Genesis 3:1

“Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?”

King James Version (KJV)

Other Translations

Now the serpent was more subtill then any beast of the field, which the LORD God had made, and he said vnto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of euery tree of the garden?
- King James Version (1611) - View 1611 Bible Scan

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'?"
- New American Standard Version (1995)

Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which Jehovah God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of any tree of the garden?
- American Standard Version (1901)

Now the snake was wiser than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, Has God truly said that you may not take of the fruit of any tree in the garden?
- Basic English Bible

And the serpent was more crafty than any animal of the field which Jehovah Elohim had made. And it said to the woman, Is it even so, that God has said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
- Darby Bible

Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made: and he said to the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
- Webster's Bible

Now the serpent was more subtle than any animal of the field which Yahweh God had made. He said to the woman, "Has God really said, 'You shall not eat of any tree of the garden?'"
- World English Bible

And the serpent hath been subtile above every beast of the field which Jehovah God hath made, and he saith unto the woman, `Is it true that God hath said, Ye do not eat of every tree of the garden?'
- Youngs Literal Bible

Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman: 'Yea, hath God said: Ye shall not eat of any tree of the garden?'
- Jewish Publication Society Bible

Bible commentary

Wesley's Notes for Genesis 3:1


3:1-5 We have here an account of the temptation wherewith Satan assaulted our first parents, and which proved fatal to them. And here observe, The tempter, the devil in the shape of a serpent. Multitudes of them fell; but this that attacked our first parents, was surely the prince of the devils. Whether it was only the appearance of a serpent, or a real serpent, acted and possessed by the devil, is not certain. The devil chose to act his part in a serpent, because it is a subtle creature. It is not improbable, that reason and speech were then the known properties of the serpent. And therefore Eve was not surprised at his reasoning and speaking, which otherwise she must have been. That which the devil aimed at, was to persuade Eve to eat forbidden fruit; and to do this, he took the same method that he doth still. 1. He questions whether it were a sin or no, #Ge 3:1|,2. He denies that there was any danger in it, #Ge 3:4|. 3. He suggests much advantage by it, #Ge 3:5|. And these are his common topics. As to the advantage, he suits the temptation to the pure state they were now in, proposing to them not any carnal pleasure, but intellectual delights. Your eyes shall be opened - You shall have much more of the power and pleasure of contemplation than now you have; you shall fetch a larger compass in your intellectual views, and see farther into things than now you do. You shall be as gods - As Elohim, mighty gods, not only omniscient but omnipotent too: You shall know good and evil - That is, everything that is desirable to be known. To support this part of the temptation, he abuseth the name given to this tree. 'Twas intended to teach the practical knowledge of good and evil, that is, of duty and disobedience, and it would prove the experimental knowledge of good and evil, that is, of happiness and misery. But he perverts the sense of it, and wrests it to their destruction, as if this tree would give them a speculative notional knowledge of the natures, kinds, and originals of good and evil. And, All this presently, In the day you eat thereof - You will find a sudden and immediate change for the better.


Discussion for Genesis 3:1

  • Nakedmind for verse 1
    I don 't think it was a snake, but a dragon That serpent of old which is found in revelations
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  • Mike Jones for verse 1
    It is imperative that we read scriptures before this verse and further to keep things in perspective. There were physical trees that bore physical fruit for consumption. There were also two symbolic trees the tree of life Lord God and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil Satan . The fruit of these two trees is not physical but simply words and information dispensed through conversation. Listen to God and live or Satan and die: that is the essence of the commandment and warning given to Adam. Eve listened to Satan and took what she learned to Adam, who in turn listened to her. So it is clear that "serpent " used in this verse is not a literal snake, but Satan whose attributes can be described as serpent-like in his use of deception and lies to trick Eve. The bible does a wonderful job of explaining itself. We have to read it in its entirety and get out of the habit of focusing on single verses and running with them. In this case, the first three chapters of Genesis gives important information for one to understand what 3:1 is all about.
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  • Robert Medina God had to have made the angels first before man ever existed. Even though that part isn 't mentioned in Genesis but later in the bible. If God made PEOPLE first, then Satan wouldn 't be able to take the form of anything if he didn 't even exist yet. Satan and his angels were kicked out of Heaven before the earth was filled with everything. Plus if Satan came to Eve in his real form, he would be too scary to look at and she would have shied away from him.
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  • ROBERT MEDINA for verse 1
    All this happens before satan and his angels are thrown out from heaven?? I am confused???
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  • In our world you are innocent before proven guilty The Serpent s name was subtil Before he said or done anything he was counted guilty Seeing everything God has made was good behold very good Next thing you know man saw something evil Isaiah 29 21 That make a man an offender for a word and lay a snare for him that reproveth in the gate and turn aside the just for a thing of nought Thing of nought meaning NO DEVIL
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  • God did not bring the animals to Adam to see what he would name them he brought them to Adam to see what he would call them Rev 12 9
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