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LXX Genesis

Septuagint

About this book
Chapter 3

1 Now the serpent was the wisest of all the brutes on the earth, which the Lord God made,⁠ and the serpent said to the woman, Why has God said, Do not eat of every tree of the garden? 2 And the woman said to 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 said, You shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it, for fear that you might die. 4 And the serpent said to the woman, You shall not surely die. 5 For God knew that in whatever day you should eat of it your eyes would be opened, and you would be as gods,⁠ knowing good and evil. 6 And the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes to look upon and beautiful to contemplate, and having taken of its fruit she ate, and she gave to her husband also with her, and they ate. 7 And the eyes of both were opened, and they perceived that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons to go round them. 8 And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the afternoon; and both Adam and his wife hid themselves from the face of the Lord God in the midst of the trees of the garden. 9 And the Lord God called Adam and said to him,⁠ Adam, where are you? 10 And he said to him, I heard your voice as you walked in the garden, and I feared because I was naked and I hid myself. 11 And he said to him, Who told you that you were naked, unless you have eaten of the tree concerning which I charged you of it alone not to eat? 12 And Adam said, The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree and I ate. 13 And the Lord God said to the woman, Why have you done this? And the woman said, The serpent deceived me and I ate. 14 And the Lord God said to the serpent, Because you have done this you are cursed above all cattle and all the brutes of the earth, on your breast and belly you shall go, and you shall eat earth all the days of your life. 15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed, he shall watch against your head, and you shall watch against his heel.⁠ 16 And to the woman he said, I will greatly multiply your pains and your groanings; in pain you shall bring forth children, and your return shall be to your husband, and he shall rule over you.⁠ 17 And to Adam he said, Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and eaten of the tree concerning which I charged you of it only not to eat, cursed is the ground in your labors,⁠ in pain shall you eat of it all the days of your life. 18 Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. 19 In the sweat of your face you will eat your bread until you return to the earth out of which you were taken, for earth you are and to earth you shall return. 20 And Adam called the name of his wife Life,⁠ because she was the mother of all living. 21 And the Lord God made for Adam and his wife garments of skin, and clothed them. 22 And God said, Look, Adam has become as one of us, to know good and evil, and now for fear that at any time he stretch forth his hand, and take of the tree of life and eat, and so he shall live forever... 23 So the Lord God sent him forth out of the garden of Delight⁠ to cultivate the ground out of which he was taken. 24 And he cast out Adam and caused him to dwell over against the garden of Delight,⁠ and stationed the cherubs and the fiery sword that turns about⁠ to keep the way of the tree of life.

Texts in conversation

Compare Genesis 3:23 and LXX Genesis 3:23

Hebrew Bible · Septuagint

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Summary

Genesis 3 refers to “Eden” as the proper name of the location. The Greek Septuagint translation instead interprets this as the description of the location, translating it as the “garden of delight,” and its translation of this phrase is inconsistent.

Passages

Genesis 3:23

Hebrew Bible
22 And the Lord God said, “Now that the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil, he must not be allowed to stretch out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” 23 So the Lord God expelled him from the orchard in Eden to cultivate the ground from which he had been taken. 24 When he drove the man out, he placed on the eastern side of the orchard in Eden angelic sentries who used the flame of a whirling sword to guard the way to the tree of life.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Genesis

LXX Genesis 3:23

Septuagint
22 And God said, Look, Adam has become as one of us, to know good and evil, and now for fear that at any time he stretch forth his hand, and take of the tree of life and eat, and so he shall live forever... 23 So the Lord God sent him forth out of the garden of Delight to cultivate the ground out of which he was taken. 24 And he cast out Adam and caused him to dwell over against the garden of Delight, and stationed the cherubs and the fiery sword that turns about to keep the way of the tree of life.
300–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in LXX Genesis

References

"... In the creation story of Genesis 2-3, the setting is a garden, which is situated in “Eden”. At least, this is how the majority of modern translators interpret the Hebrew term עדן. In the book of Genesis, this term occurs six times ... The etymology and precise meaning of the Hebrew term עדן has been the object of much debate. Referring to Akkadian and Sumerian language, the term has been interpreted as “steppe” or “plain” ... In general, however, scholars consider the term to be a toponym. This is not surprising, especially in light of its use in the book of Genesis ... In the case of rendering עדן, the Septuagint translator of Genesis does not seem to be a “consistent” translator. Leaving aside the minus in Genesis 2:15 as a potential error by the copyist or translator, עדן has been transliterated as ῎Εδεμ – thus interpreting the word as a place name – in only three of the five instances, whereas in Genesis 3:23, 24, the term has been translated. Nevertheless, this does not mean that the translator failed to produce a faithful translation. Even if s/he failed to render the double entendre of the term עדן by one single word, the translator still searched for an adequate rendering ..."
Hans Ausloos, “‘Garden in Eden’ or ‘Paradise of Delight’? The Septuagint's Rendering of עדן in the Book of Genesis,” AcT 37.1 (2017): 6–17.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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  • why it's need to till the ground and work it include

    kadambri, March 2, 2025

Genesis 3:23 and LXX Genesis 3:23

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