Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site houxq.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!harpo!floyd!whuxlb!pyuxll!eisx!npoiv!npois!hogpc!houxq!jeffo From: jeffo@houxq.UUCP Newsgroups: net.religion Subject: Re: Tough question about Adam + Eve Message-ID: <404@houxq.UUCP> Date: Thu, 4-Aug-83 09:59:18 EDT Article-I.D.: houxq.404 Posted: Thu Aug 4 09:59:18 1983 Date-Received: Thu, 4-Aug-83 16:44:53 EDT References: <692@hou5e.UUCP> Organization: American Bell, Holmdel NJ Lines: 48 The verses you refer to are: "but of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it: for on the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." (Genesis Chapter 2, Verse 17) "And the serpent said to the woman, You shall not surely die." (Genesis Chapter 3, Verse 4) In response to your question, a number of answers have been offered by Jewish scholars through the ages: (1) Adam was created immortal; his sin caused him to become mortal. Thus, "you shall surely die" is understood as "you shall become mortal (subject to death)." This approach is offered by both Nachmanides (a.k.a. Ramban - Rabbi Moses ben Nachman - 12th Century Spain) and Chizkuni (Rabbi Hezekiah ben Manoach - 13th Century France). (2) Adam was created as a mortal; his sin caused him to die an early, though not immediate, death. Thus "you shall surely die" means "you shall become liable under the death penalty (and die an early death)." This approach is offered by Rabbi Sa'adia Gaon (9th Century Egypt) and Radak (Rabbi David Kimchi - 12th Century France). (3) A novel approach is offered by a more recent scholar, Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch (18th Century Germany): "But it is possible that the decree '[you] must die' was actually carried out immediately. For we do find elsewhere that banishment from home takes place of, and is imposed in lieu of the death penalty, as for instance in the case of Cain, and with unpremeditated manslaughter. Banishment is death on a reduced scale. Death itself is not a termination of existence, but only a termination of existence here. And so banishment from Paradise may have been death in a milder form. For we can form no conception of what life in [the Garden of Eden] is really like. Between that and ordinary life out in the world there may be such a break, such a gulf, that the transition from one to the other may not have been dissimilar to our departure from this world to the next world." Jeffrey Geizhals American Bell Inc. (AT&T Information Systems) (201) 834-4673