Bereshis 3:4

4 And the Nachash said unto the isha, Ye shall not surely die;

Bereshis 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.

Bereshis 3:4 In-Context

2 And the isha said unto the Nachash, We may eat of the p’ri etz hagan;

3 But of the p’ri haEtz which is in the middle of the gan (garden), Elohim hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

4 And the Nachash said unto the isha, Ye shall not surely die;

5 For Elohim doth know that in the yom ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be like Elohim, knowing tov and rah.

6 And when the isha saw that HaEtz was tov for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and HaEtz to be desired to make one have seichel, she took of the p’ri thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her ish with her; and he did eat.