1. Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

Vehannachash	hayah	‘arum	mikol	chayyat	hassadeh	‘esher	‘asah	YHVH	‘Elohiym.
And the serpent	was (became)	subtle	out of every	beast of	the field	which	made	LORD	God.

vayy'omer	‘el-ha'ishshah	‘aph	kiy-‘amar	‘Elohiym	lo'	to'kelu	mikol	‘etz	haggan?
and he said	to the wife	is it so	has said	God	not	you shall eat	from any	tree	of the garden?

vehannachash : nachash - to conjure, learn by experience, enchantments, serpent, divine, brass
     - B'reshiyt 30:27 - ‘experience'; M'lakhim Bet 21:6; Vayikra 19:26; D'varim 18:10;
       B'midbar 21:5-9; Yesha'yahu 14:29 cp. 11:1, Yesha'yahu 27:1

A close cognate is nechoshet, the word for brass (bronze), the symbol of judgment.

• this is why hasatan is sometimes referred to as the ‘shining one' or that which shines.
• to ‘learn by experience' (i.e. the tree of the knowledge of good and evil) is to use human behavior to take advantage of. The serpent watches, learns and then strikes. Mishlei 23:30-32.
  
• he draws you out from your protection. Kohelet 10:8.
• hedges or walls surrounded cities to protect.

ophis (Gk.) - serpent
    Mattityahu 10:16, 23:33; Yochanan 3:14; Hitgalut 12:9, 17; 2 Corinthians 11:3

Discussion of ‘simplicity' - haplotetos (Gk); yashar (Heb);
    Ephesians 6:5; Colossians 3:22; Mattityahu 6:22; Mizmor 119:137; Sh'mot 15:26

‘arum : same word as naked - to be open, uncovered, subtle, prudent, crafty

Subtle does not mean hidden, secret, concealed, unrevealed or unknown. Yesha'yahu 14:12-16

• this word means deceit that is out in the open or uncovered. Of course unless you are blind.
• do you think only Jews are blind? (Romans 11:25)
• this word means to be sharp, discerning, shrewd, designing.
• deceitfulness placed right in the midst of what seems good or right.
• open for all to see, if they have eyes to see and ears to hear.
      2 Corinthians 11:13-14; Ivov 5:12-13; Mishlei 12:16-17, 14:8, 22:3

phronimos (Gk.) - wise

• Mattityahu 10:16 (cp. Mishlei 3:7); Mattityahu 7:24 - ‘build' according to blueprints,
          Mattityahu 25:2-9
• ‘oil' is Torah or truth. (cp. with Mishlei 23:23 )
• 'oil' is synonymous with preparation cp. 1 Thessalonians 5, ‘sons of darkness' not prepared
          Luke 16:8; 1 Corinthians 4:10

"out of every beast" : i.e., from amongst the living created and made beings - Yechezk'el 28

"and he said to the wife" : Why the wife?

• the female, wife, or bride will represent the wife of YHVH or the bride of Messiah, henceforth. It is the bride, or woman, that is vulnerable to deception. She, according to Sha'ul in 1 Timothy 2:13-14, was deceived, not Adam. Adam, however, was the one who transgressed (Romans 5:12-21) . Believers are pictured as the bride.
• Hasatan will, as long as he can, seek to destroy the marriage by deceiving the body or the bride. As long as the body clings to the head, no deception takes place. The first Adam will leave Chavah open to deception by failing to maintain his "headship" and confront the serpent.
• The last Adam will never leave you or forsake you.
• The last Adam will "destroy " the works of the devil. - 1 Yochanan 3:8.
• How does He do this? With a sword, the Word of YHVH (Ephesians 6:17, Hitgalut 19:15).

"is it so?" Hath ‘Elohiym said? Did ‘Elohiym really say? Is that true?

• The first challenge to the word of YHVH. This is why this word is the same as the Hebrew word for ‘nose' and ‘anger'. This could be where the cliche "to thumb your nose" at someone came from.
• Lying or deception begins with casting doubt. The point of this exchange is to deceive Chavah by enticing her to cast doubt on YHVH's word and motives.
• The word of YHVH is the revelation and record of all that is good, holy, and righteous. Hasatan knows this more than anyone.
• The "lie" from the beginning is that your own ways, discovered in the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, supercede the ways of YHVH.
• This rejection of the tree of life and eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil makes them ‘as gods'. This is the same context of 2 Thessalonians 2:3-11.

A COMPARISON OF THE LIE IN THE GARDEN AND THE LIE IN 2 THESSALONIANS 2:1-11

In the garden: A lie or deception and a falling away from the truth. B'reshiyth 3:1-5
In 2 Thess: A lie or deception and a falling away from the truth. 2 Thess 2:1-3. Someone has written
       to them and told them something that is not consistent with scripture in vss 1-2.

In verse three we read:

(Remember Yesha'yahu 46:10 ‘Declaring, from the beginning, the end . . .")

In the garden: The serpent is revealed.
In 2 Thess: The man of sin is revealed.

In the garden: Chavah adds to the word of YHVH, vs 3.
In 2 Thess: Someone has written something that has added to the word of YHVH, vss 1-2.

In the garden: The serpent tells Chavah she shall be as ‘Elohiym, vs 5.
In 2 Thess: The man of sin sits in the temple showing himself that he is ‘Elohiym, vs 4.

In the garden: The serpent is at work.
In 2 Thess: The mystery of iniquity doth already work, vs 7.

In the garden: Adam turns from the love of the truth.
In 2 Thess: "And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish, because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved."

In the garden: Chavah believes the lie.
In 2 Thess: Men shall believe the lie, vs 11.

The nature of the serpent will remain the same to the end. He deceives the people by adding to or taking away from the word. The seed of the woman, however, was prophesied to speak the words of the Father. The true people of YHVH were determined to be those who follow the word of truth from the beginning. This is why the following words are recorded by Sha'ul right after his declaration of the mystery of iniquity in 2 Thessalonians 2:13-15: