-
†. Gen 3:21 . . And the Lord God made garments of skins for Adam
and his wife, and clothed them.
The exact cut and design of their garments isn't specified, and the words
kethoneth (keth-o'-neth) and/or kuttoneth (koot-to'-neth) just indicate a
shirt, or covering; as hanging from the shoulder.
Modern shirts aren't long enough to provide an adequate covering of Man's
body. Theirs were probably more like a knee or calf-length dress. A shirt
implies that Eve's topless days were over; although that wouldn't necessarily
rule out the possibility that she may have become the Gabrielle "Coco"
Chanel of her day and designed some interesting necklines.
The garments were for their sake rather than the Lord's. Undress per se isn't
forbidden in the Bible, nor does God himself feel particularly offended by it.
Exposure is forbidden during religious services like in Ex 20:26 and Ex
28:42; but that's not really for God's sake but rather for the worshippers.
After all, God created Man totally disrobed; and that's the way Man lived for
an unspecified time in the garden until he tasted the fruit and found himself
inhibited with a humanistic sense of propriety.
The garments actually facilitated the people's association with God. They
were unbearably uncomfortable around their creator in the buff and that was
principally the reason they hid from the Lord when He came calling.
However, fig leaves aren't very durable; they're merely an expedient. God
showed them a much better way-- and actually, a way they would never
have thought of all by themselves because nobody had ever killed an animal
before and who would have guessed their skins could be used for clothing
until God showed them how?
That day, humans learned something about the advantages of leather
goods. Most leather is produced from cattle hides: calfskin, goatskin,
kidskin, sheepskin, and lambskin. Other hides and skins used include those
of the horse, pig, kangaroo, deer, crocodile, alligator, seal, walrus, and of
late; python. Human beings have used animal skins for a variety of practical
purposes since ancient times, and to this good day leather is still a useful
material all around the world. Precisely what species of animal God killed in
order to make Adam his first suit of leathers is unknown.
The point to note is that the clothing man's maker crafted for the Adams
didn't cost them one red cent nor did they have to contribute even the
slightest bit of labor in its design and manufacture. God slaughtered the
animals, treated their hides, and fabricated the garments Himself; and gave
the clothing to them for free, out of kindness; and free of charge. I believe
God went to all that trouble because He didn't want anything coming
between himself and Adam. In other words, Adam's felt-shame over undress
was a barrier between him and his creator so God showed him a really good
way to overcome it: a way much superior to Adam's limited experience.
†. Gen 3:22a . . And the Lord God said: Now that the man has
become as one of us,
The mystery of the pronoun "us" was touched upon back at Gen 1:26.
Man didn't become one of the us, he became "as" one of the us; in other
words: human life became a race of gods.
"I said: You are gods" (Ps 82:6a)
Man's status as a god is problematic because there is only one true god
(Deut 6:4, John 17:3, 1Cor 8:4-6). Therefore Man is a false god; and
subject to the condemnation of idolatry-- in man's case, the idol is himself.
†. Gen 3:22b . . discerning good and evil,
Isn't that what gods do? Yes; gods are judgmental; viz: they develop their
own ethics in accordance with their own personal concepts of what they
think should be right and be wrong. Talk about a clash of the Titans! From
that point on, God and Man have been at odds with each other fighting over
which of the gods is going to set the standards for everybody else: the god
of heaven; or the gods of the earth? Well; gods are supposed to be eternal;
but humans die like flies.
"I said: You are gods, and all of you are sons of the Most High. Nevertheless
you will die like men, and fall like all other princes" (Ps 82:6-7)
†. Gen 3:22c . . what if he should stretch out his hand and take also
from the tree of life and eat, and live forever!
The Old Testament Hebrew word translated "forever" doesn't always indicate
infinity. Normally it just means perpetual as "in perpetuity" viz: indefinitely;
which Webster's defines as: having no exact limits. In other words: it's not
unusual for something said to be forever in the Old Testament to be subject
to an end; for example the law of the Passover as per Ex 12:1-14. The
Passover is to be observed by pious Jews until such a time as God says not
to; and so far, He hasn't.
The tree of life didn't contain enough nutrients to give Adam eternal life. It
couldn't even give him immortality. But the tree could have given Adam
perpetual youth; but even then, only so long as he supplemented his diet
with regular doses of it; for example: I have an under-active thyroid gland
that if left untreated would eventuate in my untimely death. But so long as I
continue to supplement my diet with a prescribed daily dose of a medication
called levoxyl, I can expect to live to a normal old age.
However; I can't get by on just one dose of levoxyl, nor can I take a lifetime
of doses all at once. Levoxyl has to be taken a little at a time on a daily
basis. What I'm saying is: as long as Adam supplemented his diet with
nutrients from that tree on a regular basis; he wouldn't die of natural
causes; thus he had the potential to remain forever twenty-one. But that
was not to be since God had already decreed that man must die for eating
the forbidden fruit.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
†. Gen 3:21 . . And the Lord God made garments of skins for Adam
and his wife, and clothed them.
The exact cut and design of their garments isn't specified, and the words
kethoneth (keth-o'-neth) and/or kuttoneth (koot-to'-neth) just indicate a
shirt, or covering; as hanging from the shoulder.
Modern shirts aren't long enough to provide an adequate covering of Man's
body. Theirs were probably more like a knee or calf-length dress. A shirt
implies that Eve's topless days were over; although that wouldn't necessarily
rule out the possibility that she may have become the Gabrielle "Coco"
Chanel of her day and designed some interesting necklines.
The garments were for their sake rather than the Lord's. Undress per se isn't
forbidden in the Bible, nor does God himself feel particularly offended by it.
Exposure is forbidden during religious services like in Ex 20:26 and Ex
28:42; but that's not really for God's sake but rather for the worshippers.
After all, God created Man totally disrobed; and that's the way Man lived for
an unspecified time in the garden until he tasted the fruit and found himself
inhibited with a humanistic sense of propriety.
The garments actually facilitated the people's association with God. They
were unbearably uncomfortable around their creator in the buff and that was
principally the reason they hid from the Lord when He came calling.
However, fig leaves aren't very durable; they're merely an expedient. God
showed them a much better way-- and actually, a way they would never
have thought of all by themselves because nobody had ever killed an animal
before and who would have guessed their skins could be used for clothing
until God showed them how?
That day, humans learned something about the advantages of leather
goods. Most leather is produced from cattle hides: calfskin, goatskin,
kidskin, sheepskin, and lambskin. Other hides and skins used include those
of the horse, pig, kangaroo, deer, crocodile, alligator, seal, walrus, and of
late; python. Human beings have used animal skins for a variety of practical
purposes since ancient times, and to this good day leather is still a useful
material all around the world. Precisely what species of animal God killed in
order to make Adam his first suit of leathers is unknown.
The point to note is that the clothing man's maker crafted for the Adams
didn't cost them one red cent nor did they have to contribute even the
slightest bit of labor in its design and manufacture. God slaughtered the
animals, treated their hides, and fabricated the garments Himself; and gave
the clothing to them for free, out of kindness; and free of charge. I believe
God went to all that trouble because He didn't want anything coming
between himself and Adam. In other words, Adam's felt-shame over undress
was a barrier between him and his creator so God showed him a really good
way to overcome it: a way much superior to Adam's limited experience.
†. Gen 3:22a . . And the Lord God said: Now that the man has
become as one of us,
The mystery of the pronoun "us" was touched upon back at Gen 1:26.
Man didn't become one of the us, he became "as" one of the us; in other
words: human life became a race of gods.
"I said: You are gods" (Ps 82:6a)
Man's status as a god is problematic because there is only one true god
(Deut 6:4, John 17:3, 1Cor 8:4-6). Therefore Man is a false god; and
subject to the condemnation of idolatry-- in man's case, the idol is himself.
†. Gen 3:22b . . discerning good and evil,
Isn't that what gods do? Yes; gods are judgmental; viz: they develop their
own ethics in accordance with their own personal concepts of what they
think should be right and be wrong. Talk about a clash of the Titans! From
that point on, God and Man have been at odds with each other fighting over
which of the gods is going to set the standards for everybody else: the god
of heaven; or the gods of the earth? Well; gods are supposed to be eternal;
but humans die like flies.
"I said: You are gods, and all of you are sons of the Most High. Nevertheless
you will die like men, and fall like all other princes" (Ps 82:6-7)
†. Gen 3:22c . . what if he should stretch out his hand and take also
from the tree of life and eat, and live forever!
The Old Testament Hebrew word translated "forever" doesn't always indicate
infinity. Normally it just means perpetual as "in perpetuity" viz: indefinitely;
which Webster's defines as: having no exact limits. In other words: it's not
unusual for something said to be forever in the Old Testament to be subject
to an end; for example the law of the Passover as per Ex 12:1-14. The
Passover is to be observed by pious Jews until such a time as God says not
to; and so far, He hasn't.
The tree of life didn't contain enough nutrients to give Adam eternal life. It
couldn't even give him immortality. But the tree could have given Adam
perpetual youth; but even then, only so long as he supplemented his diet
with regular doses of it; for example: I have an under-active thyroid gland
that if left untreated would eventuate in my untimely death. But so long as I
continue to supplement my diet with a prescribed daily dose of a medication
called levoxyl, I can expect to live to a normal old age.
However; I can't get by on just one dose of levoxyl, nor can I take a lifetime
of doses all at once. Levoxyl has to be taken a little at a time on a daily
basis. What I'm saying is: as long as Adam supplemented his diet with
nutrients from that tree on a regular basis; he wouldn't die of natural
causes; thus he had the potential to remain forever twenty-one. But that
was not to be since God had already decreed that man must die for eating
the forbidden fruit.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=