Was the sin of Adam and Eve adultery?

This opinion likely stems from Origen, who exaggerated the method of symbolic interpretation. He attempted to make the symbol encompass everything, even the sin of Adam, and even the trees of the Garden of Eden. He claimed that the sin of Adam was adultery and supported his view with the following points: He said that the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was in the midst of the garden, just as the reproductive organs are in the middle of the human body. He also pointed out that after eating from the tree, it is said, “And Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore” (Genesis 4:1). He also claimed that they knew shame after sinning and realized that they were naked, so they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths (Genesis 3:7). Origen further supported his opinion by citing the prevalence of adultery in the world. This view was passed down from Origen until it reached the person who asked the question. However, there are many refutations to this opinion, including an examination of this symbol: 1. It was said that the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was in the midst of the garden, and the reproductive organs are in the middle of the human body. If we consider these organs to be the tree, then the human body would be the garden. Here, we face the concept of two gardens (Adam and Eve) and two trees (one in each). If we applied the details of symbolic interpretation according to Origen’s understanding, Adam would be picking from Eve’s tree, and Eve from Adam’s tree. God would not have placed Adam in the garden, as stated in the Scripture (Genesis 2:15); instead, Adam himself would be Eve’s garden! But the Scripture says that God placed him in the Garden of Eden to work it and keep it (Genesis 2:15). According to the symbol, what then is Eden? And what does it mean to work it and keep it? 2. What would the remaining symbols of everything in the garden represent? What does the river that flows out of Eden to water the garden and from there divides into four rivers symbolize? What about the four rivers and their lands (Genesis 2:10-14)? What do the other parts of the human body symbolize? Do they represent other trees in the garden? Were they allowed? 3. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden (Genesis 2:9). The tree of the knowledge of good and evil was not alone in the midst of the garden. Does the tree of life also symbolize something if we go to the extremes with Origen? How do we then understand the meaning of the cherubim guarding the way to the tree of life with a flaming sword (Genesis 3:24)? 4. How do we understand the expulsion of humans from the garden if it symbolizes their bodies? How did they leave it and live outside of it? How did they leave the tree of the knowledge of good and evil that was in the midst of the garden? The symbol here would undoubtedly lead to endless confusion. However, there is a very important question to consider if the sin was adultery. 5. If the sin was adultery, then what was the commandment? Did Adam understand it? Was the commandment “Do not commit adultery,” and Adam disobeyed? What would Adam and Eve understand from the phrase “Do not commit adultery”? They were innocent and simple, unaware of these matters. As evidence, they were naked and were not ashamed (Genesis 2:25). Did God explain the commandment to them and what it prevented them from doing? Impossible, otherwise God would have been the one to open their eyes! God forbid. Or was there no commandment, which would be against the Scripture? Or did they not understand the commandment, in which case there would be no punishment? And what is the point of an incomprehensible commandment? 6. If the sin was adultery, they would have committed it simultaneously. What does it mean that Eve picked the fruit first and ate, and then gave some to Adam (Genesis 3:6)? If the sin was adultery, it would be said that they ate simultaneously from the tree, “Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked” (Genesis 3:7). If the sin were adultery, their eyes would have opened first, they would have realized their nakedness, and only then would the sin have been committed. It is not reasonable to commit such a sin with their eyes closed. 7. As for the shame and Adam knowing Eve, there was no sin in that; rather, it was the result of their descent to the carnal level in desiring food. Therefore, it is said, “And Adam knew Eve his wife” after they were expelled from the garden (Genesis 4:1). This did not happen while they were in the garden. The term “shame” appeared after they ate from the tree, not during or before it. Adam was spiritual, far from material desires, the desire for food, and sensual desires. When he fell into this by eating from the tree, he descended to the carnal level, making it easy for him to continue on the path of the flesh in the matter of sex. This action occurred as a result of the fall, not as the act of falling itself. 8. If we consider the sexual relations between Adam and Eve as a sin of adultery, what then is the meaning of God’s command to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth” (Genesis 1:28)? This blessing was given on the sixth day, before the Bible says, “And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day” (Genesis 1:31). And God saw that it was very good. 9. If the sin was adultery, there would be no need for the temptation of divinity and knowledge. It is known that the serpent’s temptation to Eve was not adultery, but rather “You will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5). Thus, it was a sin of pride and the desire to be equal with God. This was the sin into which the devil himself fell when he said in his heart, “I will make myself like the Most High” (Isaiah 14:14). Based on this temptation—”the desire for godhood”—Eve fell, and then Adam fell. The Bible never said that the temptation was adultery, which Eve did not understand. 10. As for the prevalence of the sin of adultery, it is similar to the prevalence of other sins, such as the love of greatness, self-love, the love of wealth, the desire to possess, the desire for food, the emotion of anger, and the sin of lying. All of these are widespread, even in early childhood, which does not know adultery, and in old age, which is incapable of adultery. 11. The claim that the sin of Adam and Eve was adultery is not supported by the Bible. It is simply an exaggeration in symbolic interpretation in an unreasonable manner. Symbolic interpretation generally has its beauty and depth, as long as it is within the bounds of reason and is supported by biblical texts.