Genesis 3:1

Hebrew יאמר אל האשה אף כי. He is speaking toward the Woman even though...

The phrase אף כי is a Hebrew idiom that serves as a comparative intensifier or conjunction. It often introduces an argument from lesser to greater (a fortiori reasoning), highlighting the heightened relevance or gravity of the subsequent statement compared to a preceding context or assumed premise. Depending on the specific context, it can carry various nuances:

1. "How much more..."
   In many cases, אף כי is used to argue that if a statement is true or significant in a lesser scenario, it is even more so in a greater scenario. Examples include:

   • Deuteronomy 31:27 – If they rebel while Moses is alive, how much more after his death.
   • 1 Kings 8:27 – If the heavens cannot contain God, how much less a physical temple.
   • Job 35:14 - "How much more when you say, 'You cannot see Him'"

2. "Even though" or "Especially since"
   In some contexts, אף כי emphasizes the surprising or intensified nature of the current statement despite (or because of) prior conditions. For example:

   • Ezekiel 15:5 – Behold in his becoming complete/blameless, he is not making for the angelic-task especially since the fire has has devoured himself and he is scorched!

3. Rhetorical emphasis
   The phrase can also underscore the gravity or absurdity of a situation, often to highlight human folly or divine justice:

   • Job 15:16 – If humanity is abominable and corrupt, how much more a individual who indulges iniquity.
   • Proverbs 21:27 – If the sacrifice of the wicked is abhorrent, how much worse when it is offered with ulterior motives.

By introducing these comparisons or rhetorical highlights, אף כי draws attention to the logical or emotional weight of the statement that follows, creating a powerful argumentative or illustrative effect.

In either case אף כי is not an interrogative phrase that signals a question. Biblical Hebrew has a clear way of signaling an interrogative (cf. unfoldingWord's Particle Interrogative). In this text, "ויאמר אל האשה אף כי אמר אלהים לא תאכלו" ("And he spoke to the woman, even though God has said, 'You shall not eat'"), אף כי functions purely as a conjunction meaning "even though" or "although", or "especially since."

תאכלו - two possible meanings:

1. "You (plural) will eat" – Qal imperfect 2nd person masculine plural of אכל ("to eat").

   • Is the serpent here speaking to the woman alone using a 2nd person masculine plural? How fitting semantically to the context is that?

2. "She is eating him/it" – Qal imperfect 3rd person feminine singular with the direct object suffix -ו ("it/him," masculine object).

   • The second possibility is certainly more grammatically fitting, if not conventional. 

How to Distinguish?

• If תאכלו stands alone, it's most likely "you (plural) will eat."
• If תאכלו has a clear feminine subject (e.g., fire, land, sword, etc.), then it means "she will eat it."

Strongs Hebrew #1588 גן, gan. fenced enclosure. Interpreted as "garden." From the root גנן ganan (#1598) meaning to cover, surround, protect, defend. The root has little to do with vegetation, flowers, food, trees, etc. But it certainly has to do with something guarded, protected, fortified, fenced off.