Pt5 KNOWING AND USING WHAT GOD HAS SAID/YOUR BIBLE 

"Ave Christus, morituri te salutamus! "

    The text we are discussing is below;
"Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, 'Indeed, has God said, "You shall not eat from any tree of the garden"?' The woman said to the serpent, 'From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, "You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die." ' " Genesis 3:1-3/NASB
    Whether Eve deliberately added to God's Word or she simply repeated what was given to her second hand were briefly discussed in previous posts. Following will be discussion of these other possible reasons;

• Was she simply "interpreting" what God had said?
• Did she not accurately remember what was said?

    If it is the case of the question; "Was she simply 'interpreting' what God had said?", then again there are obviously problems -

1. as shown earlier inaccurate interpretation, understanding and use of scripture obviously brings consequences and/or judgement (see the first post on this subject),
2. if Eve is taking "liberties" with God's word then this is a consequence of Eve not following God,
3. this reflects on Eve's relationship with Adam and God.
4. this in turn directly reveals the condition of Adam's relationship with God.

    In an earlier post I mentioned that somewhere between her creation (Genesis 2:21-24) and her encounter with the serpent/Satan (Genesis 3:1-5) Eve must have heard the command given to Adam about the forbidden tree (Genesis 2:15-17).  Whether she heard it directly from God or from Adam is unclear, but whether she heard it from God or from Adam does make a difference.  If she heard it directly from God then not only was she adding to (*and taking away from) His word, but also she was then directly disobeying God by eating the fruit.  A personal note;  I do not believe she heard the command directly from God as 1 Timothy 2:13 - 14 states that she was deceived into sin while Adam knowingly disobeyed and ate the fruit;
"For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression." (1 Timothy 2:13,14/NKJV)

"For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve.  And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression." (1 Timothy 2:13,14/NASB)
   So 1 Timothy, shows the circumstances leading to her disobedience and those of Adam are different, consequently it is highly unlikely Eve was "deliberately adding to", "interpreting", and/or "taking liberties with" God's word.  It is more likely that she was repeating what was said to her by Adam.  Furthermore, it is also highly unlikely that Eve would have forgotten what was said to her because (as in the case of Adam) it is doubtful that a perfect woman with a perfect brain would have forgotten anything.  It would seem then that our discussion continues to lead us to Adam and his relationship with Eve and God.
*NOTE; it is true Eve not only added to Gods command but also left out some of what was said by God to Adam. The results are still the same, i.e. "inaccurate interpretation, understanding and use of scripture obviously brings consequences and/or judgement." (See; Deuteronomy 4:1,2/Proverbs30:5,6/Galatians 1:6-12/Revelation 22:18,19)

"Simul iustus et peccator"*
*Martin Luther

Eve image source;
Enchantedgal Livejournal
original art by Kimberly Crick
Adam image source;
1902 Encyclopaedia-Michelangelo Buonarotti