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In the Book of Genesis, God was the hierarchy and the humans remained sinners or separated from God. He punished his first creations for eating, he then flooded the earth to remove all evil and only his true followers survived. He was shown as a "bad" person throughout Genesis. Every one was to fear our great creator.
Although, in essence, he was the superior being and his creations were the lower race. They were not to fear him, but to become closer to him and to see him as a superior being. The book of Genesis proved that in every chapter and in every verse. There was a separation of God (the master) and his creations (the followers), which were humans and all living things. Genesis was not to prove God as "good" or "bad" nor was it meant that his followers was to fear him but Genesis was to prove that God was a superior being over all living creations on Earth. He was proved as a creator of the universe, which made him superior over all other living things.
Throughout the text of Genesis, and especially evident in Chapter 3, there is a system which God has set up to indicate the proper relationships of his creations between each other and with him. An analysis of this reoccurring theme will help to establish that God's intended system is a hierarchy in which there is an assigning of "followers" and "masters, " with God having the final hierarchy. This motif was first introduced in chapter 1 of Genesis where God sees that his creations are "good, " already establishing a higher standard for them. In the system that follows, the hierarchy is with God as the creator; then humans as followers to God.
The followers were put in charge of ruling all the "lesser creatures; " and all animals, which fed on the vegetation of the land. We see that the intention of the authors was not to promote a belief in equality or fear, but rather to show the principle of a highly organized structure separating those who serve and those who rule. Chapter 3 discusses the fall of both man and woman by God who asserts and maintains the relationships within the hierarchy. In response to their actions, God punishes Adam, Eve, and the serpent. It is also interesting to note that when God approaches, then questions Adam about whether or not he ate the fruit, his advance implies that God will take Adam's word first over Eve's, and over all other creatures. We see distinct levels of importance among the three: God values the man's word first, as he is created in the likeness of him; the women second, since she was made from Adam, and the serpent, whom God will hear last, because he was of lesser importance.
The serpent was also evil, which God knew the whole time. When Adam responds to God's inquiry, he tells God of how Eve had handed the fruit to him instead of accepting any form of responsibility. Adam replied, "The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. " (67) Adam, instead of accepting the responsibility for his actions, blames both Eve and God for his unfortunate actions. Likewise, when Eve receives the blame, she attributes her poor judgment to the serpent, which she claims "the serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. " (67) When it comes the serpent's turn, the blame can not be shifted to another since according to the two humans, he is the source for their lapse of judgment as a tempter, which proves his evil.
In addition, God attributes the least credibility to him because of his apparent favoritism towards humankind. Through this show of favoritism, the authors reveal a set structure that God has already assigned to each of his creations. While God had warned Adam that the tree would bring him death, God did not mean actual physical death, but rather he meant spiritual death. As soon as Adam ate the fruit, his innocence was lost and his relationship with God, which had been one of fulfillment and reward, had been violated. In addition, now that "the eyes of both of them were opened... " they viewed their God with fear. Nevertheless, what lead Adam and Eve to eat the fruit of knowledge was a lack of judgment at the moment and curiosity.
Yet, the severity of the punishment is reversed according to God's hierarchy. God begins by designating the proper positions for each of the three. The serpent was put in the most submissive position; it was fated to crawl on its belly and eat the dirt of the ground. God also created a natural enmity between the serpent and Eve.
Yet in God's hierarchy Eve in addition to Adam is set above all living creatures, which is hinted by the fact that the snake can only strike at the heel, while Eve and her brood will strike at the serpent's head, the heel being lesser than the head. Because Eve had persuaded Adam to eat the fruit, her pain in childbirth was dramatically increased as punishment. In addition, for her wrongly taking hierarchy over Adam who had superior knowledge to her own, and making the decision for herself and her husband that she would eat, she is made subject to Adam for the remainder of her life. As for Adam, he was made to toil the landscape "until he returns to the earth. " (67) These punishments apply to, not only the first man, woman, and serpent, but also all their generations to follow. In humankind's alienation from God, they are given new roles and instructions to follow as they are banished from Eden. While Adam and Eve still follow the word of God, their former relationship has been replaced by a fear of the creator and his power.
Mankind violates this sacred relationship held with God by committing the first sin; the attempt of separation from one has designated position as followers. Acting on their own, Adam and Eve believe that they can alter this relationship that they hold with God, by leaving their position as God's followers and become his equals. However, the two face the consequences of their actions and are driven to a separation between themselves and God. Humans are then removed from Eden and are given the additional tasks of toiling hard and laboring over the land in order to yield a few crops.
Their lowered state of being arises from their failure to keep their role in the divine hierarchy. Separation leads to intense consequences. God's intended lesson forbids the violation of the proper relationship between followers and superior. This action translated into sin. Separation is also associated with death, pain, and punishment. The banishment of the first two humans from Eden, the pain of separation of offspring from mother during childbirth, and the pain that will accompany the separation of husband and wife are a few examples.
Genesis relates that the essence of death is separation. There was a spiritual alienation between man and his creator, where before there had been harmony, friendship and love. Now Adam has asserted his independence of God, and that separation is spiritual death for his soul. Genesis also talks of how death is the separation of body and soul. Here we see that the body is the soul's subordinate, and disruption that would result in death. Furthermore, it can be argued that the purpose of religion serves to bring one closer to God, an attempt to reconnect that lost relationship that humankind once shared with God.
We see that sin causes humankind to separate slowly from the existing relationship we have with God. The conception of hierarchy in Genesis is constructed around the proper relationship shared between master and servant. When this relationship cannot be maintained, there is disorder and what results is sin, which is accompanied by severe consequences. Therefore, unity defines God's ideal, whereas separation results in instability that can lead to death. The further we separate from God, the closer we approach death or eternal damnation, which is the separation of the spiritual soul and the body. Similarly, suffering is also associated with sin and separation, for when you separate a unity of people into individual elements, you get conflict and opposition, which translates to hardship, strife, and death.
Genesis attempts to remedy these problems by teaching that only the maintenance of order and the set hierarchy can prevent separation and sin from being introduced into life here on earth. Genesis does not teach that God is a "bad" person or that Adam and Eve were bad, it teaches that God is a hierarchy, and we are to serve him. Separation from our hierarchy is a punishment and fear of his punishment, but not to fear God. Work Cited Mack, Maynard, The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces, W. W. Norton & Company, Inc, 1995.
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Research essay sample on Adam And Eve Book Of Genesis
