Genesis 3:1

“Now the serpent was more shrewd than any animal of the field that YHWH Elohim had made. And it said to the woman, “Did Elohim really say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?””
Genesis 3:1 · direct translation from the Hebrew

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The serpent sows doubt, and the woman sees the fruit is “a delight to the eyes”Temptation

With the Hebrew beneath

Now the serpentוְהַנָּחָשׁwasהָיָהmore shrewdעָרוּםthan anyמִכֹּלanimalחַיַּתof the fieldהַשָּׂדֶהthatאֲשֶׁרYHWHיְהוָהElohimאֱלֹהִיםhad made.עָשָׂהAndוַit saidיֹּאמֶרto the woman,אֶל הָאִשָּׁה“DidאַףElohimאֱלֹהִיםreallyכִּיsay,אָמַר‘You shall notלֹאeatתֹאכְלוּfrom anyמִכֹּלtreeעֵץof the garden’?”הַגָּן

Theme · Revelation 12:9

Go to Revelation 12:9

Revelation 12:9 speaks of “the ancient serpent” and calls it the Devil and Satan; Genesis 3 calls its character simply “the serpent.”

The same term appears in both passages.

נָּחָשׁnajashH5175ὄφιςophisG3789“serpent”

Theme · Revelation 20:2

Go to Revelation 20:2

Revelation 20:2 speaks of “the ancient serpent” and calls it the Devil and Satan; Genesis 3 calls its character simply “the serpent.”

The same term appears in both passages.

נָּחָשׁnajashH5175ὄφιςophisG3789“serpent”

Genesis 3:1, word by word

Now the serpentנָּחָשׁnachash

serpent

A legless reptile that crawls and often bites with venom.

Where else “nachash” appears

wasהָיָהhaya

To be: "I will be their Elohim".

Where else “haya” appears

more shrewdעָרוּםarum

crafty

Skilled at deceiving with subtlety.

Where else “arum” appears

animalחַיַּתchayat

beast

Literally "living thing": a creature, especially a wild one.

Where else “chayat” appears

of the fieldשָּׂדֶהsade

field

The open country: "the beasts of the field".

Where else “sade” appears

YHWHיְהוָהyehva

YHWH

The personal name of the God of Israel, written in Hebrew with four letters, Y-H-W-H, without vowels. Out of reverence Jews stopped pronouncing it and read "Adonai" (Lord), so many Bibles put "the LORD" or "Jehovah". This translation keeps the four letters. The name is related to the verb "to be" (Exodus 3:14-15). He is not a god other than Elohim: "YHWH Elohim" is the same Creator God, called by his name.

Where else “yehva” appears

Elohimאֱלֹהִיםelohim

Elohim

The one true God, the Creator; the word is plural but means one.

Where else “elohim” appears

had madeעָשָׂהasa

make

To build or create something.

Where else “asa” appears

it saidיֹּאמֶרyomer

say

To say with the mouth to someone what one thinks or wants, or to answer him.

Where else “yomer” appears

to the womanאִשָּׁהisha

woman

An adult female person: single, married or widowed.

Where else “isha” appears

eatתֹאכְלוּtochlu

eat

To bring food to the mouth and swallow it, above all at a shared table.

Where else “tochlu” appears

treeעֵץets

tree

A tall plant with trunk and branches, giving fruit, shade or timber.

Where else “ets” appears

of the garden’גָּןgan

garden

Garden: an enclosed and tended piece of land, with trees and water.

Where else “gan” appears

Translation note

“Shrewd” (arum) sounds in Hebrew almost the same as “naked” (arummim) in 2:25.

The context

1 · This verse (above)

2And the woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat;

Read all of Genesis 3

To study Genesis 3 in a group

1. What it says
What did the serpent say to the woman, and what did she and the man do afterward (vv. 1-6)?
2. What it means
What changed between the man, the woman, and Elohim after they ate the fruit (vv. 7-10)?
3. How I live it
When you fail, how can you come near to Elohim instead of hiding, as the man did (v. 8)?

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