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Lenten Season · First Sunday in Lent · Year A

Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7

The Garden, the Command, and the Serpent

February 22, 2026

The Fall of Man, Hugo van der Goes
The Fall of Man, Hugo van der Goes, c. 1467–1468Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna
The serpent is painted as a lizard with a woman's head standing upright on two legs, watching Eve take the fruit with real attention.It is the reading, and Van der Goes made the tempter something you cannot quite place, which is worse.Hugo van der GoesA Ghent painter who entered a monastery at the height of his fame and suffered a breakdown his fellow monks recorded in detail.Kunsthistorisches Museum, ViennaThe Habsburg collection, assembled over four centuries and housed in a purpose-built palace on the Ringstrasse since 1891.Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna
Revised Common Lectionary
GospelMatt. 4:1-11Mt 4:1-11
EpistleRom. 5:12-19Rom 5:12-19
Old TestamentGen. 2:15-17; 3:1-7Gn 2:15-17; 3:1-7
PsalterPs. 32Ps 32

Overview & Insights

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. (Genesis 3:6)

The man is placed in the garden to till and keep it and given one limit, not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The serpent questions that limit, the woman and the man eat, and their eyes are opened to a shame and hiding that did not exist before.

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Take it further: Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7

Commentary

Commentary on Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7Commentary on Gn 2:15-17; 3:1-7 Working Preacher

Working Preacher's Year A commentary reads the story as an account of ordinary human rebellion rather than a technical doctrine of the fall.

Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7 CommentaryGn 2:15-17, 3:1-7 Commentary CEP (cepreaching.org)

The Center for Excellence in Preaching walks through the serpent's question and the couple's reasoning before they eat.

Genesis 3 Bible CommentaryGn 3 Bible Commentary Enduring Word

David Guzik's chapter commentary covers the command, the temptation and the eating verse by verse.

Genesis 3 CommentaryGn 3 Commentary Precept Austin

Precept Austin's verse-by-verse notes trace the serpent's argument against God's stated command.

Genesis 3 - Barnes' NotesGn 3 - Barnes' Notes StudyLight

Barnes' Notes gives close attention to the wording of the prohibition and the serpent's twist on it.

The Church Fathers

Genesis 3, patristic commentaryGn 3, patristic commentary Catena

Verse by verse commentary from the church fathers on this chapter, gathered from the catenae.

Background & Word Study

Genesis 3:6 InterlinearGn 3:6 Interlinear BibleHub

The Hebrew interlinear shows the wordplay between arum, crafty, and arummim, naked, that frames the chapter.

Genesis 3 (Hebrew and English)Gn 3 (Hebrew and English) Sefaria

Sefaria's Hebrew text lets readers read the garden narrative in its original language alongside classic Jewish commentators.

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