Another fall of man

Israel camps at Kadesh, sends in spies, but ultimately refuses to enter the land (Numbers 13-14). “Kadesh” transliterates qedesh , from qadash , which means “make holy.” Kadesh is not only an oasis in the desert, but a sanctuary. Like Adam, Israel sins in a garden-temple.

Now, we may be able to extrapolate backwards from Numbers to Genesis. Israel’s sin was a refusal to enter the land, to receive their inheritance from Yahweh. They were supposed to move from the garden into the land of milk and honey, from their respite into a land where they would rule.

Adam’s sin is different because it involves grasping something forbidden. But the setting is similar. Adam was formed and placed in the garden-sanctuary. He wasn’t supposed to remain there, but to move out from his original “Kadesh” into the land. He jumped the gun and was driven away from Kadesh. The punishment was a delay in Adam’s entry into the land, a delay of several millennia.