Midrash for Genesis 3:22

1. And He drove (ויגרש) the Adom (Man) (Bereshis 3:24) - from here learn that The Holy One Blessed Be He gave to him (Adom) a divorce (גירושין) like a woman (that is like husband would give a divorce document to his wife whom he wishes to divorce). And He placed from the east (מקדם) of Gan Eden the Cheruvim (type of Angels) - from here learn that the Cheruvim came before (קדמו) of all of the Act of Creation. with a bright blade of a revolving sword - this is Gehinnom (Hell). to guard the way - this is Derech Eretz (literally the 'Way of the Land', different meanings, here Basic Human Decency, Proper Conduct or similar). of the Tree of Life - we learn that Derech Eretz comes before (i.e. has priority) over the Tree of Life. And there is no 'Tree of Life' except Torah, as is said it is a Tree of Life for all whose grasp on it (Mishlei 3:18).

[Another interpretation (of Numb. 14:11): HOW LONG WILL THIS PEOPLE SCORN ME?: The Holy One said to them: I had said that you would not sin. Instead you would live and endure like me, just as I live and endure forever and forevermore. (According to Ps. 82:6:) I SAID: YOU ARE GODS; EVEN ALL OF YOU ARE CHILDREN OF THE MOST HIGH. <You are> like the ministering angels who never taste death. Yet after this greatness you wanted to die (according to vs. 7): INDEED YOU SHALL DIE LIKE A HUMAN (Adam), <i.e.,> like the first Adam, to whom I decreed one commandment which he was to do, that he might live and endure forever, as stated (in Gen. 3:22): BEHOLD, THE HUMAN (adam) HAS BECOME LIKE ONE OF US. Similarly also (in Gen. 1:27): AND GOD CREATED THE HUMAN (adam) IN HIS OWN IMAGE, so that he would live and endure like himself. Yet he corrupted his works and nullified his decree, for he ate of the tree. Then I said to him (in Gen. 3:19): FOR DUST YOU ARE AND UNTO DUST YOU SHALL RETURN. So also in your case (in Ps. 82:6), I SAID: YOU ARE GODS, but you corrupted your works as <did> Adam. Surely you shall die like Adam! And who made this happen to them? <You, for> (according to Prov. 1:25) BUT YOU HAVE SPURNED ALL MY PLAN. (According to vs. 30:) THEY HAVE DESPISED ALL MY REBUKE. It is therefore stated (in Numb. 14:11): HOW LONG WILL THIS PEOPLE SCORN ME …?

“Was [haya] [a Judean man in the Shushan citadel]….” Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Everyone about whom “haya” is stated, it is he at the beginning and it is he at the end.⁹ He was righteous from beginning to end. They objected to him; but isn’t it written: “One was [haya] Abraham” (Ezekiel 33:24)?¹⁰ Abraham began his life as an idolater; he wasn’t the same at the beginning and the end. He said to them: That is not, in fact, a refutation, as Rabbi Ḥanina and Rabbi Yoḥanan said: At age three Abraham identified his Creator. That is what is written: “Because [ekev] Abraham heeded My voice” (Genesis 26:5). The number of years that Abraham heeded the voice of his Creator is the equivalent of ekev (172),¹¹Ayin – 70, kof –100, beit – 2 and he lived one hundred and seventy-five years. [If one does not accept this explanation,] how do I find expression for haya about him? It means that he was fated from the beginning to guide the entire world to repent.¹²Although Abraham was not a believer in God his whole life, he had the potential from the beginning.
“[The Lord God said:] Behold, the man has become [haya] [like one of us, knowing good and evil]” (Genesis 3:22) – he became fated to die. “The serpent was [haya] more cunning” (Genesis 3:1) – he was fated for punishment. “Cain was [haya] a cultivator of the ground” (Genesis 4:2) – he was fated for exile, as you say: “Cain departed from the presence of the Lord” (Genesis 4:16); saying that he would be “restless and wandering” (Genesis 4:12). “There was [haya] a man in the land of Utz” (Job 1:1) – he was fated for suffering. “Noah, a righteous man, was [haya] faultless” (Genesis 6:9) – he was fated to acknowledge his Creator. “Moses was [haya] herding (Exodus 3:1) – he was fated for salvation. Mordekhai was fated for redemption.
Rabbi Levi and the Rabbis: Rabbi Levi said: Anyone about whom haya is stated witnessed a new world. Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: They are five.
Noah – yesterday “Water eroded stone” (Job 14:19), as Rabbi Levi said in the name of Rabbi Yoḥanan: Even millstones were dissolved during the flood, and now [after the flood] it says: “The sons of Noah who emerged from the ark…” (Genesis 9:18),¹³Immediately following this verse, the Torah relates how the earth was repopulated by Noah’s sons while Noah was alive. indicating that he witnessed a new world.
Joseph – yesterday “they tortured [his feet] with chains” (Psalms 105:18), and now “And Joseph was [haya] was the ruler over the land” (Genesis 42:6); that is, he witnessed a new world.
Moses – yesterday he was fleeing from Pharaoh and now he is drowning him in the sea; that is, he witnessed a new world.
Job – yesterday “He spills my bile onto the ground” (Job 16:13), and now “and the Lord gave Job double what he had had” (Job 42:10); that is, he witnessed a new world.
Mordekhai – yesterday “he wore sackcloth and ashes” (Esther 4:1), and now “he emerged from before the king in royal garments” (Esther 8:15).
“And his name was Mordekhai” (Esther 2:5). Just as myrrh [mor] is first of all the spices,¹⁴It is first on the list of ingredients of the sacred oil of anointment (Exodus 30:23). so was Mordekhai first among the righteous in his generation.

And the Lord said: Behold, man has become one of us (Gen. 3:22). Scripture states elsewhere in allusion to this verse: Behold, this only have I found, that God made man upright (Eccles. 7:29); that is, the Holy One, blessed be He, who is called righteous and upright, created man in His own image so that he might be upright and righteous like Him. However, if you should ask: Why did He create the evil inclination, concerning which it is written: The inclination of man’s heart is evil from his youth (Gen. 8:21)?, you say thereby: Since man is evil, who can make him good? The Holy One, blessed be He, contends: You make him evil! Why is it that a child of five, six, seven, eight, or nine years of age does not sin, but only after he reaches the age of ten and upward does the evil inclination begin to develop in him?

And the Lord said: Behold, man has become like one of us (Gen. 3:22). May our master teach us the punishment inflicted upon one who speaks evil?²⁹Speaking evil (slander) is considered the most serious of all sins because it causes the blood to flow to the cheek of the victim. Cf. Arukh 15a. Thus do our masters teach us: One who speaks evil is punished more severely than one who does an evil act. The punishment inflicted upon our ancestors befell them only because of speaking evil, as it is said: You have put me to proof these ten times, and have not hearkened to My voice (Num. 14:22).

The rabbis said: Slander is considered so grievous a sin that death was imposed upon Adam because of it. The serpent appeared and told Adam and Eve: “God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be open,and ye shall be as God (Gen. 3:5). It was the fruit of this very tree that He ate when He created this world. Now, every craftsman hates a rival craftsman, but if you should eat of this tree, you too shall become divine.”³⁰Cf. Midrash on Psalms 1:9, Bereshit Rabbah 19:4. They listened to him and thus brought death upon themselves and their descendants unto the end of all generations. Whence do we know this? We know it from the words Behold man (Gen. 3:22). The word Behold alludes only to death, as it is written: Behold, thy days approach that thou must die (Deut. 31:14).

Rabbi Papis expounded: “Behold, the man has become like one [ke’aḥad] of us” (Genesis 3:22), like the Unique One [keyeḥido] of the world. Rabbi Akiva said to him: ‘Enough, Papis.’²³⁸One cannot suggest a parallel between any being and God. He said to [Rabbi Akiva]: ‘How do you interpret [the phrase] “has become like one of us”?’ [Rabbi Akiva] said to him: ‘Like one of the ministering angels.’ The Rabbis say: It is neither in accordance with the statement of this one, nor in accordance with the statement of that one, but rather it teaches that the Holy One blessed be He presented two paths before him, the path of life and the path of death. He [Adam] chose the path of death and forsook the path of life.

“See the work of God, for who can mend what He has warped?” (Ecclesiastes 7:13)
“See the work of God, for who can mend what He has warped?” When the Holy One blessed be He created Adam the first man, He took him and showed him all the trees in the Garden of Eden, and He said to him: ‘See My creations, how beautiful and exemplary they are. Everything I created, I created for you. Make certain that you do not ruin and destroy My world, as if you destroy it, there will be no one to mend it after you. Moreover, you will cause death to that righteous one.’¹⁰⁸Moses. To what is the matter of [the death of] Moses our master analogous? [It is analogous] to a pregnant woman who was incarcerated in prison. She gave birth to a son, raised him, and she died there. Sometime later the king passed the entrance of the prison. As the king was passing, that son began screaming and he said: ‘My lord the king, I was born here, I grew up here; I do not know due to what sin am I placed here.’ [The king] said to him: ‘Due to your mother’s sin.’ So too regarding Moses, as it is written: “Behold, the man has become like one [of us]” (Genesis 3:22). And it is written: “Behold, your days are drawing near to die” (Deuteronomy 31:14).¹⁰⁹The verse in Genesis was stated by God in explaining His removal of Adam from the Garden of Eden following his sin. The verbal analogy to the verse in Deuteronomy, which relates to Moses’s death, indicates that Moses died only due to the fact that death was decreed upon all people following the sin of Adam.

24 (Numb. 14:11) “Then the Lord said unto Moses, ‘How long will this people scorn Me?’”: This text is related (to Prov. 1:25, 30), “But you have spurned all My plan and would not accept My rebuke [….] they have despised all My rebuke.” What is the implication of “But you have spurned?” Simply that all the good which I planned for you, you have spoiled and spurned. Thus it is stated (in Prov. 1:25), “But you have spurned (rt.: pr') all My plan.” At the beginning (in Exod. 3:8), “I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians.” But you did not act [in the way I intended]. Instead you came to the sea and immediately spoiled My plan, as stated (in Ps. 106:7), “they rebelled at the sea, at the Reed Sea.” I brought down on your behalf thousands upon thousands and myriads upon myriads of angels, and I passed on two angels to each and every person in Israel: One to gird him with his weapons³⁹Gk.: zone (“girdle”). and one to put a crown on his head.⁴⁰See Lam. R. 2:13 (17); Cant. R. 4:4:1 PRK 16:3; PR 21:7; 33:10; M. Ps. 103:8. R. Judah of Sepphoris said, “He bound their weapons to them,” while R. Simoy said, “He clothed them in purple, with the Ineffable Name written upon it. As long as it was in their hand, nothing evil had power against them, neither the angel of death nor anything else.”⁴¹See Exod. R. 32:1; cf. ‘AZ 5a. But when they sinned, Moses had said to them (in Exod. 33:5), “Now then, remove your ornaments (i.e., your weapons).” At that time (according to vs. 4), ‘When the people heard this bad news.” And what is written (in vs. 6)? “So the Children of Israel stripped themselves of ornaments.” What had the Holy One done at the giving of Torah?⁴²See Exod. R. 32:1. He had brought the angel of death and said to him, “All the world is under your authority, except this people whom I have chosen for Myself.” R. Eleazar the Son of R. Jose the Galilean said, “The angel of death said to the Holy One, ‘Have I been created in the world for nothing?’⁴³Exod. R. 27. The Holy One said to him, ‘I created you so that you would destroy the peoples of the world except this people, over whom you have no authority over them.’” Look at the plan which the Holy One had devised concerning them for them to live and endure! Thus it is stated (in Deut. 4:4), “But you who clung to the Lord your God are all alive today.” So also it says (in Exod. 32:16), ‘and the writing was the writing of God inscribed (harut) on the tablets.” What is the meaning of harut? R. Judah says, “Freedom (herut) from the empires”; but R. Nehemiah says, “From the angel of death”; and Rabbi says, “From afflictions.” Look at the plan which the Holy One had devised for them! Then they immediately spoiled this plan [after only] forty days. It is therefore stated (in Prov. 1:25), “But you have spurned all My plan.” The Holy One said to them, “I had said that you would not sin. Instead you would live and endure like Me, just as I live and endure forever and forevermore." (According to Ps. 82:6), “I said, ‘You are masters; even all of you are children of the Most High.’” Like the ministering angels who never die. Yet after this greatness you wanted to die (according to vs. 7), “Indeed you shall die like a human (Adam),” i.e. like the first Adam, to whom I decreed one commandment which he was to do, that he might live and endure forever, as stated (in Gen. 3:22), “Behold, the human (Adam) has become like one of Us.” Similarly also (in Gen. 1:27), “And God created the human (Adam) in His own image”, so that he would live and endure like Himself. Yet he corrupted his works and nullified His decree, and he ate of the tree. Then I said to him (in Gen. 3:19), “For dust you are .” So also in your case (in Ps. 82:6), “I said, ‘You are masters.’” But you corrupted yourselves as did Adam. Surely you shall die like Adam! And who made this happen to them? (According to Prov. 1:25) “But you have spurned all my plan.” The Holy One said, “With the very good that I made for you, you provoked Me. When they came to the desert, I brought the manna down to you for forty years.” Moreover, none of them had to ease nature for those forty years. Rather when they ate the manna, it simply became flesh for them, as stated (in Ps. 78:25) “Each one ate the bread of the mighty (rt.: 'br)”;⁴⁴Numb. R. 7:4; Mekhilta deRabbi Ishmael, Wayassa‘ 4 (on Exod. 16:15); Sifre to Numb. 11:4 (88); Yoma 74b. and they provoked Him with it." They began saying to each other, “Do you not know that we have had several days, without easing nature? And a person who does not ease nature for four or five days, dies; (according to Numb. 21:5), ‘our soul loathes this miserable (rt.: QLL) food.’” Because it was light (rt.: QLL) within their bowels. The Holy One said, “In whatever way I did well for them, in that way they provoked Me.” It is so stated (in Is. 5:4), “What else is there to do for My vineyard.” The spies went and looked at the land. Now you find that wherever Israel goes they are recognized. It is so stated (in Is. 61:9), “all who see them shall recognize them.” However (in the case of the spies), the Holy One said, “If they see them, they will recognize that they are Israelites and they will kill them. So what shall I do?” In the case of each and every province into which the spies entered, the head of a province was afflicted with plague, or its king was smitten with plague, in order that they would be occupied with bringing out their dead and not pay attention to the spies. Thus they would not kill them. Yet by this they provoked Me. When they came to Moses and to Israel, they said, “What is this land?” In every place they entered, they saw dead bodies. “And what is the benefit; (according to Numb. 13:32) ‘it is a land that eats up its inhabitants….’” The Holy One said, “I thought that you would become like the ancestors, [of whom it is written] (in Hos. 9:10), ‘Like grapes in the desert.’ I did not think that you would become like Sodom.” Thus it is stated (in Deut. 32:32), “For their vine is from the vine of Sodom.” (Is. 5:4) “When I hoped for it to produce grapes, why did it produce sour grapes?” It is therefore stated (in Numb. 14:11), “How long will this people scorn me?”

(Gen. 3:22:) AND THE LORD GOD SAID: BEHOLD, THE HUMAN HAS BECOME LIKE ONE OF US. Let our master instruct us: What is the rule about saving the scroll case⁵⁴Gk.: deche. along with the scroll from fire on the Sabbath? Thus have our masters taught (in Shab. 16:1): ONE MAY SAVE THE SCROLL CASE ALONG WITH THE SCROLL AND THE PHYLACTERY CASE ALONG WITH THE PHYLACTERIES. See, our masters have taught (ibid.): ALL SACRED SCRIPTURES MAY BE SAVED FROM FIRE. Why? So that the words of Torah not be burned. Then why does one save the scroll case so that it will not burn? Are the words of Torah written on it? < The case > deserves to be saved with < the scroll > because < the case > is joined to the scroll. Solomon said (in Prov. 13:20): ONE WHO WALKS WITH THE WISE < BECOMES WISE: BUT THE COMPANION OF FOOLS SHALL SUFFER HARM >. Woe to the wicked and those joined with them, but blessed are the righteous and those joined to them. What is written about the generation of the flood (in Gen. 7:23)? AND HE WIPED OUT ALL LIVING THINGS. If people sinned, how had cattle sinned? < The principle applies >: Woe to the wicked and those joined < with them >, since they pronounce themselves guilty by being joined to them. R. Judah bar Idi said:⁵⁵Gen. R. 26:5; Lev. R. 23:9. The decree against the generation of the flood was not sealed until they had written a nuptial hymn⁵⁶Gk.: gamiskon. for < the union of > human and cattle. Therefore (ibid., cont.): BOTH HUMAN AND CATTLE. Woe to the wicked and those joined with them; but blessed are the righteous and those joined with them, as stated (in Gen. 13:5): AND LOT ALSO, <WHO WENT WITH ABRAM, HAD FLOCKS >…. Ergo: Blessed are the righteous, and blessed are those joined with them. But woe to the wicked and those joined with them. You find that when Korah separated himself, two hundred and fifty heads of the Sanhedrin went with him in the dissension. In addition their wealth went with them. Thus it is stated (in Numb. 16:32): AND THE EARTH OPENED < ITS MOUTH AND SWALLOWED THEM, THEIR HOUSEHOLDS, EVERY PERSON THAT BELONGED TO KORAH, AND THEIR PROPERTY >. If they had sinned, how had their property sinned? < The principle applies >: Woe to the wicked and to those joined with them; but blessed are the righteous, and blessed are those joined with them. See what is written about Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (in Dan. 3:21): THEN WERE THESE MEN BOUND IN THEIR MANTLES [THEIR TUNICS, THEIR HATS, AND THEIR OUTER GARMENTS; AND THEY WERE CAST INTO THE BURNING FIERY FURNACE]. And when they came out from the fiery furnace, this is written about them (in vs. 27): THEY SAW THOSE MEN, THAT THE FIRE HAD NO POWER OVER THEIR BODIES, [THAT THE HAIR OF THEIR HEAD WAS NOT SINGED, NOR WERE THEIR MANTLES ALTERED]. Why were their mantles not altered? Because they were joined to them. Ergo: Blessed are the righteous and blessed are those joined to them. The Holy One said Adam heeded his wife, was joined to her, and was driven out, as stated (in Gen. 3:24): AND HE DROVE OUT THE MAN. If he had heeded and been joined to me, he would have been like me. Just as I remain alive, so he would have remained alive forever. Where is it shown? From what {is stated} [we have read] on the matter (in Gen. 3:22): AND THE LORD GOD SAID: BEHOLD, THE HUMAN < HAS BECOME LIKE ONE OF US >.

...R’ Yehoshua bar Nechemyah and R’ Yehudah bar Simon in R’ Elazar’s name said: He created him filling the whole world. From where [do we know he extended] from the East to West? That it’s said: “Back/achor (i.e., after, the place of sunset) and before/East/qedem You formed/enclosed me /tsartani” [Ps 139:5]. From where [that he went] from North to South? That it’s said: “and from the edge of the heavens and until the edge of the heavens” [Dt 4:32]. And from where [that he filled] even the world’s hollow-space? That it’s said: “. . . and You laid Your palm upon me” [Ps 139:5].

Now Cain was a man who loved the ground in order to sow seed; and Abel was a man who loved to tend the sheep; the one gave of his produce as food for the other, and the latter gave of his produce as food for his (brother). The evening of the festival of Passover arrived. Adam called his sons and said to them: In this (night) in the future Israel will bring Paschal offerings, bring ye also (offerings) before your Creator.

And now lest he send his hand: Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said, "It teaches that the Holy One, blessed be He, opened an opening of repentance for him: 'and now' - and 'and now' is always [referring to] repentance, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 10:12), 'And now Israel, what does the Lord, your God, etc.' And it states, 'lest'; and 'lest' is always [meaning], no (such that Adam refused to repent). The Holy One, blessed be He, said, 'He will also send his hand and eat from the Tree of life - it is a wonder; if he will eat, he will live forever!' Therefore, 'And the Lord God sent him out of the Garden of Eden.' Once He sent him away, He began to lament, 'Behold, man.'"

[(Gen. 3:22:) BEHOLD, THE HUMAN.] This text is related (to Prov. 24:30): I PASSED BY THE FIELD OF A LAZY ONE, AND BY THE VINEYARD OF ONE LACKING CHARACTER.⁵⁷Gen. R. 21:3. I PASSED BY THE FIELD OF A LAZY ONE. This is Adam who was too lazy to do penance. AND BY THE VINEYARD OF ONE LACKING CHARACTER. This is Eve, who (according to Gen. 3:18) heeded the words of the serpent. (Prov. 24:31:) AND BEHOLD, IT WAS ALL GROWN OVER WITH THISTLES, in that they have filled the whole world with troubles. (Ibid., cont.:) BRAMBLES COVERED ITS FACE, in that it is stated (in Gen. 3:18): THORN AND THISTLE < IT SHALL BRING FORTH FOR YOU >. (Prov. 24:31, cont.:) AND ITS STONE WALL WAS BROKEN DOWN, in that < the serpent > ⁵⁸See Lev. R. 26:2. has demolished the wall of the world.⁵⁹I.e., opened the way to lawlessness. Unlike the serpent, rabbinical law became a fence around the Torah. When the hurtful decrees (of Gen. 3:14-19) were ordained over them; he began mourning (in Gen. 3:22): BEHOLD (HN),⁶⁰HN can also be an abbreviation for Hazkarat Nefashot, a memorial prayer for the dead. THE HUMAN.

Another interpretation (of Dan. 8:13): AND I HEARD A HOLY ONE SPEAKING….⁶³See Gen. R. 21:1. He said to him: For whom are all the evil decrees? He said to him: For the first Adam. (Ibid., cont.:) HOW LONG WILL < WHAT WAS SEEN IN > THE VISION LAST CONCERNING THE REGULAR OFFERING AND THE TRANSGRESSION THAT CAUSES DESOLATION? Are you having him turn back from the decrees? It is so written concerning him (in Gen. 3:19): FOR DUST YOU ARE AND UNTO DUST YOU SHALL TURN BACK. (Dan. 8:13, cont.:) TO GIVE OVER BOTH THE SANCTUARY AND THE HOST TO BE TRAMPLED UNDER FOOT. These are the children of the first Adam, over whom death was decreed. (Dan. 8:14:) AND HE SAID TO ME: UNTIL EVENING IS MORNING: Until the morning of the world to come arrives. And, when death and the evil decrees were decreed over him, the Holy One began mourning (in Gen. 3:22): BEHOLD, THE HUMAN.

[(Gen. 3:22:) BEHOLD, THE HUMAN.] What is written above on the matter (in Gen. 3:21): AND THE LORD GOD MADE [TUNICS OF SKIN] FOR ADAM [AND HIS WIFE]. What is the meaning of TUNICS OF SKIN?⁶⁴Cf. Gen. R. 20:12; PRE 14. R. Me'ir and R. Johanan say: Like the {strong} [fine] clothes that come from Bethshean, which are in contact with a person's flesh without {irritating him} [him noticing < them >]. R. Samuel bar Nahmani said: Leporinae⁶⁵The Latin word means “of a hare.” {i.e., kinds of garments}. R. Joshua ben Levi said: Rabbit skin.⁶⁶Gk.: lageia. R. Jose b. R. Hanina said: A garment of goatskin.⁶⁷Gk.: sisurnon. R. Abbahu said: R. Isaac says: Smooth like a fingernail and beautiful like a pearl.⁶⁸Gk.: margellion. Resh Laqish said: Like the work of heaven; and when the liturgy was < performed > by the first-born, they would sacrifice in them (these garments). Upon his sinning, the Holy One began mourning (in Gen. 3:22): BEHOLD, THE HUMAN.

And the ministering angels were astounded (at Israel's survival), saying: "Idolators walking on the dry land in the midst of the sea!" And whence is it derived that the sea, too, was filled with fury against them? From (Ibid. 14:22) "And the water was to them a wall (chomah), on their right and on their left." Read it not "chomah" but "cheimah" (wrath). What is it that rescued Israel? "on their right and on their left." "on their right" — in the merit of the Torah that they were destined to receive, viz. (Devarim 33:2) "From His right hand, the fire of the Law for them." And "on their left" — (in the merit of) prayer. Variantly: "on their right and on their left": "on their right" — (the mitzvah of) mezuzah that Israel is destined to observe. "and on their left" — tefillin (worn on the left hand). Pappus expounded (Song of Songs 1:9) "to a mare in the chariots of Pharaoh, etc.": Pharaoh rode on a stallion — the Holy One Blessed be He revealed Himself, as it were, on a stallion, viz. (Habakkuk 3:15) "You made Your stallion tread the sea." Pharaoh (also) rode on a mare, which can endure a long stretch better than a stallion — the Holy One Blessed be He revealed Himself on a mare, viz. "To a mare in the chariots of Pharaoh, etc." R. Akiva: "Enough, Pappus!" Pappus: How, then, do you understand "to a mare" ("lesusati")? R. Akiva: Understand it as "lesasti" ("to My joy"), the Holy One Blessed be He saying: "Just as I rejoiced in destroying Egypt, so I would have rejoiced in destroying Israel (for their idolatry). What prevented Me from doing so? "on their right and on their left" (see above). Pappus expounded (Iyyov 23:13) "And He is one, and who can turn Him back? Whatever He desires, He does": He is the sole judge of all who enter the world, and no one can contest His words. R. Akiva: "Enough Pappus!" Pappus: "And how do you understand it?" R. Akiva: The words of Him who brought the world into being are not to be contested, for all of them are in accordance with truth and justice. R. Pappus expounded (Genesis 3:22) ("and the L rd G d said:) Behold, the man has become like one of us" — as one of the ministering angels. R. Akiva: "Enough Pappus!" Pappus: "And how do you understand it?" R. Akiva: The Holy One Blessed be He gave him two options: one of life and one of death, and he chose the one of death. R. Pappus expounded (Psalms 106:20) "And they exchanged their glory for the image of an ox that feeds on grass": I might think, for the "ox" on high (i.e., Taurus); it is, therefore, written "that feeds on grass." R. Akiva: "Enough Pappus!" Pappus: "And how do you understand it?" R. Akiva: As referring to the terrestrial ox. I might think, that it refers to the mundane ox; it is, therefore, written "that feeds on grass." There is nothing more revolting and detestable than an ox (in the act of) eating grass.

“But, see, this I have found: God made man upright, but they have sought many schemes” (Ecclesiastes 7:29).
“But, see, this I have found: God made man upright” – he was upright, as it is stated: “God made man upright,” and it is written: “Behold, man has become like one of us” (Genesis 3:22) – like one of the ministering angels. When they became two, “but they have sought many schemes.”