And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
What does Genesis 3:7 mean?
Notice the steps of the transgression: not steps upward, but downward toward the pit. She saw.
Key themes
Read with
Keep this verse inside Genesis 3:6-8 and alongside a few nearby related passages.
Commentary on Genesis 3:7
Their eyes were opened. - Certain immediate effects of the act are here stated. This cannot mean literally that they were blind up to this moment; for Adam, no doubt, saw the tree in the garden concerning which he received a command, the animals which he named, and the woman whom he recognized as bone of his bones and flesh of his flesh. And of the woman it is affirmed that she saw that the tree possessed certain qualities, one of which at least was conspicuous to the eye. It must therefore mean that a new aspect was presented by things on the commission of the first offence.
Key words
- girdles
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girdles. (m) Nat. Hist. l. 16. c. 26.
- opened
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And the eyes of them both were opened,.
Context in Genesis 3
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Genesis 3 belongs to the early movement of the book, especially the section often described as primeval history from creation to Babel. Genesis opens the whole Bible with creation, fall, flood, Babel, and the long patriarchal story that carries the reader from Eden to Egypt. Read this chapter with the wider themes of creation, fall, and covenant in view so the individual verses keep their proper weight.
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A collection of passages on hope under pressure, future inheritance, resurrection expectation, and confidence in God’s final faithfulness.