Did God command Adam and Eve not to touch the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (Genesis 3:3)?

from the old testament

• Genesis 2:16b–17 is God’s original command to Adam. It reads, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
• Note that Eve had not yet been created, so she did not hear the original command. Rather, it was Adam’s responsibility to teach her God’s command. Because Scripture doesn’t give any details, it’s unclear whether Eve, alone, added to God’s command or whether Adam had not trained her well, or both. Regardless, Satan intentionally chose Eve as the one to tempt, as she was the most vulnerable.
• Satan started by grossly misrepresenting God’s command, saying, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1). He knew that was not what God said, but it was his opening gambit to draw out Eve’s understanding of the command.
• Eve replied, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die’ (Genesis 3:3). Interestingly, Eve focused on the negative aspect of the command. She didn’t say that God said they could eat freely except for that tree. Rather, her focus was on what God said they couldn’t do.
• But God never said they couldn’t touch it—that was something she added. She may have done so innocently, adding the restriction to reduce the likelihood of breaking God’s command. However, that demonstrated a reliance on herself to come up with what she thought was a better command.
• Satan picked up on Eve’s misrepresentation of God’s command and redirected the conversation to why God gave that command. He argued that rather than doing something good for them, God was keeping good from them (Genesis 3:4–5).
• Adam, who had apparently been standing nearby, not protecting his wife from Satan, enters the story at this point as they both fall for the deception that the fruit would make them like God. Together, they ate (Genesis 3:6), and humanity fell (Genesis 3:14–19).
• This first sin illustrates the danger of modifying God’s commands. Doing so shows a heart that is not fully submitted to God. Later, Moses reminded the Israelites that God had given them, saying, “You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you” (Deuteronomy 4:2). God’s commands are never to be changed, even when we think we can improve upon them.

from the new testament

• Unfortunately, the Israelites in general and, later, the Jewish people specifically did not learn from Eve’s example or listen to Moses’ warning. As time moved on, they added additional restrictions to God’s commands. By the time of the New Testament, they had accumulated so many additional commands that their traditions often required people to break God’s commandments.
• As an example, after the Pharisees rebuked Jesus’ disciples for not washing their hands, Jesus replied, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,” he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition, you have made void the word of God” (Matthew 15:3–6). He was pointing out that commands, such as washing before eating, were what they commanded, not what God commanded.

implications for today

Eve’s addition about not touching the fruit seemed wise. However, it demonstrated a subtle self-reliance that Satan exploited. Historically, men and women have continued to follow in Eve’s footsteps. For example, Israel was given specific laws to obey, but over time, they expanded them, adding layers of protection to avoid violating God’s commands. The result was that they ended up violating them by burdening the people with strict laws that God had never intended for them to follow. A more modern example of this is the Roman Catholic Church, which has its roots in the Bible, yet, over time, has added its own traditions and rules. The result has been that Jesus’ light yoke (Matthew 11:28–30) has been buried under an unbearable burden of laws and rituals.

Each of us, if we are honest, is tempted to do the same thing. We start adding “laws” to limit the risk of sin in our lives, and then require similar restrictions for others. Alcohol is but one well-known example. While God only said not to be drunk (Ephesians 5:18), not to avoid drinking altogether, some have argued for the complete prohibition of alcohol based on the consequences in their lives or of those near to them. The additional restrictive layer has often been well-intentioned but has gone beyond what God said, leading to expressions of legalism in some branches of Christianity and infighting in others.

We must indeed be extra careful about where we go and what we do when we are susceptible to a particular temptation. But when such additional rules are applied to others and become the measure of Christian maturity, then we are adding burdens to others. Just as Eve added to God’s laws, we must always be careful to ensure that what we command of others is what God commanded—not just what we would like God to have commanded.