Copyright
© 1994 by
THE GREAT REVERSAL:
THEMATIC LINKS BETWEEN
GENESIS 2 AND 3
ZDRAVKO STEFANOVIC
Adventist International
Institute of Advanced Studies
Silang,
The break between Gen 1 and 2 has been discussed
at length by
many scholars.1 Umberto Cassuto, for
example, has made a clear
distinction between the story in Gen 1 and the one
recorded in chaps.
2
and 3.2 Cassuto argues that the first chapter relates "The
Story of
Creation"
to teach us "that the whole world and all that it contains
were created by the word of the One God, according
to His will, which
operates without restraint."3 The
second section, more precisely Gen
2:4-24,
is part of the "Story of the Garden of Eden," which stretches to
the end of chap. 3; its purpose is "to explain
how it is that in the Lord's
world, the world of the good and beneficent God, evil
should exist and
man should endure pain and troubles and
calamities."4
On the other hand, the
unity of chaps.
2 and 3 is generally
recognized, although different reasons are given in
support of this
conclusion. Cassuto bases his argument for the
unity of this passage on
1 For example, G. von Rad
notes: "The difference is in the point of departure:
Whereas
in ch. 1 creation moves from the chaos to the cosmos of the entire world, our
account of creation [chap. 2] sketches the
original state as a desert in contrast to the sown"
(Genesis:
A Commentary [London: SCM, 1972], 76). Likewise, Claus Westermann states:
"The
narrative of Gen 1 is characterized by its onward, irresistible and majestic
flow that
distinguishes it so clearly from the
drama narrated in Gen 2-3" (Genesis
1-11: A
Commentary [
ch.
1 views reality as an ordered pattern which is confused by the flood, chs. 2-3
see
reality as a network of elemental unions which
become disintegrated throughout the
course of the narrative from
JSOT, 1978], 75).
2 A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (Jerusalem: Magnes, 1978),
1:84-94.
3 Cassuto,
7. For a different view see von Rad, 46: "Faith in creation is
neither the
basis nor the goal of the declarations in Gen., chs. 1 and 2. Rather, the position of both
the Yahwist and the Priestly document is basically
faith in salvation and election."
4 A Commentary, 71.
47
48 ZDRAVKO
STEFANOVIC
noticeable similarities between certain elements
found in the beginning
of chap. 2 and at the end of chap. 3.5 Claus Westermann holds that the
idea of the two chapters as an independent and
separate narrative was
"one of the most important and decisive results of literary
criticism."6
The
presence of thematic links between the two chapters has been
proposed also by von Rad.7 David J. A. Clines points to four areas of
harmonious relationship in chap. 2 that are
disrupted in chap. 3.8
In addition to being a literary unit, as seen by
the structural and
thematic links already noted,9 these
two chapters also show a unity of
purpose. The two come together to present the
first of many reversals
in the Bible.10 The purpose of this
article is to explore this reversal
theme in Gen 2 and 3.
5 Ibid., 159,
169-171. Cassuto argues for linking some passages through common
terms; for example, Gen 2:7, 17 to 3:19; Gen 2:25 to
3:7, 21; Gen 2:5, 7 to 3:23; Gen 2:8,
15
to 3:24. Considering the two chapters as a unit, E. A. Speiser calls them
"the brief
the term "Paradise Tale" (Genesis, with an Introduction to Narrative
Literature [Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans, 1983], 28). In their respective
studies Derek Kidner (Genesis: An
Introduction and
Commentary
[
also treat the two chapters as a single unit (A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on
Genesis, ICC [
6 Westermann notes that in
consequence "it is but logical to use this same method
as a tool for a more exact interpretation of the
passage" (186).
7 'The serpent 'which God had
made' in ch. 3.1 points back to the creation of the
animals in ch. 2.18. The theme of shame in ch.
3.7 ff. is taken up and attached (almost
abruptly) to the narrative about the creation of
man (2.25)" (von Rad, 100). Also
contributing to the discussion is J.
T. Walsh, "Genesis 2:46-3:24: A Synchronic Approach,"
JBL 96 (1977): 161-177.
8 "In ch. 3 the
relationship of harmony between each of these pairs [man and soil,
man and animals, man and woman, man and God, all in
chap. 2] is disrupted. The
communion between God and the man who breathes
God's breath (2:7) has become the
legal relationship of accuser and defendant (3:9ff);
the relationship of man and woman as
"one flesh" (2:24) has soured into mutual recrimination
(3:12); the bond of man (adam)
with the soil (‘adamah)
from which he was built has been supplanted by 'an alienation.
.
.' (3:17 ff.); the harmonious relationship of man with beast in which man is
the
acknowledged master (2:19 ff.) has
become a perpetual struggle of intransigent foes (3:15)"
(Clines, 75).
9 0n the structure of Gen 2
and 3 see the whole issue of Semeia
18 (1980).
10 See Zdravko Stefanovic,
"Daniel: A Book of Significant Reversals," AUSS 30
(Summer
1992): 139-150.
LINKS BETWEEN GENESIS 2
AND 3 49
The Content of Genesis 1:1-2:3
According to von Rad, Gen 1:1 is the
"summary statement of
everything that is unfolded step by step in the
following verses."11 The
language of the chapter is simple, yet decisive:
God's powerful word
created the world in such a way that "it
was firm, or well established."12
The
creative activity of the first three days parallels that which ensued
on the following three, while the Sabbath rest,
established on the
seventh day, had no counterpart. The structure
of Gen 1 follows the
pattern: introduction + 3 pairs + climax or
conclusion. This structure
is visualized in Figure 1.13 The
seventh day, rich with God's blessings,
was the climax of God's creative work. In the words
of Abraham
Heschel,
"Last in creation, first in intention, 'the Sabbath is the end of
the creation of heaven and earth."'14
Everything was declared to be
"very good" and no shade of disorder can be traced in
the complete
Creation Story.
11 He also says that the
"hidden grandeur of this statement is that God is the Lord
of the world" (49). For Westermann the same
verse is "a heading that takes in everything
in the narrative in one single sentence"
(94).
12 Cassuto derives ken (1:30) from the root kwn and translates the phrase "and
it was
firm or an established thing" (34).
13 On this idea, see Jacques B.
Doukhan, The Genesis Creation Story
(Berrien Springs,
MI:
Account,"
Origins 5 (1978): 9-38. A structure
similar to that proposed in Figure 1 is found
in other biblical passages. In Matt 1 the disputed
number of 14 generations can best be
explained as 7 x 2.
14 The Sabbath: Its Meaning for Modern Man (
1951), 14. Further describing the uniqueness of the
Sabbath, V. Hamilton notes: "Silence
and stillness once again enter the atmosphere. The
mood of the prologue now resurfaces
in this epilogue. There is no activity, no noise,
no speaking. All that God has willed and
designed for his canvas of the universe is now in
its place" (The Book of Genesis:
Chapters
1-17 [
a Sabbath at creation contain one of the most
remarkable and daring testimonies in the
entire priestly document" (61). For Westermann,
"the sanctification of the Sabbath
institutes an order for humankind according to
which time is divided into time and holy
time, time for work and time for rest. The work of
creation began with three acts of
separation" (171).
50 ZDRAVKO
STEFANOVIC
INTRODUCTION
(Gen
1:1-2)
Summary of the Story
A.
FIRST DAY (1:3-5) A: FOURTH DAY (1:14-19)
1. Creation of light 1. Creation of luminaries
2. Light described as good 2. Luminaries described as good
3. Light separated from darkness
3. Times divided by luminaries
B.
SECOND DAY (1:6-8) B: FIFTH DAY (1:20-23)
1. The Expanse created (heaven) 1.
Creatures fly toward heaven
2. Waters divided from waters (seas) 2.
Creatures move in the seas
3. Heaven named 3. Creation blessed
C.
THIRD DAY (1:9-13) C: SIXTH DAY (1:24-31)
1. Dry ground appears (earth) 1. Earth population created
2. Grass, plants, and trees created
2. Livestock, ground creatures, and
3. Vegetation yields seeds according animals
made
to their kinds 3. God creates man in His image
and likness
CLIMAX: THE SEVENTH DAY
(2:1-3)
Unparalleled Blessing
Figure 1. A Structural Outline of the Creation
Story in Genesis 1:1-2:3.
The Content of Genesis 2:4-25
After introducing the sinless and fully blessed
life on the newly
created earth, the Genesis narrator describes
the creation of man in
retrospect. This crown of all creation was placed
in the beautiful garden
of
carrying fertility to all the earth, both inside
and outside of
The privileges and responsibilities of the first
human being in the
garden are stated. The immediate responsibility was to
make an
inventory of all the animals and give to each a
name. This action
emphasized man's loneliness. The Creator provided a
solu-tion to this
problem, and man's pleasant surprise at
receiving this gift is recorded.
The first part of the story climaxes in the
closing verses of chap. 2
with the description of a happy life of intimacy and
innocence. Verse
24
speaks of the union between Adam and Eve which perpetuated their
lineage.
LINKS BETWEEN GENESIS 2
AND 3 51
The Content of Genesis 3
Gen 3 opens with a new character in the story,
one not necessarily
unknown to the Genesis narrator's audience. The
tempter described as
"serpent" deceives the humans in a subtle way.15
The lengthy persuasion to taste the forbidden
fruit culminates in
quick action: both Eve and Adam sin.16 The tragic outcome of the
transgression was increased by Eve's
expectation of becoming a divine
being, according to the serpent's promise. Realizing
the first results of
sin, the couple tried to hide from God.
God informs the man and the woman of the
terrible consequences
of their fall. His pronouncement of the sentence
commences with the
serpent, then moves to the woman, and finally to
the man. This order
of the sentence is reversed from the order of the
narrative, forming a
small-scale reversal in the story. Then judgment is
pronounced and man
is expelled from the garden. Von Rad notes that
"the penalties go in
reverse order to the trial proceedings."17 Finally
a celestial guardian is set
"to keep the way" to the life-giving tree.
Relationship
Between Genesis 2 and 3
A close study of Gen 2,
and 3 discloses a carefully-crafted structure.18
The
structure is chiastic, since the content of chap. 3 contains a reversed
order of similar elements and events found in chap.
2. For the sake of
comparison, the two chapters can be divided into
four logical parts,
each containing distinctive themes. The parts of
chap. 3 are in fact
reversals of those in chap. 2. Following is a
detailed analysis of the
structure and meaning of both chapters, stressing
the chiastic art of the
narrative and showing the great reversal in the
story of the Garden of
15 Hebrew, wehanndhas.
The subject in this sentence precedes the predicate for
emphasis.
16 The lengthy dialogue between
the serpent and the woman (3:1-6a) is in sharp
contrast with the swift action expressed by a
succession of four consecutive verbs: took,
ate, gave, ate (3:6b), all four preceded by waw consecutive.
17 Von Rad,
92. The order of subjects in the beginning of chap. 3 is serpent-woman-
man. Then in the trial one finds man-woman-serpent.
Lastly in the sentence the order is
again serpent-woman-man.
18 The Hebrew root ‘rm found in 2:25 and 3:1 is the best
discernible lexical link
between two chapters. Says J. T. Walsh: "On
a literary level Gen 2:46-3:24 is a highly
structured unit" (177).
52 ZDRAVKO
STEFANOVIC
this way, Gen 2 has no independent structure of its
own. If this fact is
overlooked, the plan of the chapter can be
chronologically misleading.19
Gen 2:4 An Introductory Verse Alluding to the Reversal
This introductory verse reminds the reader that
God is the Creator
of heaven and earth. The emphasis on this fact is
expressed by a double
repetition. Everything which follows in the first
part of the story
reported in chap. 2 is traced back to the Creator
who is the protagonist
of the first part of the drama.
The words in Gen 2:4 are marked by the use of
double chiasm. Not
only is the subject/verb order reversed
("heaven/earth" and "created" is
reversed to "made" and
"earth/heaven"), the "heaven/earth" is reversed
to "earth/heaven." One should see in
these rever-sals, especially in the
second one, an allusion to the reversal on a larger
scale in the story as
a whole, called in this study "the Great
Reversal." The verse further
matches the introductory statement of the
Creation story in Gen 1:1.
Part One: A. Created and Settled (Gen 2:5-8);
A’. Judged and Expelled (Gen 3:22-24)
The very beginning of the story of Gen 2 and 3
speaks of innocent
and carefree life on earth before man's creation.
There was no toil, "no
bush of the field," "no plant," no
"rain on the earth" (2:5-6). The end
of the story (Gen 3:22-24) stresses the opposite.
Because of the entrance
of sin the man knows both "good and
evil."
Whereas before there were "streams"
coming up from the earth to
water the ground (2:6), after the sin, blessings do
not come
automatically and man's
responsibility is increased (3:23). Thus the
beginning of the story declares that "there
was no man to work the
ground" (2:5), while the end of the story
ironically reveals that after the
act of sin, man must work the ground (3:23).
19 Westerrnann finds in
"Gen 2-3 repetitions, lack of agreement, lack of balance, gaps
in the line of thought, contradictions. One could
not expect anything else." These he
attributes to "the many-sided process of the
formation of this text" (190).
LINKS BETWEEN GENESIS 2
AND 3 53
INTRODUCTION
Gen 2:4
A.
CREATED AND SETTLED (2:5-8) A'. JUDGED AND EXPELLED (3:22-24)
1.
Innocent, carefree life: no toil, no
1. The man knows good and evil
plants, no rain
2.
Streams water the ground 2.
The man's responsibility increased
3.
No man to work the ground 3.
There is a man to work the ground
4.
Through breath becomes a living 4.
The man is prevented from eating
being the tree of life and
living of
the tree of life and living
forever forever
5.
God plants a garden in the east 5.
God places cherubim in the east
6.
The man settles in the garden 6.
The man expelled from the garden
B.
BLESSINGS AND ORDER (2:9-17) B'.
CURSES AND DISORDER (3:14-21)
1.
Trees and plants pleasing to eye and 1.
Thorns and thistles grow out of the
good for food planted in the
grow ground
out of the ground in the
garden 2. Curses related to
four subjects:
2.
Blessings related to a river and its animals,
woman, man, ground
four head-waters 3. Serpent's
3-fold curse: being cursed,
3.
Havilah's 3-fold blessing: gold, resin, crawling
on belly, eating dust
onyx 4. In sweat the
man tills the cursed
4.
The man to work in the garden and ground
and eats of it
care for it 5.
Verdict: Return to the dust
5.
On the day man eats he will die
C.WOMAN
CREATED (2:18-23) C'.
WOMAN TEMPTED (3:1-13)
1.
God's concern: Man is alone 1.
Man hides from God who still looks
for him
2.
The man needs a helper 2.
Together with helper, man is helpless
3.
God provides a helper 3.
The man blames his helper
4.
Man's lordship over 4.
Man is afraid, naked, hiding
5.
All animals in harmony with man 5.
An animal deceives the man
6.
Woman taken from the man 6.
Woman takes fruit and gives to man
7.
Man's admiration for the woman 7.
Woman's admiration for fruit
8.
Happy intimate relationship 8.
Fear and shame of naked body
CLIMAX
(2:24-25)
Happiness in sinless and
innocent human relationship
Figure 2. The Chiastic Structure of Genesis 2 and
3
54 ZDRAVKO
STEFANOVIC
The same man who through the breath of life
"became a living
being" (2:7) is now rendered unable "to
reach out his hand and take also
from the tree of life and eat, and live
forever" (3:22).
Lastly, the same God who "planted a garden
in the east, in
(2:8)
now places "on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim to
guard the way to the tree of life" (3:24). Thus
the man, who had been
created by God and placed in the garden (2:8),
is now judged and
expelled from it by God (3:23).
Following is a list of the Hebrew words and
expressions shared by
both sections in the story: yhwh ‘elohim, "the Lord God"; ha'adam,
"the man"; la ’abod
et-ha'adamah, "to work the ground"; hayyim, "life";
gan-be’eden miqqedem, "a garden in the east in
Part Two: B. Blessings and Order (Gen 2:9-17);
B’ . Curses
and Disorder (Gen 3:14-21)
The story continues in section B of Gen 2 (vv.
9-17) with a detailed
description of the garden of Eden and its blessings.
The trees that God
made to grow out of the ground "were pleasing
to the eye and good for
food" (2:9). After the sin, in section B' of
Gen 3 (vv. 14-21), the narrator
reports that the ground produced "thorns
and thistles" displeasing to the
eye. Thus, two kinds of weed plants take the place
of the two trees in
the perfect garden.
The blessings of the garden are related to a
river flowing from
and its four "headwaters." After the sin,
the curses have to do with four
subjects: animals (3:14); woman (3:16); man
(3:17-19); and ground
(3:17).20
In Gen 2 "the
sign of blessings; "good gold," aromatic
resin, and onyx (2:12). In
contrast, Gen 3 reveals one of the animals, the
serpent, carrying a
threefold sign of curse: being cursed above all
creatures, crawling on the
belly, and eating dust (3:14).21 The reversal occurred because the human
beings once had freedom of eating from any tree except
one (2:16-17),
yet they dared to eat from the single forbidden
tree (3:17); they could
eat from only one of these two trees at a time.
Section B closes with a prohibition against
eating from that single
tree lest one die (2:17), while in section B', after
the sin, the verdict is
pronounced: Man will return to the ground out of
which he was taken
20 Even though the text does
not explicitly state that the woman and the man were
cursed, the two were deprived of many blessings.
21 "To eat dust" is a
Biblical idiom relating to an utmost humiliation and curse (see
Psalm
72:9).
LINKS BETWEEN GENESIS 2
AND 3 55
(3:19).
The section, however, closes with a ray of hope.
First, assurance
is given that the line of living human beings will
continue (3:20);
second, God takes care of the immediate needs of the
man and woman
by clothing them (3:21).
The following is a list of the Hebrew words and
phrases found in
both sections: smh
(hiphil imperfect), "grow out"; yhwh
'elohim, "the
Lord
God"; ha'adamah, "the
ground"; ‘kl... 'es, "eat
... tree"; ro‘s,
"head";
sem, "name"; hlk, "walk"; lqh, "take"; swh, "command"; ‘adam
...
'mr,
"man . . . said"; lo' to'kal mimmennu, "you shall not eat
from it."
Part Three: C Woman Created (Gen 2:18-23)
C. Woman Tempted (Gen 3:1-13)
Section C of Gen 2 (vv. 18-23) focuses on God's
concern for man's
social needs. The Creator declares that "it is
not good for the man to be
alone" (2:18). After the sin, however (Section
C' of Gen 3:1-13), that
same man wants to be alone and hides from God who
still looks for
him (3:9). Thus the man who had no helper suitable
for him (2:20) is
now helpless, in spite of having a helper (3:10).
God states that he "will
make a helper" (2:18), yet now the man blames
that very helper whom
he affirms God "put here with me"
(3:12).22 Man's superiority and
lordship over the livestock, birds, and the
beasts (2:20) stands in sharp
contrast to the man who is afraid, naked, and
trying to hide (3:10).
Whereas
part C says that all animals were in harmony with man and
subject to him (2:19-20), part C' speaks of the
man and the woman
deceived by an animal and in conflict with it
(3:13).
Section C describes the woman as the being
"taken out of the man"
(2:22),
while C' speaks of the same woman in an active role, taking
some fruit and giving to the man (3:6). Man's
admiration for the woman
(2:23)
is replaced by her admiration for the forbidden fruit (3:6).
Whereas
before the man was in an intimate relationship with the
woman-bone to bone, flesh to flesh (2:23)--now man
and woman are
ashamed and afraid (3:7-8).
The following is a list of words and phrases
common to both
sections: yhwh
'elohim, - "the Lord God"; ha'adam,
"the man"; ‘sh,
"make"; qr' ...
ha'adam lo, "the man called it"; lqh, "take"; issah,
“woman";
is, "man."
22 Hebrew ‘ezer k’negdo is found twice in section C (2:18, 20).
56 ZDRAVKO
STEFANOVIC
The Climax of Sinless Life (Gen 2:24-25)
The climax of the Story of Creation was reached
when God rested
on the seventh day (2:2-3). The climax of the
story of the Garden of
with the family unit. The climax speaks of a
sinless, harmonious and
happy human life in all its innocence.23 A
supernatural unity is related
here in which two beings are able to become basar 'ehad, "one flesh"
(2:24).
Summary
A structural study of
chaps.
2 and 3 of the book of Genesis reveals
the presence of a chiasm in the narrative and
strongly suggests the unity
of the story as argued by scholars. The theme of
the story of the
Garden
of Eden is the Great Reversal brought about by the entrance of
sin into the world created by God.24
Clines affirms that “the flood is
only the final stage in a process of cosmic
disintegration which began
in
The presence of the chiastic structure or
reversed parallelism
presents the literary beauty of Genesis through a
story that teaches how
God
was the source of creation in all its perfection, while the disorder
was brought about by man's act of sin. Elsewhere
the Bible teaches that
the last cosmic reversal in history will be God's
reversal.
23 Ibid, where v. 25 is called
"The climax of the creation."
24 "Expressed more
concisely, Gen. ch. 3, asserts that all sorrow
(von Rad, 101).
comes from sin"
25 Clines,
75.
This material is cited with gracious permission from:
Andrews University
Berrien Springs , MI 49104
www.andrews.edu
Please report any errors to Ted Hildebrandt at: thildebrandt@gordon.edu