Author’s Note:
This article will cover all mentions of God’s and humans’ genders in Genesis 3, inspecting the Hebrew language of each verse.
As noted in Part 1 of this series, before the Fall (Gen. 1-2), because I do not speak Hebrew, I will be relying heavily on translations (primarily Strong’s Concordance) of individual words and my limited knowledge of grammatical structure.
While my research is based on an interlinear version, for ease of reading, verses will be presented in the ESV translation, with words marked in the English character version of the original. It is of note that the translation to English characters is not always smooth and sometimes seems to lose the nuances of the original text. Some words appear the same, but have slightly different translations. In rare cases, the definition differs from the ESV translation. These words will be defined below the passage. A phrase I will commonly use is “As translated”, meaning that there is no translation for that word to my knowledge beyond the translation used in the text.
While in many places the word “he” or “she” is added, the Hebrew text frequently conveys this via its use of verbs. Hebrew verbs include a gender which points to the gender of the person or being portrayed (Van Pelt, n.d.). Typically speaking, this is how the gender is assigned in translations. Due to this nature of the verbs, I will include the gender for all verbs throughout, (excepting the rare verbs that convey no gender). That being said, I will leave it up to the reader to decipher who the character is to which it applies (do not forget inanimate objects such as the earth).
It is also of note that often one Hebrew word translates into several in English, and these are frequently shifted into a different order to fulfill grammatical rules within a passage. While it does not affect the translation (and in fact makes it more accurate), it does somewhat confuse the placement when Hebrew words are shown. The Hebrew version will often be placed after the last word of a series of words it translates to in the English version (even after words that may be added for translation). This may be somewhat inaccurate, and I encourage you to look up an interlinear version (see bibliography at the end) in order to get a full picture of what words relate to which other words. This is also why some of the words and genders marked for a verb do not directly follow an English verb in the passage.
Some repetitiveness may occur in translations of words, this is to make references back to certain passages easier to read without referring back to notes on past verses.
My intention is that every word conveying gender is marked in some way. That being said however, some may slip through the cracks. Also, it is of note that some “he”/“she” has been added to English translations to convey the gender indicated in other ways in the Hebrew text. These naturally will not be marked with their meaning as the word essentially corresponds to a different word that is marked with a gender and/or definition. Much of the critical thinking is left to the reader to interpret the text.
Breakdown of Genesis 3:
Genesis 3:1
“Now the serpent was (hāyâ, masculine) more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made (ʿāśâ, masculine). He said (‘āmar, masculine) to the woman (‘iššâ), “Did God actually say (‘āmar, masculine), ‘You shall not eat (‘āḵal, masculine) of any tree in the garden’?”
(Genesis 3:1 ESV, BLB)
‘Iššâ means “woman” or “wife” (Strong).
Genesis 3:2
“And the woman (‘iššâ) said (‘āmar, feminine) to the serpent, “We may eat (‘āḵal, common) of the fruit of the trees in the garden,”
(Genesis 3:2 ESV, BLB)
‘Iššâ means “woman” or “wife” (Strong).
Genesis 3:3
“but God said (‘āmar, masculine), ‘You shall not eat (‘āḵal, masculine) of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch (nāḡaʿ, masculine) it, lest you die (mûṯ, masculine).’””
(Genesis 3:3 ESV, BLB)
Genesis 3:4
“But the serpent said (‘āmar, masculine) to the woman (‘iššâ), “You will not surely die (mûṯ, masculine).”
(Genesis 3:4 ESV, BLB)
‘Iššâ means “woman” or “wife” (Strong).
Genesis 3:5
“For God knows (yāḏaʿ, masculine) that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened (pāqaḥ, common), and you will be (hāyâ, masculine) like God, knowing (yāḏaʿ, masculine) good and evil.”
(Genesis 3:5 ESV, BLB)
Genesis 3:6
“So when the woman (‘iššâ) saw (rā’â, feminine) that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired (ḥāmaḏ, masculine) to make one wise, she took (lāqaḥ, feminine) of its fruit and ate (‘āḵal, feminine), and she also gave (nāṯan, feminine) some to her husband (‘îš) who was with her (ʿim, assumed word), and he ate (‘āḵal, masculine).”
(Genesis 3:6 ESV, BLB)
‘Iššâ means “woman” or “wife” (Strong).
‘Κ means “man” or “husband” (Strong).
Genesis 3:7
“Then the eyes of both were opened (pāqaḥ, feminine), and they knew (yāḏaʿ, masculine) that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together (tāp̄ar, masculine) and made (ʿāśâ, masculine) themselves loincloths.”
(Genesis 3:7 ESV, BLB)
Genesis 3:8
“And they heard (šāmaʿ, masculine) the sound of the Lord God walking (hālaḵ, masculine) in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man (‘āḏām) and his (assumed word) wife (‘iššâ) hid (ḥāḇā’, masculine) themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.”
(Genesis 3:8 ESV, BLB)
‘Āḏām translates “Adam” (the name), “man” (the meaning of the name), or “mankind” (a generalization) (Strong).
‘Iššâ means “woman” or “wife” (Strong).
Genesis 3:9
“But the Lord God called (qārā’, masculine) to the man (‘āḏām) and said (‘āmar, masculine) to him, “Where are you?””
(Genesis 3:9 ESV, BLB)
‘Āḏām translates “Adam” (the name), “man” (the meaning of the name), or “mankind” (a generalization) (Strong).
Genesis 3:10
“And he said (‘āmar, masculine), ‘I heard (šāmaʿ, common) the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid (yārē’, common), because I was naked, and I hid myself (ḥāḇā’, common).”
(Genesis 3:10 ESV, BLB)
Genesis 3:11
“He said (‘āmar, masculine), “Who told (nāḡaḏ, masculine) you that you were naked? Have you eaten (‘āḵal, masculine) of the tree of which I commanded you (ṣāvâ, common) not to eat?”
(Genesis 3:11 ESV, BLB)
Genesis 3:12
“The man (‘āḏām) said (‘āmar, masculine), “The woman (‘iššâ) whom you gave (nāṯan, masculine) to be with me, she gave (nāṯan, feminine) me fruit of the tree, and I ate (‘āḵal, common).”
(Genesis 3:12 ESV, BLB)
‘Āḏām translates “Adam” (the name), “man” (the meaning of the name), or “mankind” (a generalization) (Strong).
‘Iššâ means “woman” or “wife” (Strong).
Genesis 3:13
“Then the Lord God said (‘āmar, masculine) to the woman (‘iššâ), “What is this that you have done (ʿāśâ, feminine)?” The woman (‘iššâ) said (‘āmar, feminine), “The serpent deceived (nāšā’, masculine) me, and I ate (‘āḵal, common).””
(Genesis 3:13 ESV, BLB)
‘Iššâ means “woman” or “wife” (Strong).
Genesis 3:14
“The Lord God said (‘āmar, masculine) to the serpent, “Because you have done (ʿāśâ, masculine) this, cursed (‘ārar, masculine) are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go (yālaḵ, masculine), and dust you shall eat (‘āḵal, masculine) all the days of your life.”
(Genesis 3:14 ESV, BLB)
Genesis 3:15
“I will put (šîṯ, common) enmity between you and the woman (‘iššâ), and between your offspring and her (assumed word) offspring; he (hû’) shall bruise (šûp̄, masculine) your head, and you shall bruise (šûp̄, masculine) his heel.””
(Genesis 3:15 ESV, BLB)
‘Iššâ means “woman” or “wife” (Strong).
Hû’ means “he”, “she” or “it” (Strong).
Genesis 3:16
“To the woman (‘iššâ) he said (‘āmar, masculine), “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth (yālaḏ, feminine) children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband (‘îš), but he shall rule (māšal, masculine) over you.””
(Genesis 3:16 ESV, BLB)
‘Iššâ means “woman” or “wife” (Strong).
‘Κ means “man” or “husband” (Strong).
Genesis 3:17
“And to Adam (‘āḏām) he said (‘āmar, masculine), “Because you have listened (šāmaʿ, masculine) to the voice of your wife (‘iššâ) and have eaten (‘āḵal, masculine) of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat (‘āḵal, masculine) of it,’ cursed (‘ārar, feminine) is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it (‘āḵal, masculine) all the days of your life;”
(Genesis 3:17 ESV, BLB)
‘Āḏām translates “Adam” (the name), “man” (the meaning of the name), or “mankind” (a generalization) (Strong).
‘Iššâ means “woman” or “wife” (Strong).
Genesis 3:18
“thorns and thistles it shall bring forth (ṣāmaḥ, feminine) for you; and you shall eat (ṣāmaḥ, masculine) the plants of the field.”
(Genesis 3:18 ESV, BLB)
Genesis 3:19
“By the sweat of your face you shall eat (‘āḵal, masculine) bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken (lāqaḥ, masculine); for you are dust, and to dust you shall return (šûḇ, masculine).””
(Genesis 3:19 ESV, BLB)
Genesis 3:20
“The man (‘āḏām) called (qārā’, masculine) his (assumed word) wife’s (‘iššâ) name Eve (ḥaûâ), because she (hû’) was (hāyâ, feminine) the mother (‘ēm, as translated) of all living.”
(Genesis 3:20 ESV, BLB)
‘Āḏām translates “Adam” (the name), “man” (the meaning of the name), or “mankind” (a generalization) (Strong).
‘Iššâ means “woman” or “wife” (Strong).
ḥaûâ means “life” (Strong).
Hû’ means “he”, “she” or “it” contextually (Strong).
Genesis 3:21
“And the Lord God made (ʿāśâ, masculine) for Adam (‘āḏām) and for his (assumed word) wife (‘iššâ) garments of skins and clothed them (lāḇaš, masculine).”
(Genesis 3:21 ESV, BLB)
‘Āḏām translates “Adam” (the name), “man” (the meaning of the name), or “mankind” (a generalization) (Strong).
‘Iššâ means “woman” or “wife” (Strong).
Genesis 3:22
“Then the Lord God said (‘āmar, masculine), “Behold, the man (‘āḏām) has become (hāyâ, masculine) like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he (assumed word) reach out (šālaḥ, masculine) his hand and take (lāqaḥ, masculine) also of the tree of life and eat (‘āḵal, masculine), and live (ḥāyay, masculine) forever—”
(Genesis 3:22 ESV, BLB)
‘Āḏām translates “Adam” (the name), “man” (the meaning of the name), or “mankind” (a generalization) (Strong).
Genesis 3:23
“Therefore the Lord God sent him out (šālaḥ, masculine) from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken (lāqaḥ, masculine).”
(Genesis 3:23 ESV, BLB)
Genesis 3:24
“He drove out (gāraš, masculine) the man (‘āḏām), and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed (šāḵan, masculine) the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way (hāp̄aḵ, feminine) to guard the way to the tree of life.”
(Genesis 3:24 ESV, BLB)
‘Āḏām translates “Adam” (the name), “man” (the meaning of the name), or “mankind” (a generalization) (Strong).
Author’s Thoughts:
This passage is of note as it pertains to gender, as it shows a shift in power and the changes that took place as a result of the Fall. The result of sin brought about many negative changes that humans have been striving against ever since. Many of these are outlined throughout the latter parts of this passage. For the moment, however, we will focus our thoughts first on the Fall itself, before coming back to the results at the end.
As pertaining to the Fall, the original blame was on “the serpent”, who appears to have been the embodiment of the devil. He in turn tempts the woman, who takes a share of the blame by falling into his trap of lies. She then tempts the man, who also takes a share in the blame by also taking and eating of the fruit (Gen. 3:1-7 ESV). When confronted by God, the man (‘āḏām, used to refer to Adam or “the man” specifically, rather than mankind) who tries to pass his share of the blame back to the woman, and the woman tries to then pass the blame back to the serpent (Gen. 3:12-13 ESV). In the end, however, all are guilty and share in that guilt and are punished by God accordingly.
Modesty for both genders becomes an issue in this passage as “the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.” (Genesis 3:7 ESV) It seems likely that previous to this point they had a toddler-like lack of both shame or even knowledge that they were naked. Starting then however, this changed. Their perception of themselves and each other shifted, creating a need for modesty. In Genesis 3:8 “the man (‘āḏām) and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.” (Genesis 3:8 ESV) (in this case, ‘āḏām refers to Adam the name, or Man, rather than mankind) It seems this could have been for a two fold reason, shame that they had disobeyed/hoping to not be found out, and knowing that they were naked. This train of thought is followed in Genesis 3:10 “And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.”” (Genesis 3:10 ESV) and Genesis 3:11 “He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” (Genesis 3:11 ESV). It would seem that humans were not even aware of their nakedness until this point (hence “who told you?”), resulting in no need for modesty for either gender. In Genesis 3:21, the Lord made them both clothes.
Of interest, in Genesis 3:6, “So 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 its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband (‘îš) who was with her, and he ate.” (Genesis 3:6 ESV, BLB), and Genesis 3:16, “To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband (‘îš), but he shall rule over you.”” (Genesis 3:16 ESV, BLB), the word “’îš”, meaning “man” or “husband” (Strong) is used instead of “’āḏām”, meaning “Adam” (the name), “man” (the meaning of the name), or “mankind” (a generalization).
This same word is used again in Genesis 3:9 “But the Lord God called to the man (‘āḏām) and said to him, ‘Where are you?’” (Genesis 3:9 ESV, BLB). It should be further noted that the word “’āḏām” is singular (as it does not include the suffice “ -ים”), implying this was directed at Adam, whose name means man or mankind, rather than directed at mankind in general. I find it of note that previous to this (Gen. 1:29) God spoke to both together. Some clue may be in the end of Gen. 3:16 “he shall rule over you.”” (Genesis 3:16 ESV), God may be speaking directly to Adam as the ruler, however, throughout the Bible God does speak to women (notably, Eve herself in Genesis 3:16, Mary through the angel in Luke 1:28). Alternatively, God may have spoken to Adam because God was displeased with Eve, or for yet another reason.
After the blame is passed, the Lord curses the serpent (Gen. 3:14). The end of that curse is “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he (hû’) shall bruise (šûp̄, masculine) your head, and you shall bruise (šûp̄, masculine) his heel.”” (Gen. 3:15, ESV). This passage is highly interesting in its own rite, and I encourage you to study it outside of this article. As far as it’s bearing on our discussion, however, this is a curse for both genders, for, although the enmity is between the woman and the serpent, her offspring includes both genders, centering in at the end of the verse on Jesus (referred to as “hû’” in the above passage, which translates “he”, “she” or “it”, but in the context of Luke 2:7 and the verbs used, “he” is the correct translation).
Genesis 3:16-19 has more importance to our consideration. “To the woman he said, ‘I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.’ And to Adam he said, ‘Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, “You shall not eat of it,” cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;’ thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” (Genesis 3:16-19 ESV). Each is cursed separately, however except for the pains of childbirth, all of these curses affect all individuals. Striving against each other and one ruling over the other is introduced here as an effect of the curse the same as pain is introduced. Much like we push back against pain with doctors and medicine, we push back against this ruling over. Both however, are ultimately ineffective, although the inevitable can be pushed back somewhat. This passage does not speak on whether the ruling over is good or bad, it only states that it shall happen.
The man then names his wife (most likely after the fall, although the timeline could not be linear here) in Genesis 3:20 “The man called his wife’s name Eve (ḥaûâ), because she (hû’) was the mother (‘ēm, as translated) of all living.”
(Genesis 3:20 ESV, BLB). ḥaûâ means “life” (Strong), and hû’ means “he”, “she” or “it” contextually, “she” is the correct translation in this case (Strong).
This is likely why she is previously referred to simply as “The Woman”, as her name is only now being introduced. This name seems to honor Eve, as it depicts her as giving life to all future people.
In verses 22-24, God speaks specifically of Adam when driving them out of the garden, although it seems this applied to both. There are a number of reasons why Eve may not be mentioned here, although it seems likely it is the same reason as He speaks to Adam specifically in verse 9, whatever that reason might be.
Overall, this passage is transitional to a new power imbalance previously not noted that continues throughout the Bible, even to this day.
Bibliography
Blue Letter Bible, Hebrew Interlinear, 2025
English Standard Version Bible, 2016
Strong, J. (1890). Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. http://ci.nii.ac.jp/ncid/BB10658005
Van Pelt, M. V. (n.d.). English grammar to ace Biblical Hebrew. Zondervan Academic.
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