Genesis 3:22 kjv
And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
Genesis 3:22 nkjv
Then the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever"?
Genesis 3:22 niv
And the LORD God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever."
Genesis 3:22 esv
Then the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever ? "
Genesis 3:22 nlt
Then the LORD God said, "Look, the human beings have become like us, knowing both good and evil. What if they reach out, take fruit from the tree of life, and eat it? Then they will live forever!"
Genesis 3 22 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Gen 1:26 | Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness." | Plurality of God in creation. |
| Gen 2:9 | The tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. | Introduction of the two key trees. |
| Gen 2:17 | From the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die. | God's initial prohibition and consequence. |
| Gen 3:5 | For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. | Serpent's false promise and temptation. |
| Gen 3:19 | By the sweat of your face You will eat bread, till you return to the ground, because from it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return. | Introduction of physical mortality. |
| Gen 3:24 | So He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life. | Enforcement of the separation. |
| Gen 11:7 | "Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another's speech." | Another instance of God's plural deliberation. |
| Deu 1:39 | Your children who today have no knowledge of good or evil... | Children are considered morally innocent. |
| 1 Kgs 3:9 | "So give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, to discern between good and evil..." | Solomon's request for discerning wisdom. |
| Rom 5:12 | Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all humanity, because all sinned— | Sin and death entered through Adam. |
| Rom 6:23 | For the wages of sin is death, but the gracious gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. | Consequence of sin and way to life. |
| Rom 7:7 | For I would not have known about sin if it had not been for the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, "You shall not covet." | Law reveals sin; similar to experiential knowledge. |
| 1 Cor 15:21-22 | For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. | Adam's role in death, Christ's in life. |
| 1 Cor 15:53-54 | For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable... | Hope for resurrection and immortality. |
| Heb 9:27 | And just as it is appointed for people to die once, and after this comes judgment... | Appointed mortality post-Fall. |
| Isa 6:8 | Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" | God deliberating among the divine counsel. |
| Prov 2:6 | For the Lord gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding. | True knowledge comes from God. |
| Rev 2:7 | To the one who overcomes, I will grant to eat from the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God. | Tree of life accessible to the redeemed. |
| Rev 22:2 | On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. | Restoration of the tree of life in the New Heaven and Earth. |
| Rev 22:14 | Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they will have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city. | Right to the tree of life through Christ's righteousness. |
| Eph 4:22-24 | You yourselves put off your old self... and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. | Restoration to God's true likeness through Christ. |
Genesis 3 verses
Genesis 3 22 Meaning
Genesis 3:22 is a profound divine declaration following humanity's disobedience, revealing God's immediate understanding of man's fallen state and His protective, albeit consequential, response. It communicates that man, through sin, has acquired an experiential "knowledge of good and evil," mirroring God in a corrupted sense, necessitating the prevention of eternal life in that state. This verse underscores God's sovereignty, omniscience, and providential care, safeguarding humanity from the eternal perpetuation of sin by barring access to the tree of life.
Genesis 3 22 Context
Genesis 3:22 occurs immediately after God has confronted Adam and Eve regarding their sin of eating from the forbidden tree, pronouncing the curses upon the serpent, Eve, and Adam. The verse serves as a divine summary and rationale for the subsequent expulsion from the Garden of Eden. It provides the theological explanation for the removal of humanity from the paradise that provided access to the tree of life. The surrounding verses (Gen 3:23-24) detail the act of expulsion and the placement of cherubim to guard the way. Historically, this account lays the foundation for understanding humanity's fallen condition, the origin of death, the nature of sin, and the subsequent need for redemption through covenant with God, foreshadowing the eventual provision of spiritual life in Christ. This narrative likely also served as a polemic against ancient Near Eastern myths that spoke of gaining divine attributes or immortality through rebellious acts or stolen knowledge, affirming God's unique sovereignty and the detrimental nature of defying Him.
Genesis 3 22 Word analysis
- Then the LORD God said: Signifies divine authority and a direct address following the preceding judgments. "LORD God" (YHWH Elohim) emphasizes God's covenant relationship and His omniscient role as Creator and Sustainer, who now assesses the new, corrupted state of His creation.
- 'Behold: (Hebrew: hinneh) An emphatic particle used to draw urgent attention to what follows, indicating a significant or revelatory declaration.
- the man: (Hebrew: ha'adam) Referring specifically to Adam but also representing all humanity, signifying a fundamental change in the human condition that affects all descendants.
- has become like one of Us: This is a pivotal statement. It does not imply that humanity has achieved divinity or equality with God. Instead, it speaks of a perverted or superficial likeness. Humanity desired a god-like understanding but gained an experiential knowledge of good and evil through disobedience. The plural "Us" is interpreted in various ways: a Trinitarian reference (Father, Son, Spirit), God deliberating with Himself, or referencing His heavenly divine court, underscoring the communal nature within the Godhead or the supreme authority of God distinct from pagan polytheistic concepts. The gained knowledge is not wisdom from above but a fallen knowledge, where evil is known by participation, and good by absence and longing.
- knowing good and evil: Not a state of moral perfection or superior intellect, but an experiential awareness of evil acquired through participation in it, and thus a conscious loss of innocent good. Man now truly understands good by having departed from it, and evil by having committed it. This is a moral discernment born of transgression, distinct from God's perfect, unblemished knowledge. It signifies the loss of innocence and the introduction of a corrupt moral consciousness.
- and now, he might reach out with his hand: A statement of God's immediate concern and assessment of a potential, grave outcome. "Now" (Hebrew: 'attah) indicates immediate divine action and consequence.
- and take also from the tree of life: The "tree of life" (Hebrew: Etz HaChayim) represents perpetual physical existence. To "take also" suggests it was accessible, and Adam could choose to partake.
- and eat, and live forever—': The undesirable outcome that God is actively preventing. To live forever in a fallen state, with a corrupted nature, estranged from God and experiencing the curse, would have sealed humanity's tragic condition, making redemption impossible or meaningless. This divine act is thus one of mercy and preservation of future redemptive possibility.
Words-group analysis:
- "has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil": This phrase describes the critical result of humanity's rebellion. It highlights the serpent's deceptive promise (Gen 3:5) as a twisted truth. Man did gain a "knowledge" but not the elevated divine wisdom promised. Instead, it was an experiential, costly knowledge rooted in moral corruption, not true likeness to God's holiness or omnipotence.
- "and now, lest he reach out with his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever—": This part reveals God's rationale for the subsequent expulsion. It's a preventive measure, born out of divine foresight and a profound, though sorrowful, wisdom. God's concern is not for His own vulnerability, but for humanity's well-being; perpetual life in a state of sin and brokenness would be an eternal agony, foreclosing the possibility of redemption and ultimate restoration.
Genesis 3 22 Bonus section
- The immediate physical expulsion from Eden, and thus from the tree of life, highlights that humanity's hope for true eternal life and renewed relationship with God must come through a means outside of the Garden, signifying the need for divine intervention and a different covenant.
- This act also reinforces God's attribute of jealousy (zealousness) for His unique glory and authority; no creature can become divine by an act of rebellion.
- The re-appearance of the tree of life in the book of Revelation (Rev 2:7; 22:2, 14) serves as a profound reversal, symbolizing humanity's full redemption and restoration of communion with God through Christ, where true eternal life and fellowship are once again accessible to the redeemed. This points to a deeper, spiritual reality of eternal life than the initial physical life granted in Eden.
- God's plural deliberation here and in Gen 1:26 and 11:7, while debated in full interpretation, consistently reflects God's complete and unchallengeable authority in His decisions and actions concerning creation and humanity.
Genesis 3 22 Commentary
Genesis 3:22 reveals God's measured response to humanity's fall. It is not merely a statement of anger or punishment, but a profound theological declaration of man's new, gravely altered condition and God's sovereign act to preserve a path for redemption. The "knowledge of good and evil" acquired by Adam was not a divine wisdom that elevated him, but an experiential awareness born of rebellion that brought sin, suffering, and death. Humanity effectively declared a flawed independence, setting its own moral standards apart from God.
God's immediate action to prevent access to the tree of life was thus an act of divine mercy, preventing the perpetuation of eternal physical life in a state of spiritual death and moral depravity. To live forever with a sinful nature, eternally separated from God's presence, would be an ultimate curse. By removing man from Eden, God cut off a perpetual self-afflicted torment and opened a temporal space for the unfolding of His redemptive plan, ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ. This verse highlights the profound consequences of sin but also the depth of God's wisdom and providential care for humanity, even in judgment, to guide them towards true, spiritual eternal life.