Week 3 Story: Before The Punishment of Adam and Eve
Upon falling to the temptation of the serpent in the Garden of Eden, everything changed...
Not only did everything change for the lives of Adam and Eve, but for the world and the lives of those yet to come.
Following the disobedience of Adam and Eve, the two stood naked and were afraid of God. They quickly covered themselves in woven fig leaves and hid in the trees with fear.
Previous to their hiding, Adam overheard the punishment that was coming for him and Eve. The angels were shocked that he was still in the garden and not dead after acting against God. Instead of commanding Adam to immediate death, God told Adam that he would die in 930 years, which is not very long when comparing it to the eternity that he was granted previously.
After hearing this, Adam and Eve hid from God in the garden as they awaited their coming punishment.
Once God approached Adam and Eve, he called out to them, "Where art thou?".
Although God knew where the two were in hiding, his question was meant to bring to light the difference of not only Adam's change in height, as he shrunk tremendously after the fall, but to also show how his lordship was divine as compared to the serpent's.
Offering Adam the opportunity for repentance, God asked Adam if he had eaten fruit from the forbidden tree in the garden.
Rather than admitting to the sinful action, Adam instead turned the fault to Eve and claimed that she was the one that tempted him to eat the forbidden fruit.
God then turned to Eve with the same question, and she responded in a similar manner, denying the sin.
Upon both denying God's opportunity to confess their sins without punishment, God was disappointed and, thus, sin was introduced into the world.
After making Adam and Eve aware of their punishments, He turned to the serpent, who he had no sympathy for whatsoever.
Rather than giving the serpent the same opportunity, He immediately punished the evil being by cutting off his hands and feet, preventing him from producing speech, sloughing off his skin, and making him aware that people would seek to kill him if they saw him.
God informed the serpent that he was initially created to be above all other animals, however because of his evil actions, he would forever eat dust.
Not only did the serpent not receive what he so desired, be he also lost what he had in the first place...
Author's Note: The idea behind this story came from the original story, The Punishment, from the Adam and Eve unit. In the original story, Adam and Eve are punished after falling into the temptation of the serpent. When Adam and Eve were created by God, he told the two that they could eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden except for one, which he told them would lead to their death. After being tempted by the serpent, however, the two were waiting to see their punishment from God, and that's what this story describes. I did not make many changes to the original story because I appreciate how it is told, however I included much more text, as compared to dialogue, in order to make the language easier to understand. In addition, I made the story much shorter and retold the parts of the story that I thought were most important.
Bibliography: "The Punishment" from The Legends of the Jews by Louis Ginzberg (1909): Book 1, Chapter 2 Adam.
Not only did everything change for the lives of Adam and Eve, but for the world and the lives of those yet to come.
Following the disobedience of Adam and Eve, the two stood naked and were afraid of God. They quickly covered themselves in woven fig leaves and hid in the trees with fear.
Previous to their hiding, Adam overheard the punishment that was coming for him and Eve. The angels were shocked that he was still in the garden and not dead after acting against God. Instead of commanding Adam to immediate death, God told Adam that he would die in 930 years, which is not very long when comparing it to the eternity that he was granted previously.
After hearing this, Adam and Eve hid from God in the garden as they awaited their coming punishment.
Once God approached Adam and Eve, he called out to them, "Where art thou?".
Although God knew where the two were in hiding, his question was meant to bring to light the difference of not only Adam's change in height, as he shrunk tremendously after the fall, but to also show how his lordship was divine as compared to the serpent's.
Offering Adam the opportunity for repentance, God asked Adam if he had eaten fruit from the forbidden tree in the garden.
Rather than admitting to the sinful action, Adam instead turned the fault to Eve and claimed that she was the one that tempted him to eat the forbidden fruit.
God then turned to Eve with the same question, and she responded in a similar manner, denying the sin.
Upon both denying God's opportunity to confess their sins without punishment, God was disappointed and, thus, sin was introduced into the world.
After making Adam and Eve aware of their punishments, He turned to the serpent, who he had no sympathy for whatsoever.
Rather than giving the serpent the same opportunity, He immediately punished the evil being by cutting off his hands and feet, preventing him from producing speech, sloughing off his skin, and making him aware that people would seek to kill him if they saw him.
God informed the serpent that he was initially created to be above all other animals, however because of his evil actions, he would forever eat dust.
Not only did the serpent not receive what he so desired, be he also lost what he had in the first place...
(Expulsion from Eden, Source: Wikimedia)
Bibliography: "The Punishment" from The Legends of the Jews by Louis Ginzberg (1909): Book 1, Chapter 2 Adam.
Hi Lindsay! I really enjoyed this story. I loved your take on the Adam and Eve story and the punishments mitigated by God. I think your decisions on what the most important parts of the story are are spot-on. Personally, my favorite part of the story has always been the punishment God brought upon the serpent, and I love the way you described it! The words were so descriptive and really brought the imagery to my head.
ReplyDeleteHi Lindsay!
ReplyDeleteIt was so fun and easy to read your story! It was short and sweet! I also loved how you kept your story close to the original story. The additional dialogue allowed your story to flow very nicely. I wonder why God did not hesitate in punishing the serpent. Did something previously happen between God and the serpent? I was surprised as to why God immediately cut the snake’s hands and feet off. It would be interesting to see the additional thoughts going through God’s mind. I was also curious about why Adam placed the blame on Eve. Why did they both lie? What if more thoughts of the characters could be included? This way, it would add further detail as to why things unfolded the way they did! Also, what if the punishments of Adam and Eve could be included? It would be interesting to see what punishments they receive and how they reacted. Hope this is helpful!
Hi Lindsay! I loved reading your story, and thought you did a fantastic job of telling the story of Adam and Eve. I especially loved how you added dialogue to make things more fluid and also more captivating. The imagery helped paint a picture in my mind, and I thought you dramatized the story very well. I also thought you characterized both Adam and Eve in ways that we're captivating and relatable.
ReplyDeleteLindsay,
ReplyDeleteI think you did a fantastic job of retelling the story in simpler terms. You made this story very easy to read and understand! I also think it was great that you focused on a part of the story that many people do not. You took an already great story and enhanced it to be even better. Great work!