A common misinterpretation of Genesis 3:2 is to view Eve's statement as the beginning of deception or exaggeration, wrongly assuming she immediately alters God's command here, when in fact this verse correctly restates the permission to eat from the garden's trees; the addition of 'neither shall ye touch it' comes in the next verse, and critics often conflate the two to portray Eve as inherently untrustworthy or to fuel gender-biased readings that ignore the serpent's role as the tempter and the broader narrative of shared human responsibility in the fall.
Genesis 3:2
King James Version (1769)
2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
In Genesis 3:2, Eve accurately affirms God's gracious provision by acknowledging that humanity was permitted to eat from the fruit of every tree in the garden except the one forbidden tree, emphasizing the abundance and generosity of God's creation and the relational trust established before temptation arises, which sets the context for the serpent's subtle challenge to that divine order.