The penalty of sin in the garden, a long-standing crux of the fall narrative, presents the reader with surprise when the snake appears to be right (more than once), contradicting God’s stated command. Numerous commentators have sided with the snake and assumed what appears to be a straightforward understanding of the penalty (e.g. J Barr, The Garden of Eden), jeopardizing the truthfulness of the divine command. The issue is not simply the right understanding of the penalty, however, which is necessarily clarified. Rather, unexpected ambiguity of the penalty overlays Eve’s cavalier rehearsal, the reader’s impression, and the snake’s assertion. The immediate outcome and God’s evaluation of the humans being “like” him (3:22) appears to verify in some fashion the snake’s claim regarding their divine status. Many have noticed the double entendre and half-truths that the snake presented as well as the ambiguity in the command (e.g. G Wenham, WBC, Genesis, 74).
Though the right understanding of the text is crucial, the concern here is the purpose for the ambiguity. What function does that ambiguity play in the initial command as well as the narrative telling beyond the temptation and fall of the first humans? This paper will contend that ambiguity operates both for the testing (and so temptation) of Eve (and Adam) but also for the reader. It is not simply that she misinterpreted the penalty, nor that the snake was deceptive. The readers are also expected to feel the conflict, requiring them to reconsider the narrative to fill the gaps and reconcile the claims of the snake, the command of God, and the outcomes of the narrative. Rethinking God’s command, the temptation, and the conflict between faith and perceptions highlights every believer’s response to God’s command, and the reader’s own experience. Not only do temptation and faith wrestle in the conflict between perception and command, but temptation is heightened, and faith soars higher in unexpected and unperceived ambiguity leading to unexplained conflict of expectations.