Genesis 3:17

“And to Adam he said, “Because you listened to the voice of your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; with toil you will eat from it all the days of your life.”
Genesis 3:17 · direct translation from the Hebrew

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Because he ate from the tree, Adam hears that the ground is cursed and work will be toilSuffering and Trials

With the Hebrew beneath

And to Adamוּלְאָדָםhe said,אָמַר“Becauseכִּיyou listenedשָׁמַעְתָּto the voiceלְקוֹלof your wifeאִשְׁתֶּךָand ateוַתֹּאכַלfrom the treeמִן הָעֵץabout whichאֲשֶׁרI commandedצִוִּיתִיyou,ךָsaying,לֵאמֹר‘You shall notלֹאeatתֹאכַלfrom it,’מִמֶּנּוּcursedאֲרוּרָהisthe groundהָאֲדָמָהbecause of you;בַּעֲבוּרֶךָwith toilבְּעִצָּבוֹןyou will eat from itתֹּאכֲלֶנָּהallכֹּלthe daysיְמֵיof your life.חַיֶּיךָ

Explicit type · Romans 5:14

Go to Romans 5:14

Paul speaks of the transgression of Adam (Genesis 3:17) and says that Adam is a “figure” (typos) of the one who was to come.

The biblical author himself makes the connection, in these words:

ὅς ἐστιν τύπος τοῦ μέλλοντος “who is a figure of the one who was to come” (Romans 5:14)

Genesis 3:17, word by word

And to Adamאָדָםadam

Adam

Adam, the personal name of the first man. It is the same Hebrew word "adam" (human being), used as a name. Also a town by the Jordan.

Where else “adam” appears

he saidאָמַרamar

say

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

Where else “amar” appears

you listenedשָׁמַעְתָּshamata

obey

To obey: "listen to the voice" of someone.

Where else “shamata” appears

to the voiceקוֹלkol

voice

What is heard when someone speaks or sings; also the voice of God.

Where else “kol” appears

of your wifeאִשְׁתֶּishte

wife

Literally "his woman": the one married to him.

Where else “ishte” appears

and ateתֹּאכַלtochal

eat

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

Where else “tochal” appears

from the treeעֵץets

tree

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

Where else “ets” appears

I commandedצִוִּיתִיtsiviti

command

To give an order: "as YHWH had commanded".

Where else “tsiviti” appears

cursedאֲרוּרָהarura

curse

Curse: declare someone or something under punishment, deprived of blessing. It is the opposite of bless.

Where else “arura” appears

the groundאֲדָמָהadama

soil

Farmland, or dust.

Where else “adama” appears

with toilעִצָּבוֹןitsavon

painful toil

Toil, labor that hurts and wearies; pain. The same word is used for the pain of the woman in childbirth and for the man's labor with the ground (Genesis 3:16-17).

Where else “itsavon” appears

the daysיְמֵיyeme

time

Literally "the days": a period, an age, or the span of someone's life.

Where else “yeme” appears

of your lifeחַיֶּיchaye

life

The span and strength of being alive, which come from God.

Where else “chaye” appears

The context

16To the woman he said, “I will greatly multiply your toil and your pregnancies; with pain you will give birth to children; and toward your husband will be your desire, and he will rule over you.”

17 · This verse (above)

18And thorns and thistles it will make sprout for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.

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)?

How to use it