Genesis 3:6 kjv
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
Genesis 3:6 nkjv
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.
Genesis 3:6 niv
When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
Genesis 3:6 esv
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.
Genesis 3:6 nlt
The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too.
Genesis 3 6 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Gen 2:17 | "...but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." | God's clear prohibition, the foundation of Eve's disobedience. |
| Gen 3:1 | "Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field..." | The tempter's subtlety and the beginning of the deception. |
| Gen 3:5 | "...for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." | The serpent's promise of divine knowledge, the core intellectual temptation. |
| Gen 3:7 | "Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked..." | The immediate consequence: a change in perspective from innocence to shame. |
| Rom 5:12 | "Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned..." | Sin and death entering the world through Adam's action (which includes Eve's). |
| Rom 5:19 | "For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous." | Adam's disobedience as the federal head, contrasting with Christ's obedience. |
| 1 Cor 15:21-22 | "For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive." | Adam's act is the source of universal death; Christ reverses it. |
| 1 Tim 2:14 | "and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor." | Specifies Eve's deception and Adam's active, knowing sin. |
| 1 John 2:16 | "For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and the pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world." | Perfectly aligns with the three categories of temptation Eve faced. |
| Matt 4:1-11 | Jesus' temptation by Satan in the wilderness. | Christ reverses the fall by obedience, resisting similar temptations. |
| Luke 4:1-13 | Similar to Matthew, Jesus quotes Scripture to counter temptation, exemplifying perfect obedience. | Christ's triumph over temptation. |
| Heb 4:15 | "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin." | Jesus as the empathetic, sinless high priest, enduring temptation. |
| 2 Cor 11:3 | "But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ." | The serpent's deception of Eve serves as a warning for future generations. |
| Jas 1:14-15 | "But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death." | Explains the process of temptation leading to sin, mirroring Eve's experience. |
| Phil 2:8 | "...he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." | Christ's radical obedience contrasted with Adam and Eve's disobedience. |
| Prov 2:6 | "For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding..." | True wisdom comes from God, not from defying Him. |
| Jer 17:9 | "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?" | Humanity's inner propensity towards sin, starting from the heart's desires. |
| Gen 6:5 | "The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." | Shows the exponential growth of sin originating from the fall. |
| Deut 8:3 | "...that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord." | Contrast to merely physical sustenance; emphasizes dependence on God's word. |
| John 8:44 | "...He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies." | The character of the tempter and the nature of the lie that deceived Eve. |
| Rom 1:21 | "For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened." | The rejection of God's knowledge and its intellectual/spiritual consequence. |
| Isa 53:6 | "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way..." | The universality of the straying from God's path initiated by the fall. |
| Eph 2:3 | "...among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind..." | Describes the post-fall human condition as driven by sinful desires. |
Genesis 3 verses
Genesis 3 6 Meaning
Genesis 3:6 describes the moment humanity chose disobedience, detailing Eve's internal thought process as she succumbed to the serpent's temptation and her subsequent actions. It highlights her contemplation of the forbidden fruit, driven by its perceived benefits across three categories: its physical appeal as food, its aesthetic beauty pleasing to the eyes, and its promised ability to impart wisdom, making one "like God." Following this assessment, she deliberately took, ate, and then involved Adam in the transgression, leading to the first human fall. This verse is pivotal as it chronicles the specific act that breached God's clear command and introduced sin, death, and separation from God into creation, initiating the unraveling of the pristine Edenic state.
Genesis 3 6 Context
Genesis 3:6 is the culmination of the serpent's temptation and the immediate action leading to the Fall. Prior to this, God had established a clear boundary regarding the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (Gen 2:16-17), promising death as the consequence of disobedience. The serpent, described as cunning (Gen 3:1), directly challenges God's word, suggesting God is withholding a beneficial experience—the knowledge of good and evil and godlikeness (Gen 3:4-5). Eve, instead of directly upholding God's command, enters into dialogue, modifying the divine prohibition in her re-telling (Gen 3:3). This interaction sets the stage for her inner deliberation, detailed in Gen 3:6, where her senses and desires override divine instruction, leading to the transgression that precipitates humanity's expulsion from Eden (Gen 3:23-24) and the introduction of curses upon creation (Gen 3:14-19). Adam, present "with her," tacitly participates without interjection, making him equally culpable.
Genesis 3 6 Word analysis
- So when the woman saw: The Hebrew verb for "saw" (וַתֵּרֶא, wa-tére’) indicates a careful observation or discernment, not merely a fleeting glance. This suggests Eve paused, deliberated, and engaged her will. It begins a progression from observation to desire, then to action.
- that the tree was good for food: The Hebrew word for "good" (טוֹב, tov) signifies more than just edibility; it implies pleasant, desirable, beneficial. It mirrors God's assessment of creation as "good," but here, "good" is assessed from a human, sensory perspective, in contradiction to God's prohibition.
- and that it was pleasant to the eyes: "Pleasant" translates the Hebrew word תַאֲוָה (ta’avah), meaning "desire" or "lust." This directly addresses the visual and aesthetic appeal, engaging the faculty of sight and desire. It moves beyond practical necessity to covetousness.
- and a tree to be desired to make one wise: The word "desired" (וְנֶחְמָד, w’nechmad) also conveys longing or covetousness. "To make one wise" is the Hebrew לְהַשְׂכִּיל (l'haskil), which means to gain insight, understanding, prudence, or to act wisely. This is the intellectual and spiritual temptation—the desire for forbidden knowledge or a higher state of being, effectively wanting to define wisdom and knowledge independently of God. This challenges God's exclusive domain.
- she took of the fruit thereof: The verb "took" (וַתִּקַּח, wa-tiqach) is a decisive action. It signifies agency and conscious will in performing the forbidden act, completing the shift from thought and desire to physical transgression.
- and did eat: The Hebrew וַתֹּאכַל (wa-tokel) denotes a direct, definitive act of consumption. This is the explicit act of disobedience that breaks God's command.
- and gave also unto her husband with her: The phrase "with her" (עִמָּהּ, ’immah) is crucial. It implies Adam's immediate proximity and likely full awareness of the conversation with the serpent and Eve's decision, making his passive role deeply significant. Eve extending the fruit shows she became an active tempter herself, leading her husband into sin.
- and he did eat: The verb וַיֹּאכַל (wa-yochal) parallels Eve's action. Adam's choice, despite having heard the command directly from God (Gen 2:16-17) and likely witnessing the entire interaction, reflects his own act of willful disobedience without being deceived in the same way Eve was.
Words-group by words-group analysis:
- "good for food," "pleasant to the eyes," "desired to make one wise": This trio encapsulates the universal pattern of temptation often referred to as "the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life" (1 John 2:16).
- "Good for food" appeals to the desire of the flesh (physical gratification).
- "Pleasant to the eyes" appeals to the desire of the eyes (covetousness, aesthetic longing).
- "Desired to make one wise" appeals to the pride of life (the aspiration for power, status, forbidden knowledge, autonomy from God).
- "she took... and did eat, and gave also... and he did eat": This sequence illustrates the swift progression from deliberation to action, from individual sin to communal participation in transgression, showing the contagious nature of disobedience. It highlights both Eve's initiative in the specific act of taking and eating, and Adam's complicity and active participation in the sin.
Genesis 3 6 Bonus Section
- The serpent's temptation in Gen 3:5 ("your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil") is explicitly connected to Eve's internal rationalization in Gen 3:6 ("to make one wise"). The lie was deeply intertwined with the desire for autonomy and self-definition of "good" and "evil," moving from childlike dependence on God to attempting sovereign judgment.
- Eve's perception of "good" for food directly contradicts God's previous assessment of what is "good" in creation (Gen 1) and implicitly, what is truly "good" for humanity, which is obedience. Her subjective valuation overrode God's objective prohibition.
- Adam's silent presence ("with her") indicates not merely passive acceptance but an active choice to join in the rebellion. He was not absent or unaware, magnifying his culpability as the one who received the original direct command.
- This verse represents humanity's attempt to achieve divine status or knowledge outside of God's prescribed will, setting a pattern for subsequent human rebellion throughout biblical history. True wisdom is found in reverence for God and obedience to His word, not in independent acquisition through defiance.
Genesis 3 6 Commentary
Genesis 3:6 is a theological cornerstone, revealing the origin of sin and humanity's propensity to disobey God. Eve's decision process highlights the deceptive power of temptation, where something inherently good (like wisdom or pleasing aesthetics) becomes sinful when obtained through forbidden means. Her internal struggle showcases human vulnerability to perceived benefit over divine command. The three categories of temptation resonate throughout scripture, defining the allure of the created over the Creator. Adam's failure to intercede, his passive reception, and his subsequent eating without protest, underline his active role in the Fall, despite not being deceived in the same way as Eve. This act established the reign of sin and death, marring humanity's relationship with God, introducing spiritual and physical death, and ushering in a world fallen from its original perfection. The verse tragically foreshadows the need for a redeemer to undo the profound consequences of this pivotal moment. It serves as a stark reminder of the gravity of even one act of disobedience and the danger of replacing God's truth with human desire.