Il compito, il permesso, il divieto e la punizione (Gen 2,15-17)

This article analyses four themes in the three verses of Gen 2:15-17. The first theme is the mission God entrusted to man (2:15). The second theme is the broad, divine permission regarding the nourishment/food of man (2:16). The thrid theme is the limitative prohibition to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (2:17a). The fourth theme is the pronouncement of mortal punishment (2:17b) for the transgression of the preceding prohibition. The analysis of the first theme - mission - concentrates on the four verbs in 2:15, with particular attention to the verbs ʽabad and šamar. The analysis of the second theme - permission (2:16) - highlights God’s attentive care for man and defines this broad permission as the first part of a double command. The analysis of the third theme - prohibition (2:17a) - tries to discover the motive/sense and function of this prohibition in relation to the liberty of man. The analysis of the fourth theme - punishment (2:17b) - studies the two key expressions (mot tamut, bǝyom) and considers the meaning of these expressions from the point of view of its successive non-execution.