When Adam was unwilling to confess his fault, God went down to Eve with a question, saying to her, "What is this that you have done?" [ Gen. 3:13 ] Eve, too, instead of making supplication with tears and taking the fault upon herself in the hope that pardon might come upon herself and her husband, answered back, not saying, "The serpent counseled me" or "enticed me," but simply, "The serpent deceived me and I ate. " [ Gen. 3:13 ]
Since Adam did not wish to confess his folly, God came down to question Eve and said to her, “What is this that you have done?” Eve too, instead of making supplication with her tears and bearing the fault herself so that mercy might take hold of both her and her husband, responded by saying not “The serpent counseled or seduced me” but “The serpent deceived me and I ate.” When the two of them had been questioned and were both found to be wanting in remorse or true contrition, God went down to the serpent not to make inquiry but to render punishment. For where there is opportunity for repentance, it would be right to inquire, but to one who is a stranger to repentance, judgment is fitting.
That fault is pardonable which is followed by an admission of guilt. The woman, therefore, is not to be despaired of, who did not keep silent before God, but who preferred to admit her sin-the woman on whom was passed a sentence that was salutary. It is good to suffer condemnation for our sins and to be scourged for our crimes, provided we are scourged along with other men. Hence, Cain, because he wanted to deny his guilt, was judged unworthy to be punished in his sin. He was forgiven without prescribed penalty, not, perhaps, for having committed such a serious crime as parricide-he was responsible for his brother's death-as one of sacrilege, in that he thought he had deceived God when he said: ' I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?' [ Gen 4:9 ] And so the accusation is reserved for his accuser, the Devil, prescribing that he be scourged along with his angels, since he did not wish to be scourged with men. Of such, therefore, has it been said: ' There is no regard for their death and they shall not be scourged like other men.' [ Ps 72:4,5 ] The woman's case is, accordingly, of a different character. Although she incurred the sin of disobedience, she still possessed in the tree of Paradise food for virtue. And so she admitted her sin and was considered worthy of pardon. ' The just is first accuser of himself in the beginning of his speech.' [ Prov 18:17 ] No one can be justified from sin unless he has first made confession of his sin. Wherefore the Lord says: ' Tell if thou hast anything to justify thyself.' [ Isa 43:26 ]
Because Eve has admitted her crime, she is given a milder and more salutary sentence, which condemned her wrongdoing and did not refuse pardon. [ Gen 3:16 ] She was to serve under her husband's power, first, that she might not be inclined to do wrong, and, secondly, that, being in a position subject to a stronger vessel, she might not dishonor her husband, but on the contrary, might be governed by his counsel. [ 1 Peter 3:7 ] I see clearly here the mystery of Christ and His Church. The Church's turning toward Christ in times to come and a religious servitude submissive to the Word of God-these are conditions far better than the liberty of this world. Hence it is written: ' Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God and shall serve him only.' [ Deut 6:13; Luke 4:8 ] Servitude, therefore, of this sort is a gift of God. Wherefore, compliance with this servitude is to be reckoned among blessings. We have the example of Isaac granting it as a blessing to his son Esau that he should serve his brothers. Hence he asked for his father's blessing. Although he knew that one blessing had been taken from him, he asked for another: ' Have you only one blessing, father?' [ Gen 27:40,38 ] By this servitude, therefore, Esau, who had before he sold birthright to satisfy his appetite and who in his zeal for hunting in the field had not the benefits derived from a blessing, [ Gen 25:27 ] had now come to believe that he would fare better in the future if he would pay reverence to his brother as a type of Christ. By this kind of servitude Christian folk grow strong, as we have it expressed in the words of the Lord to His disciples: ' Whoever wishes to be first among you, let him be the slave of all of you.' [ Matt 20:27 ] Hence charity, which is greater than hope and faith, brings this servitude to pass, for it is written: ' By charity serve one another.' [ Gal 5:13 ] This, then, is the mystery mentioned by the Apostle in reference to Christ and the Church. [ Eph. 5:32 ] The servitude existed formerly, in fact, but in a condition of disobedience which was to be later made salutary by the generation of children ' in faith and love and holiness with modesty.' [ 1 Tim 2:15 ] What was certainly among the fathers a generation brought into existence in sin shall become salutary in the children, so that what was a stumbling block to the Jews shall in the society of Christians undergo improvement.
' The serpent urged me,' she said. This seemed to God to be pardonable, inasmuch as He knew that the serpent found numerous ways to deceive people. ' Satan disguises himself as an angel of light' and 'his ministers as ministers of justice,' [ 2 Cor 11:14,15 ] imposing false names on individual things, so as to call 'rashness' a virtue and avarice 'industry.' The serpent, in fact, deceived the woman and the woman led the man away from truth to a violation of duty. The serpent is a type of the pleasures of the body. The woman stands for our senses and the man, for our minds. Pleasure stirs the senses, which, in turn, have their effect on the mind. Pleasure, therefore, is the primary source of sin. For this reason, do not wonder at the fact that by God's judgment the serpent was first condemned, then the woman, and finally the man. The order of condemnation, too, corresponded to that of the crimes committed, for pleasure usually captivates the senses and the senses, the mind. To convince you that the serpent is the type of pleasure, take note of his condemnation.
Accordingly, when he had addressed himself at sufficient length to Adam, and the latter made excuses for his sins by transferring, as he thought, the guilt to his wife, behold the good Lord, how much considerateness he employs again and deems her also worthy of a response from him: "God said to the woman." the text goes on "What is this you have done?" [ Gen 3:13 ] You heard your husband, he says, transferring the responsibility to you and putting all the blame on you, given to him though you were as his template and created for the purpose of providing him with comfort from your person inasmuch as you have the same being as he and share in the same nature. So why did you do this, O woman? For what reason did you become the cause of such dreadful shame to your self and your husband? What advantage did you gain from such intemperance? What benefit came to you from the deception which you willingly embraced and made your husband sharer in? So what did the woman reply? "the serpent deceived me, and I ate." See her overcome by great fear and making excuses for her sins: just as her husband seemed to transfer the blame to his wife in the words, "My wife brought it and gave it to me and I ate it," so she too, finding no way out admits what happened and says, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate." That evil creature, she says, brought that disaster upon us, his baleful advice led us to that shame, he deceived me and I ate.
Don't pass these words by heedlessly, dearly beloved; instead, let us study them precisely and gain much benefit from them. I mean, a tribunal is a fearful thing, capable of arousing terror, and we must listen carefully to everything and lay up in our minds the great treasure to be gained from what is said. that is to say, notice the man also saying, "The woman you gave me as my companion gave it to me, and I ate it." No evidence of force, no evidence of pressure only choice and decision: simply "gave," not "forced" or "pressured." She in turn in making her excuse didn't say, The serpent forced me and I ate. Instead, what? "The serpent deceived me." She had the choice of being deceived or not being deceived. "The serpent deceived me," she said. In other words, the enemy of our salvation, working through that evil creature, brought forward his advice and deceived her not forcing or pressuring but through his deadly advice putting his deception into effect after finding the woman easily disposed to embrace the deception and thus deprived of any excuse.
Again, after Adam had done wrong God gave him a chance to repent and be forgiven, and yet he kept on being stiff-necked and unrepentant. For God came to him and said, “Adam, where are you?” instead of saying, “From what glory are you come to this? Are you not ashamed? Why did you sin? Why did you go astray?”—as if urging him sharply to say, “Forgive me!” But there was no sign of humility. There was no change of heart but rather the contrary. He replied, “The wife that you gave me”—mark you, not “my wife”—“deceived me.” “The wife that you gave me,” as if to say, “this disaster you placed on my head.” So it is, my brethren, when a man has not the guts to accuse himself, he does not scruple to accuse God himself. Then God came to Eve and said to her, “Why did you not keep the command I gave you?” as if saying, “If you would only say, ‘Forgive me,’ to humble your soul and be forgiven.” And again, not a word! No “forgive me.” She only answered, “The serpent deceived me!”—as if to say, if the serpent did wrong, what concern is that to me? What are you doing, you wretches? Kneel in repentance, acknowledge your fault, take pity on your nakedness. But neither the one nor the other stooped to self-accusation, no trace of humility was found in either of them.And now look and consider how this was only an anticipation of our own state! See how many and great the evils it has brought on us—this self-justification, this holding fast to our own will, this obstinacy in being our own guide.
And the Lord God said to the woman: Why have you done this? She answered: The serpent deceived me, and I ate. She also does not confess her sin, but refers it to another, of an unequal sex, with equal pride, saying: The serpent deceived me, and I ate; as if anyone's persuasion ought to have been preferred to God's command. And she also refers the cause of her fault to the Creator, who created the serpent in paradise through which she was deceived.
When God had left Adam, he came to Eve. He wanted to show her that she too would be cast out, if she was unwilling to repent. So he said, “What is this that you have done?” so that she at least might be able to say, “I have sinned.” Why else did God need to speak these words to her, unless indeed to enable her to say, “In my folly, O Master, I, a lowly wretch, have done this, and have disobeyed you. Have mercy on me!” But she did not say this. What did she say? “The serpent beguiled me.” How senseless! So you have spoken with the serpent, who speaks against your Master? Him you have preferred to God who made you. You have valued his advice more highly and held it to be truer than the commandment of your Master! So, when Eve too was unable to say, “I have sinned,” both were cast out from the place of enjoyment. They were banished from paradise and from God.
[AD 373] Ephrem the Syrian on Genesis 3:13