For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
English Standard Version (ESV)
The serpent twists God's prohibition by suggesting God is withholding something amazing: the profound knowledge of good and evil, which would elevate humanity to a god-like status. This wasn't just about gaining information; it was a seductive promise of divine understanding and autonomy, appealing to the desire to be like God.
For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
English Standard Version (ESV)
The serpent, a cunning creature, is tempting Eve to disobey God by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. After questioning God's command and denying the promised death, the serpent now promises Adam and Eve a higher state of being if they eat the forbidden fruit. This sets up the fateful choice presented to Eve, who is considering the temptation based on its perceived benefits rather than God's clear warning.
The serpent didn't just offer forbidden fruit; it offered a new identity. What was so tempting about becoming 'like God'?
The serpent’s primary temptation wasn't about taste or even knowledge itself, but about gaining a divine status.
Aspiration or Arrogance?
Eve was promised opened eyes and greater knowledge. What kind of knowledge did she truly gain?
The serpent promised enlightenment, but the 'knowledge' gained was a bitter, painful revelation.
The Cost of 'Knowing'
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Understand the original words
yada · Hebrew Verb
To perceive, experience, or gain experiential wisdom. In a fallen context, it implies a desire to determine moral standards independently of God’s revelation.
tob va'ra · Hebrew Noun Phrase
The totality of moral qualities, actions, and consequences. Seeking to define these independently of God is the root of autonomy and the fall of humanity.
c. 4000 BC— this verse
Creation of Adam and Eve
God creates the first humans, Adam and Eve, and places them in the Garden of Eden, giving them dominion over creation and one commandment: not to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
c. 4000 BC
The Fall of Man
The serpent (Satan) tempts Eve, who then tempts Adam. They disobey God's command by eating the forbidden fruit, introducing sin and its consequences into the world.
c. 4000 BC
Expulsion from Eden
God banishes Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden to prevent them from eating from the Tree of Life and living eternally in their fallen state. Cherubim and a flaming sword guard the way.
This passage echoes the Genesis account by highlighting that Adam was not deceived, but the woman was, drawing a parallel to the manipulative tactics used in the Fall where deception led to disobedience.
2 Corinthians 11:3Paul's concern that the Corinthians might be corrupted from their devotion to Christ, 'just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning,' directly links the serpent's deceptive strategy in Genesis 3 to ongoing spiritual dangers.
1 John 2:16This verse describes the 'desire of the flesh and the desire of the eyes and pride in possessions,' which reflects the very temptations Eve faced when looking at the forbidden fruit: its appearance ('pleasing to the eyes'), its perceived benefit ('good for food'), and the allure of becoming 'like God' ('pride in possessions' of divine knowledge).
Isaiah 14:14The serpent's promise, 'you will be like God, knowing good and evil,' mirrors the arrogant boast of the King of Babylon, 'I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will raise my throne on high... I will make myself like the Most High,' revealing a consistent prideful desire to usurp divine authority.
gillGenesis 3:5: "For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil."
For God doth know,.... Or "but (k) God doth know", who knows all things, and has foreknowledge of all future events; he foreknows what will be the consequence of this event, eating the fruit of this tree, that it would be so far from issuing in death, which he has threatened, that the effect of it would be a clearer understanding, and a greater degree…
wesleyGenesis 3:1-5: "Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?"
3:1-5 We have here an account of the temptation wherewith Satan assaulted our first parents, and which proved fatal to them. And here observe, The tempter, the devil in the shape of a serpent. Multitudes of them fell; but this that attacked our first parents, was surely the prince of the devils. Wh…
The serpent twists God's prohibition by suggesting God is withholding something amazing: the profound knowledge of good and evil, which would elevate humanity to a god-like status. This wasn't just about gaining information; it was a seductive promise of divine understanding and autonomy, appealing to the desire to be like God.
The serpent, a cunning creature, is tempting Eve to disobey God by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. After questioning God's command and denying the promised death, the serpent now promises Adam and Eve a higher state of being if they eat the forbidden fruit. This sets up the fateful choice presented to Eve, who is considering the temptation based on its perceived benefits rather than God's clear warning.
The serpent, a cunning creature, is tempting Eve to disobey God by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. After questioning God's command and denying the promised death, the serpent now promises Adam and Eve a higher state of being if they eat the forbidden fruit. This sets up the fateful choice presented to Eve, who is considering the temptation based on its perceived benefits rather than God's clear warning.
"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 twists God's prohibition by suggesting God is withholding something amazing: the profound knowledge of good and evil, which would elevate humanity to a god-like status. This wasn't just a…
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Last reviewed October 2026