Insofar as reading the Holy Bible beneficially is concerned, tell we what metaphoric message would you read into the injunction to not steal? Or, what metaphoric lesson might we take away from the injunction against covetousness? Otherwise, see post # 1481.
Immaterial. I asked a very simple question. The entity in Genesis 3:14 that tempted Eve to take the fruit, was it a metaphorical serpent or the real animal?
Do you see everything else as metaphors, as well? The slaying of the Amalekite infants by divine order in 1 Samuel 15:3, and David's child being killed by the same deity for being born a bastard - are these all "metaphors" as well? How do you address the moral contradictions of a being (David's child) being killed by the deity for absolutely no fault of its own? Killed with a week's worth of suffering and debilitation, at that.