And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:

GENESIS 3:2KJV
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Genesis 3:2 (KJV)

What does Genesis 3:2 mean?

Genesis 3:2 records the woman (Eve) responding to the serpent by saying that she and Adam are allowed to eat the fruit from the trees in the garden. Eve is clarifying that the fruit of the garden’s trees is generally permitted to them.

In this scene, Eve is speaking directly to the serpent, who has just questioned her about what God has said regarding the trees in the garden. Her answer shows that she understands God’s permission about eating from the trees, setting up the contrast with the one tree that is off-limits. This exchange is part of the larger conversation that leads to the temptation and fall.

The Hebrew behind Genesis 3:2

  • אִשָּׁה (ishah, “woman”): This word refers specifically to Eve, emphasizing her role as the one engaging with the serpent. The text focuses on her as the spokesperson for humanity in this moment.
  • נָחָשׁ (nachash, “serpent”): The word used for serpent can mean snake, but it also carries connotations of something crafty or cunning in the Hebrew context, hinting at the serpent’s role in the story.
  • פְּרִי (peri, “fruit”): This word simply means fruit, but in the context of Genesis, it represents the good things God has provided. The permission to eat this fruit highlights God’s generosity.
  • עֵץ (etz, “trees”): The plural form here shows that the allowance covers all the trees in the garden, not just one or two, underlining the abundance available to Adam and Eve.
  • גָּן (gan, “garden”): This word refers to the specific, enclosed garden—Eden—where Adam and Eve live, emphasizing the setting as a place of provision and boundaries.

Why Genesis 3:2 matters

  • Genesis 3:2 clarifies that God’s original command was generous, allowing Adam and Eve to eat freely from almost every tree, not restricting them except for one.
  • The verse sets up the contrast between God’s permission and the single prohibition, which becomes crucial in the following verses when the serpent challenges Eve’s understanding.
  • By showing Eve’s knowledge of God’s command, Genesis 3:2 highlights the deliberate nature of the choice that follows, making the coming disobedience more significant.

Where else these words appear

“serpent” Hebrew H5175 · used in 28 verses

  • Genesis 3:1 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?
  • Numbers 21:9 And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.
  • Ecclesiastes 10:11 Surely the serpent will bite without enchantment; and a babbler is no better.

“garden” Hebrew H1588 · used in 37 verses

  • Genesis 2:8 And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.
  • Deuteronomy 11:10 For the land, whither thou goest in to possess it, is not as the land of Egypt, from whence ye came out, where thou sowedst thy seed, and wateredst it with thy foot, as a garden of herbs:
  • Song of Solomon 8:13 Thou that dwellest in the gardens, the companions hearken to thy voice: cause me to hear it.

“fruit” Hebrew H6529 · used in 107 verses

  • Genesis 1:11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.
  • Nehemiah 10:37 And that we should bring the firstfruits of our dough, and our offerings, and the fruit of all manner of trees, of wine and of oil, unto the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God; and the tithes of our ground unto the Levites, that the same Levites might have the tithes in all the cities of our tillage.
  • Isaiah 37:31 And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward: