Genesis 3:1–7
The First Sin: God’s Command and Human Disobedience
Genesis 2:16-17 gives God’s command; Genesis 3:1-10 records the serpent’s challenge, human disobedience, coverings, hiding, and fear.
Understand The Passage
Genesis 3:1-10 describes the serpent’s words, the man and woman eating, their coverings, and their hiding. Read the sequence carefully and distinguish the narrator’s descriptions from each speaker’s claims.
Find it in your Bible: Genesis 3:1-10
Full Thread Trail
Thread trail: Read God’s command in Genesis 2:16-17 and the serpent’s question and claims in Genesis 3:1-5. Then read the actions and responses in Genesis 3:6-10. Compare the stated words and actions before drawing conclusions about temptation and disobedience.
Find it in your Bible: Genesis 2:16-17 · Genesis 3:1-10
Family study
Memory verse: Genesis 2:16-17; Genesis 3:1-10
- What permission and restriction does God give in Genesis 2:16-17?
- What does the serpent ask in Genesis 3:1, and what does he claim in verses 4-5?
- What actions does Genesis 3:6-7 describe?
- What do the man and woman do in Genesis 3:8, and what does the man say in verse 10?
Read Genesis 2:16-17 and Genesis 3:1-10 with a trusted grown-up. On separate paper, make three columns: God says, the serpent says, and people do. Write an observation and verse reference in each column. Explain older KJV words as needed. Discuss the story without asking children to disclose private experiences or keep unsafe secrets; they may always seek help from a safe adult.
Genesis 3:15
The Seed and the Serpent
Genesis 3:15 begins the conflict between the serpent and the woman’s offspring, a theme developed across Scripture.
Understand The Passage
Genesis 3:15 is God’s judgment speech to the serpent. It describes hostility between the serpent and the woman, and between their offspring. Its final image is of the serpent’s head being bruised and the offspring’s heel being bruised.
Find it in your Bible: Genesis 3:15
Full Thread Trail
Thread trail: Read Genesis 3:14-15 and Romans 16:20. Genesis describes hostility and bruising involving the serpent; Romans promises that the God of peace will bruise Satan under the believers’ feet. The shared language supports a Strong canonical connection, without a formal quotation of Genesis.
Find it in your Bible: Genesis 3:14-15 · Romans 16:20
Family study
Memory verse: Genesis 3:14-15
- Who speaks to the serpent in Genesis 3:14?
- In Genesis 3:15, between which pairs does God put enmity?
- Which body parts are named in the final part of verse 15?
- Which questions would require us to read and verify later passages before answering?
Read Genesis 3:14-15 with a trusted grown-up in a KJV Bible. Explain enmity as hostility or opposition and seed here as offspring. On separate paper, make two columns: What these verses say and Questions for later Bible study. Add a verse reference to each observation. Discuss the head-and-heel wording without acting out injury or using graphic pictures. Keep later interpretation separate from what Genesis states; the foundation uses the evidence label Strong.
Genesis 3:20–24
Clothed and Sent from Eden
Genesis records God clothing Adam and his wife and guarding the way to the tree of life. Comparing Genesis 2:9 and 3:22-24 traces access within the narrative.
Understand The Passage
Genesis 3:21-24 records clothing, sending out, and guarded access to the tree of life. Verse 22 gives a reason concerning eating and living for ever. The passage does not describe a sacrificial ceremony.
Find it in your Bible: Genesis 3:21-24
Full Thread Trail
Thread trail: Compare Genesis 2:9 with Genesis 3:22-24. The earlier passage names the tree of life in the garden, and the later passage gives the reason for restricting access and describes the guarded way. Keep this narrative development distinct from interpretations about later restoration.
Find it in your Bible: Genesis 2:9 · Genesis 3:22-24
Family study
Memory verse: Genesis 3:21-24
- What does the LORD God make and do for Adam and his wife in Genesis 3:21?
- What reason concerning the tree of life is stated in Genesis 3:22?
- What work is named when the man is sent out in Genesis 3:23?
- What is guarded in Genesis 3:24?
Read Genesis 3:21-24 with a trusted grown-up. On separate paper, make two columns: What God provides and What access is guarded. Add a verse reference beside each observation. Explain unfamiliar KJV words without graphic detail. Genesis 3:21 says God made coats of skins and clothed them; this passage does not describe a sacrifice ritual. Do not treat family punishments as equivalent to God’s actions in Eden. Children can always seek help from a safe adult when a rule or action hurts or frightens them.