The actions and responses of Satan and Eve struck me as unusual based on my knowledge of Genesis. On of the main issues I had was the clear presence of darker human emotions before Adam and Eve were exposed to the fruit of the tree of knowledge. God gives a warning to Adam about Satan. He tells him about the dangers of temptations. On page 893 lines 296-305 Adam conveys this warning to Eve, "For he who tempts, though in vain, at least asperses the tempted with dishonor foul, supposed not incorruptible of faith, not proof against temptation: thou thyself with scorn and anger wouldst resent the offering wrong, though ineffectual found; misdeem not then, if such affront I labor to avert from thee alone, which on us both at once the enemy, though bold, will hardly dare, or daring, first on me th'assault shall light." Even if Satan is not successful in tempting the couple, experiencing the temptation corrupts them. Adam, conscious of this, tries unsuccessfully to have Eve remain by his side and under his protection. The fact that the two have an argument is unusual because they are supposed to be free from the negative emotions of humans at this point. This may be the first sign that knowledge has lead them towards doubt. Even knowing about the existence of temptation has caused flaws within their characters.
Surprised as I was at this, I assumed that it could be attributed to Satan's presence already working to tempt their trust in God and each other. However, since he is known as "The Deceiver" and the one who causes the temptation I was alarmed at his reaction to Eve as she worked in the flower garden. On page 896 lines 455-472 Satan himself is tempted by Eve."...That space the Evil One abstracted stood from his own evil, and for a the time remained stupidly good..." He is so overcome with temptation that he has to stop all that he is doing in order to master himself. Strangely enough he is attributed with doing good because he overcame the desire to attack and rape Eve.
Was Eve's first sin actually disobeying the words of her husband and leaving his side? Does the presence of any knowledge equate to corruption and ungodliness according to this passage? Are the Angels, which include Satan and God, beyond human emotions like temptation and jealousy? Do we ignore the fact that God lied to Adam and Eve about the tree killing them, or is this an example of the need to distance humans from knowledge? How does God not immediately notice Satan's presence and remove him from the garden?
Scott, I think that Eve's first sin was eating the forbidden fruit, not leaving her husband's side. I think the knowledge that she shouldn't eat the forbidden fruit tempted Eve even more. You can tell after she leaves her husband's side that she likes to walk the line of breaking the rules. Knowledge was obviously considered a bad thing according to this passage since it led to the downfall of man. I think that God is very beyond human emotions like temptation and jealousy. However, Satan is very affected by temptation and jealousy. Satan was very jealous of God and that's how he ended up in Hell in the first place. I think that God didn't intend for humans to be all knowing, and that's why He tries to distance humans from knowledge. I'm sure that God knew that Satan was in the garden and was going to tempt Eve. God wanted Eve to be able to make the right decision on her own without His intervention.
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