Man's Fall and Salvation in Genesis 3

The narrative in Gen 3 constitutes one of the most basic passages in the Bible. Both Jewish and Christian writers consider the first ten chapters of the book of Genesis as the foundational texts upon which the whole biblical theology is built. On the other hand, these texts have been and still are the object of much criticism by liberal scholars. In this research paper it is not possible to prove the historicity of these chapters in Genesis. Neither is it possible to study and examine all ten chapters since it would go beyond the scope of such a research paper. In this paper I want to examine Gen 3 with a special focus and awareness on what the text has to say.

In the first chapter I will present several possible structures for Gen 3, and thereby point out aspects that the narrator wanted to emphasize. In the second chapter I will follow the flow of the narrative, analyze certain terms and phrases, comment on and discuss what the text has to say. In the third chapter I will provide just a brief biblical overview on a selection of theological topics found in Gen 3.

Although I consulted several secondary sources during the study of the text, I mainly want to focus on the primary source, the biblical text itself.