I majored in religious studies at MSU, and I fundamentally disagree with the ending interpretation that the narrator has suggested. I think that the image of the snake as the devil, even if it is inconsistent with this story, has evidence of being a representation of evil or the devil in other traditions that were around at that same time. Satanism picks up on this, even if it is a modern religion, and turns the creation story into one of humanities enlightenment. It's interpretative here, that the author says that the consequences of the actions taken in the garden of eden are not punishments, but are in some sense ontological to how nature has to be. If God was all knowing, and he created man and gave man the ability to name the animals, and the naming gave the animals power, then God knew that man would give the serpent an embodiment of evil. This is perpetuated moreso in the story that is to come, I think, in this series of the Tower of Babble, where humanity in a fallen, eyes open state, tries to reach back to the power of God, and god takes that away from them. I'm not convinced that God is doing this to protect people, like keeping them away from the Tree of Life, so that they are not perpetually in a state of patriarchy and sin, but rather so that humans do not realize they are in a state of patriarchy and sin, so that god can keep ultimate demand. There is some fundamental differences between my interpretation of the texts, I am reading them from a Marxist standpoint. However, this course is still good, and I am enjoying it a lot.