“But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”

Genesis 2:17 (KJV)

The story

The LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. God planted a garden eastward in Eden and put the man there. Out of the ground he grew every tree pleasant to the sight and good for food, and in the midst of the garden stood the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. A river went out of Eden to water the garden and parted into four heads. Genesis 2:7-14

God put the man in the garden to dress it and to keep it, and gave him one command: of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat, but not of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. Then God said it was not good that the man should be alone. He brought every beast and fowl to Adam to name, but no help meet for him was found among them. So God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, took one of his ribs, and made a woman. Genesis 2:15-22

The serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field, and he began with a question: Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? The woman answered, adding that they must not touch it. The serpent then contradicted God outright: Ye shall not surely die. He promised that their eyes would be opened and they would be as gods, knowing good and evil. The woman saw the tree was good for food, pleasant to the eyes, and to be desired to make one wise. She took, and ate, and gave to her husband, and he ate. Genesis 3:1-6

Their eyes were opened, they knew they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together. When they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, they hid. God called, Where art thou? Adam blamed the woman and God who gave her; the woman blamed the serpent. God cursed the serpent and promised that the seed of the woman would bruise his head. He multiplied the woman's sorrow, cursed the ground for Adam's sake, and sent them out of Eden. But first he made them coats of skins and clothed them, and he set Cherubims and a flaming sword to keep the way of the tree of life. Genesis 3:7-24

Quiz

1. What did God breathe into the man's nostrils?

   • A song
   • The breath of life
   • A warning
   • The wind

2. Which two trees are named as being in the midst of the garden?

   • The fig and the olive
   • The vine and the palm
   • The tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil
   • The cedar and the oak

3. Into how many heads did the river of Eden part?

   • Two
   • Three
   • Four
   • Seven

4. Why did God put the man in the garden?

   • To dress it and to keep it
   • To rest only
   • To build a city
   • To guard the gate

5. What did God say was not good?

   • That the garden was empty
   • That the man should be alone
   • That the ground was dry
   • That the animals had no names

6. How did the serpent begin his approach to the woman?

   • With a threat
   • With a gift
   • With a question about what God had said
   • With silence

7. What did the serpent tell the woman would happen?

   • Ye shall not surely die
   • Ye shall be cast out
   • Ye shall be hungry
   • Ye shall find the river

8. What did Adam and Eve sew together when their eyes were opened?

   • Fig leaves
   • Reeds
   • Wool
   • Palm branches

9. Whom did Adam blame when God questioned him?

   • The serpent
   • The woman whom God gave to be with him
   • Himself
   • No one

10. What did God place at the east of the garden of Eden?

    • A wall of stone
    • A river
    • Cherubims and a flaming sword
    • A gate of brass