In the beginning of the world, God created everything—the heavens, the earth, the animals, and all the beautiful plants. In the midst of all this, God created a wonderful place called the Garden of Eden. It was a beautiful garden, full of colorful flowers, sweet fruits, and clear rivers. All kinds of trees grew there, including two very special ones: the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
In this beautiful garden lived a man named Adam. God had made Adam out of dust and breathed life into him. Adam was allowed to take care of the garden and give it names for the animals that God had created. Nevertheless, Adam was sometimes alone, and God noticed that. He wanted Adam to have someone to share his joy with.
So God took a rib from Adam while he was sleeping, and from it He created a woman. Adam called her Eve, and they were very happy together. God told them, “You can eat from all the trees in the garden except one—the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat of it, you will die.”
Adam and Eve lived happily in the garden and rejoiced in the miracles that God had created. One day, while they were walking in the garden, a clever-looking snake came to Eva. The serpent was very cunning and began to deceive Eve. “Did God really say that you must not eat from any tree in the garden?” asked the serpent.
Eve answered, “We may eat of everything except the one tree. Because if we eat from it or even touch it, we will die.” The serpent said deftly: “You will not die! God knows that if you eat of it, you will become wise like Him.”
Eva looked at the tree. The fruit looked delicious, and she wished to be smart. So she took a fruit and ate from it. She also gave Adam something to eat, and he ate it too. At that moment, they realized that they had made mistakes. They felt different and were ashamed.
When God came into the garden, Adam and Eve hid. God called them and asked, “Where are you?” Adam replied that they hid because they were afraid. God knew what they had done, and He was sad. Because of their disobedience, Adam and Eve had to leave the wonderful garden. But God promised that one day he would send a Savior who would renew everything.
Message of history
God loves us and wants us to listen to what He says, because He knows what is best for us. If we make mistakes, we can come to Him, because He is always ready to forgive us.
Bible passage
The story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden is found in 1. Moses chapters 2 and 3. Here are the relevant verses in the Schlachter 2000 translation:
Genesis 2:7-25:
“Then the Lord God formed man, dust from the earth, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; thus man became a living soul. And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden towards the east; and he put there the man whom he had made. And the Lord God caused all kinds of trees to sprout out of the earth, pleasant to look at and good for food, and the tree of life in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And a river went forth from Eden to water the garden; from there it divided and became four main streams. The name of the first is Pishon; it flows around the whole land of Hawila, where the gold is, and the gold of this land is good; there is Bedolach resin and the gemstone Shoham. And the name of the second stream is Gihon; it flows around the whole land of Kush. And the name of the third stream is Hiddekel; it flows east of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates. And the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may eat of all the trees of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat; for the day you eat of it, you must surely die. And the Lord God said, “It is not good for man to be alone; I will make him a helper who suits him! And the Lord God formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field, and all the birds of the air, and brought them to man to see what he would call them; and as man would call them, every living being, so should be his name. Then man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the air, and to all the beasts of the field; but for man he found no helper who would have suited him. Then the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on the man, and he fell asleep; and he took one of his ribs and closed her place with flesh. And the Lord God built a woman out of the rib that he had taken from the man, and he brought her to the man. Then the man said, “This is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called “Männin”[1], for she has been taken from the man! Therefore a man will leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife, and they will be “one flesh.” And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and they were not ashamed.”
Genesis 3:1-24:
“But the serpent was more cunning than all the beasts of the field, which the Lord God had made; And she said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You shall not eat of all the trees of the garden?'” Then the woman said to the serpent, “We eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘Do not eat of it or touch it, lest you die.’ Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die at all.” But God knows that in the day that you eat of it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing what is good and what is evil. And the woman saw that the tree was good to eat, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and a desirable tree, because it makes the wise, and she took some of its fruit and ate; and she also gave to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. Then their eyes were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they tied fig leaves around them and made aprons for themselves. And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden when the day was cool. Then the man and his wife hid themselves from the face of the Lord God in the midst of the trees of the garden. And the Lord God called the man and said to him, “Where are you?” Then he said, “I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid, for I am naked; That’s why I hid myself! And he said, “Who told you that you were naked?” Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat? Then the man said, “The woman whom you have joined me gave me of the tree, and I ate.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “Why have you done this?” The woman said, “The serpent has seduced me, so I ate.” Then the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, you will be cursed among all the cattle and among all the beasts of the field; you shall crawl on your belly, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your seed and her seed; he will bruise your head, and you will stab him in the heel. And he said to the woman, “I will cause you great trouble if you conceive; you shall bear children with pain, and your desire shall be directed towards your husband, and he shall have dominion over you. And he said to Adam, “Because you obeyed your wife’s voice and ate from the tree from which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it.’ — let the ground be cursed for your sake; you shall feed on him with toil all the days of your life; He shall carry thorns and thistles for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. With the sweat of your brow you shall eat your bread until you return to the earth, for from it you have been taken; for dust you are, and to dust you will return! And Adam called his wife Eve, for she became the mother of all the living. And the Lord God made garments of fur for Adam and his wife, and clothed them with them. And the Lord God said, “Behold, man has become one of us, that he may know what is good and evil.” But now that he should not stretch out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat and live forever. Therefore the Lord God sent him out of the Garden of Eden to work the soil from which he was taken. So he drove the man away; and he caused the cherubim and the flaming sword to turn east of the Garden of Eden, to guard the way to the tree of life.”
