Role Play
The woman said to the serpent, “Of the fruit of any tree of the garden we may eat.” Genesis 3:2 Stone Tanakh
Woman said – When we read this verse, most of us concentrate on the fact that Havvah does not reiterate the command given to Adam exactly as it was given. She adds a few things. Thinking that this displays confusion, we conclude that she didn’t listen properly to Adam’s instruction concerning the command. But perhaps we are too quick to shift the focus of attention to the words. Perhaps we must first notice the speaker.
We recognize that the serpent deliberately attacks the ‘ezer kenegdo, not the man. The serpent recognizes that if the woman can be seduced into disobedience, the man will follow. Her role as ‘ezer kenegdo puts her in the lead position, and the fact that Adam follows her without a whimper suggests that the serpent is correct. Adam admits such when he offers his excuse to God. But the introduction of the seduction begins much earlier than the serpent’s question. It begins when Havvah takes on a role that should have belonged to Adam. In other words, she speaks for Adam rather than allowing him to do what he was designed to do – to remember what God said. This insight (thank you, Erica) helps us to see a real danger for the usually competent guidance of the ‘ezer kenegdo. It is so easy for her to take on the responsibility that really belongs to another. If she does, the delicate balance of the inter-dependence of the relationship is disturbed and disastrous events follow.
Havvah is the ‘ezer. She is the boundary-setter, the spiritual guide, the hard-wired relationship manager of the couple. She is supposed to guide Adam in the proper application of the command given by God. This means she has a unique, intuitive understanding of God’s design for her man. Therefore, she may be tempted to act beyond the boundaries of her role because she wants to do everything she can to guide and protect him. Havvah doesn’t sin because of selfish pride. She sins because she does what she can do but what God doesn’t desire her to do. She is not to take over her man’s role, but because she is the boundary-setter, it is just too easy for her to extend her care one step too far. It all begins when she speaks for her man rather than allowing him to do what he was supposed to do. The serpent knows she is primed to care and he uses this to set the trap. It doesn’t begin with a bite. It begins with a word.
The serpent’s temptation is alive and well in the lives of today’s ‘ezer kenegdo. Anxious to see their men draw closer to God, women often usurp the role God designed for men. Men are to remember what God said. In Hebrew that means to take into account for the purposes of acting upon. When women overstep the boundaries and act in the place of their men, they divert God’s purpose. They don’t mean to kill but they do. They kill the obligation for the man to speak the words of God. Today would be an excellent day to recognize the roles God designed – and live by them. Perhaps the words tomer ha-ishshah need to warn us that there is a time to be silent and let him talk.
Topical Index: ‘ezer kenegdo, boundaries, Genesis 3:2
May we intensify the focus, spotlight on the “ezer?” Eli-ezer was the servant of Abraham. A look at the Hebrew construct (that’s what we do here, right?- dig a little deeper using a Hebrew shovel?) The name (are names important in Hebrew thought?) Who was the servant of Abraham and why was Abraham’s name changed from Abram to Abraham? -and who changed it? There’s a lot of gold hidden in the dirt, but we must dig (using a Hebrew shovel) for it. Amen.
Eli- ezer. (“G-d is my help”) The servant of Abraham, the “friend”- (have we ever looked at the origins of this word?) of G-d.
We also, all who belong to Him, have a Helper. A Comforter. An Advocate. Someone who is our Strength, our Help, our ‘Ezer.’ Who is this? Who brings into our minds (Mr. forgetful, bashful Adam-remember what G-d said! and speak His word!) all that He has said unto us. Who is this -spoken of in John 14.26?
Epic failure. Adam failed to remember. Hello. So did this man, and this man, and this man. The same pattern repeated for all of us Sons of Adam to review and to behold. Epic failure from the first Adam all the way through to the Second Adam. Moses- failure to remember. David-failure to remember. Solomon-failure to remember. The disciples-failure to remember.
May I? Is this true in my life? Ouch, ouch, ouch! Yes! I too, have failed to remember, failed to hear and failed to speak. The results for me? (As was true for Moses, David, etc..?) – “All have sinned.” I have made some choices that were not according to His words. And these my friends are choices that lead unto consequences that result (if left unrepented of) in catastrophe, calamity, and confusion.
The clear choice? Obey G-d. One word. (Should we get a “tat?”) Would this be a pneumonic aid for today’s Adam? “Shema.” Hear and obey. Whatever He says unto us- (His servants) we do.
Now, if only we had Someone, Someone to lead us, to guide us, to empower and enable us, to guard us, to gladden us along this hazardous journey called life. Would this be the will of G-d? If I were to ask Him for the Paracletos, the Advocate, the Comforter, the Ruach HaKodesh -would this be His will? What does He say? “Ask, and you will receive- seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened (revealed!) unto you.
Why have we not received? Failure to ask, failure to speak (pray) or failure to remember to ask! We need some Help and we need some serious Help. We need Help -now,- today. Now, -what did He say? What were His instructions to us? (adam) -“Pray without ceasing..” (1 Thessalonians 5.17)
What were the words of the Messiah to His talmudim at the final Seder supper? “Remember Me.” “Alethia”- “not forget.” There is something, Adam, for us to remember. And there is also Someone. Someone who loves us-immensely,intensely and intimately. (Zakar) -Don’t forget.
The principle established here is not only a perversion of the role of the ‘ezer kenegdo. While there is a propensity to step over her boundaries, so too her ish is willing to let her do it as an abdication of his place in God’s world.
In the end, the tempter’s offers was too tantalizing: to “be like YHWH” determining (knowing) for themselves the boundaries or good and evil. (Gen. 3:5). The created order would now take on YHWH’s role as the arbitrater of what is right and wrong, and in that perversion of authority, the roles of both men and women become misdirected and depraved.
Well put. We have a tendency to think of the first sin as only the action of eating the fruit. Obviously, that is only the result of a process of bending to the desire of the yetzer ha’ra. All the serpent had to do was open the door just wide enough for the process to begin.
Ian, your words brought to memory something the wife of a Baptist pastor told me. We were talking about why Baptists have men in positions of authority. She said something like “Donna, you know how men are–they would sit back and let the women take over and do everything”. I think that is very true. Sadly, men in this country have become quite comfortable with women taking over their roles. We sure could use a divine reversal.
I have had to learn to keep my mouth shut when it comes to my husband. When we were first married he was very hostile to anything having to do with G-d. It didn’t take me long to figure out that I couldn’t nag him into the Kingdom. (gee, ya think?). While he has come far, it’s still frustrating for me to see him take a backseat and not be the spiritual head of the household. Oh, that he would open up and speak the words of G-d! So, I keep quiet and try to encourage him with my actions and love.
Hi Donna,
I feel for your difficulty. I have done some “evangelism training” at one time, and the questions always came down to “how do I speak to my father, mother, sister, brother, wife, kids, etc.” We find it hardest to speak to those closest to us. And the key, I have found, is not what is to be said, but what is to be asked. A statement is confrontational, even when it is true. But a question asks for a response. And sometimes the right question at the right time is the key to a dialogue, whereas a statement can just be a monologue.
Keep asking . . . and praying!
Thanks, Ian. You are right about asking the right question. I will keep praying, especially for a gentle spirit (not easy for a New York Jewish girl:))and wisdom. I know many who pray that our men would take their rightful place. Shabbat shalom!
I once told my grad students that the most powerful evangelistic question is this: “So, how’s that working out for you?”
It’s also one of the best question to ask any business owner / entrepreneur. 🙂
Anybody want to take a stab at II Corinthians 11:3-4, in light of Today’s Word?
I’ll open some discussion. Far too often we believe that the original “sin” was eating the fruit. But the text shows us that the decision to eat came long before the act. Havvah determined that it was good before she took it. How did that happen? At what point in the story is the door opened for the process of sinful gestation to begin. Could it be that the whole thing begins with the approach of the serpent to Havvah rather than to Adam? Do you think the serpent is ignorant of the impact of roles? Does his craftiness exclude the attempt to get Havvah to do something Adam should have done? I am not suggesting that this was sin, but it certainly started the process. Notice that Paul calls it “seduction,” not deliberate willfulness. Perhaps we need a “bigger” concept of sin and choice.
Skip – I agree completely with your idea about broadening the understanding of sin and choice – I like that term “gestation”. Seems also to agree with James 1:14. It all seems to begin with the seduction of desire….Desire isn’t what is evil but rather what I “hook” my desire to that is the problem. What is also interesting to me about II Cor 11:3-4 is that allowing oneself to be seduced, like Eve (Havvah) was seduced, is to also take us toward an idolatry of creating our own God – and in the Corinthian passage, Paul’s warning to believers is to be careful not to be seduced into following another Jesus (Yeshua), another gospel and another spirit…something that they “put up with easily enough.”
Skip, These are all helpful in understanding the Scripture. And your insight here “that the decision to eat came long before the act” is spot on. There’s an “epistemological problem” embedded in the discussion in the Garden: How do we know what is true, and how do we know that we know what we know. God said, the tempter suggested an alternative, and it appears Havvah figured that the only “solution” to this dilemma was to perform her own “scientific” experiment: eat and see who was right.
In other words, she thought YHWH’s Word could not be believed merely because of the Author’s credentials, and that she could not trust His Word without some form of confirmation. She had to reach this stage before the eating could take place, so the eating of the fruit is merely the evidence of the broader problem: believing YHWH.
I know I’m a little late to the party, but found this thread to be interesting and couldn’t help but chime in.
To Ian’s point, the deception starts before the sin specifically with the serpent calling into question whether or not YHWH really said what he said “Did YHWH really say…”. The first and foremost issue here is that Satan caused Havvah to question the divinity of YHWH.
If YHWH is not divine, then he cannot be trusted. If he is not divine, then everything can be questioned. Much like Satan does today; he desires to deceive and lie so that we question the divinity of YHWH, and in turn the word of YHWH.
Not to interfere with Ian’s comment, but, as I have written in Guardian Angel and as Rabbi David Fohrman demonstrates, the Hebrew text does not say, “Did YHWH say?” It is not a question. The implications are important. Read the book.
Did Adam and Eve intuitively know their respective roles in relationship with each other? Was Eve missing the mark so to speak, when she let the serpent approach her? If this is not sin in itself, at what point does a boundary violation become sin?
Maybe your question isn’t possible to ask in the Hebrew frame of reference. First, I think that the choice of words in the Hebrew story is not accidental, and that Hebrew communicates on several levels at once so we are entitled (indeed, encouraged) to explore the possibilities. Even if Adam and Havvah didn’t explicitly know their respective roles, the text leads us to believe that they should have known, at least intuitively. Second, I don’t think Havvah allowed the serpent to approach her. The serpent made that choice based on his assessment of vulnerability. He’s the one who sees how to manipulate the couple to create the opening. Remember, she is seduced. She thinks what she is doing is good, not evil. Finally, at what point it becomes sin is like asking as what point a man becomes wicked. The idea of wicked in Hebrew is a life-long process. Since Hebrew is verbal rather than nominative, we might ask something like “At what point did you journey toward Jerusalem?” From a Hebrew perspective, I started toward Jerusalem the moment I was born, although it did not become apparent to me until several years ago. Desire, the passion of the yetzer ha’ra, is not sin, but it is somehow connected to sin. Asking exactly how it is connected is probably far to Greek. It’s asking for a cause and effect answer to a story that is about purpose, not explanation.
What is the hebraic view of being a “boundary setter”?…..If I need to throw out the view of cause and effect in relation to boundaries, I am a little lost at the moment. Thanks for the good input Skip and David.
Ricky – not sure I want to make you feel “a little lost at the moment” so if I have done so, I am sorry. What helps me is to think in terms of priority but within a process (might be Greek thinking, or a Greek-Hebraic hybrid thinking, not sure). Before I can consider “boundaries” I must first deal with the priority and issue of Who set the boundaries and will I listen to Him to the exclusion of all other “voices” including my own(Ecc 12:13). If sin is just rules, commands or crossing boundaries, then my inclination is to simply lock down what those rules, commands or boundaries are and then turn them into a list. If I try to set when it is I have crossed the line, then I will end up worrying about the boundaries and doing everything in my power to not violate or cross those boundaries. That may be a good thing and this is not to say that boundaries are not important because they are or God would not have given us his “instructions” (boundaries) for life. And obedience to these “instructions” is critical, if I intend on living life as God designed it, for my benefit, as a witness to the world and for His glory. However, if I consider first as a priority the essence of sin as crossing boundaries in terms of whose voice am I listening to and following, then the first priority is no longer “the rules” or “boundaries” but rather what master will I follow and is it His voice that is speaking to me or is it mine or someone else’s. If I do that first, then the boundaries will become clearer and actually more freeing to me than just focusing on the boundaries themselves alone. If I trust, love and want to know more deeply and intimately the boundary setter and to follow Him, following His instructions and boundary markers will become a delight to me and not burdensome. The violation in the garden went much deeper than just sin or crossing boundaries; the violation in the garden went to the deeper issue of love and trust – do I trust, love, obey and find all of my sufficiency and contentment in God solely by following His boundary instructions or is that somehow not enough. This is why I believe the essence of sin is not just disobedience but rather the failure to give God glory and to give Him thanks (Rom 1:21). Satan was not interested in diminishing Eve or Adam’s worth thru disobedience to God; Satan was after bigger fish to fry – He wanted God’s capstone of creation to be discontent with Him and thereby somehow diminish God’s glory in His created world.
Long before Eve consummated her sin and it turned to “death”, Eve already demonstrated who she was going to listen to…Satan urged her to, as the song goes, listen to her heart. After all, who wouldn’t want to be “like God” – sounds like self-improvement to me? So as she progressively evaluated and rationalized her disobedience, she was already on the way to crossing over to “missing the mark” (sin). If I set the arrow within my bow in a distorted way, it would seem unlikely (absent correction) that I will be able to point the bow and arrow straight, have the arrow fly through the air and then hit the bullseye. When did I “miss the mark (sin)?” The answer is when I first tried to set the arrow within the bow. The answer is also when I actually shot the arrow. They are both correct statements but just sequences in a progression that began with a first or foremost priority…And Eve set her arrow when she determined during the process of her temptation that she would listen to her own inner voice rather than listen to God….Adam then simply followed the same pattern but rather than listening to God, he listened to another (Eve) rather than listen to God….What caused it all? Determining from the beginning Who would be the voice they would listen to and obey. When was the boundary crossed and violated? Who knows? – but once set in motion and absent correction, the rules, command and boundaries were certainly crossed because the issue of who would be the master was set and sin led then to its own self-fulfilling consequences…
Well said and to the point….thanks for your insight:)
“a story that is about purpose, not explanation”
Sorry Skip. Those two words juxtaposed like this don’t seem to compute. Are you saying that it’s not possible to explain purpose?
Nope, i’m saying that Near Eastern thought views purpose as the point of understanding the world, not cause and effect explanations. So what God has as His purpose is far more important than “how” it comes about, and in that regard, a story can actually ignore cause and effect, something that we in the West EXPECT to be included in every plot line.
Are purpose and cause and effect mutually exclusive? Or are you suggesting the text is less literal and more like Sanders’ “conceptual metaphor”?
Not mutually exclusive perhaps but certainly the basis for different emphasis in understanding the world. Take a look at the article posted today “Babylon Revisited”
Ricky – Compare/contrast Genesis 3 (temptation by the serpent of Eve) and Matthew 4 (temptation of Christ by Satan). In Genesis 3, the serpent came to Eve. But in Matt 4 it was the Holy Spirit Who led Jesus (Yeshua) into the desert “to be tempted by the devil” (Matt 4:1). I don’t think that proximity or location is the issue necessarily. I think it is still more what or who are you “hooked to.” What is it that you are hooking your desire to and being allowed to be dragged into? Eve was attaching her desire to being “better” than what God had already ordained her role to be. Jesus attached his desire to being led by the Spirit and to submissively obey all that Father told him to do and say. Same seat of desire…different masters. So if boundaries are the issue concerning sin, then a boundary is most likely violated through initiation at least when I let the nose of the camel under the tent. Absent a reversal in course – something Eve and Adam could have chosen to do – then the outcome no longer becomes just a small boundary encroachment but rather a full blown “I’m all in.” Kind of curious that English translations of sin also include such boundary terms as “transgression” and “trespass”. Hmm…have to think about that one some more.
I suggest you look at the Hebrew rather than the English. chata is a good place to start
What does this Today’s Word mean for the position of women in the ecclesia? Does this mean they must be silent there? Are they allowed to teach?
God is consistent, isn’t He? Of course women can teach, and speak, and pray, and anything else that is available within the Torah body. This is only about overstepping someone else’s role.
OK. But there is a slight inconsistency in our thinking here: if a woman is teaching, isn’t she reminding the words of God to everyone listening? Isn’t that the specific role of man?
(Sorry it’s double. I forgot to push the reply button)
OK. But there is a slight inconsistency in our thinking here: if a woman is teaching, isn’t she reminding the words of God to everyone listening? Isn’t that the specific role of man?
Dear Skip,
I think I am getting it! If the zakar’s are remembering, then the ezer kenegdo’s are expounding? Explaining what the scriptures are talking about, and leading away from bad interpretations and leading TO right and godly interpretations? Is this it, or am I missing the mark any? If so, please help and explain. 🙂 Thanks!
Virginia
So. GA
I’ve read the book “Guardian Angel”, and I love the explanation of the Hebrew terms with pictographs. It makes scripture so much clearer! I also enjoy reading this website, but I think that I have some difference of opinion. I embrace the concept of the ezer kenegdo as a spiritual guide and boundary setter. I also embrace the concept of the zaker as one who remembers and acts on it. However, I came to a somewhat different conclusion about the nature of the sin in the Garden of Eden. It’s obvious to me that both Adam and Eve were given the prime directive with the “God said to them…” language in 1 Genesis. However, since Adam was created first, he had more PERSONAL EXPERIENCE with God and the world God created. He spent time alone with God, saw and named all the animals in the garden, and he was given the command to “dress and keep the garden”. In other words, he was the guardian of the earth just like it was said. He was also given the responsibility to remember and act on it. OTOH, Eve wasn’t “built” yet. She may have more spiritual awareness built into her because of her role of ezer kenegdo, but she didn’t have the experience of the world that Adam did. I believe that Eve sinned because she didn’t recognize this boundary. She jumped at the chance to make her role as ezer kenegdo better, but in doing so, she didn’t allow Adam to remember who he was (God’s image) and act on it. Eve should’ve realized she didn’t have the experience to deal with the situation and deferred the situation to Adam. Adam personally knew enough about God, the world, and the animals in it to know that the serpent was an intruder in the Garden. Eve should have let Adam fulfill his role as guardian of the garden and take responsibility for the situation. Eve failed to keep the boundaries, and she let herself be deceived by the serpent. At the same time, Adam recognized that the serpent was an intruder, and he wasn’t deceived. He chose to keep quiet and WILLINGLY followed Eve into sin. He thought that if anything went wrong, he could blame her because she was the ezer kenegdo. However, Eve’s failure didn’t excuse Adam. God knew that Adam was not deceived, and that is why God approached Adam first. What follows next is often interpreted as Adam and Even passing the buck. However, that isn’t what really happened. When God questioned Adam, Adam did the worse thing he could. He blamed Eve directly and God indirectly right to God’s face. He didn’t take responsibility for his actions, and he protected the serpent by not revealing his involvement. The serpent was just any old snake. The serpent was Satan, and Adam sided with Satan. Because of this we all die. OTOH, Eve failed in her role of ezer kenegdo because she let her inexperience and misguided personal desires keep her from recognizing her boundaries. However, when questioned by God, her spiritual instincts kicked in. Eve turned Satan in, took resposibility for her actions, and sided with God. Because of this, God put hostility between Eve (and her female descendents) and Satan by making Eve and her female descendents the vehicle through which we will all have redemption through the birth of Jesus Christ. Through the actions of Eve and ultimately the messiah, we will have the chance for eternal life. However , it doesn’t end there. I think the hostility between the woman (Eve and her female descendents) and Satan is still alive and kicking. Jeremiah 31:22 is a fulfillment of women’s proper roles as ezer kenegdo in the end times. I also believe like Katherine Bushnell that women will have a huge part in destroying Satan through her role as ezer kenegdo. In the mean time, Satan has and still is doing everything he can to keep women from fulfilling their rightful place ever since the garden of Eden. He is doing everything and anything to attack, torture, and destroy women through the people who should love them the most-men. This is why we have had centuries of patriarcny and mysogany right up until the present day. Fortunately, a lot of men are turning away from this and are trying to reverse the effects of the fall. I definitely think Skip Moen is one of them. In the end, I think we will prevail. That’s it in a nutshell. That’s my opinion. Anyone can feel free to disagree with it.
I appreciate your obvious enthusiasm about digging into this text. My only comment at the moment is this: be careful not to read into the text more than it says. We can reasonably draw some conclusions about the relationship between God, Adam and Havvah since we are given some information, but it is a stretch of the text to suggest that, for example, Adam knew more about God and the world since he was created first. There is no indication in the text how long after Havvah was formed before she encountered the serpent. What if the time span was years? Wouldn’t that change your approach? Also, there is no indication in the text that the serpent is Satan. That is an interpretation placed on the text from a theological perspective much later. Bushnell makes that same error when she interprets the Genesis 3 passage in her “women usher in the Messianic solution” construct. The text doesn’t say that. The first obligation is to determine what the text actually says. Further theological reflection is further theological reflection, not exegesis.
I see your point about Havvah meeting the snake possibly years later. However, I’m not sure about the snake. Why would God create a talking snake to tempt Eve? The only thing that makes sense to me is if the snake is Satan in disguise. Who or what else could the snake be?