Bible Strands
Genesis 3:4
“You will not surely die,” the serpent told the woman.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The serpent addresses the woman immediately after she relays God’s warning that eating the forbidden fruit will cause death. This exchange occurs at the precise moment of temptation in the garden.
The words — The Hebrew לֹא מוֹת תְּמֻתוּן (lo’ mot temutun) literally renders “certainly not die you will,” directly negating the certainty of death in the prior command. The verb תְּמֻתוּן (temutun) employs the emphatic stem to stress absolute, unavoidable death.
The thread — This pattern of contradicting divine warning appears in John 8:44, which identifies the devil as a liar and murderer, and in 2 Corinthians 11:3, which warns against minds being led astray by the serpent’s cunning. The same deceptive dynamic is referenced in 1 Timothy 2:14 regarding the woman’s transgression.
Why it lands — The verse requires a reader to see how a flat denial of God’s stated consequence functions to break trust and enable disobedience. It demands an honest assessment of whether one accepts divine warnings literally or entertains alternative interpretations.
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
King James Version
And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
Cross-references
- John 8:44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out his desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, refusing to uphold the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, because he is a liar and the father of lies.
- 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.
- 2 Corinthians 2:11 in order that Satan should not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.
- 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.”
- Deuteronomy 29:19 because when such a person hears the words of this oath, he invokes a blessing on himself, saying, ‘I will have peace, even though I walk in the stubbornness of my own heart.’ This will bring disaster on the watered land as well as the dry.
- 2 Kings 1:4 Therefore this is what the LORD says: ‘You will not get up from the bed on which you are lying. You will surely die.’” So Elijah departed.
- 2 Kings 1:6 They replied, “A man came up to meet us and said, ‘Go back to the king who sent you and tell him that this is what the LORD says: Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending these men to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you will not get up from the bed on which you are lying. You will surely die.’”
- 2 Kings 1:16 And Elijah said to King Ahaziah, “This is what the LORD says: Is there really no God in Israel for you to inquire of His word? Is that why you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you will not get up from the bed on which you are lying. You will surely die.”
- 2 Kings 8:10 Elisha answered, “Go and tell him, ‘You will surely recover.’ But the LORD has shown me that in fact he will die.”