Cohen King

Honors English 9

Miss Akers

October 19, 2017

In the Book of Genesis in the Old Testament of the Bible, Eve is the first woman created

by god. God forbids Eve to take the fruit from the tree of wisdom, but her temptation gets the

best of her and she disobeys Gods will. Up until this point, Adam and Eve are living in a

mystified state and dont realize what is going on around them. After Adam and Eve eat the fruit,

all humans can gain knowledge throughout their lives. God is angry at Eve for being too curious

and eating the fruit so he punishes her by making childbirth very painful. She is also punished

because god makes her desire Adam even though he is her master and she is not as powerful as

him. Finally, she gives God the need to curse the earth to make it hard for people to get food.

After creation, Adam and Eve are naive and happy in the Garden of Eden. God tells them

that they can eat fruit from any tree except the one in the middle of the garden which is the tree

of wisdom. We may eat the fruit of any tree in the garden, except for the tree in the middle of

the garden. God has forbidden us to eat the fruit of of that tree or even touch it; if we do, we shall

die. (18) The serpent in the garden tells them that god is lying to them and that if they eat the

fruit from the garden, they will gain great knowledge. Of course you will not die, said the

serpent; for God knows that as soon as you eat it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like

God yourself, knowing both good and evil. (18) The serpent is cunning and convinces Adam

and Eve that eating the fruit would bring them wisdom. When God finds out that they have

stolen from the tree against his will, he disciplines them both.
 The Bible suggests that Eve is the reason that women have to go through very painful

childbirth because of her recklessness and curiosity. After she takes the fruit, God gets angry

with her: I shall give you the great labor of childbearing; with labor you will bear children.

(19) God is furious by what has unfolded in the Garden of Eden and decides that multiple people

need to atone for their crimes against him. He determines that Eve deserves the torture of a very

painful childbirth after she directly defies him. This explains why child labor is immensely

painful for women and how it is a punishment from God because of Eves disobedience. The

writers of the Bible realize how painful childbirth is and explain this as every womans penance

for the crime that Eve committed.

Another part of Eves punishment is her fascination in Adam. God makes Eve desire

Adam even though he is her greater and she must obey him: You will desire your husband, but

he will be your master. (19) This part of Eves punishment is very significant because God is

explaining how one gender is superior to the other. This also helps explain the past and current

events that are going on against women. God directly states that Adam is greater than Eve, and

this makes some men believe that they can treat women as if they are their lesser. It gives a

biblical reference to the problems of sexism that are going on in society today. Some men look to

the Bible and use these words as an excuse to give women smaller paychecks or treat them in

different ways. The writers of the Bible seem to believe in this idea that a man is superior to a

woman. This quote also shows why women are attracted to men. God says that women will

desire their husband which can be interpreted to explain why a woman may want a man.

Eves husband, Adam, gets punished because of her influence on him eating from the tree

and God makes it hard to get food on earth. People need to work hard to provide for themselves

and their families: On your account the earth will be cursed. You will get food from it only by
labor all the days of your life (19) God curses the earth in his anger at Adam and Eve which

provides reason for the people of earth to do labor in order to obtain a constant food source. This

also helps explain the food struggles that some people and their families have in the modern day

and throughout the world. One of these examples is Africa where many people are in a constant

struggle to get a good amount of food and a clean source of water.

Eves suffering gives a biblical explanation for many hardships of the human race and

problems in our society today. By committing this crime against God, the Bible also suggests

Eve has punished the people of earth by creating painful childbirth for women, a constant belief

that men are greater than women, and a constant struggle for food and water. Many people still

believe in some of these ideas in our society today.