‘And the snake said to the woman, “You shall not surely die, for God knows that in the day you eat of it then your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God knowing good and evil”.'
The snake knows he has won. He now drops his mask. He no longer prevaricates but blatantly and with stress reveals his true nature. No ordinary snake could be seen as speaking like this, for he is forcefully claiming to know better than God. The reader has his suspicions confirmed that something dreadfully sinister lies behind the snake. (Supernatural beings are ever in the background in these passages without being mentioned e.g. Genesis 1:26; Genesis 3:22; Genesis 3:24. They are the background to all that happens).
‘But the snake said to the woman, “You will not die. For God knows that when you eat of it you will be like God, knowing good and evil”.' How subtle the snake is. He is suggesting that knowing good and evil is a good thing for the woman, and that God is only pretending when He makes His threats so as to prevent them getting on equality with Himself. Indeed he makes God look mean-spirited and he makes a curse look like a blessing. Why, do they not realise that they can be ‘like God” (or ‘like the elohim', like spiritual beings)? Of course, the truth is that had they continued in obedience they would have known the difference between good and evil through persevering in goodness, and would then indeed have been more Godlike. On the other hand the snake's way was a much quicker route, learning by experience rather than by obedience, but it was a way that led to disaster.
Note that the snake uses simply the term God. This, along with the woman's reply (Genesis 3:3), is the only place where the term ‘the Lord God' (Yahweh Elohim) is not used in Genesis 2:5 to Genesis 3:24. It is probably intended to be seen as the snake ‘watering down' the authority and closeness of God in the woman's mind, and an indication of the woman responding.