Adam & Eve, the Garden of Eden, the Fall 

Basic Info

Genesis 2:4b—3:24

Chapters 2 & 3 of Genesis tell a version of the creation of the universe that differs somewhat from the creation in 6 days poetic account in chapter 1. In this second account, before rain had occurred and thus before plant life was present, God created Adam (a name that means “man”) from clay made moist by a stream. God breathed life into Adam then planted a garden for him, the Garden of Eden. God gave Adam the garden to cultivate but told him not to eat of the tree in the center of the garden, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, for if he did so he would die. God then decided that it wasn’t good for Adam to be alone, so he made animals and let Adam name them. Still these weren’t quite the right companion, so he put Adam to sleep, took a rib from him, and created a woman. This worked for Adam. They were naked but not ashamed, a detail that is often a factor in artworks.

Adam and the woman are hanging out in the garden, enjoying all of the good that God has given them, and the serpent comes along and causes them to doubt God’s Word and encourages them to want not the many things God has given them, but the one thing God has forbidden them, the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Genesis doesn’t specify the gender of the serpent but does indicate that Adam was within earshot of the exchange between Eve and the serpent. The serpent has usually been interpreted as the Devil, Satan.

So the woman sees that the tree’s fruit looks nutritious and good, and believing the serpent, takes a bite and shares the fruit with Adam. (In the Bible, it isn’t an apple or a mango.) This gave them a new perspective on the world, and realizing they were naked, they made clothes from fig leaves. They then hide from God, who finds them and has an exchange with them about the act of eating the fruit. Adam blames the woman, and she blames the serpent. God first banishes the serpent to a life on its belly, then condemns the two human beings to a life of toil and work and pains in childbirth, and banishes them from the Garden of Eden. Adam then names the woman Eve, which is related to the word for living.

This account is understood by contemporary Scripture scholars as being a narrative that points out two universal truths: that human beings can have a personal relationship with God and that sin / suffering is a result of the human choice to turn away from God. This first sin is in some Christian traditions understood to have resulted in an inheritable distortion or disfiguring of humanity. It is referred to as Original Sin or Ancestral Sin.

What to Look For

• Adam and Eve’s physical appearance before and / or after the Fall
• The serpent’s physical appearance and gender
• What the fruit looks like (apple or pear [temperate climates], mango or papaya [tropical climates], etc.)
• How far Adam is from the exchange between Eve and the serpent
• Adam’s body language when taking the fruit
• The details of the garden
• God’s physical appearance (old man with white beard, Jesus Christ, a hand, a dove, a light, walking, floating, wise, compassionate, creative, etc.)

Questions to Focus a General Interpretation

Notice the environment around Adam and Eve. Does the artwork offer an explanation for why someone living in the midst of this much goodness would turn away from all these riches and turn toward the one thing God asked them to avoid?

Does the artwork depict the serpent or its offer as particularly appealing? Does it depict before and after images of Adam and Eve? Is one more appealing than the other? What does the artwork say about desire and gratification?

Questions to Guide a Personal Interpretation

Does the artwork call to mind any of the positive elements of your life? Does the artwork call to mind any of the temptations in your life, temptations to turn away from the goodness and choose options that aren’t in keeping with God’s will?

How do these symbols of the difference between human beings and animals relate to who you are today?

Questions to Suggest a Historical Interpretation

According to the Bible, Adam and Eve didn’t eat an apple; they ate the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. All any artist knows about that fruit is that it is good for food and pleasing. How did this artist decide to depict the fruit? What do you know about the climate in the artist’s place and time that makes this depiction a reasonable approximation of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil?

If the serpent is depicted with a particular gender, what might this say about the prevailing attitude about the source of evil in the artist’s time and place?

Does the artist depict God as authoritarian; as loving, compassionate, and creative; or in some other way? How might this reflect the general perception of the character of Christian authorities in the artist’s day?

Notice the racial / ethnic characterization of Adam and Eve. What might this say about the racial / ethnic make up of the artist’s time and place? Does it make sense that every culture would best identify with the first humans if they looked like themselves?