Genesis 3:13

Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” “The serpent deceived me,” she replied, “and I ate.”

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — God addresses the woman immediately after the man shifts blame to her and to God. This interrogation occurs during the divine questioning following the consumption of the forbidden fruit.

The words — The Hebrew verb עָשִׂית ('a.Sit) translates literally as "you have done" and marks her action as a completed deed. The phrase מַה־זֹּאת (mah-zot) means "what this," isolating the specific act for direct accountability.

The thread — The text records the woman's claim that the serpent deceived her, which 2 Corinthians 11:3 and 1 Timothy 2:14 later cite as the mechanism of her transgression. This follows the serpent's initial promise in Genesis 3:4 that she would not die.

Why it lands — The passage states that the woman attributes her eating to deception rather than admitting personal choice. Readers must observe how this deflection precedes the pronouncement of judgment on the serpent and the couple.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וַיֹּ֨אמֶרva/i.Yo.merand/ he said יְהוָ֧הYah.wehYahweh אֱלֹהִ֛ים'E.lo.HimGod לָאִשָּׁ֖הla./'i.Shahto the/ woman מַה־mah-what?זֹּ֣אתzotthis עָשִׂ֑ית'a.Sithave you done וַתֹּ֙אמֶר֙va./To.merand/ she said הָֽאִשָּׁ֔הha./'i.Shahthe/ woman הַנָּחָ֥שׁha./na.Chashthe/ snake הִשִּׁיאַ֖נִיhi.shi.'A./ni<it> deceived/ me וָאֹכֵֽל׃va./'o.Kheland/ I ate

King James Version

And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

Cross-references

2 Corinthians 11:3 I am afraid, however, that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may be led astray from your simple and pure devotion to Christ.
1 Timothy 2:14 And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman who was deceived and fell into transgression.
Genesis 3:4 “You will not surely die,” the serpent told the woman.
Genesis 4:10 “What have you done?” replied the LORD. “The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground.
John 18:35 “Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed You over to me. What have You done?”
2 Samuel 12:9 Why then have you despised the command of the LORD by doing evil in His sight? You put Uriah the Hittite to the sword and took his wife as your own. You have slain him with the sword of the Ammonites.
Genesis 44:15 “What is this deed you have done?” Joseph declared. “Do you not know that a man like me can surely divine the truth?”
2 Samuel 3:24 So Joab went to the king and said, “What have you done? Look, Abner came to you. Why did you dismiss him? Now he is getting away!
1 Samuel 13:11 “What have you done?” Samuel asked. And Saul replied, “When I saw that the troops were deserting me, and that you did not come at the appointed time and the Philistines were gathering at Michmash,