Genesis 3:2-3

Genesis 3:2-3

[2] And the woman  said  unto the serpent,  We may eat  of the fruit  of the trees  of the garden:  [3] But of the fruit  of the tree  which is in the midst  of the garden,  God  hath said,  Ye shall not eat  of it, neither shall ye touch  it, lest  ye die. 

What does Genesis 3:2-3 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Eve was vulnerable to this suggestion because she distorted the word of God. She added to it "or touch it" ( Genesis 3:3).
"In her reply to [1] question, she perverted and misquoted three times the divine law to which she and Adam were subject: (1) She disparaged her privileges by misquoting the terms of the Divine permission as to the other trees. (2) She overstated the restrictions by misquoting the Divine prohibition. (3) She underrated her obligations by misquoting the Divine penalty." [2]
God reveals His character through His word. When we do not retain His word precisely, a distorted concept of God is often the result. This led Eve to doubt God"s goodness.
The serpent"s claim directly contradicted the main point of chapters1,2 , namely, that God would provide what is good for mankind.
"It is because "Yahweh Elohim" expresses so strongly the basic OT convictions about God"s being both creator and Israel"s covenant partner that the serpent and the woman avoid the term in their discussion. The god they are talking about is malevolent, secretive, and concerned to restrict man: his character is so different from that of Yahweh Elohim that the narrative pointedly avoids the name in the dialogue of Genesis 3:1-5." [3]
One natural tendency that we have when we do not understand or recall God"s word precisely is to make it more restrictive than He does. This is what Eve did. This is a form of legalism.