Thoughts on Genesis 3

Two thoughts struck me in this morning's reading of the third chapter of Genesis at Matins. They may be obvious to others, but were not to me until now, so I share them:

“... and [the serpent] said unto the woman...”: Why was a talking snake not a remarkable thing to Eve our Mother? Could it be that Adam and Eve conversed freely with all of the animals (appropriately to their respective conditions), so a talking snake was not surprising? There is a passage in Tolkien's “On Fairy-Stories” where he writes of the primordial desire to communicate with animals, with the possibility that this might be an echo of our distant past, as well as something that might one day be restored. Perhaps this verse of Genesis hints at the possibility.

“... and he shall rule over thee” (v. 16): In some circles, male authority over women is viewed as a Good Thing, and more than that, “God's plan.” I was taught in my fundamentalist background that the Man is head of the household, and the Woman is to be submissive and obedient in all things. Islam, which is a religion based in part on the Torah, is notorious for its oppression of women, and at various points in history Christianity and Judaism have not been much better.

But this verse is not saying that male dominance is a Good Thing. It is no more in God's will than our mortality, or the “thorns and thistles” of v. 18. It is part of the Curse, somehow caught up in our disobedience as an inescapable consequence, an aspect of Original Sin. This verse, it strikes me, is crucial to the interpretation of all subsequent passages of Scripture that seem to paint male dominance as “God's plan” (cf. I Corinthians 11:1-16, Ephesians 5:22-24 for two examples from St. Paul. There are many others, from Old and New Testament). And there may be further application to any power relationships: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28)