The Gnostic inversion of the Garden of Eden story represents a radical reinterpretation of the traditional Genesis narrative. In Gnostic texts, particularly those associated with Sethian and Valentinian traditions, the familiar roles are dramatically reversed:

In the Gnostic version, the creator God of the Old Testament (called the Demiurge or sometimes Yaldabaoth) is portrayed not as the true, transcendent God, but as a lesser, ignorant or even malevolent entity. This Demiurge, often identified with YHWH, is depicted as a cosmic tyrant who falsely claims to be the only God.

The serpent, rather than being the deceiver, becomes the hero of the story—a messenger of the true, transcendent divine realm (the Pleroma) who attempts to awaken Adam and Eve to their divine origins and true nature. The serpent is sometimes associated with the divine feminine principle (Sophia) or Christ himself.

Now, the eternal realm of truth has no shadow within it because the immeasurable light is everywhere within it. Outside it, however, is a shadow, and it was called darkness.

The shadow perceived that there was one stronger than it.  It was jealous, and when it became self-impregnated, it immediately bore envy. Since that day the principle of envy has appeared in all of the aeons and their worlds. But envy was found to be an aborted fetus without any spirit in it

Since that day the authorities knew that truly there was something stronger than they. They would not have known except that their commandment was broken. They brought a great envy into the world only because of the immortal human.