The serpent first subtly questions the prohibition: “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1). Eve answers, rather inaccurately, by saying that God has forbidden even touching the tree, let alone eating of it. The serpent then responds with outright denial: “You will not surely die.” To this it adds, “God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (3:4–5). The serpent contrives, by a devious manipulation of half-truth and appeal to her interest in food, her aesthetic sense, and her desire
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