The Discovery of Genesis (47 page)

The type of
punishment
indicated by
is corporal, and in the case of Adam meant daily hard toil, and for Eve pain in childbirth, with death as the ultimate result of transgression for both.

Another character meaning
to fine or punish
portrays the basic cause of the whole problem. Note that
, meaning
snare or four
(see page 64) is further qualified by the key,
words, speech, statement
. The pictograph once more indicates that it was the “net of words” or
four statements
uttered by the serpent and believed by Adam and Eve which resulted in their great loss. Note also the
four
lines issuing from the mouth in
.

³

This character for
fining
refers to the confiscation of property or means. For Adam and Eve, the penalty meant not only a loss of their Eden home but also their dominion as lords of the entire earth. The two characters together
represent
punishment
in the Chinese and exactly agrees with the Genesis account when the sentence pronounced upon the hapless pair involved loss of both life and dominion or
lordship
over heaven, earth, and seas. They ended up being
workers
, as one of the horizontal lines representing their three-fold dominion is removed. The “appointment”
at the top of the figure is also withdrawn.