Naked but not Ashamed: Genesis 3

INTRODUCTION

Waking up in the middle of a classroom naked is a common nightmare, at least in the West, that provokes fear and shame. But that was not always the case; Gen. 2:25¹ portrays the days when humans could be naked but not ashamed. A time when God looked at His creation and said everything was good. Why, then, are we full of shame and fear? What had to happen so that in the present age, humans are full of shame and fear? It is evident, from this simple reality, that we live in a corrupted creation far from God’s intended design.

Lost are the days when the heavens, earth, and everything in them were good. Lost are the days when humans could run around naked but not ashamed. This paper will explore and aim to answer those questions through Genesis 3, linking shame and fear as the fruit of sin. This paper will show the contrast between God's response to sin and humans' response to sin and bring light to the present corrupted state of the world and the future living hope of God, where humans can maybe run again, naked but not ashamed.

EXEGETICAL ANALYSIS

Historical Context

According to tradition and scripture, Moses is the author of the Pentateuch, including the book of Genesis. Debates surrounding its authorship do not have sufficient weight to raise doubts about the general attribution to Moses². The analyzed text is Genesis 3; the narrated story has no relevant historical context other than the creation account itself. Instead, we can look at Moses’ historical context to understand the purpose of the book and, later, the purpose of the text.

Written by Moses within the days of the exodus account, Genesis is written for the Tribes of Israel leaving Egypt. Its purpose is to reveal God’s character in contrast to the ancient Near Eastern myths³ and to fill the historical base for the Pentateuch and Covenants⁴. Several ancient Near Eastern myths parallel the creation, the flood, and other Genesis accounts, but there are no parallel myths or stories about the fall, which is the center of this paper. Without the account of Genesis 3, we would not have an explanation of what went wrong with creation. Without Moses' account, we would only have myths, speculations, and vane philosophies to inform us about the origins and corruption of this world. Without Genesis, we would be in the dark, with insufficient knowledge of fundamental truths.⁵

This paper will explore the theological focus on the covenant foundation of Gen. 3:15 more than the historical base. This text is the first mention of a coming hero, savior, or redeemer, known as the Proto-Evangelion.⁶ From this moment forward, humanity is driven by the search or wait for the redeemer to come, driving humanity's history forward.

Literary Context

Genesis 3 precedes and continues the narrative from Genesis 2. As Sanford, Hubbard, and Bush argue, both Genesis 1 and Genesis 2 communicate the idea that “humankind is the apex of God’s creation⁷.” Genesis 2 recounts the creation in a narrative story, emphasizing the creation of humanity as the center. Genesis 3 narrates how this Apex behaved and brought about corruption to God’s Design. All three chapters constitute one big message that sets the stage for the bible narrative:

God created everything, and it was good. He made humans so that He could walk among them and they could delight in Him. Something went wrong, and this design was corrupted. From here on, the bible is the express character of God revealing Himself, His purpose, and His redeeming plan through the covenants. Genesis 3 is the key that unlocks bible interpretation by telling us what went wrong and how it will be fixed.

It is important to note that Gen. 3:1 begins with waw (וְ), a coordinating conjunction that unites two ideas. This denotes a connection with, at least, the last verse from Genesis 2, setting up the stage for the narrative of Genesis 3. Gen. 2:25 communicates God’s uncorrupted design, naked but not ashamed. At the same time, in Genesis 3, as Sanford, Hubbard, and Bush said, “we hear an exquisite, literary narrative, almost a drama”⁸ on how this design became corrupted by human intervention. Considering this verse before analyzing Genesis 3 is crucial.⁹ Naked but not ashamed becomes the main pattern representing humans’ corrupted identity after the first time they disobey God.

Following Genesis 3, we find a subsequent pattern of Genealogies that follows the destinies of the descendants of Adam and Eve.¹⁰ Genesis 3-11 describes a spiral of decadence on the corrupted identity and design and how this corruption expanded to siblings, to the earth and everything in it, and finally to the nations. This is the result of the events in Genesis 3. Genesis 12 picks up on the promise God made in Genesis 3:15 and begins revealing God’s plan of redemption through Abram’s seed.

Given the fundamental aspect of this chapter, it is paramount to understand what happened to God’s “good” design to comprehend the world’s present age condition and humans’ new corrupted identity: naked and ashamed. As explained in the paper, this identity is the fruit of sin (seed of the serpent), producing a pattern of behavior in response to sin. Contrasting Adam’s actions, God solves the problem by providing a better way to be covered, reversing the consequences of sin and birthing a new pattern of behavior representing the seed of the woman and a faith-based relation to God.

This paper will highlight the contrast based on these words: 1) Naked but not ashamed vis a vis Naked and ashamed. 2) Fruit of sin vis a vis fruit of grace.

Explanation of the Text

The setting where Genesis 3 begins is the garden, where the man and his wife are naked but not ashamed. With a play of words, the text introduces a new character, the serpent, described only by one adjective: the shrewdest beast in the field.¹¹ The adjective describing the serpent carries a negative connotation, as seen by the question asked of the woman, which seems to twist the character of God by overemphasizing strictness. In an analysis based on the Septuagint and other Greek translations, Fausset and Brown note that “others have more approximately translated it [by πανονργος], skilled in all manner of deceit and mischief.”¹² Rendering then, the adjective “shrewd” with a negative connotation—a master in the art of deceit and dishonor.

Furthermore, analyzing the original Hebrew will highlight an intentional play of words that shed light on the contrast in the text. The Hebrew word for shrewd, עָרוּם (ʿārûm), has the same root and is parallel to the word for naked עָרוֹם (ʿārôm) ¹³ in Gen. 2:25 and nakedness in Gen. 3:7 עֵרֹם (ʿêrōm).¹⁴ This provides our first hint to the patterns revealed in Genesis 3. The text’s first intention is to introduce a character described in direct relation to the man's and his wife's identity and design.

The innocent, unashamed nakedness (ʿārôm) would meet the dishonoring, shameful shrewdness (ʿārûm) of the serpent who twists the words of God, generating doubt in the woman’s heart.

The serpent presents a character of God with an overly strict sense of rules—one who prohibits everything (Gen. 3:1). The woman was probably full of doubt, as she most certainly knew His creator and had enjoyed the fruit of other trees. In a sense, trying to defend God, the woman falls into the trap and makes her first mistake. She engages the serpent and lets the serpent know about her weaknesses. Her answer agrees with the serpent’s question but, to a lower degree, “you must not touch it.” A degree of strictness that was not originally there, misrepresenting God and giving the serpent a chance to continue its deceit. (Gen 3:2-3).¹⁵ Could it be that those words added were not even hers? Could it be that she heard those from Adam? This might only be speculation, but what is true is that the direct command was given to Adam. His responsibility was to correct those mistakes.

When the serpent saw that Adam did not intervene and that the woman’s answer contained a slight mistake, it continued its mischief. Gen. 2:4 is the serpent's bold move, a direct lie, an opposition to God, a direct challenge to His honor, authority, and character: “You most assuredly would not die.” This lie was coupled with a sweet promise: “You will be like God” (Gen. 2:5). The serpent’s craftiness presents a twofold lie: eliminating consequences sweetened by the possibility of being like God. A half-truth supported this twofold lie; their eyes would be open, and in a way, they would be like God: “Knowing good and evil.”

Knowing good and evil will only serve one purpose: abandoning God. This was the true temptation. Knowledge about what is good and what is bad offers the capability of discerning and thus governing oneself—the idea of being free of others who might know better.¹⁶ This is the foundation of all sin: Deciding to dishonor God by dishonoring His commands while believing it could be done better.

Once again, the woman fell into the trap, this time forgetting God and giving in to her desires—desires that show the woman's increasing fall into temptation. Gen. 3:6 shows her thought process and how it went from shallow as any white lie to deep and as dark as shrewdness. “Food” was something easy to accept. “Lust for the eyes” was more profound and troublesome. It spoke directly to being able to see like God. But seeing is a passive action that would not create any harm. Finally, the desire to “impart wisdom.” Having convinced herself that she wanted the fruit and its “innocent” benefits, her mind traveled to the logical next step, using that knowledge to rule without needing God.

She took, she gave, and he ate. Adam was there all along and did not stop her. He did not take the necessary responsibility for what God gave him to rule (Gen. 3:6). The serpent's seed of lies gave fruit. Just like it said, their eyes opened, but the first thing they saw was עֵרֹם (ʿêrōm). They were both naked, but this time, they felt shame. Their response was to cover themselves to cover their shame. (Gen 3:7). The innocent, unashamed nakedness meets the deceitful seed of the serpent, producing the fruit of shame and the response of humans, self-covering.

Their eyes were opened, stripping them of their innocence, dishonoring God, and perverting His design—now the man and his wife are naked and ashamed. Shame is the first fruit of sin; without God’s intervention, shame will always produce self-covering. God’s design got corrupted, and nakedness and shrewdness became entangled. From this point on, all through the Bible, the word naked or nakedness in their different Hebrew variations (ʿārôm, ʿêrōm, ʿeryâ, ʿerwâ, maʿar, maʿ^arōm, yāḏ¹⁷) carry a negative connotation of being dishonored, exposed, bare, stripped. It even carries sexual connotations such as lust, intercourse, and incest. All these variations are associated directly with shame, the fruit of sin.

The second fruit of sin is shown in Gen. 3:8. As they cover themselves, they discern they have done evil in the eyes of God. Having now a distorted idea of God’s character, they became full of fear and hid themselves. Fear is the second fruit of sin, and humans respond to it by hiding or alienating themselves. Both shame and fear are the fruit of sin, meaning they were born out of sin and then, in themselves, produce a pattern of behavior, self-covering and hiding from God. Without God’s intervention, humans will always be ruled by shame and fear of others and God. But God does intervene right away. He shows his real character and responds in complete contrast to the response of men. He goes out of His way to find them and extend an opportunity to speak (Gen 3:9).

In the same way, the serpent had approached them with words, God now approached them to speak with them. Within this conversation, God exposed their fear and shame through questions, but not with the same intention as the serpent (Gen 3:10-11). He did so with his hand stretched with grace. Instead of dying immediately, Adam and his wife spoke with God, revealing God’s relational nature. Through those questions, the patterns of shame and fear reveal themselves. Adam tries to cover himself by blaming God and his wife (Gen 3:12). The woman tries to cover herself by blaming the serpent (Gen 3:13), and the serpent had no choice; it was the perpetrator and fully knew what it was doing.

What transpires next within Gen. 3:14-20 is the most beautiful display of God’s response: the seed of God’s grace that gives the fruit of faith and living hope. Buried between the lines of apparent judgment, the author, inspired by the Holy Spirit, displays God’s grace and introduces the blessed hope in which faith is placed. God addresses the story's three characters in the order in which they appear and decrees judgment on each. Within each of the judgments, the text reveals God’s grace.

The serpent, He curses, ( אָר֤וּר ʾârar) (Gen. 3:14). ¹⁸ This is the first mention of the word “cursed,” it is essential to understand its meaning from this context to project it onto later texts. To do so, the context and the underlying motivation of the action against God should be considered. The original command and its consequences provide the context: The penalty of sin, of rebelling against God, was death. The motivation or temptation brought forward by the serpent and accepted by both the man and his wife was self-ruling. Death and self-ruling should be intertwined to accurately describe the word cursed (ʾârar) and its subsequent variations. Cursed as in separated from God’s rule, left to its own and destined for destruction. ¹⁹

This can be further understood by the consequences applied to the serpent. In Genesis 1, God created creatures that could walk, swim, or fly, and he looked at His creation and said it was good. According to Genesis 3:14, the serpent would be “separated” from all the earth's creatures by a specific trait: its locomotion. As Hess would explain, “… the mode of locomotion for the serpent is one which is characteristic of those creatures who are unclean. They do not walk nor swim nor fly.”²⁰ In a sense, God separated the serpent from all His creation, leaving it on its own and destined for destruction. This destruction would come in the hands of a hero, the woman’s seed.

Gen. 3:15 is a foundational verse that explains the main plotline to be traced throughout God’s revelation and human history.²¹ Animosity will sprout between the woman and the serpent, between the woman’s seed (זַרְעֲ zeraʿ) and the serpent’s seed (זַרְעֲ zeraʿ). The serpent and the woman will be forever against each other, and their seeds will be at war until the woman’s seed (zeraʿ) crushes the head of the serpent’s seed. The judgment of the serpent became a promise to humanity.

The woman's seed (zeraʿ) is the promised hero, while the serpent's seed becomes the villain. The climax is the crushing of its head, and the motif behind it becomes God’s grace. As in any story, tracing the hero reveals the plot, and tracing the word seed (zeraʿ) becomes of uttermost importance. Israel’s history is driven by the search for the redeemer to come and the patterns of animosity against the enemy who wants to destroy her and her offspring. Where does this seed come from? For Adam and his wife, it was implied that the seed came from both. But, the careful words of God tell a different story: from the woman will come the seed (zeraʿ).

The woman is not cursed, and God does not even condemn any action. It might be implied that her actions are not as deliberate as the serpents nor as rebellious as his husband, who directly disobeyed. She did participate, so God does not mention her actions directly but does judge.²² The idea of self-ruling became the basis of her consequences. God places two consequences on the woman. First, that which was given to her as a gift, conception to labor, will cause pain (עִצָּבוֹן֙). Secondly, knowing her desire was to be self-ruled, she would now be limited in authority, given that her husband would rule over her (Gen. 3:16). This would mark women’s purpose and struggle: to give birth in pain and to be ruled not directly by God, but by man under God.

The man is not cursed, but the ground is cursed because of him. God condemns two of his actions, listening to his wife and eating from the Trea. Listening to His wife was not directly a rebellion against God. Instead, it showed a lack of appreciation for His design and letting what he was responsible for become corrupted. His direct action of disobeying God and eating the tree is also condemned and deserves a curse: death. In an act of God’s grace, what was cursed was not him but the ground he was placed to rule over.²³ The ground is taken out of God's rule and doomed to be ruled by men, a ruling that will cause corruption and destruction (Gen. 3:17). God’s grace did not exempt Adam from consequences. In the same way that a woman’s primary purpose causes pain, now Adams’s purpose causes pain (עֶצֶב). As it is now cursed and corrupted, the ground will give man hardship to labor in (Gen.18-19). Both accounts are linked by the same Hebrew root (עֶצֶב ʿetseb), meaning both consequences carry the same weight even when their actions are different. Their primary purpose, design, and identity are now corrupted and will cause pain.

The judgment may seem harsh, but a closer would show that Genesis 3:14-19 displays God’s grace. Adam and his wife deserved death but obtained a seed of grace that would give fruit. Adam’s answer to God is to change his wife's name to Eve, “the mother of all living” (Gen. 3:20). This reflects that both Adam and Eve had faith. They both believed, trusted and accepted what God said he would do²⁴. They placed their faith in the seed, their living hope for the coming one. God then provided them a better covering, “made out of skin,” to remove their shame and fear. Where did this skin come from? The first sacrifice ever made. The payment for sin was death, and death did happen. God used this sacrifice to cover them from their shame and provided their new identity: Covered and not ashamed (Gen. 3:21).

Finally, the actual result of eating the tree is “the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil” (Gen 3:22). There is much debate about what the meaning of Us would be. Be it the trinity or a divine counsel of divine beings. What should not be confused is that man did not become fully like God. The grammar indicates that man became like God in the characteristic of knowing good and evil. This knowing gives the capacity to discern and make decisions without considering God as the higher authority, but it does not give man the capability to choose good over evil.²⁵ As such, God protected them by expelling them from the sight of the Tree of Life. He then placed cherubim to guard the Tree so they would not eat and live corrupted forever.

THEOLOGICAL ANALYSIS

Gen. 3 gives the foundation of the plotline for the book of Genesis and shows the patterns to look for. Based on this chapter, Genesis 4-11 explores the pattern of both seeds’ genealogies and their animosity²⁶. The seed of the woman is those who still invoke the Name of the Lord (Genesis 4), while the serpent's seed is those who always choose evil. Eventually, the text shows that when given a chance, humans will choose evil. Regardless of their condition, God is faithful, and tracing the seed of women leads the text to Abram’s election and promises (Genesis 12, 15, 17). The latter part of the book of Genesis, Genesis 12-50, is to be understood in light of Genesis 3 as the genealogy of the seed to come, rendering Israel the woman who births the seed.²⁷ As it began, Genesis once finishes with a promise of a ruler that will come to take what belongs to Him: “The scepter will not pass from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs will come. To him will be the obedience of the peoples (Gen 49:10).

The animosity between the woman and the serpent drives Israel’s history, and the people choose to be ruled by God or man. Seeing this pattern opens up the understanding of prophecy. Tracing the seed of the serpent will render insight into prophesies and the seven kingdoms that were a part of its influence. Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, and the empire of the last days (Revelation 13).

From Genesis 3, we learn that the fruit of sin corrupted man's identity creating shame and fear. But by God’s grace, there is a way to be covered, and it comes through faith and the birth of everlasting hope. This is the seed of grace, the seed of the gospel, the seed of thought that is eventually recovered when the actual seed of the woman comes. Salvation comes by faith in the Son (Seed) of God, who came through the woman and died so that sin would be covered. The fruit of grace is a life full of faith and hope with no shame or fear. God is sovereign, God is good, and God has only one plan since the beginning. The seed to come was always to be the Son of God incarnate. The one that was to come through the line of Judah came. He is the only human that can sustain a life of complete submission to the Father because he is not just a man, but He is both human and divine in nature, the Son of God, the seed of the woman. This salvation has always come and will always come by believing in the seed promised in Genesis 3:15.

What is the path man can take to return to God’s rule? There is only one way, truth, and life: Jesus Christ, the seed that crushed the serpent on the cross and rose from death, making a spectacle of him. The search for the seed is over, the story's climax has been reached, and it is now time for the resolution. The Son of God stood on the cross so everyone could look at Him and recognize the coming seed. Whoever clings to the seed will have eternal life. Whoever clings to themselves will be cursed as the serpent was.

The root of sin is rebellion, being out of God’s rule, and the fruit of sin will always provoke shame and fear. This truth can be traced throughout the Bible. Shame and fear are then synonyms for fear of man. Acting because of shame or fear will always produce dissatisfaction and corruption. The root of grace is the return to God’s rule, and the fruit of grace is faith, which overcomes fear and clothes with a new identity. An identity of a son of God, redeemed by the Son and sealed by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1).

An authentic human response to suffering must always retain an element of protest against suffering which cannot be justified. Hence the autocratic God of absolute power who simply presides over this suffering world and cannot himself be reached by suffering appears a cosmic monster. It seems possible to justify God (‘theodicy’) only if he too suffers. ‘The only credible theology for Auschwitz is one that makes God an inmate of the place.’⁸²⁸⁰²⁹

CONTEMPORARY APPLICATION

Since shame and fear began after the fall, they can be used as a thermometer to indicate how far away someone has drifted from God’s authority. It works on a personal level, in a group setting, for a state, a country, or even the world of this present age. A quick review of this world will show that the underlying motivation for everything that goes on in the world is shame and fear. Adam and Eve self-covered with fig leaves and hid from God. Today, society covers their shame in gender identity, in complete nakedness and exposure, redefining what is good and evil. Men and women who are terrified of the responsibility of other humans hide behind planned parenthood. A husband who does not know how to raise their kids covers his shame in violence. High schoolers cover their shame by being one more in the group and falling into social pressure. A damaged kid hides his fear by overcompensating. One way or another, everyone is hiding and covering for themselves.³⁰

Noticing shame and fear can lead pastors, lay leaders, or friends to approach the affected like God did, gracefully asking questions to produce a confession that leads to repentance. Leaders should always follow up by reminding others that the shame felt will only be covered by the blood of Christ and that God is not one to punish but one who approaches with patience and love. Looking at the world with Genesis 3 in mind should lead the believer to always look for the underlying motivation for someone’s action. If it is a shame, then they should show them how God covers all sin. If it is fear, then they should show them how God’s heart is gentle and humble. By doing so, the root of the problem may be solved, and what once was sin could be met with grace and produce faith in the living God.

Christ did pray: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Lk. 23:34). It is only by the Father's forgiveness that we can be covered. What is then for a man to do? Understand that the root of all sin is rebellion. Once someone has rebelled, they stop looking for God’s authority, and without it, every action will eventually lead to fear and shame. How could a church prioritize covering shame and fear? What could it look like? What programs should it have? How would it share the gospel?

Teenagers live in a world surrounded by shame; they need figures who can ground them to their true identity. Young adults live with the fear of not being able to provide or of not living up to the world’s expectations; they need to be reminded that God provides and that he is already satisfied at the moment one is born again. Young adults live in the shame of not finding a partner to create a life and a family, with the fear they will never do; they need someone in a community that lifts their eyes and joins them in creating something for the community, reminding them that God is our first relation and is sufficient to provide. Adult men live with the shame of not being like the next one and the fear of being unable to bring bread to the table; they need a community of men that empowers them to live life emulating Christ.

Church members, in whatever role they play, could become a community that detects shame and exposes it for what it truly is, then gracefully provide the covering that erases all shame. A community that detects when someone is hiding gracefully searches for them and leads them back to God, who protects them. A community that walks covered and not ashamed.

CONCLUSION

Genesis 3 is the key that unlocks everything. It is the gospel in its simplest form. It explains what went wrong, when it went wrong and how it will be fixed. According to God’s design, there should be no shame or fear; the original design was meant to be naked but not ashamed.

After Adam and Eve fell from God’s rule, He searched for them, He spoke to them, He judged them, He covered them, and He protected them. Within it all, He promised a seed would come and crush the head of the serpent, ending the fruit of sin once and for all. Wherever men think they can converse themselves, God can do it better. Wherever men believe they can hide, God will always find them. But when he does, he does not curse but provides a way for confession and repentance.

This is His grace delivered to Adam and Eve, which sprouted faith and hope in the seed to come and the age to come. This is His grace delivered for every human being, that through Christ, they can be covered and walk without shame. It is the living hope that one day His children can be resurrected and walk once more: naked but not ashamed.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Bromiley, Geoffrey W., ed. The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised. Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1979–1988.

Brown, David, A. R. Fausset, and Robert Jamieson. A Commentary, Critical, Experimental, and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments: Genesis–Deuteronomy. Vol. I. London; Glasgow: William Collins, Sons, & Company, Limited, n.d.

Carson, D. A., R. T. France, J. A. Motyer, and G. J. Wenham, eds. New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition. 4th ed. Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994.

Elwell, Walter A., and Barry J. Beitzel. Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1988.

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Gangel, Kenneth O., and Stephen J. Bramer. Genesis. Edited by Max Anders. Holman Old Testament Commentary. B&H Publishing Group, 2002.

Haykin, Michael A. G., ed. The Essential Lexham Dictionary of Church History. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2022.

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Longman, Tremper, III. How to Read Genesis. Westmont, IL: IVP Academic, 2005.

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Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society. Holy Scriptures: Tree of Life Version. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2015.

La Sor, William Sanford, David Allan Hubbard, and Frederic William Bush. Old Testament Survey: The Message, Form, and Background of the Old Testament. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1996.

Strong, James. A Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Greek Testament and The Hebrew Bible. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2009.

Walton, John H., and Andrew E. Hill. Old Testament Today, 2nd Edition: A Journey from Ancient Context to Contemporary Relevance. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2014.

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Bibliotheca Sacra 22 (1865).

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Themelios 43, no. 1 (2018).

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¹ All scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted are taken from Holy Scriptures: Tree of Life Version. 2015. Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.

² Allen P. Ross, Genesis, in vol. 1 of The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books. 1985), 15.

³ Walton, John H., and Andrew E. Hill. 2014. Old Testament Today, 2nd Edition: A Journey from Ancient Context to Contemporary Relevance. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. (49)

⁴ Ross, Allen P. “Genesis.” In The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (21)

⁵ Hackett, Horatio B. 1865. “The First Eleven Chapters of Genesis Attested by Their Contents.” Bibliotheca Sacra 22, no. 87: (399–400.)

⁶ Wenham, Gordon J. 1994. “Genesis.” In New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition, edited by D. A. Carson, R. T. France, J. A. Motyer, and G. J. Wenham, 4th ed., 63. Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press. (63)

⁷ William Sanford Lasor, David Allan Hubbard and Frederic William Bush, Old Testament Survey: The Message, Form, and Background of the Old Testament. 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. 1996), 22

⁸ Ibid., 19

⁹ Allen P. Ross, 10

¹⁰ Horatio B. Hackett, “The First Eleven Chapters of Genesis Attested by Their Contents.” Bibliotheca Sacra 22, no. 87 (1865): 400.

¹¹ Richard S. Hess, “The Roles of the Woman and the Man in Genesis 3.” Themelios 18, no. 3 (1993): 16.

¹²David Brown, A. R. Fausset and Robert Jamieson, Genesis–Deuteronomy in Vol. I. of A Commentary, Critical, Experimental, and Practical, on the Old and New Testament (London; Glasgow: William Collins, Sons, & Company, Limited, n.d), 49

¹³ James Strong, “naked” in A Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Greek Testament and The Hebrew Bible, (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2009), 88.

¹⁴ Day, A. E., and G. D. Jordan, “Serpent.” in The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised, ed. Geoffrey W. Bromiley, (4:417. Wm. B. Eerdmans 1979–1988), 417

¹⁵ Kenneth O. Gangel and Stephen J. Bramer, Genesis, ed. Max Anders, (Holman Old Testament Commentary. B&H Publishing Group, 2002), 41

¹⁶ Richard S. Hess, 17

¹⁷ F. B. Knutson, “Nakedness” in The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised, ed. Geoffrey W Bromiley, (3:480. Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1979–1988), 433

¹⁸ R. K. Harrison, “Curse.” in The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised, ed. Geoffrey W. Bromiley, (1:838. Wm. B. Eerdmans. (833) Volume 1

¹⁹ Elwell, Walter A., and Barry J. Beitzel. 1988. “Curse, Cursed,” in Vol. 1 of Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible, (1:561. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1979–1988), 561

²⁰ Richard S. Hess, 17

²¹ John H. Walton and Andrew E. Hill, Old Testament Today, 2nd Edition: A Journey from Ancient Context to Contemporary Relevance, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2014 ), 12

²² Richard S. Hess, 17

²³ Kenneth O. Gangel and Stephen J. Bramer, 45

²⁴ Brown, David, A. R. Fausset, and Robert Jamieson. n.d. A Commentary, Critical, Experimental, and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments: Genesis–Deuteronomy. Vol. I. London; Glasgow: William Collins, Sons, & Company, Limited. (60)

²⁵ Gangel, Kenneth O., and Stephen J. Bramer. 2002. Genesis. Edited by Max Anders. Holman Old Testament Commentary. B&H Publishing Group. (47)

²⁶ John H. Walton and Andrew E. Hill, 76

²⁷ Ibid.

⁸⁰ K. Surin, ‘The Impassibility of God and the Problem of Evil’, SJT 35 (1982), p. 105.

²⁹ Bauckham, Richard. 1984. “‘Only the Suffering God Can Help’: Divine Passibility in Modern Theology.” Themelios 9, no. 3: 11–12.

³⁰ Richard S. Hess, 18