Against Marcion: Part II

Claim: The serpent told the truth and Yehovah lied because Adam and Eve did not die instantly.

Linguistic Refutation: This arises from a poor understanding of the word “day” in Hebrew and equating with a day in the sense that many modern languages including English view the word (although of course in English “day” can also have figurative meanings) Marcionites claim that this can only mean a 24-hour day and make an appeal to authority stating once again that “most scholars” say this, when the reality is very different. By taking the side of the Devil, Marcionites align with Satanists who see the serpent and Devil as an enlightener of the human race rather than recognizing him as our source of downfall.

The phrase "in the day" (בְּיוֹם, b'yom) used in Genesis 2:17, where God warns Adam, "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die" (כִּי בְּיוֹם אֲכָלְךָ מִמֶּנּוּ מוֹת תָּמוּת), has been the subject of much interpretation. The Hebrew word "יום" (yom), translated as "day," can have different meanings depending on the context, ranging from a literal 24-hour day to a more figurative or idiomatic usage. Here’s how the expression can be understood:

1.     Meaning of "Day" in Hebrew (יום, Yom)

Literal Day: The word yom often means a literal day, as in the 24-hour period from sunset to sunset. For example:

Genesis 1:5: "God called the light Day (yom), and the darkness He called Night. And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day (yom)."

Here, yom clearly refers to a literal day.

Extended or Figurative Time Period: Yom can also refer to a more extended or indeterminate period, not necessarily confined to a 24-hour day:

Genesis 2:4: "These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day (b'yom) that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens."

In this context, "in the day" refers to the entire period during which God created the heavens and the earth, not a single 24-hour day.

Idiomatic or Legalistic Expression: The phrase b'yom ("in the day") can be understood idiomatically or legally, indicating the certainty or inevitability of an event rather than its immediate occurrence:

Deuteronomy 9:24: "You have been rebellious against the Lord from the day (min hayom) that I knew you."

Here, min hayom ("from the day") refers to a continuous state of rebellion, not just a single day.

2. "In the Day" as an Idiomatic Expression

Certainty of Judgment: The phrase "in the day" in Genesis 2:17 is understood idiomatically to indicate the certainty of the consequence rather than the timing of it. This can be seen as a legal or covenantal expression, where the day the transgression occurs is the day the judgment is sealed.

Genesis 2:17: "For in the day (b'yom) that you eat of it you shall surely die (mot tamut)."

The doubling of the verb "die" (מוֹת תָּמוּת, mot tamut) in Hebrew is an emphatic expression, often translated as "you shall surely die." This emphasizes the inevitability of death as a consequence of disobedience, rather than the immediate physical death on that very day.

As Good as Dead: From the moment Adam and Eve ate the fruit, they were legally or covenantally "as good as dead." This understanding aligns with the idea that death began to take hold from the moment of disobedience:

They experienced spiritual death immediately (separation from God) and began the process of physical death, which would culminate in their eventual return to dust (Genesis 3:19).

Romans 5:12 echoes this idea: "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned." Since Adam and Eve only had children after the sin, all humans inherited death much in the way that some children even in modern times sadly inherit a genetic disease.

Delayed Consequence: The death was certain, but its full manifestation—physical death—occurred later. In biblical legal language, to be "as good as dead" from the day of disobedience is to be under the sentence of death:

Psalm 90:4: "For a thousand years in Your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night."

This verse reflects the concept that God’s perspective on time differs from human understanding, reinforcing the idea that "in the day" might not mean immediate death but the beginning of an inevitable process.

Interestingly Genesis 5:5, states: "So all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years, and he died." This means that Adam died within the divine calculation of a day.

2.     Legal and Covenantal Language in Hebrew

Certainty Over Timing: In legal and covenantal contexts, Hebrew often uses time expressions to indicate certainty rather than immediate temporal fulfillment. For example:

Leviticus 19:13: "The wages of a hired worker shall not remain with you all night until the morning." This law ensures that the payment must be given within a day but does not specify an exact moment within that day.

Joshua 2:14: "Our life for yours if you do not tell this business of ours; and it shall come about when the Lord gives us the land that we will deal kindly and faithfully with you."

The covenantal promise is about certainty, not the exact timing.

The Bible presents the serpent in the Garden of Eden as a deceiver whose words, though partially true, ultimately lead to death, separation from God, and immense suffering for humanity. Additionally, the serpent is later identified in the Bible as the Devil, further emphasizing the deceptive and destructive nature of its actions. Here's how the Bible demonstrates these points:

1. The Serpent’s Deception in the Garden of Eden

Genesis 3:1-5: The serpent’s conversation with Eve contains subtle lies and half-truths designed to deceive:

Genesis 3:1: "Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals that Yehovah God had made. He said to the woman, 'Did God really say, "You must not eat from any tree in the garden?"'"

The serpent starts by questioning God’s command, sowing doubt in Eve’s mind.

Genesis 3:4-5: "'You will not certainly die,' the serpent said to the woman. 'For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.'"

The serpent claims that eating the fruit will not lead to death but will instead open their eyes and make them like God, knowing good and evil. This statement is deceptive:

Partial Truth: After eating the fruit, Adam and Eve's eyes were indeed opened in a sense (Genesis 3:7), and they gained knowledge of good and evil but this was a false sense of knowledge since true knowledge comes from God.

Lie: However, the serpent’s assurance that they would "not certainly die" was a direct contradiction of God’s command (Genesis 2:17) and a deception. While they did not die immediately they did die on that “day”, they became mortal and subject to death, marking the beginning of physical death and spiritual separation from God.

3.     Consequences of the Serpent’s Deception

Genesis 3:6-19: After Adam and Eve eat the fruit, the Bible describes the consequences of their actions:

Immediate Consequences: Their eyes are opened, and they realize they are naked, leading to shame and the first instance of hiding from God (Genesis 3:7-8).

Spiritual Death: They experience immediate spiritual death, which is separation from God. They are banished from the Garden of Eden, losing direct access to God's presence (Genesis 3:23-24).

Curse on Humanity: God pronounces curses on the serpent, Eve, and Adam:

The serpent is cursed above all animals and is condemned to crawl on its belly and eat dust (Genesis 3:14).

Eve is cursed with pain in childbirth and a strained relationship with her husband (Genesis 3:16).

Adam is cursed with toil and labor to produce food, and eventually, he will return to dust, indicating physical death (Genesis 3:17-19).

Long-Term Consequences: The serpent’s deception leads to sin entering the world, bringing about the suffering, pain, and death that affect all of humanity. Romans 5:12 reflects on this: "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned."

4.     The Serpent as the Devil

The identification of the serpent as the Devil is explicitly made in the New Testament:

Revelation 12:9: "The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him."

This verse directly connects the serpent in the Garden of Eden with the Devil, describing him as the one who deceives the whole world.

Revelation 20:2: "He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years."

Again, the serpent is identified as the Devil, emphasizing his role as a deceiver and adversary of God.

John 8:44: Jesus, speaking to the Pharisees, says, "You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies."

Here, Jesus refers to the Devil as "a murderer from the beginning" and "the father of lies," which can be seen as a reference to the events in the Garden of Eden, where the Devil’s lie led to humanity’s spiritual and physical death.