Eve

We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

Eve (Hebrew: חַוָּה‎, Classical Hebrew: Ḥawwāh, Modern Israeli Hebrew: Khavah, Arabic: حواء‎, Syriac: ܚܘܐ, Tigrinya: ሕይዋን? or Hiywan) is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible, in most Abrahamic traditions identified as the first woman. "Eve" in the Hebrew language is Ḥawwāh, meaning: "living one" or "source of life", and is related to ḥāyâ, "to live", derived from the Semitic root ḥyw.

See also:

Adam

Adam and Eve

Lilith

Quotes

Quotes from works of literature of the character "Eve"

• We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
  • To the Serpent in Genesis 3:2-3 (KJV)

• And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
  • Genesis, Ch. 3:6-13 (KJV)

Quotes about Eve

Sorted alphabetically by author or source

When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. ~ Genesis

The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. ~ Genesis

• When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat.
  • Genesis, Ch. 3:6-13 (KJV)

• Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.
  • Genesis 3:20-24 (KJV)

• Eve's temptation of Adam to sin, by proferring him a forbidden apple from the Tree of Knowledge, was generally interpreted as sexual; St. Augustine and others speculated on the nonsexual means of reproduction available to human kind before the fall. In pictorial representations Eve often holds the apple close to her breast, and the couple invariably hides their genitals after the fall. She is closely associated with the serpent, which in the bronze doors of Hildesheim (1015) inserts itself between her legs. The horizontal pubescent figure of Eve from the Cathedral of Autun, showing a repentance that is appropriate to the portal where sinners petitioned for pardon, is nonetheless conflated with the serpent gliding on its belly through the garden as its punishment. By the thirteenth century Eve may be somewhat voluptuous, but her face is often mirrored in that of the serpent, into which she gazes with homosexual desire.
  • Women and Gender in Medieval Europe: An Encyclopedia, edited by Margaret Schaus, Routledge, (2006), "Depictions of Eve"; p. 83.

• Although her disobedience is tragic, Eve’s innocence is not all bad. Certainly, that innocence leads her to make a poor choice - the very worst - but the fact that she makes a choice at all, the fact that she engages the Devil in a debate which could go either way, the fact that she acts without God breathing down her neck - all speak for her free will or, what amounts to the same thing, her margin for error. It is from this margin for error that freedom springs, because you can’t be free to right unless you can be free to be wrong.
  • Robert Rowland Smith, in Breakfast with Socrates: An Extraordinary (Philosophical) Journey Through ..., p. 19

• “Had it not been for Eve, woman would have never acted unfaithfully towards the husband.” (3471).
  • Sahih Muslim. Quoted from Ram Swarup, Understanding Islam through Hadis, 1983. [1]

• After all these years I see that I was mistaken about Eve in the beginning; it is better to live outside the Garden with her than inside it without her.
  • Mark Twain, in The Complete Short Stories of Mark Twain, p. 202

• Why can't these American women stay in their own country? They are always telling us that it is the paradise for women. It is. That is the reason why, like Eve, they are so excessively anxious to get out of it.
  • Oscar Wilde, in Collected Works of Oscar Wilde (Wordsworth Editions, 2007), p. 27

• Eve, smiling, pluck’d the apple, then
  Laugh’d, sigh’d—and tasted it again:
  “Strange such a pleasant, juicy thing
  On a forbidden tree should spring!”
  But had she seen with clearer eyes,
  Or had the serpent been less wise,
  She’d scarce have shown such little wit
  As to let Adam taste of it!
  • Lady Margaret Sackville, "The Apple", Selected Poems (1852), p. 26

All Church Humour

As soon as Eve ate the apple of wisdom, she reached for the fig leaf.

Anonymous All Church Humour.

• Surely God must have been disappointed in Adam: He made Eve so different.
  • p. 11

• As soon as Eve ate the apple of wisdom, she reached for the fig leaf.
  • p. 11

• While Adam slept, Eve from his side arose,
  Strange, his first sleep should be his last repose.
  • p. 11

There was a lady of Eden,
Who on apples was quite fond of feeding.

• There was a lady of Eden,
  Who on apples was quite fond of feeding.
  She gave one to Adam
  Who said, “Thank you, Madam”,
  And then both skeddaled from Eden
  • p. 12