Genesis 3 · Verse 12

Genesis 3:12

And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
Genesis 3:12, King James Version

Genesis 3:12 in other translations

BSBAnd the man answered, “The woman whom You gave me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”
WEBThe man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”
ASVAnd the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
YLTand the man saith, ‘The woman whom Thou didst place with me--she hath given to me of the tree--and I do eat.'
DARBYAnd Man said, The woman, whom thou hast given to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.
BBEAnd the man said, The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me the fruit of the tree and I took it.
WebsterAnd the man said, The woman, whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.

What does Genesis 3:12 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
12. The woman ... gave me--He blames God [Calvin]. As the woman had been given him for his companion and help, he had eaten of the tree from love to her; and perceiving she was ruined, was determined not to survive her [M'knight].

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 12 And the man said, etc. - We have here some farther proofs of the fallen state of man, and that the consequences of that state extend to his remotest posterity. 1. On the question, Hast thou eaten of the tree? Adam is obliged to acknowledge his transgression; but he does this in such a way as to shift off the blame from himself, and lay it upon God and upon the woman! This woman whom Thou didst give to be with me, עמדי immadi, to be my companion, (for so the word is repeatedly used), she gave me, and I did eat. I have no farther blame in this transgression; I did not pluck the fruit; she took it and gave it to me. 2. When the woman is questioned she lays the blame upon God and the serpent, (nachash). The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. Thou didst make him much wiser than thou didst make me, and therefore my simplicity and ignorance were overcome by his superior wisdom and subtlety; I can have no fault here, the fault is his, and his who made him so wise and me so ignorant. Thus we find that, while the eyes of their body were opened to see their degraded state, the eyes of their understanding were closed, so that they could not see the sinfulness of sin; and at the same time their hearts were hardened through its deceitfulness. In this also their posterity copy their example. How few ingenuously confess their own sin! They see not their guilt. They are continually making excuses for their crimes; the strength and subtlety of the tempter, the natural weakness of their own minds, the unfavorable circumstances in which they were placed, etc., etc., are all pleaded as excuses for their sins, and thus the possibility of repentance is precluded; for till a man take his sin to himself, till he acknowledge that he alone is guilty, he cannot be humbled, and consequently cannot be saved. Reader, till thou accuse thyself, and thyself only, and feel that thou alone art responsible for all thy iniquities, there is no hope of thy salvation.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Genesis 3:9-13

Observe the startling question, Adam, where art thou? Those who by sin go astray from God, should seriously consider where they are; they are afar off from all good, in the midst of their enemies, in bondage to Satan, and in the high road to utter ruin. This lost sheep had wandered without end, if the good Shepherd had not sought after him, and told him, that where he was straying he could not be either happy or…

Read the full comment on Genesis 3:9-13 →

Genesis 3:12 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיֹּ֖אמֶרvai.Yo.merand he saidH559
הָֽאָדָ֑םha.'a.Damthe manH120
הָֽאִשָּׁה֙ha.'i.Shahthe womanH802
אֲשֶׁ֣ר'a.SherwhomH834
נָתַ֣תָּהna.Ta.tahyou putH5414
עִמָּדִ֔י'i.ma.Diwith meH5978
הִ֛ואhi'sheH1931
נָֽתְנָה\־na.te.nah-she gaveH5414
לִּ֥יlito <the> me
מִן\־min-fromH4480
הָעֵ֖ץha.'Etzthe treeH6086
וָאֹכֵֽל\׃va.'o.Kheland I ateH398

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Genesis 3:12

  • Proverbs 28:13

    He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.

  • James 1:13-15

    Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

  • Romans 10:3

    For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.

  • Job 31:33

    If I covered my transgressions as Adam, by hiding mine iniquity in my bosom:

  • Luke 10:29

    But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?

  • 1 Samuel 15:20-24

    And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and have gone the way which the Lord sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in Gilgal. And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king. …

  • Proverbs 19:3

    The foolishness of man perverteth his way: and his heart fretteth against the Lord.

  • Genesis 2:18

    And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

  • Genesis 2:20

    And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.

  • Exodus 32:21-24

    And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them? And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord wax hot: thou knowest the people, that they are set on mischief. For they said unto me, Make us gods, which shall go before us: for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. And I said unto them, Whosoever hath any gold, let them break it off. So they gave it me: then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf.

  • Genesis 2:22

    And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
2:18,20,22; Ex 32:21-24; 1Sa 15:20-24; Job 31:33; Pr 19:3; 28:13
Lu 10:29; Ro 10:3; Jas 1:13-15

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Genesis 3:11

    And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?

  • Genesis 3:12

    And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.

  • Genesis 3:13

    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.

Read all of Genesis 3

Genesis 3:12 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y el hombre respondió: La mujer que me diste por compañera me dió del árbol, y yo comí.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et l’homme dit: La femme que tu m’as donnée pour être avec moi, – elle, m’a donné de l’arbre, et j’en ai mangé.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und der Mensch sprach: Das Weib, das du mir beigegeben hast, sie gab mir von dem Baume, und ich aß.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Dixitque Adam: Mulier, quam dedisti mihi sociam, dedit mihi de ligno, et comedi.