Something really bad happened today, and I wasn't able to finish it. Here's what I got done last night.
The Fall of Mankind
Genesis 2:26 - 3:24
This is a continuation of the story of the creation of mankind.
Overview:
The snake is introduced, and he convinces Eve to eat from the tree of knowledge. Adam also eats from the tree, and they are no longer innocent. God punishes Adam and Eve for disobeying him, and the snake for convincing Adam and Eve to do the wrong thing. God then expells Adam and Eve from the garden.
The snake:
The snake, sometimes called a serpent, is described as being highly intelligent and capable of speech. From later verses it can be assumed that it did not always crawl with its body, but instead walked on legs like other reptiles. As an interesting note, some snakes (pythons and boas) do have vestigial hind legs where the tail and body portion meet. The explanation for this is that modern snakes are descended from four-legged reptiles. Fossil species of snakes have more developed legs, and the species Najash rionegrina actually has functional legs and a pelvis.
The snake is often thought to be Satan. This idea in itself is taken differently by different groups, and ideas range from very literal to very metaphorical. Some believe that Satan had literally transformed into a snake; some believe that Satan possessed the snake; others view any evil action as the work of Satan; and yet others take it to only be representative of Satan and his temptation of mankind. All viewpoints, however, are used to support and explain ideas in modern Christian theology.
This interpretation came about from verses in the Revelation of John which link the great dragon, the ancient serpent, the devil, and Satan as the same being. See Revelation 12:9 and Revelation 20:2-3.
It is most likely that the author originally did not intend the snake to be a form of Satan, however.
The temptation:
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