“Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith, from which some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk, desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm<\/em>” (I Timothy 1:5-7).<\/p><\/blockquote>\nI’m always amazed at what animal rights activists dream up to avoid the clear teachings in the Bible. The idea that Adam and Eve lived for who knows how long without skin on their bodies is medically absurd, unjustifiable by the Scriptures, and a violation of the meaning of words and grammar.<\/p>\n
Let’s start with “naked.” “And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed<\/em>” (Genesis 2:25). The word\u00a0‘arowm<\/em> in Hebrew does not mean without skin. It means nude, either totally or partially. In other words, it is the exposure of skin, not the absence of skin. This is simply illustrated by Saul, “And he also stripped off his clothes and prophesied before Samuel in like manner, and lay down naked all that day and all that night. Therefore they say, ‘Is Saul also among the prophets?’<\/em>” (I Samuel 19:24). One becomes naked when clothing is removed, not when the skin is removed.<\/p>\n“Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them<\/em>” (Genesis 3:21).<\/p><\/blockquote>\nGod clothed Adam and Eve. The Hebrew word\u00a0labash<\/em>\u00a0means to put on a garment. When we read, “Then Rebekah took the choice clothes of her elder son Esau, which were with her in the house, and\u00a0put them on<\/strong>\u00a0Jacob her younger son. And she\u00a0put<\/strong>\u00a0the skins of the kids of the goats\u00a0on<\/strong>\u00a0his hands and on the smooth part of his neck<\/em>” (Genesis 27:15-16), we don’t conclude that Rebekah stripped the skin off of Esau to put on it on Jacob. The word means that something is put on top of the person’s body, on top of his skin.<\/p>\nWhat God made was tunics. The Hebrew word\u00a0kathoneth<\/em>\u00a0refers to a long shirt, one that reaches from the shoulders to the knees. “Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. Also he made him a tunic of many colors<\/em>” (Genesis 37:3). Jacob did not give Joseph a newly tattooed skin; he gave Joseph a new tunic (shirt) made of multiple colored materials.<\/p>\nThe tunics were made of skins. The Hebrew word\u00a0‘owr<\/em>\u00a0means hide, leather or skin. Since Adam and Eve were the only two humans at this time, this verse is not saying that God gave them their own skins back to them. “If you ever take your neighbor’s garment as a pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun goes down. For that is his only covering, it is his garment for his\u00a0skin<\/strong>. What will he sleep in? And it will be that when he cries to Me, I will hear, for I am gracious<\/em>” (Exodus 22:26-27). Garments are intended to cover a person’s skin, not be their skin. The use of animal skins was common. We already saw Rebekah making gloves for Jacob of goatskin. Ram skins and badger skins were used to make two layers of the top covering for God’s Tabernacle (Exodus 26:14). When offerings were made, the skin from the sacrifice was given to the priest in payment (Leviticus 7:8). Certain types of mold required the destruction by fire, which included things made of skin (Leviticus 13:49-51). I could go on, but it is sufficient to prove that ‘owr<\/em>\u00a0is not limited to human skin and thus we cannot conclude that God made Adam and Eve shirts of human skin.<\/p>\n\tQuestion:<\/h2>\n
They hid from God because they were naked. It doesn\u2019t make sense if God had clothed them.<\/p>\n\t
Answer:<\/h2>\n
If you ignore the time order of events, very few things would make sense.<\/p>\n
\n- Genesis 2:25 – Adam and Eve were naked.<\/li>\n
- Genesis 3:6 – Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit.<\/li>\n
- Genesis 3:7 – Adam and Eve realized they were naked.<\/li>\n
- Genesis 3:7 – Adam and Eve made loin coverings from fig leaves.<\/li>\n
- Genesis 3:8 – Adam and Eve hid from God.<\/li>\n
- Genesis 3:10 – Adam explains to God that they hid because they were naked, which indicates that loin coverings of fig leaves were not adequate coverings.<\/li>\n
- Genesis 3:16-19 – God announces the consequences of their sin.<\/li>\n
- Genesis 3:21- God made tunics for Adam and Eve from skins to clothe them; thus, they were no longer naked.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\t
Question:<\/h2>\n
Oh, thank you. I didn\u2019t have a Bible in front of me to check the order. Thank you.<\/p>\n\t
Answer:<\/h2>\n
You’re welcome. But wouldn’t it have made more sense to have double-checked what you thought you knew before you send out notes to “correct” other people?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: I found\u00a0this article\u00a0interesting and informative, but wished to correct one piece of information. God didn\u2019t kill any animals to clothe Adam and Eve, that Bible quote is referring to Him creating our skin. Because after eating from the forbidden tree, Adam and Eve realized they were naked — so they couldn\u2019t have been clothed…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[242,208],"class_list":["post-19127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-animal-rights","tag-clothing"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":24296,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/did-god-clothe-adam-and-eve-with-feathers\/","url_meta":{"origin":19127,"position":0},"title":"Did God clothe Adam and Eve with feathers?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 15, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi. The Bible does not specify what God used to clothe Adam and Eve with.\u00a0Jewish commentary mentions the idea that the Nachash molted and that God used this to cover their nakedness. Answer: \"Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them\"\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":34732,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/did-god-clothe-adam-and-eve-in-goat-skins\/","url_meta":{"origin":19127,"position":1},"title":"Did God clothe Adam and Eve in Goat Skins?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 29, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good afternoon I just read a paragraph in a wedding planner that I do not agree with. It said: 'The fundamental nature of God is love. We are very quick to impress upon one another that what God has joined together nobody may separate. However, when Adam and Eve\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":41837,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/did-the-skins-for-the-first-clothing-come-from-a-sacrifice\/","url_meta":{"origin":19127,"position":2},"title":"Did the skins for the first clothing come from a sacrifice?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 11, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Where did the\u00a0\"skins\" come from that God used to cloth Adam and Eve? Genesis 3:20-21. Did this skin come from an animal? Wouldn't this action by God be considered the\u00a0\"first\" sacrifice? Please clarify. Thank you. Answer: After God issued the punishments to Adam and Eve for their sin, he\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":33072,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/you-cant-claim-that-men-can-eat-meat-because-adam-and-eve-did-not-exist\/","url_meta":{"origin":19127,"position":3},"title":"You can’t claim that men can eat meat because Adam and Eve did not exist!","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 3, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am not going to spend the time on pointing out the contradictions and major flaws in your 'bible-based' theories about why animals may be hunted,slaughtered and consumed at our peril, for the entire article and your reasoning is so deraged that it would probably be a waste of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2770,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-okay-to-wear-animal-skin-or-furs\/","url_meta":{"origin":19127,"position":4},"title":"Is it okay to wear animal skin or furs?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 26, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Is it okay to wear animal skin or furs? Answer: Before sending Adam and Eve out of the garden because of their sin, God made them proper clothing to replace their inadequate clothing made from fig leaves. \"Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made\u00a0tunics of skin,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":16030,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-did-you-leave-out-pictures-from-treasures-of-the-bible\/","url_meta":{"origin":19127,"position":5},"title":"Why did you leave out pictures from Treasures of the Bible?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 12, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Awesome black and white sketches from\u00a0Treasures of the Bible. Why don't you have any Adam and Eve in the garden? That omission surprised me, maybe you chose to leave it out? Answer: The reason the Adam and Eve pictures were left out: The picture showing Adam and Eve being\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19127","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19127"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19127\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}