“For God knows that, on the day you eat from it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be as God, knowing good from evil (Genesis 3:5). Rabbi Tanḥuma said: They asked me this question15The difficulty is that the latter part of the verse could be translated, “you will be as gods, who know good from evil,” which implies that there are multiple deities. in Antioch. I said to them: “For God knows [yodim]”16Plural. is not written, but rather, “for God knows [yode’a]17Singular. that, on the day you eat from it.”18The very same verse speaks of God in the singular.
Therefore, the correct translation of the end of the verse must be: “You will be as God, [becoming people] who know good from evil.” Rabbi Yehoshua of Sikhnin said in the name of Rabbi Levi: It began to slander its Creator. It said: ‘He ate from this tree and then created the world, so He says to you: Do not eat from it so you will not create other worlds. For every person hates the craftsman that competes with him.’
Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon said: [The serpent said:] ‘Everything that was created after its counterpart dominates that counterpart.19The creations of each day are subservient to the creations created on the following day. The heavens were created on the first day and the firmament on the second. Does it [the firmament] not hold them up? That is a rhetorical question.
The firmament was created on the second day and the vegetation on the third – does it [the firmament] not supply water for it? Vegetation was created on the third day and the luminaries on the fourth – do they [the luminaries] not cause its [the earth’s] produce to grow? The luminaries were created on the fourth day and the birds on the fifth – the ziz is a very large bird and when it flies it obscures the orb of the sun.20So there is a bird that overpowers the sun, by blocking it out.
Man was created after everything in order to dominate everything. Hurry and eat [the fruit] now, before He creates additional worlds and they will dominate you.’ That is what is written: “The woman saw that the tree was good…” (Genesis 3:6) – she saw21That is, she understood and accepted. the arguments of the serpent.