Genesis 3:4

4 But the serpent said to the woman, "You shall not surely die.

Genesis 3:4 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 3:4

And the serpent said unto the woman
In reply to her answer: ye shall not surely die;
in direct contradiction to the divine threatening, and which he would insinuate was a mere threatening, and which God never intended to put in execution; so that they had nothing to fear from that, God would never be so rigid and severe, and beat so hard upon them as to put them to death for such an offence, if it was one; he only gave out the menace to frighten them, and deter from it: however, at most it was not a certain thing they should die, and they might safely conclude they would not.

Genesis 3:4 In-Context

2 The woman said to the serpent, "From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat,

3 but from the tree that is in the midst of the garden, God said, 'You shall not eat from it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die'."

4 But the serpent said to the woman, "You shall not surely die.

5 For God knows that on the day you [both] eat from it, then your eyes will be opened and you [both] shall be like gods, knowing good and evil."

6 When the woman saw that the tree [was] good for food and that it [was] a delight to the eyes, and the tree was desirable to make [one] wise, then she took from its fruit and she ate. And she gave [it] also to her husband with her, and he ate.