Genesis3:7

Translation

And the eyes of both of them were opened

and they knew that they were bare,

and they sewed together

fig leaves

and made for themselves

loin-coverings (See comment below.)

Paraphrase

Then they comprehended things they had never understood before, and suddenly, unlike before,

their naked condition brought them shame, so they wove together some fig leaves and made girdles that would cover their reproductive organs. (See comment below.)

Footnotes

1: “were opened”

They expected the additional insight would be a good thing, making them like God, instead it turned out to be a bad thing, bringing only guilt. They now understood clearly the difference between good and evil because, when they did wrong, they felt guilt. The insight they gained was through experiencing guilt, not a theoretical mind game.

2

Why did their nakedness suddenly become such a big issue?

See my comment at the end of this verse.

3: "Sewed together"

The word used here does indeed mean “to sew,” and, unlike most Hebrew words, this one does not have a large number of alternate possibilities. However, as is always true of translation work, it is context that governs the interpretation of a passage. Here it appears that the normal understanding of sewing, which involves a needle and thread, is not a possible interpretation. Instead the meaning is more likely that they took small, supple branches from the fig tree, branches with leaves on them. These they pulled around themselves like a belt that has leaves hanging down from it, and then they wound the ends together so it stayed on their waist. They may have done this with more than one branch, weaving the new one into the first one, in order to achieve greater coverage. Can you imagine how silly this looked? While it did cover some essential parts, it was a lame attempt. It was the best they could do with what they had, but it was not a permanent solution.

4

“Fig leaves” are relatively large, although they are not the largest. It was likely the combination of the type of branch and the type of leaf that caused them to choose the Fig.

5

Why did they try to cover up? See my comment after verse 22. I will make you wait because a key component for understanding the answer has not yet been given, but will be given after verse 22.

6

This word means “belt, girdle, loincloth.” It obviously refers to something that only covers the reproductive organs, especially those in the middle and front of the body. The breasts are not reproductive in nature, rather they are necessary for nourishing a child after it has been born. Elsewhere in scripture we understand that covering the breasts is considered necessary for female modesty, but that does not enter into the picture at this moment. Their “girdle” may have covered only the front section, leaving the “caboose” exposed since it is similar for both man and woman and not technically involved in producing babies.

Why Did Their Nakedness Suddenly Become Such a Big Issue?

By speaking the universe into existence God took part of what was inside of Him and brought it out for all to see, thus creation is a small replica, a picture of what God is like. Man is a special replica of what God is like, and he was intended to be the leader in this universal demonstration of the character and nature of God. He wanted Adam to multiply and fill the earth with little replicas of Adam who was a replica of God. After the fall of man into sin, the reality of multiplying and filling the earth with little replicas of Adam became a dreaded thought, not a happy one. This is the biggest reason I can deduce for which the shame of their sinful act is so closely tied to their nakedness. It has to do with reproduction. Now their reproductive organs would be involved in making little replicas of a fallen, broken, sin-filled man or woman. Their offspring would be a continuation of their shame. Therefore, the reproductive organs were the triggers of their shame, and shame drove them to cover up.

We could say that nakedness seems to indicate anything that makes people think of the reproductive organs.

Later the Law would make showing anything above the knee improper. That is because it made people think of the reproductive organs by getting close to them – several inches away.

In a strict sense, the breasts were left out of the definition of Nakedness. It appears that Eve did not cover her breasts after her sin, but only her midsection where the reproductive organs are. But the breasts were sometimes spoken of as close to the same level as the reproductive organs because, even though they were used for nourishment of a child after birth, not true reproduction, they could make someone think of the process that brings children into the world.

Didn’t men in ancient times go to battle naked to show their masculinity? Others did, but I am confident that Torah-following Israelites did not.