1 Timothy 2:14
in 1 Timothy 2And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman who was deceived and fell into transgression.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and Adam was not beguiled, but the woman being beguiled hath fallen into transgression:
KJV
And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.
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This verse in 1 Timothy 2
Commentary
14 notes on this verseAnd Adam was not deceived,.... There is no need to say with interpreters, that he was not deceived first; and that he was not deceived immediately by the serpent, but by Eve; and that he is never said in Scripture to be deceived, as Melchizedek is never said to have a father or mother.
This site's exposition
Adam was formed first
on 1 Timothy 2:13-14
Paul grounds his ruling in Genesis twice, in the order of creation and in the order of the fall. Adam was formed first, and then Eve, and it was the woman who was deceived and fell into transgression.
This site's exposition
the woman who was deceived
Wesley and Clarke note that the serpent deceived Eve, while Adam took the fruit from her hand knowing he sinned. Gill adds that Adam is nowhere in Scripture said to have been deceived.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers4 voices
For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived fell into transgression. For Adam was formed first. Since Adam was formed first, the woman should not have authority over the man, but should be in submission to …
So, too, we must believe that Adam transgressed the law of God, not because he was deceived into believing that the lie was true but because in obedience to a social compulsion he yielded to Eve, as husband to wife, as the only man in the world to the only woman. It was not without reason that the apostle wrote, "Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived." He means, no doubt, that Eve accepted the serpent's word as true, whereas Adam refused to be separated from his partner even in a union of sin. This does not imply that he was on that account any less guilty, since he sinned knowingly and deliberately.
But how was Adam not deceived? If he was not deceived, he did not then transgress? Attend carefully. The woman said, "The serpent beguiled me." But the man did not say, The woman deceived me, but, "she gave me of the tree, and I did eat." Now it is not the same thing to be deceived by a fellow-creature, one of the same kind, as by an inferior and subordinate animal. This is truly to be deceived. Compared therefore with the woman, he is spoken of as "not deceived." For she was beguiled by an inferior and subject, he by an equal. Again, it is not said of the man, that he "saw the tree was good for food," but of the woman, and that she "did eat, and gave it to her husband": so that he transgressed, not captivated by appetite, but merely from the persuasion of his wife. The woman taught once, and ruined all. On this account therefore he saith, let her not teach. But what is it to other women, that she suffered this? It certainly concerns them; for the sex is weak and fickle, and he is speaking of the sex collectively. For he says not Eve, but "the woman," which is the common name of the whole sex, not her proper name. Was then the whole sex included in the transgression for her fault? As he said of Adam, "After the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of Him that was to come"; so here the female sex transgressed, and not the male.
And the fact too that this grace was revealed by means of a woman, itself agrees with the interpretation which we have given.
The Medieval Church1 voice
The transgression of the precept was common to both, although from different causes, for it was not the man, but the woman who was deceived; in both, however, namely in the man and the woman, there was a disordering from the highest to the lowest, …
6 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church2 voices
Second, from the order of sinning. For the orders of coming to be and of ceasing to be are contrary, because that which is first in coming to be is last in ceasing to be. But sin is the ceasing to be of a nature. …
Why does the apostle say that Adam was not deceived? Because Scripture does not say this either; on the contrary, the woman said, "the serpent beguiled me" (Gen. 3:13), but Adam does not say, "the woman deceived me," but rather, "she gave to me" (Gen. …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And Adam was not deceived - The serpent deceived Eve: Eve did not deceive Adam, but persuaded him. "Thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife," Gen. iii, 17. The preceding verse showed why a woman should not "usurp authority over the man." this shows why she ought not "to teach." She is more easily deceived, and more easily deceives.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
Adam was not deceived - It does not appear that Satan attempted the man; the woman said: The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. Adam received the fruit from the hand of his wife; he knew he was transgressing, he was not deceived; however, she led the way, and in consequence of this she was subjected to the domination of her husband: Thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee; Gen 3:
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Adam was not deceived--as Eve was deceived by the serpent; but was persuaded by his wife. Ge 3:17, "hearkened unto . . . voice of . . . wife." But in Ge 3:13, Eve says, "The serpent beguiled me." Being more easily deceived, she more easily deceives [BENGEL], (2Co 11:3). Last in being, she was first in sin--indeed, she alone was deceived.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
And Adam was not deceived - This is the second reason why the woman should occupy a subordinate rank in all things. It is, that in the most important situation in which she was ever placed she had shown that she was not qualified to take the lead. She had evinced a readiness to yield to temptation; a feebleness of resistance; a pliancy of character, which showed that she was not adapted to the situation of headship, and which made it proper that she should ever afterward occupy a subordinate situation. It is not meant here that Adam did not sin, nor even that he was not deceived by the tempter, but that the woman opposed a feebler resistance to the temptation than he would have done, and that the temptation as actually applied to her would have been ineffectual on him. To tempt and seduce him to fall, there were needed all the soft persuasions, the entreaties, and example of his wife. Satan understood this, and approached man not with the specious argument of the serpent, but through the allurements of his wife. It is undoubtedly implied here that man in general has a power of resisting certain kinds of temptation superior to that possessed by woman, and hence that the headship properly belongs to him. This is, undoubtedly, the general truth, though there may be many exceptions, and many noble cases to the honor of the female sex, in which they evince a power of resistance to temptation superior to man. In many traits of character, and among them those which are most lovely, woman is superior to man; yet it is undoubtedly true that, as a general thing, temptation will make a stronger impression on her than on him. When it is said that “Adam was not deceived,” it is not meant that when he partook actually of the fruit he was under no deception, but that he was not deceived by the serpent; he was not first deceived, or first in the transgression. […]
The words behind it
11 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| καὶ | kai | And | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| Ἀδὰμ | adam | Adam | G76 → | |
| οὐκ | ouk | not | G3756 → | 1664 times |
| ἠπατήθη, | epatethe | was deceived, | G538 → | |
| ἡ | he | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| δὲ | de | but | G1161 → | 2765 times |
| γυνὴ | gune | the woman | G1135 → | 211 times |
| ἐξαπατηθεῖσα | exapatetheisa | having been deceived | G1818 → | |
| ἐν | en | into | G1722 → | 2738 times |
| παραβάσει | parabasei | transgression | G3847 → | |
| γέγονεν· | gegonen | has come; | G1096 → | 667 times |
καὶAnd
kaiG2532 →9120 times
ἈδὰμAdam
adamG76 →
οὐκnot
oukG3756 →1664 times
ἠπατήθη,was deceived,
epatetheG538 →
ἡ<the>
heG3588 →19766 times
δὲbut
deG1161 →2765 times
γυνὴthe woman
guneG1135 →211 times
ἐξαπατηθεῖσαhaving been deceived
exapatetheisaG1818 →
ἐνinto
enG1722 →2738 times
παραβάσειtransgression
parabaseiG3847 →
γέγονεν·has come;
gegonenG1096 →667 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
2 Corinthians 11:3I am afraid, however, that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may be led astray from your simple and pure devotion to Christ.
it leads to
- Colossians 2:8
See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, which are based on human tradition and the spiritual forces of the world rather than on Christ.
- Galatians 1:6
I am amazed how quickly you are deserting the One who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—
- Ephesians 4:14
Then we will no longer be infants, tossed about by the waves and carried around by every wind of teaching and by the clever cunning of men in their deceitful scheming.
- 1 John 4:1
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. For many false prophets have gone out into the world.
- Colossians 2:4
I say this so that no one will deceive you by smooth rhetoric.
- Colossians 2:8
Through
Genesis 3:6When the woman saw that the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eyes, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom, she took the fruit and ate it. She also gave…
it leads to
- 1 John 2:16
For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world.
- James 1:14–15
But each one is tempted when by his own evil desires he is lured away and enticed.
- 2 Samuel 11:2
One evening David got up from his bed and strolled around on the roof of the palace. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing—a very beautiful woman.
- 1 John 2:16
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies5
About 1 Timothy
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 13 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, City of God 14.11.2; Bonaventure, Breviloquium, Part 3, Chapter 3; Gregory of Nyssa, AGAINST EUNOMIUS 12.1; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, Homily on 1 Timothy 9; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Oecumenius, COMMENTARY ON 1 TIMOTHY; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on 1 Timothy and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on 1 Timothy.