Part III in The Theology of the Pentateuch
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In Jordan Peterson’s influential interpretation of Genesis 3, the story of the Fall, he focuses on an aspect of the story that is often left overlooked in theological accounts: nakedness. This theme first emerges in Gen 2:25.
Genesis 2:25
And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.
Nakedness without shame is how Scripture depicts life in the Garden. Can this arresting detail be an interpretive key for understanding the theological nature of the Fall? What’s the association between nakedness and shame?
If we trace nakedness and shame through the story we will see that the origin of human sin is fundamentally relational—it is the breakdown of trust and dependence on God.
Knowing Good and Evil
Consider what the Serpent promises the Woman. What does she think she stands to gain by eating the fruit? The Serpent promises her that the forbidden fruit will “open her eyes” and give her divine knowledge:
Genesis 3:5
For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.
After she eats, the Serpent’s words come true but there is a cruel twist. Divine knowledge becomes nothing other than self-consciousness—that sinking feeling that you are on a stage with no clothes on.
Genesis 3:7a
Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked.
Now before we rush to conclude that the Serpent simply lied to them, notice that God confirms that what the Serpent promised them has indeed come true.
Genesis 3:22a
Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil.
So it seems that “knowledge of good and evil” and the knowledge that you are naked are fundamentally linked, but what then does “knowledge of good and evil” mean exactly? 2 Samuel 14:17–20 is one of just a few other passages that uses this phrase:
2 Samuel 14:17–20
17 And your servant thought, ‘The word of my lord the king will set me at rest,’ for my lord the king is like the angel of God to discern good and evil. . . . 18 Then the king answered the woman, “Do not hide from me anything I ask you.” And the woman said, “Let my lord the king speak.” 19 The king said, “Is the hand of Joab with you in all this?” The woman answered and said, “As surely as you live, my lord the king, one cannot turn to the right hand or to the left from anything that my lord the king has said. It was your servant Joab . . . But my lord has wisdom like the wisdom of the angel of God to know all things that are on the earth.”
Here the Wise Woman of Tekoa is flattering David by building up his powers of discernment and decision making. David’s ability to discern good and evil is synonymous with the ability to know all things and both of these are divine qualities like the angel of God has. Now, this doesn’t mean that David possessed divine omniscience. But it does suggest that David has knowledge adequate to rule over others—to make decisions and judgements for their welfare. In other passages the very young and the very old lack “the knowledge of good and evil,” meaning they are not able to make decisions for themselves (Deut 1:39; Isa 7:15–16; 2 Sam 19:35).
To be like God in respect to knowing good and evil is a way of saying that someone possesses intellect and knowledge sufficient to decide what is best for themselves. In eating the fruit the Woman was reaching out for autonomy, the prerogative to decide for herself what was best.
Knowing We are Naked
Fast on the heels of this rebellion, awareness of nakedness and shame overcomes the Man and the Woman.
Genesis 3:7
Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
Genesis 3:10–11
10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” 11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”
God immediately connects Man’s awareness that he is naked with eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. In other words, the only way that humanity could learn that they were naked was to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Why are these things connected? Here again, Jordan Peterson is helpful. He points out that when we stand naked before another person we offer ourselves up for the most painful type of evaluation by putting our deepest vulnerabilities on display physically. Our physical vulnerability is a mirror for the emotional and spiritual vulnerabilities we carry within us all the time. Our nakedness is our vulnerability.
My daughter, Rue, is three years old. Throughout her days she pronounces the words “My do it all by myself” like a refrain. Most of the time as parents our job is to stand back and let her learn and develop. She can pour her own cereal, put on her coat and hat, get down her legos. But there are countless moments each day where she gets stuck and other moments where she doesn’t realize that she is endangering herself and we have to intervene (the stove is on, that dog looks mean). If she were to pack a bag and walk out the front door—giving us the ultimate “My do it all by myself”—she likely wouldn’t survive at all.
What happens in the garden is that humanity, tested and deceived by the serpent, decided that we would rather fend for ourselves than trust in God’s provision. As soon as humanity makes the decision to fend for themselves, then all of a sudden our nakedness—our vulnerability—becomes our problem. So, the Serpent wasn’t wrong, but the lie is that becoming “like God, knowing good and evil” is something that human beings ought aspire to. If you choose to be like God then you are asking to become responsible for your own vulnerability, weakness, finitude, and inadequacy—you are choosing a life of anxiety about the future. Choosing to be like God is to take the place of God. You become an idol of one.
Our rebellion inevitably leaves us isolated—from other humans and from God—because when we are acutely aware of our vulnerability we scramble to defend ourselves at all costs. No longer are we unashamed. Now our vulnerability, symbolized by nakedness, makes us ashamed. And we are deeply afraid of shame. When the Man and the Woman make clothing out of fig leaves it is a vain and pathetic attempt to hide their vulnerability and protect themselves. It is the breakdown of trust and dependence on God.
It is worth some prayerful reflection on how you might be grasping the “knowledge of good and evil” for yourself and “sewing fig leaves.” Where are you rejecting God’s benevolent protection and instead crafting inadequate solutions?
Restoring Relationship
By focusing on nakedness as an interpretive key we can see that the breakdown of humanity’s relationship with God is a central element of the Fall. But relationships are never one-sided and so there is a hope-dimension in the story. God is moving toward us by taking his own steps to protect us and to rebuild relationship. There are several subtle ways that the LORD does this toward the end of the chapter but if we focus on nakedness surely his provision of clothing is the most striking.
Genesis 3:21
The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.
As the counterpart to the man and the woman sewing fig leaves together, this act symbolically demonstrates that God will maintain for humanity a stance of protection and provision. Even after our rebellion, the LORD does not leave us to fend for ourselves but covers our nakedness. As his people he will not abandon us even though we forsake him. God is moving toward humanity. As we trust again then we begin to reduce suffering and restore relationship (Jas 4:6–10; Matt 6:25–34).
LORD, we praise you because you are moving toward us even when we rebel against you. May we trust you even when we lack a comprehensive view of the world. We confess, LORD, that your laws are for our good and bring us life not death. Protect us from sewing fig leaves—help us to live naked and unashamed in your presence.
Alex Kirk is the Visiting Professor of Old Testament at William Tennent School of Theology. He has been married to Meghan for over ten years, and currently lives in Durham, England, where he is nearing the completion of his Ph.D.. Alex is most passionate about leading people deeper into the literature of the Old Testament as the living and active word of the LORD to his people.