The
following is the note to Gen 3:5 (“like God, knowing" [cf. "the man
has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil" v. 22], showing that the
"knowledge" of good and evil was learnt by Adam and Eve before they
partook of the fruit of the tree, as well as providing biblical evidence for a council
of gods:
13 tn Or perhaps "like God, knowing." It is unclear how the plural participle translated "knowing" is functioning. On the one hand, יֹדְעֵי (yode'e) could be taken as a substantival participle functioning as a predicative adjective in the sentence. In this case one might translate: "You will be, like God himself, knowers of good and evil." On the other hand, it could be taken as an attributive adjective modifying אֱלֹהִים ('elohim). In this case אֱלֹהִים has to be taken as a numerical plural referring to "gods," "divine beings," for if the one true God were the intended referent, a singular form of the participle would almost certainly appear as a modifier. Following this line of interpretation, one could translate, "You will be like divine beings who know good and evil." The following context may favor this translation, for in Gen 3:22 God says to an unidentified group, "Look, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil." It is probable that God is addressing his heavenly court (see the note on the word "make" in Gen 1:26), the members of which can be called "gods" or "divine beings" from the ancient Israelite perspective. (We know some of these beings as messengers or "angels.") An examination of parallel constructions shows that a predicative understanding ("you will be, like God himself, knowers of good and evil," cf. NIV, NRSV) is possible, but rare (see Gen 27:23, where "hairy" is predicative, complementing the verb "to be"). The statistical evidence strongly suggests that the participle is attributive, modifying "divine beings" (see Psa 31:12; Isa 1:30; Isa 13:14; Isa 16:2; Isa 29:5; Isa 58:11; Jer 14:9; Jer 20:9; Jer 23:9; Jer 31:12; Jer 48:41; Jer 49:22; Hos 7:11; Amo 4:11). In all of these texts, where a comparative clause and accompanying adjective/participle follow a copulative ("to be") verb, the adjective/participle is attributive after the noun in the comparative clause.