Why Did Satan Start with the Woman in the Garden of Eden?

Direct Answer

Scripture does not give a stated reason why Satan approached the woman first; Les Feldick presents the event as a fact and highlights Eve's eating first, but he does not speculate about Satan's motive.

The Genesis account simply records that the serpent spoke to the woman and that she was beguiled. Les observes that Eve ate before Adam and connects that to the order of headship established in the Garden. He also notes that in Israel's later apostasy women led the way in idolatry, but he never assigns a definitive reason for Satan starting with the woman.

Key Scriptures

Genesis 3:6 — This verse shows the woman taking the fruit and eating first, which is the specific event in the Garden that Les Feldick ties to the order of the Fall.

What Does the Bible Say?

Genesis 3 opens with the serpent approaching the woman: 'Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?' (Genesis 3:1). The woman answers the serpent, and in verse 6 she '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,' so she took of the fruit, ate, and gave to her husband, who also ate. When God questions her, she replies in verse 13, 'The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.'

What Does Les Feldick Teach About Satan, Eve, and the Garden?

Les Feldick does not offer a speculative explanation for why Satan started with the woman. He simply takes the Genesis text as history: the woman saw the tree was good for food, pleasant to the eyes, and desirable to make one wise, and she ate (Clip 2). He also notes that the woman's subservience to the husband goes all the way back to the Garden and was prompted by Eve's eating of the fruit first (Clip 3).

What Happened in the Garden of Eden?

The serpent came to the woman and asked about God's command. After she answered, she saw that the tree was good for food, pleasant to the eyes, and desirable to make one wise. She took the fruit, ate, and gave some to her husband, who also ate. When God questioned her, she said the serpent beguiled her. The text does not state why the serpent chose to speak to the woman first.

Did Eve Eat Before Adam?

Genesis 3:6 plainly says the woman took, ate, and then gave to her husband. Les points to this order in his teaching, explaining that the woman's subservience to the husband goes back to the Garden and was prompted by Eve's eating first (Clip 3).

What Does Jeremiah 44 Show About Women and Idolatry?

In Jeremiah 44:15-16, the men knew that their wives had burned incense to other gods, and a great multitude of women stood by and refused to listen to the word of the Lord. Les uses this to say that in apostasy and spiritual things, women lead the way. He emphasizes that the 'queen of heaven' was a female goddess and that such worship was grossly immoral.

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Women Lead in Spiritual Apostasy

Les uses Jeremiah 44 to show that in spiritual apostasy the women led the way, with the men fully aware that their wives burned incense to other gods. This illustrates a pattern he sees from the Fall onward, though it does not state Satan's motive.

Satan's Glamorizing Lie

Les explains that Satan made the forbidden tree look appealing, and that this same glamorizing of destructive things began in the Garden with the woman's response to what she saw.

Eve Ate First

Les teaches that Eve's eating of the fruit first prompted the order of subservience mentioned in Genesis 3:16, tracing the husband-wife order back to the Garden.

Israel’s Title Deed: Understanding God's Covenant in Genesis 15

For then, while they were in active worship of these female goddesses, for then we had plenty of victuals and were well and saw no evil. Now, that was a lie. It was just the opposite. Now, verse 18, But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven and to pour out drink offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, have been consumed by the sword and the famine.

Gross Immorality of Female Goddess Worship

Les states that whenever pagan worship centered on female goddesses, it became grossly immoral, and he applies this to Israel's burning incense to the queen of heaven.

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And He's speaking to Satan, who of course precipitated all of this, and He says to Satan, I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed. Now that doesn't mean too much if you don't know the rest of Scripture, but Galatians tells us that the seed of the woman is Christ.

The Queen of Heaven

Les identifies the 'queen of heaven' in Jeremiah 44 as the female goddess worship that led Israel into abject idolatry, showing the connection to women in idolatry.

Bible Verses

Genesis 3:1: Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

This is the first record of the serpent speaking directly to the woman, showing that Satan's temptation began with her.

Genesis 3:6: And 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.

This verse records the woman eating first and then giving the fruit to Adam, which is the key event in the Fall.

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.

The woman's own words confirm she was deceived by the serpent, though no reason is given for why the serpent approached her.

Jeremiah 44:15: Then all the men which knew that their wives had burned incense unto other gods, and all the women that stood by, a great multitude of them, and all the people that dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying,

This verse shows the involvement of women in idolatry and the men's knowledge of it, which Les cites in his teaching.

Jeremiah 44:16: As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the LORD, we will not hearken unto thee.

The women and men refused to obey the word of the Lord, illustrating the pattern of spiritual apostasy that Les highlights.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the Bible give a reason why Satan chose the woman first?

No. Genesis 3 simply records that the serpent spoke to the woman and that she was beguiled. Neither the narrative nor Les Feldick assigns a motive to Satan for starting with the woman.

Did Eve eat before Adam?

Yes. Genesis 3:6 says she took the fruit, ate, and then gave to her husband. Les points to this order as the prompt for the subservience order described in Genesis 3:16.

Does Les Feldick say women are more easily deceived?

No. He does say that in apostasy and spiritual things the women lead the way, and he supports this with Jeremiah 44. But he does not draw a conclusion about women being inherently more vulnerable.

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