Genesis 3:4

Gen 3:4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

Ver. 4. Ye shall not surely die.] He saith not, Dying ye shall not die, or, Surely ye shall not die; this had been too plain a contradiction to that word of God that had threatened assured death; but, Ye shall not die in dying; that is, It is not certain ye shall die. And this latter is more nice and ambiguous. She seems to doubt of the certainty of what God had said. He plainly and cleanly impugns it: whereas had God’s word abidden in her, she had overcome that wicked one. {1Jn 2:14} The word is compared to mustard seed, which being mixed with vinegar, is, they say, a sovereign medicine against serpents.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Gen 3:4-5. The tempter, finding that the woman began to doubt whether eating this fruit was a crime, and if it were, whether punishment would follow, now became more bold in his attack, and, giving God the lie direct, asserted roundly, “Ye shall not surely die.” So far from it, you shall have much advantage from eating of this tree. He suits the temptation to the pure state they were now in, proposing to them, not any carnal pleasure, but intellectual delights. 1st, Your eyes shall be opened — You shall have much more of the power and pleasure of contemplation than now you have: your intellectual views shall be extended, and you shall see further into things than now you do. 2d, Ye shall be as gods — As Elohim, mighty gods, beings of a higher order. 3d, Ye shall know good and evil — That is, every thing that is desirable to be known. To support this part of the temptation, he abuseth the name given to this tree. It was intended to teach the practical knowledge of good and evil; that is, of duty and disobedience, and it would prove the experimental knowledge of good and evil; that is, of happiness and misery. But he perverts the sense of it, and wrests it to their destruction, as if the tree would give them a speculative knowledge of the natures, kinds, and originals of good and evil. And, 4th, All this presently; In the day ye eat thereof — You will find a sudden and immediate change for the better.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

3:4-5 You won’t die! This is the exact negation of God’s clear and emphatic words: “you are sure to die” (2:17). The serpent capitalizes on the woman’s uncertainty by baldly denying the penalty and quickly diverting her attention to the supposed prize—to be like God, knowing both good and evil. The deceiver falsely implies that this would be an unqualified good for them. The term rendered God is Elohim; it can also mean “divine beings” (i.e., God and the angels; e.g., Pss 29:1; 89:7).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

This is Satan’s chiefest subtlety, to cause us not to fear God’s threatenings.

Hebrew, die the death.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Ye shall not surely die--He proceeded, not only to assure her of perfect impunity, but to promise great benefits from partaking of it.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 4. Ye shall not surely die] Here the father of lies at once appears; and appears too in flatly contradicting the assertion of God. The tempter, through the nachash, insinuates the impossibility of her dying, as if he had said, God has created thee immortal, thy death therefore is impossible; and God knows this, for as thou livest by the tree of life, so shalt thou get increase of wisdom by the tree of knowledge.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

4. And the serpent said unto the woman Satan now springs more boldly forward; and because he sees a breach open before him, he breaks through in a direct assault, for he is never wont to engage in open war until we voluntarily expose ourselves to him, naked and unarmed. He cautiously approaches us at first with blandishments; but when he has stolen in upon us, he dares to exalt himself petulantly and with proud confidence against God; just as he now seizing upon Eve’s doubt, penetrates further, that he may turn it into a direct negative. It behaves us to be instructed, by much examples, to beware of his snares, and, by making timely resistance, to keep him far from us, that nearer access may not be permitted to him. He now, therefore, does not ask doubtingly, as before, whether or not the command of God, which he opposes, be true, but openly accuses God of falsehood, for he asserts that the word by which death was denounced is false and delusive. Fatal temptation! when while God is threatening us with death, we not only securely sleep, but hold God himself in derision!

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

4. Ye shall not surely die] The words are very emphatic, “by no means shall ye die.” The serpent directly contradicts the statement of the penalty of death, and thus craftily removes the cause for fear, before dwelling upon the advantages to be obtained from defiance of the Divine decree.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And the serpent said unto the woman,.... In reply to her answer:

ye shall not surely die; in direct contradiction to the divine threatening, and which he would insinuate was a mere threatening, and which God never intended to put in execution; so that they had nothing to fear from that, God would never be so rigid and severe, and beat so hard upon them as to put them to death for such an offence, if it was one; he only gave out the menace to frighten them, and deter from it: however, at most it was not a certain thing they should die, and they might safely conclude they would not.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

It is not so certain as you imagine, that you shall die. God did say so indeed for your terror, and to keep you in awe; or, he had some mystical meaning in those words; but do not entertain such hard and unworthy thoughts of that God who is infinitely kind and gracious, that he will, for such a trifle as the eating of a little fruit, undo you and all your posterity, and so suddenly destroy the most excellent work of his own hands.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

4. Ye shall not surely die — A direct and malicious contradiction of God’s word as given in Gen_2:17. Here the devil is revealed as Satan, the adversary, “a liar, and the father of it.” Joh_8:44. This daring advance in the temptation is commonly supposed to imply a noticeable wavering on the part of the woman.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And the serpent said unto the woman. "As God had preached to Adam, so Satan now also preaches to Eve... The object of Satan was to draw away Eve by his word or saying from that which God had said" (Luther). Ye shall not surely die. Lo-moth temuthun (the negative 16 preceding the infinitive absolute, as in Psa_49:8 and Amo_9:8; its position hero being determined by the form of the penalty, (Gen_2:17, to which the devil"s language gives the direct negative. Vide Ewald, "Hebrews Synt.," Thus the second step in his assault is to challenge the Divine veracity, in allusion to which it has been thought our Savior calls Satan a liar (cf. sthv Joh_8:44: otan lalh town lalei oJti yeu) ejstin kai oJ pathr aujtou). Here, as far as we know, is his first begottten lie" (Bush).

HOMILIES BY J.F. MONTGOMERY Ver. 4.

The tempter"s chief weapon.

Narrative of the fall is of interest not only as the record of how mankind became sinful, but as showing the working of that "lie" (2Th_2:11) by which the tempter continually seeks to draw men. (2Co_11:3) Eve"s temptation is in substance our temptation; Eve"s fall illustrates our danger, and gives us matter whereby to try ourselves and mark how far we "walk by faith.

The SUBSTANCE OF THE TEMPTATION was suggesting doubts

(1) As to God"s love.

(2) As to God"s truth.

The former led to self-willed desire; the latter gave force to the temptation by removing the restraining power. We are tempted by the same suggestions. The will and unbelief act and react upon each other. Where the will turns away from God"s will doubt more easily finds an entrance, and having entered, it strengthens self-will. (Rom_1:28) Unbelief is often a refuge to escape from the voice of conscience. But mark the suggestion was not, "God has not said," but, It will not be so; You have misunderstood him; There will be some way of avoiding the danger. Excuses are easy to find: human infirmity, peculiar circumstances, strength of temptation, promises not to do so again. And a man may live, knowing God"s word, habitually breaking it, yet persuading himself that all is well. Note two chief lines in which this temptation assails:

1. As to the necessity for Christian earnestness. We are warned. (1Jn_2:15 1Jn_5:12; Rom_8:6-13) What is the life thus spoken of? Nothing strange. A life of seeking the world"s prizes, gains, pleasures. A life whose guide is what others do; in which the example of Christ and guidance of the Holy Spirit are not regarded; in which religion is kept apart, and confined to certain times and services. Of this God says it is living death; (cf. 1Ti_5:6) life"s work neglected; Christ"s banner deserted. Yet the tempter persuades times have changed, the Bible must not be taken literally, ye shall not die.

2. As to acceptance of the gift of salvation. God"s word is (Luk_14:21; Joh_4:10) the record to be believed (Isa_53:5, Isa_53:6; 1Jn_5:11) Yet speak to men of the free gift, tell them of present salvation; the tempter persuades true; but you must do something, or feel something, before it can be safe to believe; God has said; but it will not be so. In conclusion, mark how the way of salvation just reverses the process of the fall. Man fell away from God, from peace, from holiness through doubting God"s love and truth. We are restored to peace through believing these (Joh_3:16; 1Jn_1:9) and it is this belief which binds us to God in loving service. M. (2Co_5:14)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

You ... you ... your ... you

These words refer to the man and the woman and so are dual or plural. (See: Forms of You)

your eyes will be opened

"your eyes will open." This idiom means "you will become aware of things" or "you will understand new things." This meaning can be stated clearly. AT: "It will be as though your eyes were opened" (See: Idiom)

knowing good and evil

Here "good and evil" is a figure of speech that refers to both extremes and everything in between. See how you translated "knowledge of good and evil" in Genesis 2:9. AT: "knowing everything, including both good and evil" (See: Merism)

it was a delight to the eyes

"the tree was delightful to look at" or "it was nice to look at" or "it was very beautiful"

that the tree was desirable to make one wise

"she wanted the tree's fruit because it could make a person wise" or "she wanted its fruit because it could make her understand what was right and wrong just as God does"

translationWords

serpent

God

good

evil

wise

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

לא מות תמתון YE SHALL NOT SURELY DIE — He pushed her until she touched it. He then said to her, “Just as there is no death in touching it, so there is no death in eating it” (Genesis Rabbah 19:3).

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

ויאמר, the serpent in its craftiness, said: לא מות תמותון, not as you say that G’d loves you so much that He forbade eating you to protect you from dying, but the reason is that not only will you not die from eating, but He made you more afraid so that you will not acquire the additional advantage by eating from it,

Radak on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Eliyahu Munk, HaChut Hameshulash” (CC BY 4.0); “Rabbi Mike Feuer, Jerusalem Anthology” (CC BY 4.0); and “R. David Kimhi on the first book of Psalms, Translated by R.G. Finch, London, 1919” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.