This is a continuation of my intent to become much more familiar with the Greek translation of יְהֹוָ֨ה (Yᵊhōvâ) and יֱהֹוִה֙ (yᵊhōvâ) in the Septuagint.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 3:1 (Tanakh)	Genesis 3:1 (NET)	Genesis 3:1 (NETS)	Genesis 3:1 (English Elpenor)
Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which HaShem (יְהֹוָ֣ה) G-d (אֱלֹהִ֑ים) had made. And he said unto the woman: ‘Yea, hath G-d (אֱלֹהִ֔ים) said: Ye shall not eat of any tree of the garden?’ [Table]	Now the serpent was shrewder than any of the wild animals that the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ, יהוה) God (ĕlōhîm, אלהים) had made. He said to the woman, “Is it really true that God (ĕlōhîm, אלהים) said, ‘You must not eat from any tree of the orchard’?”	Now the snake was the most sagacious of all the wild animals that were upon the earth, which the Lord (κύριος) God (ὁ θεός) had made. And the snake said to the woman, “Why is it that God (ὁ θεός) said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree that is in the orchard’?” [Table]	NOW the serpent was the most crafty of all the brutes on the earth, which the Lord (Κύριος) God (ὁ Θεός) made, and the serpent said to the woman, Wherefore has God (ὁ Θεός) said, Eat not of every tree of the garden?

Here the narrator called God יְהֹוָ֣ה (Yᵊhōvâ) אֱלֹהִ֑ים (ĕlōhîm) in the Masoretic text, which was corroborated by Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς in the Septuagint. But the serpent said אֱלֹהִ֔ים (ĕlōhîm) in the Masoretic text, and ὁ Θεὸς in the Septuagint.

When did this happen? Is it still Friday, the sixth day? I’m going to say, no, because the text sounds like the sixth day was concluded before this happened: God saw all that he had made—and it was very good! There was evening, and there was morning, the sixth day.¹ So, is it Saturday, the Sabbath? Again, I’ll say, no, because of the way I hear the text (Genesis 2:1-3 NET):

The heavens and the earth were completed with everything that was in them [Table]. By the seventh day God finished the work that he had been doing, and he ceased on the seventh day all the work that he had been doing [Table]. God blessed the seventh day and made it holy because on it he ceased all the work that he had been doing in creation [Table].

So, I’m going to say that this conversation between Eve and the serpent occurred sometime between the following Sunday and Eve’s first conception. And the latter is just for my convenience, so I don’t have to deal with the ramifications of a child conceived before Adam sinned. I’ll leave that kind of speculation to Dan Brown. Maybe I’ll see the movie if Ron Howard is so inclined.

Eve corrected the serpent’s error:

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 3:2, 3 (Tanakh)	Genesis 3:2, 3 (NET)	Genesis 3:2, 3 (NETS)	Genesis 3:2, 3 (English Elpenor)
And the woman said unto the serpent: ‘Of the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; [Table]	The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit from the trees of the orchard;	And the woman said to the snake, “We shall eat of the fruit of the tree of the orchard, [Table]	And the woman said to the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden,
but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, G-d (אֱלֹהִ֗ים) hath said: Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die’ [Table].	but concerning the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the orchard God (ĕlōhîm, אלהים) said, ‘You must not eat from it, and you must not touch it, or else you will die.’”	but of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the orchard, God (ὁ θεός) said, ‘You shall not eat of it nor shall you even touch it, lest you die’” [Table].	but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God (ὁ Θεός) said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

Here Eve called God אֱלֹהִ֗ים (ĕlōhîm) in the Masoretic text and ὁ Θεός in the Septuagint.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 3:4, 5 (Tanakh)	Genesis 3:4, 5 (NET)	Genesis 3:4, 5 (NETS)	Genesis 3:4, 5 (English Elpenor)
And the serpent said unto the woman: ‘Ye shall not surely die; [Table]	The serpent said to the woman, “Surely you will not die,	And the snake said to the woman, “You will not die by death, [Table]	And the serpent said to the woman, Ye shall not surely die.
for G-d (אֱלֹהִ֔ים) doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as G-d (כֵּֽאלֹהִ֔ים), knowing good and evil’ [Table].	for God (ĕlōhîm, אלהים) knows that when you eat from it your eyes will open and you will be like God (ĕlōhîm, כאלהים), knowing good and evil.”	for God (ὁ θεὸς) knew that on the day you eat of it, your eyes would be opened, and you would be like gods (θεοὶ) knowing good and evil” [Table].	For God (ὁ Θεός) knew that in whatever day ye should eat of it your eyes would be opened, and ye would be as gods (θεοί), knowing good and evil.

Here the serpent called God אֱלֹהִ֔ים (ĕlōhîm) in the Masoretic text and ὁ Θεός in the Septuagint. He told Eve ye shall be as G-d, כֵּֽאלֹהִ֔ים (ĕlōhîm) in the Masoretic text, which was translated θεοί (gods) in the Septuagint. The Masoretic text was translated gods in the KJV and angels in the Tanakh on chabad.org.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about Satan’s working (ἐνέργειαν τοῦ σατανᾶ): with all kinds of miracles and signs and false wonders,² especially false wonders (τέρασιν ψεύδους). In another essay I developed a working definition of signs and wonders, and false wonders:

I’ll try to use forms of σημεῖον for the sign, the thing itself, and forms of τέρας for the wonder, the voice of the sign (τῆς φωνῆς τοῦ σημείου), the effect it has on the one who witnesses the sign, to believe (Tanakh/KJV/NET) the messenger and ultimately the word of God.³

For false messiahs and false prophets will appear, Jesus warned, and perform great signs and wonders (τέρατα, another form of τέρας) to deceive, if possible, even the elect.⁴ Without specifying exactly what any particular sign would be, Jesus warned that the wonder, the voice of the sign, would not result in confidence in the truth, God’s word, the Scriptures: great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.⁵

The serpent had nothing to do with this particular sign (Genesis 2:16, 17 NET):

Then the Lord God commanded the man, “You may freely eat fruit from every tree of the orchard [Table], but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will surely die” [Table].

The serpent simply appropriated God’s instruction to give Eve a false wonder. The Greek word translated perform in Jesus’ saying perform great signs and wonders was not a form of ποιέω. It was δώσουσιν, a form of δίδωμι: to give. The table below comparing God’s words to the serpent’s words highlights the subtlety, shrewdness, sagacity and craftiness of the serpent.

God said… (Genesis 2:16b NET)	The serpent said… (Genesis 3:1b NET)
You may freely eat fruit from every tree of the orchard	Is it really true that God said, ‘You must not eat from any tree of the orchard’?

I suppose it’s possible to think that the serpent was even more shrewd than this. The English translation of the Elpenor Septuagint renders it: Wherefore has God said, Eat not of every tree of the garden? In any case the serpent asked Eve a question which seemed like an obvious misunderstanding, easy to correct or clarify. When she did so, the serpent’s reply was more direct.

God said… (Genesis 2:17 NET)	The serpent said… (Genesis 3:4, 5 NET)
but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will surely die	Surely you will not die, for God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will open and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.

Surely you will not die, is almost too direct. It tips the serpent’s hand too soon. But studying the Bible gives me potentially more knowledge than Eve had living in the moment. And the serpent’s directness coupled with the absence of any biblical evidence to the contrary persuades me that Eve never heard God’s words directly. So the serpent didn’t refute God as far as Eve knew, only his messenger, Adam.

Is there a wife alive who doesn’t know that her husband is often confused and misunderstands the things she says? How much confidence does that inspire? Couldn’t Adam have misunderstood or miscommunicated God’s words? And that brings me to the serpent’s false wonder:

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 3:6 (Tanakh)	Genesis 3:6 (NET)	Genesis 3:6 (NETS)	Genesis 3:6 (English Elpenor)
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat; and she gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat [Table].	When the woman saw that the tree produced fruit that was good for food, was attractive to the eye, and was desirable for making one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate it. She also gave some of it to her husband who was with her, and he ate it.	And the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was pleasing for the eyes to look at and it was beautiful to contemplate, and when she had taken of its fruit she ate, and she also gave some to her husband with her, and they ate [Table].	And the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes to look upon and beautiful to contemplate, and having taken of its fruit she ate, and she gave to her husband also with her, and they ate.

The false wonder was that Eve believed, not the word of God or his messenger (her husband) but, the serpent’s word. For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive…⁶ The Greek word translated to deceive here was πλανῆσαι, a form of πλανάω: “to lead astray, cause to wander; to misguide, lead away from the right path; to mislead, deceive (someone)…origin of the English word ‘planet’ meaning wanderer because while the stars are fixed in place, the planets seemed to wander around the night sky.”

But I am afraid, Paul wrote, that⁷ just as the serpent deceived (ἐξηπάτησεν, a form of ἐξαπατάω) Eve by his treachery (πανουργίᾳ), your⁸ minds may be led astray (φθαρῇ, a form of φθείρω) from a sincere and pure devotion⁹ to Christ.¹⁰ His description of this false wonder sounds almost like seduction. And Adam was not deceived (ἠπατήθη, a form of ἀπατάω), but the woman, because she was fully deceived (ἐξαπατηθεῖσα, a form of ἐξαπατάω), fell into transgression (παραβάσει, a form of παράβασις).¹¹ In other words, Adam was not seduced, not by the serpent, and not by Eve to whatever extent she had become a false prophet (ψευδοπροφῆται, a form of ψευδοπροφήτης) of the serpent’s words.

Adam heard God’s command with his own ears. Adam violated God’s command with his eyes wide open because violating God’s command is what Adam wanted to do (Romans 5:12-14 NET):

So then, just as sin entered the world through one man and death through sin, and so death spread to all people because all sinned—for before the law was given, sin was in the world, but there is no accounting for sin when there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam until Moses even over those who did not sin in the same way that Adam (who is a type of the coming one) transgressed (παραβάσεως, another form of παράβασις) [Table].

Adam’s disobedience, his transgression of God’s command, opened both their eyes:

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 3:7 (Tanakh)	Genesis 3:7 (NET)	Genesis 3:7 (NETS)	Genesis 3:7 (English Elpenor)
And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig-leaves together, and made themselves girdles [Table].	Then the eyes of both of them opened, and they knew they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.	And the eyes of the two were opened, and they knew that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves [Table].	And the eyes of both were opened, and they perceived that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons to go round them.

I don’t think Eve intended to disobey God but rather to be like God, knowing good (Hebrew: ṭôḇ, ט֥וֹב; Greek: καλὸν, a form of καλός) and evil (Hebrew: raʿ, וָרָֽע; Greek: πονηρόν, a form of πονηρός).¹² She only knew good up to that moment: God saw all that he had made—and it was very good (Hebrew: ṭôḇ, ט֖וֹב; Greek: καλὰ, another form of καλός)!¹³ I know that, but did she?

In the science fiction movie Blade Runner replicants were man-made humans used off-world as slaves, soldiers or sex-workers. Some were smarter, most were stronger, than natural-born human beings. All were created with four year lifespans. Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer) returned to earth seeking an audience with his creator to gain a longer life for himself and his replicant friends/accomplices. His way was impeded by Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), a reluctant thug of a law enforcement officer called a blade runner, tasked with hunting down and killing Roy and his friends/accomplices, the rebellious replicants natural-born human beings now feared and outlawed. Deckard’s boss Bryant (M. Emmet Walsh) put a fine point on his situation: “You know the score, Pal. If you’re not cop, you’re little people.”

Replicants were created as fully grown adults. In this Adam and Eve seem more like replicants than their natural-born descendants. Replicants were implanted with “false memories to give them the years of experiences that humans take for granted, creating a ‘cushion or pillow for their emotions.’”¹⁴ It seems fitting somehow that human beings would give their creation “false memories.” It makes sense to me that God would give something similar but true to his creation. Though the text doesn’t say it, I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that God taught Adam and Eve the content of Genesis 1 on that first Sabbath day. (If He went on to the content of Genesis 2, I need to reconsider Eve’s knowledge of God’s prohibition.)

Be that as it may, Eve’s faith in the serpent’s word introduced her to evil.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 3:8-10 (Tanakh)	Genesis 3:8-10 (NET)	Genesis 3:8-10 (NETS)	Genesis 3:8-10 (English Elpenor)
And they heard the voice of HaShem (יְהֹוָ֧ה) G-d (אֱלֹהִ֛ים) walking in the garden toward the cool of the day; and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of HaShem (יְהֹוָ֣ה) G-d (אֱלֹהִ֔ים) amongst the trees of the garden.	Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ, יהוה) God (ĕlōhîm, אלהים) moving about in the orchard at the breezy time of the day, and they hid from the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ, יהוה) God (ĕlōhîm, אלהים) among the trees of the orchard.	And they heard the sound of the Lord (κυρίου) God (τοῦ θεοῦ) walking about in the orchard in the evening, and both Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord (κυρίου) God (τοῦ θεοῦ) in the midst of the timber of the orchard.	And they heard the voice of the Lord (Κυρίου) God (τοῦ Θεοῦ) walking in the garden in the afternoon; and both Adam and his wife hid themselves from the face of the Lord (Κυρίου) God (τοῦ Θεοῦ) in the midst of the trees of the garden.
And HaShem (יְהֹוָ֥ה) G-d (אֱלֹהִ֖ים) called unto the man, and said unto him: ‘Where art thou?’	But the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ, יהוה) God (ĕlōhîm, אלהים) called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”	And the Lord (κύριος) God (ὁ θεὸς) called Adam and said to him, “Adam, where are you?”	And the Lord (Κύριος) God (ὁ Θεὸς) called Adam and said to him, Adam, where art thou?
And he said: ‘I heard Thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.’	The man replied, “I heard you moving about in the orchard, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.”	And he said to him, “I heard the sound of you walking about in the orchard, and I was afraid, because I am naked, and I hid myself.”	And he said to him, I heard thy voice as thou walkedst in the garden, and I feared because I was naked and I hid myself.

Here the narrator called God יְהֹוָ֧ה (Yᵊhōvâ) אֱלֹהִ֖ים (ĕlōhîm) in the Masoretic text which was corroborated by Κυρίου τοῦ Θεοῦ and Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς in the Septuagint. And Adam and Eve, though covered in clothing of their own design and manufacture, were naked and ashamed, and hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God.

I’ll pick this up in another essay.

Tables comparing Genesis 3:8; 3:9 and 3:10 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET; and tables comparing Genesis 3:8; 3:9 and 3:10 in the BLB and Elpenor versions of the Septuagint with the English translations from Hebrew and Greek, and a table comparing the Greek of 2 Corinthians 11:3 the NET and KJV follow.

Genesis 3:8 (Tanakh)	Genesis 3:8 (KJV)	Genesis 3:8 (NET)
And they heard the voice of HaShem G-d walking in the garden toward the cool of the day; and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of HaShem G-d amongst the trees of the garden.	And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.	Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God moving about in the orchard at the breezy time of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the orchard.

Genesis 3:8 (Septuagint BLB)	Genesis 3:8 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἤκουσαν τὴν φωνὴν κυρίου τοῦ θεοῦ περιπατοῦντος ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ τὸ δειλινόν καὶ ἐκρύβησαν ὅ τε Αδαμ καὶ ἡ γυνὴ αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ προσώπου κυρίου τοῦ θεοῦ ἐν μέσῳ τοῦ ξύλου τοῦ παραδείσου	Καὶ ἤκουσαν τῆς φωνῆς Κυρίου τοῦ Θεοῦ περιπατοῦντος ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ τὸ δειλινόν, καὶ ἐκρύβησαν ὅ τε ᾿Αδὰμ καὶ ἡ γυνὴ αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ προσώπου Κυρίου τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐν μέσῳ τοῦ ξύλου τοῦ παραδείσου
Genesis 3:8 (NETS)	Genesis 3:8 (English Elpenor)
And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking about in the orchard in the evening, and both Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God in the midst of the timber of the orchard.	And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the afternoon; and both Adam and his wife hid themselves from the face of the Lord God in the midst of the trees of the garden.

Genesis 3:9 (Tanakh)	Genesis 3:9 (KJV)	Genesis 3:9 (NET)
And HaShem G-d called unto the man, and said unto him: ‘Where art thou?’	And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?	But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”

Genesis 3:9 (Septuagint BLB)	Genesis 3:9 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἐκάλεσεν κύριος ὁ θεὸς τὸν Αδαμ καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ Αδαμ ποῦ εἶ	καὶ ἐκάλεσε Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς τὸν ᾿Αδὰμ καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· ᾿Αδάμ, ποῦ εἶ
Genesis 3:9 (NETS)	Genesis 3:9 (English Elpenor)
And the Lord God called Adam and said to him, “Adam, where are you?”	And the Lord God called Adam and said to him, Adam, where art thou?

Genesis 3:10 (Tanakh)	Genesis 3:10 (KJV)	Genesis 3:10 (NET)
And he said: ‘I heard Thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.’	And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.	The man replied, “I heard you moving about in the orchard, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.”

Genesis 3:10 (Septuagint BLB)	Genesis 3:10 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ τὴν φωνήν σου ἤκουσα περιπατοῦντος ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ καὶ ἐφοβήθην ὅτι γυμνός εἰμι καὶ ἐκρύβην	καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· τῆς φωνῆς σου ἤκουσα περιπατοῦντος ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ καὶ ἐφοβήθην, ὅτι γυμνός εἰμι, καὶ ἐκρύβην
Genesis 3:10 (NETS)	Genesis 3:10 (English Elpenor)
And he said to him, “I heard the sound of you walking about in the orchard, and I was afraid, because I am naked, and I hid myself.”	And he said to him, I heard thy voice as thou walkedst in the garden, and I feared because I was naked and I hid myself.

2 Corinthians 11:3 (NET)	2 Corinthians 11:3 (KJV)
But I am afraid that just as the serpent deceived Eve by his treachery, your minds may be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.	But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

2 Corinthians 11:3 (NET Parallel Greek)	2 Corinthians 11:3 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	2 Corinthians 11:3 (Byzantine Majority Text)
φοβοῦμαι δὲ μή πως, ὡς ὁ ὄφις ἐξηπάτησεν ῞Ευαν ἐν τῇ πανουργίᾳ αὐτοῦ, φθαρῇ τὰ νοήματα ὑμῶν ἀπὸ τῆς ἁπλότητος [καὶ τῆς ἁγνότητος] τῆς εἰς τὸν Χριστόν	φοβουμαι δε μηπως ως ο οφις ευαν εξηπατησεν εν τη πανουργια αυτου ουτως φθαρη τα νοηματα υμων απο της απλοτητος της εις τον χριστον	φοβουμαι δε μηπως ως ο οφις ευαν εξηπατησεν εν τη πανουργια αυτου ουτως φθαρη τα νοηματα υμων απο της απλοτητος της εις τον χριστον