Genesis 3:12
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And the man answered, “The woman whom You gave me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”
Commentaries
Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.
The story of this chapter is perhaps as sad a story (all things considered) as any we have in all the Bible. In the foregoing chapters we have had the pleasant view of the holiness and happiness of our first parents, the grace and favour of God, and the peace and beauty of the whole creation, all good, very good; but here the scene is altered. We have here an account of the sin and misery of our first parents, the wrath and curse of God against them, the peace of the creation disturbed, and its beauty stained and sullied, all bad, very bad. "How has the gold become dim, and the most fine gold changed!" O that our hearts were deeply affected with this record! For we are all nearly concerned in it; let it not be to us as a tale that is told. The general contents of this chapter we have (Rom 5:12), "By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." More particularly, we have here, I. The innocent tempted (Gen 3:1-5). II. The tempted transgressing (Gen 3:6-8). III. The transgressors arraigned (Gen 3:9, Gen 3:10). IV. Upon their arraignment, convicted (Gen 3:11-13). V. Upon their conviction, sentenced, (Gen 3:14-19). VI. After sentence, reprieved (Gen 3:20, Gen 3:21). VII. Notwithstanding their reprieve, execution in part done (Gen 3:22-24). And were it not for the gracious intimations here given of redemption by the promised seed, they, and all their degenerate guilty race, would have been left to endless despair.
Open source ↗3:12 It was the woman you gave me: Rather than confessing, the man became evasive. He blamed the woman for giving him the fruit and God for giving him the woman.
Open source ↗Original language
The Hebrew and Greek words behind this passage, with Strong's numbers — from openscriptures (CC BY-SA).
Cross-references
Other passages the community most often connects to this one. Tap to read.
He who conceals his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them will find mercy.
Because they were ignorant of God’s righteousness and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.
if I have covered my transgressions like Adam by hiding my guilt in my heart,
The LORD God also said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make for him a suitable helper.”
A man’s own folly subverts his way, yet his heart rages against the LORD.
But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
The man gave names to all the livestock, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found.
And from the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man, He made a woman and brought her to him.