A year ago, I wrote a post about how the snake’s question in Genesis 3:1 is best understood as questioning the goodness of God, not whether or not God had actually said “Don’t eat.”

I’ve often puzzled over אַף in Genesis 3:1. I think the normal translation, “really,” is fine—“Did God really say … ?” But the point isn’t to call into question whether God actually said the command of Genesis 2:17. In the narrative world, God just said it a few verses ago. It wouldn’t make sense to question whether or not something actually happened when you just lived it 5 minutes ago.

The snake is questioning the goodness of the command, the goodness in light of the extent of the command: “Did God really go so far as to say you couldn’t eat from any tree of the garden? Man, that’s harsh.”

I think this line of thought is supported by the use of אַף in 2 Kings 5:13. In this story, a leper named Naaman scoffs at Elisha’s instructions concerning how he can be healed. As Naaman turns to go, complaining along the way, his servants respond, astounded that he isn’t going to do what he was told. They say,

“The prophet said something amazing to you. Are you not going to do it?! Did he really (אַף) say to you wash and be clean?!”

The servant’s point is not to question whether or not Elisha said wash and be clean. The point is just how great and awesome the words are. Here in 2 Kings 5:13, אַף emphasizes just how far reaching Elisha’s words are, how awesome they are. This is essentially the same meaning of אַף in Gen 3:1 where it marks how, supposedly, far reaching God’s restrictions are. אַף in these verses is about extent, not whether something happened.