Genesis 3:4
in Genesis 3“You will not surely die,” the serpent told her.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
KJV
And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
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This verse in Genesis 3
Commentary
10 notes on this verseLet us learn, therefore, that the temptations of the Devil are full of guile. Of the things that he promised, scarcely one of them seems to be true. He contrived falsehoods, as we can see if we read elsewhere: 'And the serpent said to the woman, you shall not die.' [ Gen 3:4 ] Here we have one falsehood, for man, who followed the promises of the serpent, is subject to death.
This site's exposition
You will not surely die
on Genesis 3:4-5
The serpent contradicts God and tells the woman why God gave the command, that God knows what the fruit will do. The promise is opened eyes and a likeness to God in knowing good and evil. Jesus names this speaker a liar and the father of lies at John 8:44.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
Do you see how the devil led her captive, handicapped her reasoning and caused her to set her thoughts on goals beyond her real capabilities, in order that she might be puffed up with empty hopes and lose her hold on the advantages already accorded her?
Instead, however, she revealed the secret of the instruction and told him what God had said to them, and thus received from him a different kind of advice, bringing ruin and death. That is to say, when the woman said, "We do eat of every tree of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden God said, Do not eat or even touch it," that evil creature, enemy of our (129a) salvation, in his turn offered advice at odds with that of the Lord. You see, whereas the loving God had forbidden their tasting that fruit on account of his great care for them lest they be subject to death for their disobedience, that evil creature said to the woman "'You will not truly die.'" [ Gen 3:4 ] What kind of excuse could anyone find appropriate to the woman for being prepared to give her complete attention to the creature that spoke with such temerity? I mean, after God said, "Do not touch it lest you die," he said, "You will not truly die." Then, not being satisfied with contradicting the words of God, he goes on to misrepresent the Creator as jealous so as to be in a position to introduce deceit by this means, get the better of the woman and carry out his own purpose. "You will not truly die," he said. "God, you see, knows that on the day that you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, knowing good and evil." [ Gen 3:5 ] (129b) See all the bait he offered: he filled the cup with a harmful drug and gave it to the woman, who did not want to recognize its deadly character.
A commentator
Philo of Alexandria-20–50
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ON GENESIS, I · Written before 50.
proposed
(34) Why the serpent tells the woman lies, saying, "God has said, Ye shall not eat of every tree in the Paradise," when, on the contrary, what God really had said was, "Ye shall eat of every tree in the Paradise, except one?" (#Ge 3:4). …
The Medieval Church2 voices
The devil attacked the woman—first by questioning: Why has God commanded you not to eat? second by asserting: You shall not die at all: third by promising: You shall be as gods, knowing good and evil: wishing by this temptation to cast down the weaker …
But the serpent said to the woman: "By no means shall you die. For God knows that on whichever day you eat from it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like gods, knowing good and evil."
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
"It is not so sure as you are made to believe it is." Thus Satan endeavours to shake that which he cannot overthrow, and invalidates the force of divine threatenings by questioning the certainty of them; and, when once it is supposed possible that there may be falsehood or fallacy in any word of God, a door is then opened to downright infidelity.
And the serpent said unto the woman,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Ye shall not surely die - Here the father of lies at once appears; and appears too in flatly contradicting the assertion of God. The tempter, through the nachash, insinuates the impossibility of her dying, as if he had said, God has created thee immortal, thy death therefore is impossible; and God knows this, for as thou livest by the tree of life, so shalt thou get increase of wisdom by the tree of knowledge.
The words behind it
7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֥אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הַנָּחָ֖שׁ | hanachash | the snake | H5175 → | 31 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הָֽאִשָּׁ֑ה | haishah | the woman | H802 → | 781 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| מ֖וֹת | mot | certainly <to die> | H4191 → | 839 times |
| תְּמֻתֽוּן׃ | temutun | you will die ! | H4191 → | 839 times |
וַיֹּ֥אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
הַנָּחָ֖שׁthe snake
hanachashH5175 →31 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הָֽאִשָּׁ֑הthe woman
haishahH802 →781 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
מ֖וֹתcertainly <to die>
motH4191 →839 times
תְּמֻתֽוּן׃you will die !
temutunH4191 →839 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
John 8:44You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out his desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, refusing to uphold the truth, because there is no truth in him.…
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 11:3
I 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.
Reached by 4 separate paths from here.
- Acts 13:10
and said, “O child of the devil and enemy of all righteousness, you are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery! Will you never stop perverting the straight ways of the Lord?
- 1 John 3:12
Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did Cain slay him? Because his own deeds were evil, while those of his brother were righteous.
- 1 John 3:8–10
The one who practices sin is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the very start. This is why the Son of God was revealed, to destroy the works of the…
- 2 Corinthians 11:3
Through
2 Corinthians 2:11in order that Satan should not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.
it leads to
- 1 Peter 5:8
Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
- Ephesians 6:11–12
Put on the full armor of God, so that you can make your stand against the devil’s schemes.
- 1 Peter 5:8
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—
- Colossians 2:8
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies41
On this chapter
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- Creation to New Creation
- David and Goliath
- Eden
- Eve: The Mother of All Living
- Fire
- God Dwelling with His People, from Eden to the New Jerusalem
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About Genesis
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Ambrose of Milan, On Paradise, 13.61-67; Bede, Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron); Bonaventure, Breviloquium, Part 3, Chapter 2; John Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON GENESIS 16.11; John Chrysostom, Commentary (church-history corpus); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Philo of Alexandria, QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ON GENESIS, I.