The theme of separation features heavily in Genesis 1. After the introduction of light into the world, verse two records that ‘God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness’ (Genesis 1:4), וַיַּבְדֵּל אֱלֹהִים (wayyaḇdel Elohim lit. separated Elohim). Then, in day two, God separates the waters to create the firmament: ‘So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so’ (Genesis 1:7) - וַיַּבְדֵּל בֵּין הַמַּיִם (wayyaḇdel ben hammayim lit. divided between the waters).

The famous encounter between Eve and the serpent is a foundational moment in the story of God’s creation. The question, ‘did the serpent lie?’, seems to demand a quick and obvious answer, “yes”. But the craftiness of the serpent ensures that Eve was not tricked into disobedience by an obvious untruth, and the words of God’s adversary are laced with half-truths that would prove to be a permanent characteristic of the one Jesus referred to as ‘the father of lies’ (John 8:44).