Was Eve's punishment too severe for this? (5,7)

I believe the answer is:

first offence

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'was eve's punishment too severe' is the definition.
I know nothing about this answer so I cannot tell whether this works.

'for this?' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'for' could be 'to' (eg both can mean 'in the opinion of') and 'to' is found within the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

I've seen this clue in The Irish Times.

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