2024/09/01 by Joseph Ryan Kelly · 1 voice
Arts and Humanities · Social Sciences · #Biblical Studies and Interpretation #Diverse Philosophical and Cultural Studies #Multicultural Socio-Legal Studies
paper · pdf · doi:10.3390/rel15091062
openalex publication_date 2024/09/01 · openalex created_date 2024/09/03 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/23
Gendered criticism of Eve and general criticism of Eve and Adam are rooted in the idea of their moral failing when they disobey Yahweh. Two lenses bring a more ancient understanding of the text into focus. The first lens is reading the story in the context of the J source of the Pentateuch. The second lens is that of natural law as understood by Greco-Roman philosophers. These lenses provide new clarity, showing how Eve and Adam’s decision to eat from the tree of knowledge violates a non-moral norm: they transgress the boundary between humanity and divinity. It is this ontological transgression to which Yahweh responds. Mortality, many labors, and many pregnancies reflect the natural consequences of this ontological violation, not an arbitrary punishment for a moral failing. This alternative understanding of Genesis 2–3 allows us to understand that Eve and Adam are neither cursed nor punished.