And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
What does Genesis 3:22 mean?
This chapter ends with some account of Nahor's family, who had settled at Haran. This seems to be given for the connexion which it had with the church of God.
Key themes
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Keep this verse inside Genesis 3:22-24 and alongside a few nearby related passages.
Commentary on Genesis 3:22
The Execution 24. kerub in Aramaic: "carve, plow"; Persian: "grip, grasp." This word occurs about eighty-seven times in the Hebrew scriptures; in sixty of which it refers to carved or embroidered figures; in twenty-two to the living being in the vision of Ezekiel Ezek. 10; in two figuratively to the king of Tyre Ezekiel 28:14 , Ezekiel 28:16 ; in two to a being on which the Lord is poetically described as riding 2 Samuel 22:11 ; Psalm 18:11 ; and in the present passage unequivocally to real and well-known beings. The root is not otherwise extant in Hebrew proper.
Key words
- said
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Their existence is assumed as known; for God is said to place or station the cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden.
Context in Genesis 3
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Genesis 3 belongs to the early movement of the book, especially the section often described as primeval history from creation to Babel. Genesis opens the whole Bible with creation, fall, flood, Babel, and the long patriarchal story that carries the reader from Eden to Egypt. Read this chapter with the wider themes of creation, fall, and covenant in view so the individual verses keep their proper weight.
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A collection of passages on hope under pressure, future inheritance, resurrection expectation, and confidence in God’s final faithfulness.