Adam and Eve: Required reading for English III public school students in Texas

Genesis 2-3, New International Reader's Version

By beginning with chapter 2 of Genesis, the Texas school board tried to avoid the obvious contradictions between the first and second creation stories. But the contradictions are obvious when placed in their proper biblical context.

Here are the Bible in Fewer Words episodes for this reading.

Episode 1a: The two creations

Genesis 1-2

The first creation

1 In the beginning God created heaven and earth. ² The earth was formless, the ocean was dark, and the spirit of God moved on the surface of the waters.

^3-5 On the first day, God said, "Let there be light." He saw that the light was good and separated it from darkness. He called the light "day" and the darkness "night".

^6-8 On the second day, God said, "Let there be a firmament to separate the water above the firmament from the water below." God called the firmament "Heaven."

^9-10 God said, "Let the waters be gathered together and let dry land appear." God called dry land "Earth" and the gathered waters "Seas." He saw it and thought it was good.

^11-13 On the third day, God said, "Let grass, herbs, and fruit trees come out of the earth." God saw it and thought it was good.

^14-15 On the fourth day, God said,

Let there be lights in the firmament to divide day from night.

Let them be for signs to mark the seasons, days, and years.

And to give light to the earth.

¹⁶ God made two big lights: the sun to rule the day, and the moon to rule the night. He made the stars also.

^17-18 God set the lights in the firmament to provide light for the earth. And to rule over the day and night. God saw it and thought it was good.

^20-25 On the fifth day, God said, "Let moving creatures and birds come out of the earth." And God created whales, birds, beasts, living creatures, and creeping things. He saw it and thought it was good.

God said to the animals, "Have as many offspring as you can. Fill the earth and seas."

²⁶ On the sixth day, God said,

Let us make man in our image to look like us.

Let them have dominion over every other living thing.

²⁷ God created humans, male and female, in his own image.

²⁸ God said to the humans he created,

Have as many children as possible, overrun the earth, and do whatever you like with all the other living things.

²⁹ I have given you every plant as food for you.

³⁰ I have also given every plant as food for the animals.

³¹ God saw everything he created and thought it was very good.

2 ^1-3 God finished creating things on the sixth day. So on the seventh day, he rested. He made the seventh day holy, because he rested on that day.

The second creation

^4-5 In the beginning, plants didn't exist, because God hadn't yet made it rain, and there wasn't a man to till the ground.

⁷ God formed a man from dust and breathed life into his nose.

⁸ God planted a garden in Eden, and put the man in it.

⁹ God made all the trees that are nice to look at and good to eat. Among these were:

The tree of life in the center of the garden,

and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

¹⁵ God put the man in the garden "to dress and to keep it."

^16-17 God said to the man,

You may eat from every tree in the garden, except for the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The day you eat from that tree, you will die.

¹⁸ God said,

It's not good for the man to be alone. I'll make a help meet for him.

¹⁹ From the ground, God made all of the animals and brought them to Adam to see what he would name them.

²⁰ Adam named all of the animals, but none of them appealed to him as a "help meet."

^21-22 So God made a woman from one of Adam's ribs.

²³ Adam said, "She'll be called 'woman' since she was taken out of man."

²⁴ That's why a man leaves his father and mother and becomes one flesh with his wife.

²⁵ Adam and the woman were both naked, and they weren't ashamed.

Episode 1b: The Garden of Eden

Genesis 3

3 ¹ Of all the beasts that God made, the serpent was the most clever. He said to the woman,

Did God say you shouldn't eat from every tree in the garden?

^2-3 The woman said to the serpent,

We may eat the fruit of the trees in the garden.

Except for the tree in the middle of the garden.

God said, "Don't eat from it or touch it, or you will die."

⁴ The serpent said,

You won't die.

⁵ God knows that when you eat from that tree you will be like gods, knowing good and evil.

⁶ When the woman saw that the tree was good food, was nice looking, and would make her wise, she picked and ate its fruit. She gave some to her husband, and he ate it.

⁷ After eating the fruit, they knew they were naked. So they sewed some fig leaves together for aprons.

⁸ Adam and woman heard the voice of God, who was walking in the garden during the cool of the day. So they hid in the trees.

⁹ God said, "Where are you?"

¹⁰ Adam replied,

I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked. So I hid myself.

¹¹ God said to Adam,

Who told you that you are naked?

Have you eaten from the tree I told you not to eat from?

¹² The man said,

The woman you gave me, gave me the fruit and I ate it.

¹³ God said to the woman, "What have you done?"

The woman said, "The serpent fooled me, and I ate."

¹⁴ God said to the serpent,

You are cursed more than all animals.

From now on you'll have to crawl on your belly and eat dust.

¹⁵ You and the woman will be enemies, as will your seed and hers.

It will bruise your head, and you will bruise his heel.

¹⁶ God said to the woman,

I will multiply your sorrow and make you suffer in childbirth.

You will desire your husband, and he will rule over you.

^17-18 God said to Adam,

Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree, I will curse the ground, make thorns and thistles grow, and force you to eat it all your life.

¹⁹ You will work hard for your food until you return to the ground. For you are dust and to dust you will return.

²⁰ Adam named his wife "Eve" because she was the mother of all the living.

²¹ God made skin coats for Adam and Eve.

²² God said,

The man has become one of us to know good and evil.

Now, before he eats from the tree of life and lives forever....

²³ So God expelled Adam from the garden of Eden, and installed cherubim with flaming swords to guard access to the tree of life.

Questions for Students

1. The Book of Genesis begins with two contradictory creation accounts (1:1-2:3 and 2:4-3:24). For example, in the first account, God created humans (male and female) after he finished making all of the other animals. In the second, God made one man ("Adam") and then created all of the animals, and then a woman.

   If the Bible is the word of God, why would it start off with two contradictory creation accounts?

2. In the first creation account, God created all of the animals, both male and female, to provide a "help meet" (or spouse) for Adam. But none of the animals appealed to Adam. So God created a woman from Adam's rib.

   Did God really think one of the animals would make a good "help meat" for Adam?

3. Are we really supposed to believe that there was a talking serpent in the Garden of Eden?

4. In verse 2:17 God said that if Adam eats from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, then the day that he does so, he will die. But Adam eats the forbidden fruit and yet lives for another 930 years (5:5).

   Did God lie to Adam about the tree of knowledge?

5. In verse 3:22, after Adam ate from the treee of knowledge, God says to himself (themself?) that "the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:" So God expelled Adam and Eve from the garden before they could eat from the tree of life and live forever.

   Did God think Adam had become a God like him (them)?

   Was God really worried that Adam would eat from the Tree of Life and live forever?