2. The Fall in the Hebrew Bible

Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents vii
3. A Preface about “Really” ix
4. Acknowledgments xvii
5. Introduction: The Fall Is with Us Always xix
6. PART ONE .Now and Then
7. 1. The Fall in Interpretation 1
8. 2. The Fall in the Hebrew Bible 18
9. 3. Who Wrote the Garden Story and When? 28
10. 4. What Is a Reader- Response Approach to Interpreting the Garden Story? 48
11. 5. Reading, Presenting, and Evaluating the Garden Story 54
12. PART TWO. Before Then
13. 6. A Down- to- Earth Story (Gen 2:4– 7) 73
14. 7. Why Eden? Why a Garden? Where Were the Trees? (Gen 2:5, 8– 10) 85
15. 8. Where in the World Was Eden? (Gen 2:10– 14) 96
16. 9. The Gardener and His Tasks (Gen 2:15) 114
17. 10. The Second Commandment (Gen 2:16– 17) 120
18. 11. The First Social Welfare Program (Gen 2:18– 20) 127
19. 12. The First Lady (Gen 2:21– 23) 137
20. 13. Why “Therefore”? (Gen 2:24) 151
21. 14. How Bare Is Naked? (Gen 2:25) 158
22. 15. Clever Conversation and Conspicuous Consumption (Gen 3:1– 6) 160
23. 16. Dressing Up for a Dressing Down (Gen 3:7– 11) 172
24. 17. Interrogation and Negotiation (Gen 3:11– 13) 179
25. 18. Procreation in the Garden (Gen 3:14– 19; 4:1– 2) 184
26. 19. Not a Leg to Stand On: Th e Serpent’s Sentence and the Israelite Culture of “Curse” (Gen 3:14– 15) 192
27. 20. No Bundle of Joy: Hawwa’s Sentence and Israelite Predilections in Legal Reasoning (Gen 3:16) 206
28. 21. Toil and Trouble: Adam’s Sentence and the Rights of Laborers (Gen 3:17– 19) 219
29. 22. Out of the Garden (Gen 3:20– 24) 227
30. PART THREE. Then and Now
31. 23. The Essential Plot of the Garden Story 237
32. 24. A Literal Translation of a Literary Text 243
33. 25. Allusions to the Garden Story in the Hebrew Bible 251
34. 26. Contra the Common Interpretation 260
35. 27. Beyond the Tower of Babel 265
36. Appendix: Transliterating Hebrew for Tourists in the Garden 269
37. Notes 273
38. Bibliography 335
39. Index 357