Both had remained naked in the Garden of Eden. Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? What was it about eating from the Tree of Knowedge of Good and Evil that made Adam suddenly ashamed of his nudity when he was not ashamed before? In Genesis, why did Adam and Eve become ashamed when they realized they were naked after eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil?
But rather, it was knowing the "Good" that they had not clothed themselves in, that made them ashamed , the "Good" imitation of the love and mercy of God - righteousness. At the very least, even if the narrative isn't teaching to clothe oneself in "good work" or "righteousness", then it is at least affirming that clothing your body is a "Good" thing. So, compared with the goodness of God - they were likely ashamed of how their own "goodness" measured up to God's own.
NKJV - Revelation 3: Although Scripture might speak to "modesty", Scripture elsewhere affirms nudity - "before the Lord". Scripture shows justification for more extreme, and public , displays of nudity: NKJV, 1 Samuel NKJV, 2 Samuel 6: His throne was a fiery flame, Its wheels a burning fire;. People are NOT "spiritually naked" - when they do evil: This is an objection to another answer that asserts that nakedness is a metaphor for sinfulness - but even "sinful people" are "clothed".
Adam and Eve, like infants , were in a unique situation: The sudden shame for Adam's and Eve nakedness is an allegory, the physical of the spiritual.
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Not just the gained knowledge from eating the fruit. First, they were commanded not to eat the fruit from the tree, nor touch it Genesis 3: Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat? Second, Eve saw "that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise. Eve was tempted with sin by the serpent who represents Satan the lust of the eyes pleasant to the eyes and pride of life to make one wise.
She also gave the fruit to Adam and he ate. In verse 7 it explains how once they ate the fruit disobeyed God their eyes were opened and they knew that they were naked. Nakedness, was the physical representation of their disobedience to God engulfed with the shame and knowledge of that disobedience. In that shame, they both tried to hide from God who was walking in the garden. And with that sin comes shame and "nakedness" the exposure of our sin. You know, how when you are a child and you drink a beer for example.
You know that it is wrong and something that you are not supposed to do so you hide the fact that you drank that beer. You brush your teeth, run straight up to your room, close the door and try to hide from your parents so they will not find out that you had some beer. Once they find out, you become "exposed" or naked before them. The physical nakedness of Adam and Eve represented and still represents the spiritual exposure or nakedness of who we really are to God from whom we cannot run or hide from either in our hearts, minds, spiritually or physically.
I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. Your nakedness shall be uncovered, Yes, your shame will be seen; I will take vengeance, And I will not arbitrate with a man.
My dad, who is a pastor, has an interesting theory as of why. He says that prior to the Fall, they were clothed in light as a result of walking with God. They were physically naked, but because they were clothed in God's glory, they couldn't see that they were naked. This idea is rooted in Exodus Considering this, it is possible that Adam and Eve were also radiant from being with God all the time. When they disobeyed God and contaminated themselves with sin, their radiance wore off, and they saw that they were naked and hid themselves.
There is nothing in the Genesis account to indicate that this was an allegory. To do so it would mean to undermine the Word of God. So what was it that they realized here? Little children are notorious for trying to shed their clothes and run around naked.
Genesis NKJV - And they were both naked, the man and - Bible Gateway
This is done with total innocence; the two-year-old does not see any difference between his face, his knees, and the parts of his body which we adults insist that he cover. Only adults feel that certain parts of the body must be covered. Because those are connected with physical lust and passions, and should not be exposed. Prior to their sin, Adam and Eve knew good from bad, right from wrong, but they had not internalized an evil inclination.
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So they could choose to do right and wrong, and were held responsible for their choices, but the urge to do evil did not come from within. This urge was represented by the serpent—the external tempter. Since the evil did not reside within them, they were "naturally" good, and their nakedness was innocent and in no way sinful. When they ate of the Tree of Knowledge, the evil inclination became a part of them.
No longer did they need an external tempter to incite them to sin—now, that tempter resided within their psyches. Hence the abovementioned verse. Then the eyes of both of them were opened. And when they perceived their own nakedness, then they sewed fig leaves and made coverings for themselves. It is clearly not a reference to the physical eyes of Adam and Eve, because their eyes had been open all along while they enjoyed the beauty of the garden, and enjoyed each other, and observed how the animals behaved.
No, the word is being used in this context in reference to their "mind's eye", i. So, upon eating the fruit, Adam and Eve understood something that they had had no awareness of before, and that something was related to what they were then compelled to do: Their open eyes, before they ate the fruit, observed the animals doing all sorts of playful things However, the new eyes of their understanding showed them: The thought of it caused them to immediately set about making aprons to cover their procreation parts, and then to run and hide from God amongst the trees of the garden.
It was a humiliating experience for them.
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The reaction of Adam and Eve was clearly an indication that they had not arrived at such a time. This presages the role of the Torah which, rather than producing righteousness, produces Self-consciousness and shame. The point wasn't that they were naked but that they had become aware of their nakedness. It doesn't seem super-likely that the point was that Adam felt that his penis was embarrassingly small, but I guess we should be thorough! We do know it was actually of average size, so this might provide a valuable lesson for boys.
It may be that the "skin" of the animal had fur on it and the story is partly intended to explain the origin of pubic hair. Pubic hair is a natural covering from God just as God is said to cover the shame of a woman exposing her head to angels and thus enticing them to leap from the sky and rape her 1 Cor A lesson for girls? Being naked in front of someone else is the most vulnerable a person could ever be. No barriers, no shield, no interface, no pretence.
And no weapons, either. It's no wonder we are so afraid of it. Nakedness exposes us to every potential danger that we know: When we are naked, we have nothing to help us deflect or absorb the injury - we must bear it all, physically and emotionally. When an animal senses danger, it responds instinctively by preparing to fight or to flee. It is aware only of the danger - it simply responds to stimuli.
Compare Translations for Genesis 9:22
What humans have acquired in addition to this same physical response is a knowledge or awareness of our own vulnerability - an awareness of ourselves interacting with life. By knowing ourselves to be participating in each interaction, we have the capacity to respond differently to stimuli than other animals do: This is different to a chameleon who changes colour to hide from predators. If we hide our nakedness with fig leaves, for instance, we have already begun learning to interact with life in a way that changes how life interacts with us.
And even though it has so many other, much more productive applications, we mostly apply this 'gift' to try and protect our vulnerable, naked selves from potential danger. But a few fig leaves cannot hide this new sense of vulnerability from God. So when they hear His voice in the garden, Adam and Eve try to hide themselves completely. So we see by Adam's own words that it wasn't shame that caused Adam to hide from God, but fear. What was Adam afraid of? With the fig leaves it couldn't have been his modesty that he was referring to when he says 'because I was naked'.
It was this new awareness of his vulnerability in the presence of God, even with the fig leaves, that made him afraid. But in Genesis 2: So how does this adjective relate to Adam being afraid after eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil? In the OT there are many calls from prophets for the people of Israel or Jerusalem to be ashamed of their actions, and then to fear God.
Those who are called to be ashamed are told to be embarrassed or guilty because of their actions, characteristics or associations. Those who admit to being ashamed show a reluctance to do something due to fear of embarrassment or humiliation. In most instances, the persons who are 'ashamed' are described taking steps to avoid confrontation, as if they are afraid to face the consequences.
They seek to change how life interacts with them in order to protect themselves from potential danger. But God regularly greets his people throughout the OT with "Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged. To fear something is to acknowledge the power it has to do us harm. The only people called to be ashamed are those who refuse to acknowledge that God is the only fear they should have, and then only if they don't live as He has instructed. Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.
NIV 2 Timothy 2: In the NT, both Paul and Jesus encourage their listeners to not be ashamed of the gospel, even in the face of persecution, but to have courage instead. Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
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So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God. NIV 2 Timothy 1: Paul suggests that people were denying the gospel because they were afraid of the consequences of being associated with Jesus who was persecuted or with Paul who was imprisoned, and were taking steps to protect themselves from a similar fate.
He urges his followers instead to not be afraid of suffering persecution for the sake of the gospel. So being ashamed is being afraid of humiliation, punishment or harm brought about by our own actions, characteristics or associations. While Adam acknowledges only his fear at this stage, as readers we cannot separate this fear from his actions in eating the fruit, which brought him, and all humanity, to this new, fearful awareness. Christian Standard Bible Both the man and his wife were naked, yet felt no shame.
Contemporary English Version Although the man and his wife were both naked, they were not ashamed. Good News Translation The man and the woman were both naked, but they were not embarrassed. Holman Christian Standard Bible Both the man and his wife were naked, yet felt no shame. International Standard Version Even though both the man and his wife were naked, they were not ashamed about it. NET Bible The man and his wife were both naked, but they were not ashamed. New Heart English Bible And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
JPS Tanakh And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. New American Standard And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed. Jubilee Bible And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. American King James Version And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
American Standard Version And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. Brenton Septuagint Translation And the two were naked, both Adam and his wife, and were not ashamed.