the book of Genesis in the Holy Bible. Let us begin with a brief
outline of the story. We are told that God warned Adam that if he eats
from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he will surely die.
This was communicated also to Eve. The serpent, however, being
deceptive,promised Eve that they will not die from eating it.So she
ate the fruit, and gave also to her husband. As a result of eating the
fruit, they realized for the first time that they were naked, so they
covered themselves with fig leaves. When they heard the sound of God
walking in the garden in the cool of the day, they hid from Him among
the trees. He called out to them asking where they were and asked
whether they had eaten from the forbidden tree. Adam blamed Eve, and
Eve blamed the serpent. God then cursed all three of them. The serpent
shall henceforth crawl on its belly and eat dust. The woman shall
suffer in childbearing and remain under the domination of her husband.
The man shall have to sweat for his living until he returns to dust.
God then said: "The man has now become likeone of us, knowing good and
evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from
the tree of life and eat, and live forever." So God banished him from
the garden and placed a flaming sword to prevent access to the tree of
life (Condensed from Genesis 2:17 - 3:22).
Many people misunderstand this story to mean that physical death is a
consequence for sin. But the biblical scholars who are aware ofall its
implications explainotherwise. The Interpreter's One Volume Commentary
on the Bible explains that death here means separation from God, the
giver of "life" (p.6).
The reason for this other explanation is the obviousfact that in the
story Adam did not die. He livedon for 930 years (see Genesis 5:5).
And when God spoke of his eventual death, He mentioned it not as a
consequence of sin, but as a natural outcome of the fact that Adam was
created from dust - and to dust he must return (see Genesis 3:19).
When a few verses later itis stated that God deprived Adam in access
to the tree of life many people again conclude that because of sin
Adam was deprived of everlasting life. But this too is not what the
book of Genesis says. The story goes that once Adam gained knowledge
of good and evil, God was concerned that he may now gain eternal life
also (see Genesis 3:22). The Abingdon Bible Commentary explains
thatAdam was deprived of eternal life because he had already acquired
some power, namely knowledge, and God was concerned lest Adam should
acquire more, namely eternal life, and become a threat to God (see the
Abingdon Bible Commentary, p.223).
It is clear from the story that even if Adam was promised death he was
given a lesser penalty, and death must be taken as the maximum
possible penalty - that, obviously, was not given. Elsewhere in the
book of Genesis, when God killed certain men for their wickedness, it
meant instant death (see Genesis 38: 7, 10). But the death that comes
as the natural end to physical life is not a penalty for sin. It is
better to understand that God in His mercy gave a lesser penalty to
Adam than to suppose that God in His anger gave more penalties in
addition to what He stated initially. This is why Reverend W. K.
Lowther Clarke explained in his Bible commentary that God relented and
gave Adam alesser penalty (see the Concise Bible Commentary1952,
p.343). For the Qur'anic perspective on the Genesis story, see
question 17.
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