Prologue, 2:4b-6 — When the Lord God made the earth and the heavens—and no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth and no plant of the field had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no man to work the ground, but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground . . .
A. Eden Given, 2:7-17 — the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground . . . In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil . . . the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, "You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die."
B. Woman - the Object of Satisfaction, 2:18-20 — the Lord God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.
C. The Woman as Cause of Joy, 2:21-23 — The man said, "This is now bone (�etsem) of my bones (�etsem) and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman, 'for she was taken out of man.
D. The Woman in Union, 2:24-25 — For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.
E. The Crafty Serpent is Introduced, 3:1a — Now the serpent was more crafty (�arum) than any of the wild animals (mikkol . . . hayyat hassadeh). . .
F. The Question that Raised Doubt, 3:1b — He [the serpent] said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?"
G. Acknowledgement of God's Command, 3:2-3 — The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden (betok haggan), and you must not touch it, or you will die.
H. The Lie, 3:4-5 — You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. For God knows (yada') that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.
I. The Act of Disobedience, 3:6 — When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
H'. The Realization, 3:7 — Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized (yada�) they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
G'. Hiding from God's Presence, 3:8-10 — The man and his wife . . . hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden (betok . . . haggan)
F'. Questions to Uncover the Truth, 3:11-13 — And the Lord God said, �Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?� . . . Then the Lord God said to the woman, �What is this you have done?
E'. The Cursed Serpent, 3:14 — So the Lord God said to the serpent, �Because you have done this, �Cursed (�arur) are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals (mikkol . . . hayyat hassadeh). You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life.
D'. The Woman in Emnity, 3:15 — And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.
C'. The Woman as Bearer of Pain, 3:16a — To the woman he said, "I will greatly increase your pains (�etseb) in childbearing; with pain (�etseb) you will give birth to children
B'. Woman - the Object of Domination, 3:6b — Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.
A'. Eden Taken Away, 3:17-24 — Cursed is the ground because of you . . . It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return" . . . And the Lord God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to . . . take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever." So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken>.
That Gen2-3 is chiastically structured is now widely recogized, though opinions regarding the limits of the various subunits differ. For a different reading of this structure, see Roberto Ouro, "The Garden of Eden Account: The Chiastic Structure of Genesis 2-3," Andrew University Seminary Studies, 40.2 (2002):219-243.
Low Chai Hok
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©ALBERITH