Genesis 3:4 - Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible

The serpent said, ye shall not die— The woman having urged God's malediction, the tempter was interested to remove its force, without which it was impossible for him to prevail. And therefore, with the most daring, yet subtle boldness, he contradicts the divine assertion, and throws the vilest aspersion upon God's goodness, by assuring the woman, that by eating the fruit she would be so far from dying, as she feared, that she would be made wise as God himself. And this he urges as the reason why God forbad the eating of the fruit: tempting the woman at once to disbelieve her Creator's veracity, and to consider him as a hard and severe master, withholding the means of good from his creatures. "God forbids you to eat of this tree," says the deceiver, "out of a desire to withhold from you happiness; and therefore idly terrifies you with the threats of death, from what he knows will be the means of wisdom and bliss to you!" And is not this a too successful method still used by the tempter, who persuades men to doubt the divine veracity, and to practise sins, from which they expect felicity, in contradiction to his declaration, who hath positively said, that they who do such things shall die the death, and shall not inherit the kingdom of God?