problem. You have the location if we can figure out where all four rivers are. And it is the tantalizing mention of these two remaining rivers that has fueled a never-ending search for the Garden of Eden. People have looked everywhere for centuries, from the ocean's depths to the Moon.

Tigris and Euphrates are in southern Iraq. They come together in an area known as the Fertile Crescent, where civilization first began, a perfect backdrop for the biblical beginning. We've got a place where early men and early women could live in idyllic harmony with the food readily accessible and all that. That's what we're talking about: an earthly paradise.

We're told that Adam and Eve have everything they could ever need, but to keep all this, they had to obey one rule. God tells Adam and Eve not to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. And God warned them that if they disobeyed, they would die.

Snake comes along and says, once you've access to the Tree of Wisdom, you can become like the gods. You can move up the ladder.

In a very human moment, we're told Eve couldn't resist the temptation to take more. She took a bite, and she passed the fruit to Adam.

It was the snack that changed history.

The men and the women hide. They're afraid because they know they've done something wrong. When God says, did you eat? It's Adam who points the finger at Eve. And not only at Eve, but at God, because he says, she gave me, and you gave her to me.

Now, an angry God casts his creation out of paradise. And just like Adam throughout the millennia, everyone has blamed Eve. Women are blamed for lots of things that they need not. Adam could have said that fruit, I'm not going to eat it. But he took the fruit, and he ate it.

Ironically, in the Muslim holy book, the Koran, there's more than enough blame to go around. Both Adam and Eve are to blame equally for eating the forbidden fruit. So, they're co-equal human beings.

But in the end, it didn't matter whose fault it was. They both suffered the consequences of disobeying God.

The first lesson of Genesis is cold and hard. For humans, sustaining life on this earth is not meant to be easy. We have to go out into that cruel, suffering world where we labor by the sweat of our brows, give forth our children in pain and have to suffer and die. Christians believe that this is why Jesus came, to solve that problem, to pay the penalty for sin. But maybe when Eve made the choice that Christians call original sin, it was something more. Perhaps it was the first act of original thought.

Adam and Eve? Free will? That's the story of how you can make a choice. And that's the most horrible thing that faces a human being. We've got to choose.

Science gives us insight into the how. How the universe works, and how particles behave. But it provides zero insight into why. Why are we here? What's the meaning of it all? For some people, religion offers some degree of insight into those critical questions. Essential and challenging questions the Bible forces us to think about, like jealousy and rage, and why some people come to hate and harm each other. A lesson starkly taught in the story of the first children, the first siblings. Cain is a shepherd, and Abel is a farmer. Both offer sacrifices to God, but God likes Abel's better. This is about life as we know it. And life as we know it is not fair. We feel the pain of those whom God hasn't chosen. In a fit of jealousy, Cain kills his brother Abel. This was sort of the first example that we ever saw of murder. And the gravity with which God holds the taking of another human life. And yet, with the passage of thousands of years, humankind is still at it. As indeed as Cain killed Abel, the slaughter of innocents continues.

How do we make sense of our torn world and our torn personalities? And we fall into the conflict and despair when we see suffering and injustice.

The Bible does well and helps us ask really good questions. How could we do this better?

The Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve in the Art

THE REPORT OF ADAM and Eve is often depicted in art, and it has had an important influence in literature and poetry. It is very easy to conclude that almost all artists focused on the event with the 'forbidden fruit' from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Domenichino, 1626

Cornelis Cornelisz., 1592

Albrecht Dürer’s Adam and Eve, 1504

Adam and Eve par Jacob Jordaens - 1640

Tintoretto, 1550–1553

Lucas Cranach the Elder, 1531

Tiziano Vecellio Titian, 1550

1969

1962

1969

1956

Christian New Testament Texts about Adam and Eve

ROMANS 5:12-15 THEREFORE, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, death spread to all because all have sinned. Sin existed in the world before the law, but sin is not reckoned when there is no law. Yet death exercised dominion from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sins were not like the transgression of Adam, who is a type of the one who was to come. But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died through the one man's trespass, much more surely have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many.

1 Corinthians 15:21-23 For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being; for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:44-46 Thus it is written, ‘The first man, Adam, became a living being’; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual that is first, but the physical, and then the spiritual.

2 Corinthians 11:3 But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by its cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.

1 Timothy 2:12-14 I permit no woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she is to keep silent. For Adam was formed first, then Eve, and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.

One of the Simplest Levels of Interpretation

THIS PART OF UNDERSTANDING needs to consider the depth of the written text. Still, it neither accuses nor praises but connects the present state of mind of man and the state of a specific situation of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.

The story of the sin of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil is very bizarre. It involves a snake, seduction, tricking. If we would put ourselves in their shoes, in the Garden of Eden, we're told God says to Adam; I made all these trees; you have all the fruit from all these trees; it's an unlimited source of tasty nourishment, right? Or you can eat buffet. However, there's one Tree here that I've put in the middle that I want you to stay away from. That one is off-limits. You can have anything you want, as much as you want, from all of the garden's trees, but from this one in the middle, you can't eat.

Is that a tough test for you? You know, especially if you consider how you have other options? The question is, well, what's so hard about it, first of all? Second of all, how does a test like this relate to us? The Bible is a story of humankind, its development, and its connection with God.

What is the takeaway from this story? What does the story teach me, and how do I apply the story to my life and challenges? On a basic level, once something is off-limits to you, that creates this idea of maybe more of a temptation, more of a desire for it. A verse in the Bible says that stolen fruits are sweeter. You know, having something that you're not supposed to have creates or adds pleasure and excitement to it, and so at least on a basic level, the fact that God said you couldn't have it made it a challenge, made it more desirable, and that's where this is all focusing around.

But the question then becomes, what is the lesson from that to us? How do we learn from that? How do we apply that and fix that mistake? Because we are all here as a continuation of Adam and Eve. We are continuing the story because the challenges and the tests bring us to a much higher, more complete level, so how do we not make that mistake in our life, bringing a rectification to it?

Okay, Adam and Eve were one unit. Husband and wife, we know that they're two parts of a whole, soulmates, so they represent the idea of just one person, one unit in a world without anyone else to relate to. We live in a world full of many other people. We link to many different people, so it's hard to create the same scenario because they are alone, and we're not alone. But if we could understand the connection between their challenge in a world where they were alone and apply it to a world where we share with others, we can accomplish much.

Today, we know that the quality of living is incredible compared to what it once was. We all live like kings. We live better than kings lived once upon a time. But the big question is this: if we live better than kings used to live, why are we not satisfied? Why aren't we so happy?

Because it's that king next door or the king across the street, and his kingdom's bigger than mine. He's got two or three cars and a big house because it's a relationship. It's all concerning what we see through the lens of what the other person has. Since everybody's living this quality of life, we could all have a coffee in the morning, so we're not satisfied because everyone has it. And when we look around and see other people have more, then we become dissatisfied with what we do have, which is, in fact, a silly idea because how can I let that person that's outside of me and has nothing to do with my life, how can I let him steal my happiness, steal my satisfaction?

Ultimately, it isn't brilliant of me to let him do that to me, but I do it to myself. And we're talking about maturity, an understanding of how to be complete within, which creates happiness in life satisfaction that's not affectable. Then, the people around me don't affect that. Confidence in myself and what I have, what I'm accomplishing, and belief in God and what he gave me should be enough, and that's what we're looking at right here.

Let's now take what we've said and apply it to Adam and Eve. When we're alone in a world, and there's no one else to look at, seemingly this doesn't exist. The idea of letting someone else take away your happiness doesn't exist. And the idea of seeing what they have and wanting it and letting it detract from your satisfaction and what you have. So seemingly, they live in a world that we don't live in, or we live in a world that they didn't, and there's no correlation between our challenges. And this is the beauty and the depth of this commandment and what makes it so applicable to our lives. God understood that Adam and Eve didn't have anyone else in their world; taking one of the things I had created and taking it away from them made it forbidden. That is similar to when we look at what others have that we can't. That's the commonality; that's the idea of the connection.

For Adam and Eve, the test of not having from this particular Tree, even though they had so many other trees that they could have been satisfied from, is similar to me not being satisfied with what I have and wanting what I can't have because it belongs to someone else. This idea is one of the prime fundamental ideas in our life. It's one of the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments end with the idea that we should not look to our fellow and desire what he has. We should not desire what we know, his possessions and the root of many evils is the competition, the jealousy. Looking around us is one of our biggest downfalls, the big start of many wars and family conflicts. It's linked to so many problems in this world, and now, if we're correct in our analysis and our idea, we've connected it to the first downfall of humankind, the first challenge that we didn't live up to in the Garden of Eden.

What's the solution?

The solution is more straightforward said than done. But what this point at is a concept, a pervasive concept taught by the sages is this. Ultimately, the key to happiness, correct? How can we all live the life of a millionaire? How can we all live the life of a millionaire? Well, let's get the wealthiest man to give out a million bucks to everybody, right? But nowhere and nobody has enough real money to make us all millionaires. And how can we all live the life of a millionaire?

Let's think go really to the heart of what financial wealth gives a person. Financial wealth provides a person with stability and the ability to do in general because you say two things. A person can have what he needs, and more than that, because he has a lot of money, he can have what he wants. He can also be comfortable that things will go fine for him. He won't have to worry about how he's going survive, how he's going to pay the rent. He has what he needs, and more than that, he has what he wants. So those are the qualities of a rich man, of a millionaire.

How can we all have those same qualities without getting a million? Because it's not everyone can have that million. So, how do we have those same qualities without getting a million? And here's what the heart of this idea is. By being satisfied with what you have, you instantly attain the qualities usually reserved for rich people. We can all be rich if we can train ourselves to want less. Do you know what gets in the way of someone's happiness? I'm miserable if I wish to do so many things beyond my grasp that I cannot have. But if I instantly do not want those things, I'm no longer missing them. The idea is to be as satisfied with what you have as possible. This is, in fact, a teaching from the sages in the Ethics of the Fathers. It says who is a rich man, and instead of answering the guy's got a million bucks, which is the basic answer, it answers the one who's happy with his portion. Being happy with your portion instantly allows you to be satisfied, and if you're comfortable, then nothing's missing.

Now, the work involved in this is that we must be mature enough and have an inner. We have to go inside for that satisfaction and happiness that we often look outside. A metal car that's just really meant to take you from place to place should not be the source of your fulfillment in life. A car is there to bring you from point A to point B. If you're accomplishing nothing on your way from point A to point B like many people in Mercedes and BMWs, what are they accomplishing? They're just taking a piece of metal, jumping in it, and going like a pinball machine, going nowhere, and that they think will give them happiness. Maturity, we have to grow up. Too many people are growing older but have yet to grow up. Suppose we grow up and realize that the real self-worth and satisfaction out of life is coming from within us. We don't have to look outside to fill ourselves up; we're already full within. With that outlook and God's help, we can learn the lesson of Adam and Eve. You have enough around you. Everything you need, you already have because God gave it all to you. With that in mind, we can see people around us with different things, maybe even more things, and realize that's what they need for their purpose and happiness.

But I have what I need for my purpose and my happiness.

Lilith – Adam’s First Wife

LILITH'S NAME IS NOT included in the Bible's creation story, but she appears in several Midrashic texts. There are multiple origin stories for Lilith, but the most famous story depicts Lilith as the first wife of Adam.

Lilith was created by God from dust and placed to live in the garden with Adam until problems arose between Adam and Lilith when Adam tried to exercise dominance over Lilith.

One story tells that Lilith refused to lay beneath Adam during sex. She believed they were created equal from the earth's dust; thus, she should not have to lay beneath him. After Adam disagreed, Lilith fled the Garden of Eden to gain her independence.

Adam told God that Lilith had left, and God sent three angels to retrieve her. The angels found Lilith in a cave bearing children, but Lilith refused to return to the garden. The angels told her they would kill hundreds of her children daily for disobedience. In revenge, she is said to have robbed children of life and is responsible for the deaths of stillborn infants and crib deaths.

Male children are at risk of Lilith's wrath for eight days after birth, and girls are at risk for twenty days. Although Lilith stole children's lives in the night, she agreed not to kill the children who had amulets of either of the three angels.

After the angels' departure, Lilith tried to return to the garden, but upon her arrival, she discovered that Adam already had another mate, Eve.

Out of revenge, Lilith had sex with Adam while he was sleeping and stole his seed. With his seed, she bears Lilium, earth-bound demons to replace her children killed by the angels.

Lilith is also responsible for males' erotic dreams and night emissions.

The Forgotten Books of Eden

THE FORGOTTEN BOOKS of Eden is most probably the work of unknown Egyptians. The lack of historical allusion

makes it impossible to date the writing.

Based on the introduction to The Forgotten Books of Eden, a story from Genesis about events in the Garden of Eden, it is simply a version, unexcelled perhaps, but a version of a myth or belief or account handed down by word of mouth from generation to generation of mankind-through the incoherent, unrecorded ages of man it came as an inextinguishable ray of light that ties the time when human life began, with the time when the human mind could express itself and the human hand could write.

According to the Forgotten Books of Eden, the Garden of Eden is the most ancient story in the world; it has survived because it embodies the basic facts of human life. A fact that has not changed one iota; amid all the superficial changes of civilization's vivid array, this fact remains: the conflict between Good and Evil, the fight between Man and the Devil, the eternal struggle of human nature against sin. The Adam and Eve story pervaded the thoughts of ancient writers and is seen in the large number of versions that exist, or whose existence may be traced, through the writings of Greeks, Syrians, Egyptians, Abyssinians, Hebrews, and other ancient peoples.

Below are some excerpts from The Forgotten Books of Eden / The First Book of Adam and Eve. Reading this text, I can hardly escape the impression that it is some interpretation of the text of Genesis. However, some interpretations by theologians are irresistibly reminiscent of the text from The First Book of Adam and Eve. Such interpretations have significantly influenced the undeserved negative position of women in some human communities. Anyway, conclude for yourself.

"But God had before that made this covenant with our father, Adam, in the same terms, ere he came out of the garden when he was by the Tree of which Eve took the fruit and gave it Adam to eat. When our Father Adam came out of the garden, he passed by that Tree and saw how God had changed its appearance into another form and how it withered.

And as Adam went to it, he feared, trembled, and fell down, but God lifted him up in His mercy and made this covenant with him. And, again, when Adam was by the garden gate and saw the cherub with a sword of flashing fire in his hand, the cherub grew angry and frowned at him; both Adam and Eve became afraid of him and thought he meant to put them to death. So, they fell on their faces and trembled with fear. But he had pity on them, and showed them mercy; turning from them went up to heaven, and prayed unto the Lord, and said: Lord, thou didst send me to watch at the garden gate, with a sword of fire."

"And as they prayed, Adam raised his eyes and saw the cave's rock and roof that covered him overhead so that he could see neither heaven nor God's creatures. So, he wept and smote heavily upon his breast until he dropped and was as dead.

And Eve sat weeping, for she believed he was dead. Then she arose, spread her hands towards God, suing Him for mercy and pity, and said, O God, forgive me my sin, the sin which I committed, and remember it not against me. For I alone caused Thy servant to fall from the garden into this lost estate; from light into this darkness; and from the abode of joy into this prison. O God, look upon this Thy servant thus fallen and raise him from his death so that he may weep and repent of the transgression he committed through me.

Take not away his soul this once; let him live that he may stand after the measure of his repentance, and do Thy will, as before his death. But if Thou do not raise him up, then, o God, take away my soul, that I will be like him; and leave me not in this dungeon, one and alone; for I could not stand alone in this world, but with him only. For Thou, o God, didst cause a slumber to come upon him, didst take a bone from his side, and didst restore the flesh in the place of it, by Thy divine power.

And Thou didst take me, the bone, and make me a woman, bright like him, with heart, reason, and speech; and in the flesh, like unto his own; and Thou didst make me after the likeness of his countenance, by Thy mercy and power. O Lord, he and I are one, and Thou, o God, art our Creator; thou are He who made us both in one day.

Therefore, O God, give him life so that he may be with me in this strange land while we dwell in it because of our transgression. But if Thou wilt not give him life, then take me, even me, like him; we both may die the same day. And Eve wept bitterly, and fell upon our father Adam; from her great sorrow."

"And the Lord said unto Adam and Eve, you transgressed of your own free will until you came out of the garden where I had placed you. Of your own free will have you transgressed through your desire for divinity,

greatness, and an exalted state, such as I have; so that I deprived you of the bright nature in which you then were, and I made you come out of the garden to this land, rough and full of trouble.

If only you had not transgressed My commandment and had kept My law, and had not eaten of the fruit of the Tree, near which I told you not to come! And there were fruit trees in the garden better than that one. But the wicked Satan who continued not in his first estate, nor kept his faith; in whom was no good intent towards Me, and who thought I had created him, yet set Me at naught, and sought the Godhead, so that I hurled him down from heaven, he is who made the Tree appear pleasant in your eyes, until you ate of it, by listening to him. Thus, have you transgressed My commandment, and have I brought all these sorrows upon you?

For I am God the Creator, who, when I created My creatures, did not intend to destroy them. But after they had sorely roused My anger, I punished them with grievous plagues until they repent. But, if, on the contrary, they continue hardened in their transgression, they shall be under a curse forever."

The Life of Adam and Eve

The Life of Adam and Eve, known in its Greek version as the Apocalypse of Moses, is a Jewish pseudo-epigraphical group of writings.

As in the previous case of The First Book of Adam and Eve, it seems this is also a kind of interpretation of the text from Genesis. However, this interpretation accuses Adam and Eve much less and focuses on Satan's guilt. However, it should be noted that The Forgotten Books of Eden / The First Book of Adam and Eve, as well as The Life of Adam and Eve, when it comes to the comparison of guilt between Adam and Eve, marks Eve as the main culprit for misfortunes and new life circumstances.

Also, it is difficult to escape the impression that this text was used by some Christian interpreters of the Bible and theologians to explain the reasons for the Fall of Satan and his followers.

Be that as it may, throughout history, such interpretations have significantly influenced the undeserved negative position of women in some human communities.

Below are some excerpts from The Life of Adam and Eve.

"Eve told Adam: Adam, my Lord, Then Eve said to Adam: My Lord, I am hungry. Go, seek for us something to eat. Perhaps the Lord God will look upon us, have mercy on us, and call us back to where we were previously. And Adam arose after seven days, and Adam arose and walked over all that land for seven days but did not find food like they had in paradise.

Eve said to Adam: My Lord, would that I might die. Perhaps then the Lord God would bring you back into paradise, for it was because of me that the Lord God grew angry with you. Do you wish to kill me, that I might die? Perhaps the Lord God will bring you back into paradise since you were expelled because of my actions. Adam responded: Don't say such things, Eve, lest the Lord God bring upon us some other curse. How could it be that I should raise my hand against my own flesh? Let us arise and seek for ourselves something by which we might live so that we might not perish."

"Eighteen days passed. Then Satan grew angry and transfigured himself into the brilliance of an angel and went off to the Tigris River to Eve. He found her weeping, and then, the Devil himself, as if mourning with her, began to weep and said to her: Come out of the water and rest and weep no longer. Cease now from your sadness and lamenting. Why are you uneasy, you and your husband Adam? The Lord God has heard your lamenting and accepted your repentance. All of us angels have pleaded for you, praying to the Lord, and he sent me to lead you forth from the water and give you the nourishment you had in paradise and for which you have grieved. Therefore, come out of the water, and I will lead you to the place where your food is prepared.

Hearing this, Eve believed him and went out of the water of the river. Her flesh was like grass from the water's coldness. She fell to the ground when she came out, but the Devil stood her up and led her to Adam.

When Adam saw her and the Devil with her, he cried out with tears, saying: O Eve, O Eve, where is the work of your repentance? How have you again been seduced by our adversary, through whom we were alienated from the dwelling of paradise and spiritual happiness?

When Eve heard this, she knew that the Devil had persuaded her to go out from the river, and she fell on her face on the ground, and her grief was double, as was her wailing and lamentation. She cried out, saying: Woe to you, Devil. For what reason do you fight against us? What concern do you have with us? What have we done to you that you should persecute us so grievously? Why does your malice extend to us? Did we ever take your glory from you or cause you to be without honor? Why do you persecute us, our enemy, impiously and jealously unto death?

Groaning, the Devil said: O Adam, all my hostility, jealousy, and resentment is towards you since, on account of you, I was expelled and alienated from my glory, which I had in heaven in the midst of the angels. On account of you, I was cast out upon the earth.

Adam answered: What have I done to you? What fault do I have against you? Since you have not been harmed nor injured by us, why do you persecute us?

The Devil answered: Adam, what are you saying to me? On account of you, I was cast out from heaven. When you were formed, I was cast out from the face of God and was sent forth from the company of the angels. When God blew into you the breath of life,