od and His motives. And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden. Unconsciously, the woman was revealing a willingness to come to terms with the tempter. She was innocent, guileless, and unsuspecting, and no match for the wily antagonist. She was unwilling to stand by and see God misrepresented, and so she courageously attempted to correct the serpents statement. But she quoted Gods prohibition inaccurately, adding the word touch. I found this interesting, for I have never seen a commentary that had this particular perspective of this part of the passage. 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. Now that Eve had entered into conversation, the seducer advanced his more powerful argument. He quickly suggested that mans desire to be on par with and truly like God had been deliberately thwarted by divine command. He implied that God was selfish and a liar, presenting him as envious and unwilling for his creatures to have something that would make them like the omniscient One. 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. Wycliffe states, The strong verbs tell the story vividly and clearly. Something happened in the thinking of the woman. Gradually the fruit took on new significance. It was attractive to the eye, desirable to the taste, and powerful to give new wisdom. Wycliffe goes on to say, She took a new step into the field of self-deception. She not only wanted food that was delicious and attractive, but she desired power as well. She needed to hear nothing more. She then took of the fruit and she ate. Wycliffe says, The tempter was no longer needed after that moment. Eve to...
