Genesis 3:12
in Genesis 3And the man answered, “The woman whom You gave me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
KJV
And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
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This verse in Genesis 3
Commentary
11 notes on this verseAnd the man said, etc. - We have here some farther proofs of the fallen state of man, and that the consequences of that state extend to his remotest posterity. 1. On the question, Hast thou eaten of the tree? Adam is obliged to acknowledge his transgression; but he does this in such a way as to shift off the blame from himself, and lay it upon God and upon the woman!
This site's exposition
Who told you that you were naked
on Genesis 3:11-13
God asks the man who told him he was naked, and whether he has eaten from the tree. The man answers by naming the woman, and behind her the God who gave her to him, and the woman answers by naming the serpent who deceived her. Both finish the same way, saying that they ate.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
A commentator
Augustine of HippoTWO BOOKS ON GENESIS AGAINST THE MANICHAEANS 2.17.25 · Written in the 5th century.
proposed
Then, as is quite common in cases of pride, he does not accuse himself of having consented to the woman but pushes the fault off upon the woman. Thus, as if out of a cleverness the poor fellow had conceived, he cunningly tried to attribute his sinning to God himself. For he did not just say, "the woman gave to me," but added on, "the woman you gave to me." Nothing is as characteristic of sinners as to want to attribute to God everything for which they are accused. This arises from that vein of pride. For man sinned in wishing to be like God, that is, to be free from his dominion, as God is free from all dominion, since he is the Lord of all.
Instead of confessing what he had done, which would have helped him, he related what had been done to him, which did not help him at all.… Adam again failed to confess his folly and blamed the woman.
Once again Adam failed to confess his fault, laying the blame on the woman who was like him: "The woman with whom you provided me gave me of the Tree and I ate.
Insofar as he as yet had no experience of the divine severity, Adam could be deceived in believing that his transgression was merely venial. And therefore he was at least not deceived in the same way that Eve was. He was merely mistaken concerning the judgment that would follow his attempt to excuse himself: "The woman you placed at my side gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate." To summarize briefly: though not equally deceived by believing the serpent, they equally sinned and were caught and ensnared by the devil.
If Adam and Eve had sought to repent after they had transgressed the commandment, even though they would not have regained that which they had possessed before their transgression of the commandment, they would have escaped from the curses that were decreed on the earth …
4 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church2 voices
Do you see, dear friend, how patient God is? For when he said, "Adam, where are you?" and when Adam did not at once confess his sin but said, "I heard your voice, O Lord, and realized that I am naked and hid myself," God …
And Adam said: The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate. "Was it pride that he did not say, I have sinned?
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And the man said,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The woman . . . gave me--He blames God [CALVIN]. As the woman had been given him for his companion and help, he had eaten of the tree from love to her; and perceiving she was ruined, was determined not to survive her [M'KNIGHT].
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
The sense of it is to say: “The woman whom Thy Honor Himself gave me for a help, she gave me of the tree, and I thought that whatever she says to me is a help and benefit to me.
2 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
WHAT IS THIS THOU HAST DONE to transgress My commandment? For the woman was included in the admonition given to Adam since at that time she was yet bone of his bones, and similarly she was included in his punishment.
Bilti with a lamed prefixed to it ( le-vilti ) means “not to.” Without this lamed ( bilti ) it means “only.”
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 2 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֖אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הָֽאָדָ֑ם | haadam | the man | H120 → | 551 times |
| הָֽאִשָּׁה֙ | haishah | the woman | H802 → | 781 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | whom | H834 → | 5497 times |
| נָתַ֣תָּה | natatah | you put | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| עִמָּדִ֔י | ʾimadi | with me | H5978 → | 42 times |
| הִ֛וא | hi' | she | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| נָֽתְנָה־ | natenah- | she gave | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לִּ֥י | li | to <the> me | ||
| מִן־ | min- | from | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הָעֵ֖ץ | haetz | the tree | H6086 → | 328 times |
| וָאֹכֵֽל׃ | vaokhel | and I ate | H398 → | 810 times |
וַיֹּ֖אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
הָֽאָדָ֑םthe man
haadamH120 →551 times
הָֽאִשָּׁה֙the woman
haishahH802 →781 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhom
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
נָתַ֣תָּהyou put
natatahH5414 →2011 times
עִמָּדִ֔יwith me
ʾimadiH5978 →42 times
הִ֛ואshe
hi'H1931 →1879 times
נָֽתְנָה־she gave
natenah-H5414 →2011 times
לִּ֥יto <the> me
li
מִן־from
min-H4480 →1188 times
הָעֵ֖ץthe tree
haetzH6086 →328 times
וָאֹכֵֽל׃and I ate
vaokhelH398 →810 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
Proverbs 28:13He who conceals his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them will find mercy.
it leads to
- 1 John 1:8–10
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 32:3–5
When I kept silent, my bones became brittle from my groaning all day long.
- Job 31:33
if I have covered my transgressions like Adam by hiding my guilt in my heart,
- Luke 15:18–24
I will get up and go back to my father and say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.
- Jeremiah 3:12–13
Go, proclaim this message toward the north: ‘Return, O faithless Israel,’ declares the LORD. ‘I will no longer look on you with anger, for I am merciful,’ declares the LORD. ‘I will not be…
- 1 John 1:8–10
Through
Romans 10:3Because they were ignorant of God’s righteousness and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.
it leads to
- Philippians 3:9
and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God on the basis of faith.
- Luke 16:15
So He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is prized among men is detestable before God.
- 2 Corinthians 5:21
God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.
- Philippians 3:9
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies25
On this verse
On this chapter
- Adam to Noah
- Angelology
- Bread
- Cain and Abel: Genesis 4
- The Covenants
- Creation to New Creation
- Eden
- Eve: The Mother of All Living
- Heaven
- The New Jerusalem
- Satan
- The Names of Satan
- Satan Across the Testaments
- The Scarlet Thread
- The Seed Promise
- The Canaanite Conquest
- The Garment & the Robe
- The Groaning Creation
- The Seed
- The Sword
- The Tree
- The Woman and the Dragon
- The Throne Room
- Trees: Eden, Cross, New Jerusalem
About Genesis
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Augustine of Hippo, TWO BOOKS ON GENESIS AGAINST THE MANICHAEANS 2.17.25; Augustine of Hippo, City of God 14.11; Bede, Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron); Ephrem the Syrian, COMMENTARY ON GENESIS 2.27.1-2; Ephrem the Syrian, Commentary (church-history corpus); Ephrem the Syrian, COMMENTARY ON GENESIS 2.23.2; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on Genesis; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Symeon the New Theologian, DISCOURSES 5.5.