The Definitive Commentary on the Incident in the Garden of Eden
G.D.O'Bradovich III
May 23, 2014
It seems incredible that there many contradictory understandings of the unremarkable events in the garden. Because of the various interpretations, we can conclude that the story is not exoteric, but occult. The text describing the four rivers in Eden are not included in this analysis. The order of the text has not been rearranged to facilitate clarity. References to other books of the Bible will be limited to the redactor's commentary in the text. Spoken words are in red and the writer's commentary is in blue.
Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made;
and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
And God blessed the seventh day,
and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made;
and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
And God blessed the seventh day,
and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
This completes the six days of creation and an explanation is given for the sanctification of the seventh day. This explanation contradicts the reason given in the book of Exodus.
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These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens,
And every plant of the field before it was in the earth,
and every herb of the field before it grew: for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth,
And every plant of the field before it was in the earth,
and every herb of the field before it grew: for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth,
In the second creation account, the universe was created in one day. Because of his familiarity with the account of Noah, the commentator states it does not rain.
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and there was not a man to till the ground.
But there went up a mist from the earth,
and watered the whole face of the ground.
And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground,
and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life;
and man became a living soul.
But there went up a mist from the earth,
and watered the whole face of the ground.
And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground,
and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life;
and man became a living soul.
Man, the highest form of Nature, has not been created. Because this lack of humanity contradicts the previous chapter, we know we are reading a second creation version. An explanation is given for how the garden is watered.
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And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden;
and there he put the man whom he had formed.
And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight,
and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden,
and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
And the Lord God took the man,
and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
and there he put the man whom he had formed.
And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight,
and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden,
and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
And the Lord God took the man,
and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
The tree of life is in the center of the garden. It can not be determined where the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is located. We can not know from the commentary if the Lord God commanded Adam to dress and keep the garden.
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And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.
And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field,
and every fowl of the air;
and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them:
and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.
And Adam gave names to all cattle,
and to the fowl of the air,
and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.
But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.
And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field,
and every fowl of the air;
and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them:
and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.
And Adam gave names to all cattle,
and to the fowl of the air,
and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.
The Lord God informs Adam that if he eats of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, then he will die. Adam does not know what death is or what a day is, since he was recently created. The text "It is not good....for him" should be placed at the end of this section. Adam was created before the animals. From the translation, it seems as though the Lord God was testing Adam ("to see what he would call them").
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And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam,
and he slept:
and he took one of his ribs,
and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman,
and brought her unto the man.
And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones,
and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
and he slept:
and he took one of his ribs,
and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman,
and brought her unto the man.
And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones,
and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
The redundant "and he slept" is included for those readers who forgot or did not understand the previous sentence. Again, the author is redundant ("which the Lord God had taken from man"). Either this is poor writing or esoteric writing. The commentator is familiar with the law of Moses ("Therefore...one flesh") and adds they were not ashamed of their nakedness. How the woman became a wife is not explained.
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Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made.
And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
The serpent asks the woman if God has, in fact, said they could not eat of every tree of the garden. It seems as though the serpent makes a distinction between the Lord God and God. If he does not make a distinction, then he is a careless speaker. Eve does not know if the Lord God commanded this, since she was not present. She only knows this because of hearsay. Eve states that the result of their eating it or touching it is death. The serpent poses an "if, then" statement that contradicts the Lord God. The serpent says that "God" knows, not the Lord God. If Eve eats of the tree, then three events will happen. Eve will not die, her eyes will be opened and she will know good and evil.
If Eve had responded that God has not made this stament, but the Lord God, then the conversation would have procceeded in a different dirction. However, I believe that the serpent would then have qustioned Eve about the difference between the Lord God and God, then he would have consulted a Hebrew Lexicon and with seemling undening question, the indicent would have the same result, althoguh in a more "round about" way. Clearly, either Eve has no concept of the difference between the Lord God and God, or she, for an unexpalined reason believes they are, in fact, two desingantions for the one and same individual. |
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food,
and that it was pleasant to the eyes,
and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof,
and did eat,
and gave also unto her husband with her;
and he did eat.
And the eyes of them both were opened,
and they knew that they were naked;
and they sewed fig leaves together,
and made themselves aprons.
and that it was pleasant to the eyes,
and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof,
and did eat,
and gave also unto her husband with her;
and he did eat.
And the eyes of them both were opened,
and they knew that they were naked;
and they sewed fig leaves together,
and made themselves aprons.
The redactor supposes the tree was "good for food", "pleasant to the eyes" and "desired to make one wise". A reasonable conclusion to the desire to be wise is that Eve was either foolish or naive. The first confirmation that the serpent was not lying is that the text explicitly states that their eyes were opened. Since they have not died, it can be stated the the serpent did not deceive Eve when he said she would not die from eating the fruit. Because the dialog was between the Serpent and the woman, it is reasonable to conclude that Adam was not present for the discussion. It is possible that Eve sought Adam from the garden and presented presented him with a fruit. Based on these possibilities, Adam did not know the fruit was forbidden.
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And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day:
and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.
And the Lord God called unto Adam,
and said unto him, Where art thou?
And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done?
And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.
And the Lord God called unto Adam,
and said unto him, Where art thou?
And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done?
And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
The text does not say that Adam and his wife attempted to hide or failed to hide from the Lord God. Either the Lord God is not omniscient or he was testing them. If he was testing them, then it would be a similar situation as when the Lord God brought the animals to Adam to see what he would name them. If the Lord God is not omniscient, then he is not God. This would show that the serpent makes a careful distinction be "Lord God" and "God". Eve does not make this distinction, as she answers the serpent with the commandment of the Lord God.
Adam responds truthfully to the Lord God, but not with an "if, then" statement. Adam's statement is one of causality: Adam was naked, therefore he hid himself. From the statement, "I hid myself", it seems as though Adam was successful in his attempt to avoid the Lord God. Previously, Adam was naked and not ashamed and now he is hiding. By using reason, the Lord God concludes that Adam has eaten from the forbidden tree. The Lord God then questions Adam and, again, he answers truthfully. Adam shows his newly found ability to reason by linking cause and effect. Adam did not limit himself by only stating she gave the fruit and I ate, but states you gave me the woman, she gave me the fruit and I ate. Adam concludes that the reason for the transgression was not his intentionally or unintentionally eating, but because the Lord God created the woman and he placed her in the garden with Adam. Adam is now aware of "if, then" statements and causality. More important than either of these discoveries is the realization that some "if, then" statements are inherently false or untrue. Because Adam did not die, he must conclude that what the Lord God said regarding the tree must be false and what the serpent said must be true. Therefore, Adam must conclude that the Lord God lied to him. Adam now knows that when contradictory statements are encountered, there is no way to reason which statement is true and which one is false. The only method to determine the validity of a statement is to demonstrate that it is true. |
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.
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.
The Lord God avoids questioning the serpent. This lack of questioning can be explained by the fact that either the Lord God is the ultimate cause of the transgression or that he lied to Adam. Both conclusions are valid.
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Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children;
and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
Because of the woman's independence, she will now be subject to the authority of Adam. We refer the more speculative reader to Apprentice Anon's research on Eve's punishment. Because Eve's punishment has nothing related to eating a fruit (conception, child birth), one might be tempted to remark that the punishment does not fit the crime or that it is impious or that it is unjust.
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And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife,
and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee;
and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee;
and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
Adam must now exert effort to achieve the results that were a beneficial quality of the garden. This punishment must have terrified Adam, since he would believe that the first time he would engage cultivation he would return to the ground. He had no reason to believe he would live another day if he ever ate fruits. Adam could not know that he would live for several days after the Lord God's curse. Thus, Adam would live with an unreasonable fear of immanent death. The Lord God did not condemn Eve to the ground, so Adam might feel singled out for disproportionate punishment. When Adam gardens for the first time and does not die, this will be another example to Adam that the Lord God has been deceitful.
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And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.
Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
As Adam names the animals, so he names the woman. Since it is appropriate that life (Eve) comes from the earth (Adam), we are in agreement with the women's name. The reason why the aprons were not appropriate is not explained, nor is ti explained why the Lord God did not make coats of leaves. Transgression is connected to sacrifice and this idea will be found throughout the Old Testament (animal sacrifice) and the New Testament (deicide).
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And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
We receive confirmation that the Lord God lied to Adam. The Lord God admits the man is "become as one of us" and "to know good and evil".
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Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims,
and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims,
and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
It is only through the prevention of Adam from eating of the tree of life that Adam will die. In effect, the Lord God is the cause of the first deaths trough neglect or indifference. The number of these deaths will be overwhelming during the flood, as all but eight people are condemned to death.
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Adam has learned his final lesson in the garden. Adam now understands "if, then" statements, causality and deception and has encounted the reality that reason, truth and correctness are of no use against unreason as personified by the Lord God. This lesson applies to all people, whether they are occultist and philosphers or not.
We end this research with Plato's quote in its entirety:
"Justice is the interest of the stronger, to the detriment of the weaker."
Addendum
Since we have touched upon possible impiety on behalf of the Lord God's behavior, the following recapitulation is listed for the readers benefit.
We end this research with Plato's quote in its entirety:
"Justice is the interest of the stronger, to the detriment of the weaker."
Addendum
Since we have touched upon possible impiety on behalf of the Lord God's behavior, the following recapitulation is listed for the readers benefit.
1. The Lord God tests Adam with naming the animals.
2. The Lord God lies to Adam about dying if Adam eats of the tree. 3. The Lord God punishes Eve with painful conception and child birth, but these are unrelated to eating. 4. The Lord God condemns the serpent who spoke the truth. 5. The Lord God tests Adam when he hides in the garden. 6. The Lord God prevents Adam and Eve from eating of the tree of life, thereby causing their deaths. 7. The Lord God curses the ground not only during Adam's lifetime, but for all time. 8. The Lord God kills at least one animal to make coats of skins for Adam and Eve. |
The more impious readers might conclude that there has been a transvaluation of values, since the Lord God can be described as either evil or cruel and the serpent as good or beneficial.