I find it interesting that Eve wasn’t present when God forbid Adam to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. In fact, according to scripture, Eve wasn’t even created when Adam got this information. The scriptures give us no accounting for when or how Eve learned that the fruit was forbidden. But we do have an account when Adam learned about it.
God creates man, tells him about the trees and that he must not eat the fruit from the tree of good and evil, Adam names the animals, hangs out in the garden, and then the Gods decide it is not good for man to be alone. The Gods cause Adam to go into a deep sleep so that they can bring Eve into the story, and when Adam awakes, there is Eve. Adam is like a little child, having forgotten everything. (Everything? What about the commandment to not eat from that one tree? It seems like he would have forgotten that too.)
The scriptures do not say that God came back again and told Adam and Eve about the tree of knowledge, but as you read further, they seem to understand that if they do partake, they will surely die. There seems to be something missing in this story. Did Adam tell Eve about the tree, or did God tell her about it?
Let’s look at the order of events in the creation story as recorded in Genesis, Moses, and Abraham.
The Book of Genesis:
(The Book of Moses in the Pearl of Great Price, is the same)
15 And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest there of thou shalt surely die.
18 ¶And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.
21 And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
22 And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
In the next chapter of Genesis, when the serpent quizzes Eve about the tree, she says that God has commanded them not to partake of the tree of knowledge, yet we do not know how she came to learn this:
2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. (Genesis 2 – 3)
Interestingly, Eve says she cannot eat it, nor touch it. Which is different than what is written in the account given to Adam.
The Book of Abraham in The Pearl of Great Price:
7 And the Gods formed man from the dust of the ground, and took his spirit (that is, the man’s spirit), and put it into him; and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul.
8 And the Gods planted a garden, eastward in Eden, and there they put the man, whose spirit they had put into the body which they had formed.
9 And out of the ground made the Gods to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food; the tree of life, also, in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
11 And the Gods took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden, to dress it and to keep it.
12 And the Gods commanded the man, saying: Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat,
13 But of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for in the time that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die. Now I, Abraham, saw that it was after the Lord’s time, which was after the time of Kolob; for as yet the Gods had not appointed unto Adam his reckoning.
14 And the Gods said: Let us make an help meet for the man, for it is not good that the man should be alone, therefore we will form an help meet for him.
15 And the Gods caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam; and he slept, and they took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in the stead thereof;
16 And of the rib which the Gods had taken from man, formed they a woman, and brought her unto the man. (Abraham 5)
You may notice that after Adam is created and running around the garden or whatever — the Gods realize it is not good for him to be alone, and they cause a deep sleep to come over him, which erases his memory. The Gods bring in Eve, and when Adam awakes this second time, it is as if he were a little child, remembering nothing from his previous life or lives.
It is after this second awakening of Adam that the woman partakes of the tree of knowledge. Throughout the texts, she is only referred to as “the woman” — “The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.” (Genesis 3:12) After God curses them both for having eaten of the tree, we learn that her name is “Eve” —
“And Adam called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living; for thus have I, the Lord God, called the first of all women, which are many. “(Moses 4:26)
Eve must have known something about the tree because God cursed her as well as Adam. They both would toil on this earth. But, interestingly, we do not read in the scriptures where God commanded her not to partake of the tree of knowledge. And in the Articles of Faith, LDS believe we will be punished for our sins and not Adam’s transgression. No mention of Eve’s transgression.
It appears that she was wise, took the fruit, and began the fall, after which we could all be born, experience the telestial world of pain, suffering, and joy — Adam was wise to go with her, and not let Satan come between them. I think it is for this reason that God gave Adam the responsibility to be her “King” and answer for her to the higher King — Jehovah. That is most likely only a telestial “rule” where it reads in the curse that Adam will rule over Eve. She took the first responsibility to fall, and he has the responsibility to take the fall — be the fall guy, be the proxy savior, as King Hezekiah answered for his people as he answered to God.
So who was the more important? Eve is the first on the scene, not Adam, who woke up only long enough to turn over to fall asleep again; and then when he really woke up he saw the woman standing there, ahead of him, waiting for him. What could he assume but that she had set it all up—she must be the mother of all living! In all that follows she takes the initiative, pursuing the search for ever greater light and knowledge while Adam cautiously holds back. (Patriarchy and Matriarchy)
You may catch my humor in this clip were the men in black use the “flashy thingy” to erase the memory of Beatrice — it’s sort of a situation that reminds me of when God caused a deep sleep to come over Adam, and he forgot all:
Originally posted March 2016
