God’s inquiry appears genuine. There is no immediate evidence that it is offered in an accusing manner: “I know what you’ve done, and now you have hell to pay!” Given the context of the whole story, especially the intimacy with which God approached his creation in Genesis 2, it is reasonable to assume that there may be urgency in his step and his voice, given his longing for connection with the couple and his awareness that it is already teetering on the brink of extinction, but accusation is not to be found.
