While the serpent had a dark role in the Epic of Gilgamesh too, it is extremely sad how the Genesis has twisted completely the beautiful story of how Shamkhat has civilized the wild Enkidu, whom God had made from clay (by showing him the pleasures of a city, as opposed to the harsh life in the wilderness: eating bread, drinking beer, being massaged with oil and making love), into the ugly story of how Eve has committed the unforgivable sin with Adam, of seeking knowledge on par with God, and her descendants shall be for ever punished for it.

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bambax 2 days ago | parent [-]

I don't know if it's sad; it's a different story, it's a kind of riff on the same themes.

In Genesis III, it's necessary for Adam and Eve to acquire knowledge and leave the garden, because in so doing they have sex and make children. While in the garden, they didn't know they were naked, and presumably didn't have sex or reproduced.

Also, when God finds out, he fist asks the man, who accuses "the woman you gave me". So then God turns to the woman, who says the snake deceived her. But here God stops his inquiry. We know the snake can talk because he talked to the woman, so why didn't God ask the snake why he did what he did?

An interpretation is that the snake ("the most clever of all animals God had made") is in fact God's instrument. He works for the boss.

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chuckadams 2 days ago | parent | next [-]

It's a rather obvious allegory for the loss of childhood innocence. We all have to leave The Garden at some point. See also Puff the Magic Dragon.

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adrian_b 2 days ago | parent | prev [-]

It is a different story but which is without any doubt derived from the Enkidu story and modified to suit different conceptions about the role of women in society and about what is valuable for mankind.

While in the Enkidu story the role of the woman was positive, because she has taught Enkidu about the advantages of civilized life, making him leave the wilderness where he lived since being created by God, in the Genesis story Eve was despised for the same thing, i.e. for teaching Adam more than his creator did.

I certainly side with the anonymous author of the Old Babylonian story about Enkidu and not with the editor of the Genesis book who has transformed it.

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krapp 2 days ago | parent [-]

Like Pandora's box, it's a just so story about why women are the source of all mens' problems and why patriarchy is just and necessary. And why women have pain in childbirth. And why people are afraid of snakes. And why we die. But mostly about why women suck (from the point of view of ancient Hebrew culture.)

And that attitude transfers to Christianity in 1 Timothy when Paul says women should not be allowed to teach or have authority over men, but should remain quiet because it was Eve who was deceived by the serpent, and who then deceived Adam.

	▲	bambax 2 days ago \| parent [-]
		Yes but in Genesis 3, 20 (at the end of this very story), it is said: "Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living." That's not dismissive at all. It can be argued that Paul brought his own prejudices to a text which was much less prejudiced than he was.