Many people who have read the story of the fall in Genesis
chapters 2 and 3 have noticed an apparent discrepancy. In Genesis 2:17, God
warns Adam not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil:
CSB17 Genesis
2:17 “ . . .but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil, for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die.”
Based on God’s warning, we expect that Adam and Eve will die the
very same day that they eat the fruit. But they don’t. In fact, Adam lives 930
years before he dies.
In this blog post, I will examine five proposed solutions to this
problem. The last two solutions arrive at a similar interpretation, but do so
through different linguistic routes (solution #4 focuses on the Hebrew behind
the phrase “on the day,” while solution #5 focuses on the Hebrew behind the
phrase “you will certainly die”). I believe that one of these last two
interpretations is the correct one, and that of these two, solution #5 is most
likely the most precise correct interpretation.
Finding the correct interpretation does not merely solve a
challenging puzzle. In the concluding remarks we will see how a correct
understanding of Genesis 2:17 harmonizes with the Apostle Paul’s discussion of
Adam and Jesus and death and resurrection in the New Testament.
POSSIBLE SOLUTION #1: A Non-literal meaning of death
A popular solution to our problem is to posit that in Genesis 2:17
the word “die” does not refer to normal, ordinary death. It is claimed that
instead it refers to “spiritual death.” The term “spiritual death” is not found
in the Bible, so different Christians give somewhat different definitions.
Perhaps the most common definition, at least in the context of discussing
Genesis 2:17, is to say that to die here refers to being separated from God.
Several lines of evidence might be offered to attempt to support
this view. It might be claimed that when Adam and Eve were expelled from the
Garden, they were thus separated from God, or at least from close, intimate
fellowship with Him. Also, it is a general biblical principle that our sins do
separate us from God in some sense (Isaiah 59:2, Proverbs 15:29, Deuteronomy
31:17-18).
Despite the arguments that can be made to support this solution,
there are multiple reasons to reject it.
1. Moses consistently uses the same Hebrew phrase to refer to
literal, normal, physical death many times .
The Hebrew phrase translated “you will certainly die” consists of
the absolute infinitive of the verb for “die” followed by the same verb in a
finite form. We don’t have a grammatical form closely equivalent to this in
English, so it is difficult to translate it. If one were to try to translate it
in a word for word literal way some options might be:
“dying you will die”
“to die you will die”
“death you will die”
None of these options capture the meaning of the Hebrew phrase (in
fact, none of these options really says anything clear in English since in
English we don’t use this grammatical construction). We will come back to this
grammatical construction later and try to nail down more precisely what it does
mean. For now, the important point is that this same construction with a
doubling of the Hebrew verb for “die” is used a total of 31 times by Moses.
Once in the verse we are examining, once a few verses later when Satan denies
what God said, and then 29 more times from Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, and
Numbers (this phrase does not appear in Deuteronomy). In every one of those 29
examples, the phrase is clearly referring to ordinary death, not some kind of
spiritual death.
This data makes it quite unlikely that Moses intended something
different from ordinary death in Genesis 2:17. However, if the context of the
story supported a different, rare, meaning, that might be enough to override
the more common meaning. But as we will see, the context actually reinforces
the normal meaning of death.
2. The immediate context of the story of the fall and the broader
context of Genesis both support an ordinary meaning of death.
After they eat the forbidden fruit, God visits Adam and Eve and
gives them a series of consequences. There are more consequences than death (of
any kind). But there is one consequence that is very closely connected with
death: “For you are dust, and you will return to dust”
(Gen. 3:19 CSB17). Returning to dust relates to ordinary, physical death.
As far as the context of the rest of Genesis
goes, the same Hebrew word used for death five times in Genesis chapters 2 and
3, is found 74 more times in the rest of Genesis. Here we are counting all uses
of the verb for “to die,” not just the cases where it has the same precise
grammatical form as found in Genesis 2:17. It always refers to normal, physical
death and is never used to refer to some type of spiritual death. In fact, it
is even used twice to refer to animal death (see Appendix 2).
3. Although we know that sin does cause
separation from God, this element is not emphasized in the account of the fall.
In fact, the very next verse after the story of the fall in Genesis 3 shows
that in a significant way God was still with them and helping them:
CSB17 Genesis 4:1 The man was intimate with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain. She said, "I have had a male child with the LORD 's help."
Adam and Eve are indeed cast out of the
Garden, and as a result do not have access to the tree of life. However, God is
still with them outside the Garden and helping them.
In summary, I think the evidence is strongly
against the first possible way to explain why Adam and Eve did not die the day
they ate the fruit. The argument that God was referring to a spiritual death of
some kind is not well supported. The other four possible solutions are all
consistent with God’s warning referring to ordinary death.
POSSIBLE SOLUTION #2: Adam and Eve began the process of dying on
the very day they ate the fruit, and finally died later.
This solution says that God meant that Adam and Eve would begin
the process of dying on the day they ate the fruit, and then later they would
finally die. This reflects the widely observed and experienced truth that our
bodies begin to decay (age) long before we die. We now know that this is due,
at least in part, to the accumulation of genetic damage at each cell division
and over the life of each cell. While Moses would not have known the biological
causes (and even today we are far from completely understanding all that goes
into aging), he certainly would have known that our bodies normally start to
get old, weak, stiff, and begin to experience many problems long before we
actually die. And of course, God, who inspired Moses, knows this. But for this
explanation to work, there has to be something in the language to suggest that
God might have been referring to a process of dying leading to death rather
than simply referring to death.
Proponents of this solution think there is something in the
language to support this view. They base it on the fact that the Hebrew for
“you will certainly die” is mōwt tamut. Both mōwt and tamut are
forms of the Hebrew verb which means “to die.”
It is uncontroversial that tamut by itself means “you will
die.”
The complicated part is mōwt. This is the absolute
infinitive of the verb. The Hebrew absolute infinitive does not have an exact
equivalent in English. Because it is called an infinitive, some have suggested
“to die” as the best literal translation. However, because the absolute
infinitive often functions like a noun, others have suggested “dying,” since in
English participles sometimes function as nouns. As a result, the word-for-word
translation “dying you will die” has been suggested. That sounds like it might
mean that Adam and Even would begin the process of dying that day and then
eventually die later.
For those who have not studied the meaning of the Hebrew absolute
infinitive, and have not looked at examples of mōwt tamut throughout the
rest of the Old Testament, the above explanation sounds very attractive.
However, I believe a closer examination shows that the translation “dying you
will die” simply cannot be supported.
The big problem is that mōwt tamut functions as an
idiomatic grammatical unit where the meaning of the unit cannot be determined
simply by the meaning of each individual word. As mentioned above, this exact
wording is used 31 times by Moses and another 20 times in the rest of the Old
Testament. All of these uses are listed in Appendix #1. You can see that there
is not a single example outside of Genesis 2:17 and Satan’s denial of God’s
warning in 3:4 where the context would support a meaning like “a process of
dying that ends in death.”
Therefore, while this interpretation is attractive when we think
about the fact that our bodies usually go through a process of decay leading to
death, there is no linguistic evidence to support the idea that God was
referring to this process when He warned Adam that he would surely die if he
ate the fruit. Further, there is nothing explicit in the context to justify
such a rare and unusual meaning. For example, if while declaring the curses God
had said something like “Now you will begin to die (or decay),” this might
justify such an interpretation. Or if somewhere in the story it said something
like “Then Adam and Eve began to decay (or die, or something similar),” that
might justify a meaning of mōwt tamut in Genesis 2:17 that is different
from how it is consistently used elsewhere. But lacking any contextual clues,
there is no reason to interpret this phrase as having a unique meaning here.
This is even more true because, as we will see when we get to possible solution
#5, the normal meaning of mōwt tamut fits perfectly well here and provides
a solution that works.
POSSIBLE SOLUTION #3: God graciously chose to delay Adam and Eve’s
death to allow them and their descendants to experience His plan of salvation.
A major advantage of this solution is that it allows Genesis 2:17,
as most commonly translated in English translations, to be taken entirely
literally. “on the day you eat from it” means literally just that, and “you
will certainly die” refers to normal, ordinary death. After looking at many
verses using the phrase “on the day” and many other verses containing the
Hebrew phrase mōwt tamut (translated “you will certainly die” above), it
appears that the Hebrew text could easily support this simple, literal
interpretation.
In addition to allowing a simple, literal reading of Genesis 2:17,
this solution can point to the fact that God provided clothing made from animal
skins to cover Adam and Eve. Whatever solution Christians think is most likely
to explain why Adam and Eve did not die the same day they ate the fruit, many
agree that the provision of animal skins, which would have necessitated killing
an animal, likely points to the way God would ultimately cover our sins (and
not merely cover, but atone for and wash away), by the substitutionary death of
Christ. So, this first animal sacrifice (although not explicitly called an
animal sacrifice) pointed to God’s mercy and plan of salvation. In light of His
mercy and plan of salvation, He might then have chosen to delay the execution
of the death sentence that Adam and Eve (and all of us, outside of Christ!)
deserved.
Might God threaten someone with death and then delay the
execution? Yes.
In the 20th chapter of 2 Kings, the prophet Isaiah
tells King Hezekiah that he is about to die. But after Hezekiah cries out to God
in prayer, God sends Isaiah back to the tell the King that He has added fifteen
years to his life.
Further, in Ezekiel God provides a list of sinful actions and then
says:
CSB17 Ezekiel
18:13b Since he has committed all these detestable acts, he will certainly die
(mōwt
tamut). His death will be his own fault.
Is there any hope for this person who due to detestable acts is
certain to die? Yes:
CSB17 Ezekiel
18:21 "But if the wicked person turns from all the sins he has committed,
keeps all my statutes, and does what is just and right, he will certainly live;
he will not die.
Perhaps an even more relevant example is
found in Exodus after the tragedy of the golden calf. God is ready to wipe out
all of Israel and start over again with Moses. But after Moses intercedes in
prayer, we read:
CSB17 Exodus 32:14 So the LORD relented
concerning the disaster he had said he would bring on his people.
What makes this last story so relevant is that God does cause almost
all the Israelites to die in the desert due to their sins, but their deaths are
delayed long enough to allow a new generation to be raised up.
Considering these examples (and others could be given), I feel
that solution #3 is a reasonable explanation that cannot be ruled out. But I
don’t think it is the best explanation for the following reasons:
1. Unlike some of the other examples listed above (like when God allowed the Israelites to live 40 years in the desert after Moses interceded) , there is
nothing in the story of the fall that explicitly states that God changed his mind. Nor is
there any record of Adam or Eve asking Him to.
2. The next two explanations, while a bit more complex due to the
fact that we don’t speak biblical Hebrew, both seem to provide a solution that
fits the language and the story a little better. Although solution #3 works very well with the most
common English translations of Genesis 2:17, ultimately it is the meaning of
the original Hebrew text which is most important.
Possible Solution #4 The phrase “on the day” as used in the Hebrew
Old Testament does not always refer to an event happening in or on just one
literal day.
In English, we sometimes use the word “day” to refer to a much
longer period of time than a literal 24 hour day. For example, we might say “In
Abraham Lincoln’s day America was bitterly divided.” Anyone reading this would
interpret “day” to mean “lifetime.” It turns out that in Hebrew they also
sometimes used the word “day” to refer to periods other than a literal day.
In examining examples from the Hebrew Old Testament, it will help
to know that the Hebrew word for day is yom and the phrase “on the day”
is formed in Hebrew by adding a prepositional prefix to yom so that it
becomes beyom.
One example close to our own text is found earlier in the same
chapter of Genesis:
ESV Genesis 2:4
These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day (beyom) that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens.
We quoted from the ESV above because this
translation tends to be more word-for-word literal and in this verse chose to
translate beyom in a word-for-word literal way, even though it would be
a bit unusual for us to say it that way in English since it took more than one
day for God to create the world. Other translations chose to translate this
same verse in a way that feels more natural in English. Here are some examples:
CSB17 Genesis 2:4
These are the records of the heavens and the earth, concerning their creation. At the time that (beyom) the LORD
God made the earth and the heavens,
NIV Genesis 2:4
This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when (beyom) the LORD God made the earth and the heavens.
NLT Genesis 2:4
This is the account of the creation of the heavens and the earth. When (beyom) the LORD
God made the earth and the heavens
Genesis 2:4 is not the only time when beyom is used to
mean basically “when.” Consider this passage:
16 The LORD said to Moses, "You are
about to rest with your fathers, and these people will soon prostitute
themselves with the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will
abandon me and break the covenant I have made with them.
17 My
anger will burn against them on that day (beyom);
I will abandon them and hide my face from them so that they will become easy
prey. Many troubles and afflictions will come to them. On that day (beyom) they will
say, 'Haven't these troubles come to us because our God is no longer with us? '
18 I will certainly hide my face on that day (beyom) because of
all the evil they have done by turning to other gods. (Deut. 31:16-18 CSB17)
When we look at what actually happened,
Israel prostituted themselves with foreign gods and God afflicted them with
troubles and hid his face from them over long periods of time in Israel’s
history. Other examples could be given.
Based on these examples, it seems that it
would be reasonable to translate beyom in
Genesis 2:17 as simply “when” or “if” since that would be a more natural
translation in English which would be less likely to be misunderstood. In fact,
some translations (especially those which place relatively more focus on
catching the idea clearly of the original Hebrew in natural English, as opposed
to those which place a little more weight on translating as word-for-word
literally as English allows) have in fact translated Genesis 2:17 in ways which
are consistent with our possible solution #4:
NIV Genesis
2:17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,
for when (beyom) you eat from
it you will certainly die."
NET Genesis
2:17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,
for when (beyom) you eat from
it you will surely die."
NLT Genesis
2:17 except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If (beyom) you eat its fruit, you are
sure to die."
If the above translations are correctly capturing the sense of the
original Hebrew, that does not necessarily mean that more literal translations
are wrong. It may merely mean that those translators chose to use a more
word-for-word translation and allow Bible commentators, teachers, and preachers
to figure out and explain the Hebrew idiom. Translating it word-for-word also
allows for the possibility that God did intend to mean that something literally
happened in that day (as is the case in the other 4 possible solutions).
At this point, you may be thinking that this solution is the right
one. I think this solution is reasonable and plausible. It may be correct. But
I don’t think it is the solution which is most precisely correct. This
solution, despite its considerable strengths, does have some weaknesses.
Just because yom sometimes refers to a period of time other
than a literal day, doesn’t mean it is being used this way in Genesis 2:17. In
fact, most of the time, yom does refer to a literal day. Likewise, while
beyom sometimes is used in a broad sense to mean “when” or “in the time
that,” most of the time when beyom is used, it does mean literally “in
the day” or “on the day.” According to my BibleWorks search engine, the phrase beyom
is used 524 times in the Old Testament, including 138 times by Moses. I looked
at all the times Moses used it and a fair sample of the other times. I also
looked at some examples having the basic form “If you do something, then this
will be the consequence.” Examples I looked at included Genesis 20:7, Exodus
8:2, Leviticus 26:21, Numbers 32:23, and Deuteronomy 28:15. Many similar
examples could be added. None of these warnings which have a form similar to
Genesis 2:17 use beyom. They all use the normal Hebrew word for if.
Why would God have used beyom instead of simply using if unless
He wanted to emphasize the time element? After looking at all this data, I feel
it is more likely that in the specific context of Genesis 2:17 Moses meant
literally “on the day” and his readers most likely would have interpreted it
that way. This is a judgment call. It’s not black and white because beyom has
a range of possible meanings and there are many ways to say basically the same
thing in any given language.
We have one more possible solution to consider. In this solution
something does happen on the very day they eat the fruit. This last solution is
the one which I think most likely is correct:
Possible Solution #5 The Hebrew phrase mōwt tamut basically
means “death sentence!” and thus the force of the sentence is not that Adam and
Eve would certainly die on the very day they ate the fruit, but that they would
receive a death sentence that very day that would make their eventual death
certain.
The difference between solution #5 and solution #4 is that in
solution #4 Genesis 2:17 is not speaking about anything that happened on the
literal same day that they ate the fruit, while in solution #5 it does refer to
something that happened on the literal same day.
This solution has in its favor the easily verifiable fact that in almost
all the 51 times mōwt tamut is used in the Old Testament it refers to a
death penalty. You can see this for yourself in Appendix #1.
While mōwt tamut seems to be the most common way to refer
to a death penalty, on a few occasions, a Hebrew phrase meaning literally
death-judgment is used. In one passage, the phrase for mōwt tamut
is used and then later the Hebrew phrase meaning death-judgment is
used to refer to the same thing. After Jeremiah faithfully declares God’s
message, some of the religious leaders declare that Jeremiah must die:
CSB17 Jeremiah
26:8 When he finished the address the LORD had commanded him to deliver to all
the people, immediately the priests, the prophets, and all the people took hold
of him, yelling, "You must surely die!” (mōwt
tamut)
In verse 26:11, the same priests and prophets ask the city
officials to give Jeremiah a death sentence:
CSB17 Jeremiah
26:11 Then the priests and prophets said to the officials and all the people,
"This man deserves the death sentence
because he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your own
ears."
And in 26:16, the officials (who seem to be a bit more reasonable)
reply that Jeremiah really does not deserve a death sentence:
CSB17 Jeremiah 26:16 Then the officials and
all the people told the priests and prophets, "This man doesn't deserve the death sentence, for he has spoken to us in
the name of the LORD our God!"
The point is that mōwt tamut seems to mean the same thing
in verse 8 that “the death sentence” means in verses 11 and 16.
This solution is also supported by the fact that on the same day
they eat of the fruit, God casts them out of Eden for the specific purpose of
ensuring that they do not live forever in a fallen state. Surely, this is a
death sentence:
CSB17 Genesis
3:22 The LORD God said, "Since the man has become like one of us, knowing
good and evil, he must not reach out, take from the tree of life, eat, and live
forever."
There are some translations of Genesis 2:17 which reflect this
interpretation. Perhaps the most important one is a translation by Robert Alter
in which he includes explanatory notes. Here is his translation:
“But from the tree of knowledge, good
and evil, you shall not eat, for on the day you eat from it, you are doomed to
die." (Genesis, Translation and Commentary by Robert Alter).
Alter’s commentary on this verse is enlightening:
16.—17. surely eat. . . doomed to die.
The form of the Hebrew in both instances is what grammarians call the
infinitive absolute: the infinitive immediately followed by a conjugated form
of the same verb. The general effect of this repetition is to add emphasis to
the verb, but because in the case of the verb "to die" it is the
pattern regularly used in the Bible for the issuing of death sentences,
"doomed to die" is an appropriate equivalent. (Genesis,
Translation and Commentary by Robert Alter, footnote for Genesis 2:17)
Alter’s translation is not widely known, but it received a positive
review by Hershael York on The Gospel Coalition site.
Another translation which is consistent with this interpretation
is found in the Complete Jewish Bible (CJB):
CJB Genesis 2:17
except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. You are not to eat from it,
because on the day that you eat from it, it will become certain that you will
die."
We could offer a few possible translations of our own:
“on the day
you eat from it – death sentence!”
“on the day you eat from it you will be sentenced to death.”
“on the day you eat from it you will be sentenced to death.”
I think this final option is the best of the five solutions.
Summary of the Five Solutions
I don’t think we can (or at least I don’t think I can) say with
complete confidence that one of the solutions is certainly correct. But neither
do I think they are all equally likely. This chart summarizes how likely I feel
each solution is:
While it may seem unsatisfying to have a conclusion which is
uncertain, this reflects the reality of language and the difficulty of
interpreting from an ancient language. However, it should be encouraging that
there are good solutions to the question of why God seems to say Adam and Eve
will die the day they eat the fruit, but then they don’t die until much later.
Something else also is important. Only solution #1 above calls for
a non-literal, “spiritual” interpretation of death in Genesis 2:17. The other
four solutions all work very well with, or even require, the death threatened
in Genesis 2:17 to refer to the literal, ordinary meaning of death.
Specifically, it means that a person loses their life. They cease to live.
If my judgment of the relative likelihood of the five possible
solutions is approximately correct, it would mean it is very unlikely that
Genesis 2:17 is referring to a “spiritual death” and nearly certain it is
referring to ordinary death. This does not mean that nothing spiritual happened
that day. For example, Adam and Eve became aware of their nakedness and felt
shame in a way they had not before. Also, while it is not explicitly stated in
the story, their intimacy with God was damaged. God still was with them to help
them in some ways (see Genesis 4:1), but we know that sin damages our
relationship with God until our sin is dealt with by repentance and God’s grace.
So, we’re not saying that their sin had no spiritual consequences. It certainly
did! However, God was not specifically referring to those consequences when he
warned them that the result of their disobedience would be death. He was
warning of death, plain and simple. This fact is important because it
harmonizes the warning in Genesis 2:17 that Adam’s sin would bring death with two
passages in the New Testament where Paul specifically mentions Adam and death.
Connecting Genesis 2:17 to the New Testament
In Genesis 2:17, God warns Adam that if he eats the fruit from the
tree of the knowledge of good and evil then Adam will receive a death sentence.
Adam and Eve do eat the fruit. Later that day God comes and declares the
consequences. The most serious consequence is that they will, indeed, die and
return to dust. God casts them out of Eden and blocks their access to the tree
of life so that people will not live forever in a fallen state.
Thank God there is more to the story. Even while proclaiming the
curse, God gives hope that the serpent will one day be crushed by a descendant
from Eve. God also provides animal skins to cover Adam and Eve’s shame. This
act, which would have involved killing an animal, points to God’s plan to
provide forgiveness of sins through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
In Romans, Paul explains how all mankind has fallen short of God’s
glory and thus we all deserve to die (Romans 1:32). He then goes on to explain
the very good news that Jesus died for us to satisfy this penalty. We can now be
justified (declared righteous) through faith in Jesus. In Romans 5, Paul
explains that this declaration of righteousness in Christ overcomes the death
penalty we all deserve. Paul ends the chapter with this beautiful summary which
emphasizes that the possibility of eternal life which was lost in the garden
has now been restored through Christ: “sin reigned in death, so also grace will reign through righteousness,
resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 5:21 CSB17).
While those Christians alive at the return of
Christ will apparently never experience death (see 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18),
most of us die before Christ returns. We conquer death not by never
experiencing a death, but in the exact same way that our Lord conquered death:
through a glorious bodily resurrection. This is the great topic of 1
Corinthians 15. Once again, Paul connects this great truth to Adam and what
happened when he sinned. The tragedy that began in Eden, and has been repeated
by our own sins, is reversed through the work of Christ. For all who have faith
in Him, death will not be our end.
For just as in Adam all die,
so also in Christ all will be made
alive.
(1 Cor. 15:22 CSB17)
But what about those who reject Christ? They also are resurrected,
but only for the purpose of facing judgment (John 5:29). This judgment affirms
the death sentence that God warned of back in Eden. By resurrecting them
temporarily back to life God ensures all creation clearly knows and sees that
the death sentence of the unrighteous is just and right. They then die a second
time, a fate the Bible four times refers to as “the second death.” This means they
perish (John 3:16). God destroys both their bodies and souls in hell (Matthew
10:28). They are burned to ashes (2 Peter 2:6). Then they “will fade away like
smoke” (Psalm 27:20) and “will be no more” (Psalm 37:10).
Acknowledgements and Additional Reading Resources:
In this blog post, I drew heavily on the insights and research
from this article on Genesis 2:17 by Peter Grice on the Rethinking Hell
website:
I’ve written several other articles that are related to the topics
of death, second death, and immortality in the Bible. Here are four you may be
interested in:
Appendix #1: All examples of absolute infinitive
of death followed by a finite verb with the same root
This appendix contains all 49 occurrences of the Hebrew verb for
“die” having the same grammatical form (absolute infinitive followed by a
finite verb with the same root) as the Hebrew verb phrase found in Genesis
2:17. In this blog post, we are trying to determine how best to interpret
Genesis 2:17 in light of the fact that Adam and Eve did not die on the same
literal day they ate the fruit. In looking at these sentences notice the
following:
1. After the two verses in the story we are discussing (Genesis
2:17 and 3:4), in all other 47 examples death refers to literal, ordinary
death.
2. In the vast majority of these examples, this phrase is being
used to express a death penalty either for a certain sin, or for someone who
has committed a sin. The penalty is usually declared by either God or a human
king.
The English words which translate the relevant Hebrew verbs
(sometimes along with their objects and other modifiers) are placed in bold red to help
you quickly see them.
CSB17 Gen.
2:17 but you must not eat from the tree
of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die."
CSB17 Gen.
3:4 "No! You will not die," the serpent said to the woman.
CSB17 Gen.
20:7 Now return the man's wife, for he
is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not
return her, know that you will certainly die,
you and all who are yours."
CSB17 Gen.
26:11 So Abimelech warned all the
people, "Whoever harms this man or his wife will
certainly be put to death."
CSB17 Exod.
19:12 Put boundaries for the people all
around the mountain and say: Be careful that you don't go up on the mountain or
touch its base. Anyone who touches the mountain must
be put to death.
CSB17 Exod.
21:12 "Whoever strikes a person so
that he dies must be put to death.
CSB17 Exod.
21:15 "Whoever strikes his father
or his mother must be put to death.
CSB17 Exod.
21:16 "Whoever kidnaps a person must be put to death, whether he sells him or the
person is found in his possession.
CSB17 Exod.
21:17 "Whoever curses his father or
his mother must be put to death.
CSB17 Exod.
22:19 "Whoever has sexual
intercourse with an animal must be put to death.
CSB17 Exod.
31:14 Observe the Sabbath, for it is
holy to you. Whoever profanes it must be put to
death. If anyone does work on it, that person must be cut off from
his people.
CSB17 Exod.
31:15 Work may be done for six days, but
on the seventh day there must be a Sabbath of complete rest, holy to the LORD.
Anyone who does work on the Sabbath day must be put
to death.
CSB17 Lev.
20:2 "Say to the Israelites: Any
Israelite or alien residing in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech must be put to death; the people of the country
are to stone him.
CSB17 Lev.
20:9 "If anyone curses his father
or mother, he must be put to death. He
has cursed his father or mother; his death is his own fault.
CSB17 Lev.
20:10 "If a man commits adultery
with a married woman-- if he commits adultery with his neighbor's wife-- both
the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death.
CSB17 Lev.
20:11 If a man sleeps with his father 's
wife, he has violated the intimacy that belongs to his father. Both of them must be put to death; their death is their own
fault.
CSB17 Lev.
20:12 If a man sleeps with his
daughter-in-law, both of them must be put to death. They have acted perversely; their death is their own
fault.
CSB17 Lev.
20:13 If a man sleeps with a man as with
a woman, they have both committed a detestable act. They
must be put to death; their death is their own fault.
CSB17 Lev.
20:15 If a man has sexual intercourse
with an animal, he must be put to death;
you are also to kill the animal.
CSB17 Lev.
20:16 If a woman approaches any animal
and mates with it, you are to kill the woman and the animal. They must be put to death; their death is their
own fault.
CSB17 Lev.
20:27 "A man or a woman who is a
medium or a spiritist must be put to death. They are to be stoned; their death is their own
fault."
CSB17 Lev.
24:16 Whoever blasphemes the name of the
LORD must be put to death; the whole
community is to stone him. If he blasphemes the Name, he is to be put to death,
whether the resident alien or the native.
CSB17 Lev.
24:17 "If a man kills anyone, he must be put to death.
CSB17 Lev.
27:29 No person who has been set apart
for destruction is to be ransomed; he must be put to
death.
CSB17 Num.
15:35 Then the LORD told Moses, "The man is to be put to death. The entire community is to stone him outside the
camp."
CSB17 Num.
26:65 For the LORD had said to them that
they would all die in the wilderness.
None of them was left except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.
CSB17 Num.
35:16 "If anyone strikes a person
with an iron object and death results, he is a murderer; the murderer must be put to death.
CSB17 Num.
35:17 If anyone has in his hand a stone
capable of causing death and strikes another person and he dies, the murderer must be put to death.
CSB17 Num.
35:18 If anyone has in his hand a wooden
object capable of causing death and strikes another person and he dies, the
murderer must be put to death.
CSB17 Num.
35:21 or if in hostility he strikes him
with his hand and he dies, the one who struck him must
be put to death; he is a murderer. The avenger of blood is to kill
the murderer when he finds him.
CSB17 Num.
35:31 You are not to accept a ransom for
the life of someone who is guilty of murder; he must
be put to death.
CSB17 Jdg.
13:22 "We're
certainly going to die," he said to his wife, "because we
have seen God!"
CSB17 Jdg.
21:5 The Israelites asked, "Who of
all the tribes of Israel didn't come to the LORD with the assembly?" For a
great oath had been taken that anyone who had not come to the LORD at Mizpah would certainly be put to death.
CSB17 1 Sam.
14:39 As surely as the LORD lives who
saves Israel, even if it is because of my son Jonathan, he must die!" Not one of the troops answered
him.
CSB17 1 Sam.
14:44 Saul declared to him, "May
God punish me and do so severely if you do not die,
Jonathan!"
CSB17 1 Sam.
22:16 But the king said, "You will die, Ahimelech-- you and your father's
whole family!"
CSB17 2 Sam.
12:14 However, because you treated the
LORD with such contempt in this matter, the son born to you will die."
CSB17 2 Sam.
14:14 We will
certainly die and be like water
poured out on the ground, which can't be recovered. But God would not take away
a life; he would devise plans so that the one banished from him does not remain
banished.
CSB17 1 Ki.
2:37 On the day you do leave and cross
the Kidron Valley, know for sure that you will
certainly die. Your blood will be on your own head."
CSB17 1 Ki.
2:42 So the king summoned Shimei and
said to him, "Didn't I make you swear by the LORD and warn you, saying,
'On the day you leave and go anywhere else, know for sure that you will certainly die '?
And you said to me, 'The sentence is fair; I will obey.'
CSB17 2 Ki.
1:4 Therefore, this is what the LORD
says: You will not get up from your sickbed; you
will certainly die.'" Then Elijah left.
CSB17 2 Ki.
1:6 They replied, "A man came to
meet us and said, 'Go back to the king who sent you and declare to him: This is
what the LORD says: Is it because there is no God in Israel that you're sending
these men to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore, you will not
get up from your sickbed; you will certainly die.'"
CSB17 2 Ki.
1:16 Then Elijah said to King Ahaziah,
"This is what the LORD says: 'Because you have sent messengers to inquire
of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron-- is it because there is no God in Israel for
you to inquire of his will?-- you will not get up from your sickbed; you will certainly die.'"
CSB17 2 Ki.
8:10 Elisha told him, "Go say to
him, 'You are sure to recover.' But the LORD has shown me that he is sure to die."
CSB17 Jer.
26:8 When he finished the address the
LORD had commanded him to deliver to all the people, immediately the priests,
the prophets, and all the people took hold of him, yelling, "You must surely die!
CSB17 Ezek.
3:18 If I say to the wicked person, 'You will surely die,' but
you do not warn him-- you don't speak out to warn him about his wicked way in
order to save his life-- that wicked person will die for his iniquity. Yet I
will hold you responsible for his blood.
CSB17 Ezek.
18:13 and lends at interest or for
profit, will he live? He will not live! Since he has committed all these
detestable acts, he will certainly die. His death will be his own fault.
CSB17 Ezek.
33:8 If I say to the wicked, 'Wicked
one, you will surely die,' but you do not
speak out to warn him about his way, that wicked person will die for his
iniquity, yet I will hold you responsible for his blood.
CSB17 Ezek.
33:14 " 'So when I tell the wicked
person, "You will surely die,"
but he repents of his sin and does what is just and right--
Appendix
#2 All Uses of the Word Death/Die in Genesis
Here is a list of all the uses of the Hebrew word for death in
Genesis. I’ve provided a very brief description of the context in which the
word death is used for each verse. You should be able to hold your cursor over
a verse and see it pop up.
Genesis 2:17 “you will
certainly die” - God
Genesis 3:3 Eve slightly misquotes God
Genesis 3:4 “you will not die” - Satan
Genesis 5:5 Adam died
Genesis 5:8 Seth died
Genesis 5:11 Enosh died
Genesis 5:14 Kenan died
Genesis 5:17 Mahalalel
died
Genesis 5:20 Jared died
Genesis 5:27 Methuselah
died
Genesis 5:31 Lamech
died
Genesis 7:22 Everything
on dry land died (includes animal death)
Genesis 9:29 Noah died
Genesis 11:28 Haran died
Genesis 11:32 Terah died
Genesis 18:25 Abraham
pleads for God not to kill the righteous in Sodom
Genesis 19:19 Lot is
concerned that he will die
Genesis 20:3 God warns
Abimelech that he is as good as dead (prolepsis)
Genesis 20:7 God warns
Abimelech that if he does not return Sarah he will certainly die
Genesis 21:16 Hagar cannot
bear to watch her child die
Genesis 23:2 Sarah died
Genesis 23:3 Refers to
Sarah’s death
Genesis 23:4 Refers to
burial of Sarah’s dead body
Genesis 23:6 Refers to
burial of Sarah’s dead body
Genesis 23:8 Refers to
burial of Sarah’s dead body
Genesis 23:11 Refers to
burial of Sarah’s dead body
Genesis 23:13 Refers to
burial of Sarah’s dead body
Genesis 23:15 Refers to
burial of Sarah’s dead body
Genesis 25:8 Abraham
died
Genesis 25:11 Refers to
Abraham’s death
Genesis 25:17 Ishmael died
Genesis 25:32 Esau
(exaggerating) says he is about to die from hunger
Genesis 26:9 Isaac was
afraid he might die (be killed) because of his wife
Genesis 26:11 Abimelech
declares death penalty for anyone who touches Isaac or his wife
Genesis 26:18 Refers to
death of Abraharm
Genesis 27:2 Isaac
says, “I do not know the day of my death.”
Genesis 27:4 Isaac
wants to bless his son before he (Isaac) dies.
Genesis 27:7 Repeats
desire of Isaac to bless his son before dying.
Genesis 27:10 Also
discusses Isaac blessing a son before dying.
Genesis 30:1 “Give me
children, or I shall die!” – Rachel to Jacob
Genesis 33:13 “the flocks
will die” (refers to animal death)
Genesis 35:8 Deborah
died and was buried
Genesis 35:18 Refers to
Rachel dying
Genesis 35:19 Rachel died
and was buried
Genesis 35:29 Isaac died
Genesis 36:33 Bela died
Genesis 36:34 Jobab died
Genesis 36:35 Husham died
Genesis 36:36 Hadad died
Genesis 36:37 Samlah died
Genesis 36:38 Shaul died
Genesis 36:39 Baal-hanan
died
Genesis
37:18 Joseph brothers plan to put him
to death
Genesis 38:7 The Lord
puts Er to death
Genesis 38:10 The Lord
puts Onan to death
Genesis 38:11 Judah
worries that Shelah might also die
Genesis 38:12 Judah’s wife
dies
Genesis 42:2 Plan to by
grain “that we may live and not die”
Genesis 42:20 Joseph
orders his brothers to bring the youngest to avoid death
Genesis 42:37 Reuben
offers to allow his two sons to be put to death if he fails to return Benjamin
Genesis 42:38 Jacob thinks
Joseph is dead
Genesis 43:8 Judah
wants to buy more food so that they don’t die
Genesis 44:9 Joseph’s
brothers say they will die if any of them took the cup
Genesis 44:20 Joseph’s
brothers think he is dead
Genesis 44:22 Concern that
losing Benjamin might cause Jacob to die
Genesis 44:31 Jacob will
die if Benjamin does not return
Genesis 45:28 Jacob plans
to see Joseph before dying
Genesis 46:12 Recounts
that Er and Onan died in Canaan
Genesis 46:30 Jacob is
ready to die
Genesis 47:15 Egyptians
and Canaanites plead for food so they won’t die
Genesis 47:19 same as
above
Genesis 47:29 Time
approaches for Jacob to die
Genesis 48:7 Jacob
remembers Rachel’s death
Genesis 48:21 Jacob knows
he is about to die
Genesis 50:5 Jacob is
about to die
Genesis 50:15 His sons see
Jacob is dead
Genesis 50:16 Jacob’s
brothers mention their father’s death
Genesis 50:24 Joseph says
he is about die
Genesis 50:26 Joseph died
(last verse in Genesis)
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