Genesis 3:10-11

3:10 The man replied, ¹  “I heard you moving about ²  in the orchard, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.” 3:11 And the Lord God ³  said, “Who told you that you were naked? ⁴  Did you eat from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” ⁵ 

Genesis 2:25

2:25 The man and his wife were both naked, ⁶  but they were not ashamed. ⁷ 

¹ tn Heb “and he said.”

² tn Heb “your sound.” If one sees a storm theophany here (see the note on the word “time” in v. 8), then one could translate, “your powerful voice.”

³ tn Heb “and he said.” The referent (the Lord God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁴ sn Who told you that you were naked? This is another rhetorical question, asking more than what it appears to ask. The second question in the verse reveals the Lord God’s real concern.

⁵ sn The Hebrew word order (“Did you from the tree – which I commanded you not to eat from it – eat?”) is arranged to emphasize that the man’s and the woman’s eating of the fruit was an act of disobedience. The relative clause inserted immediately after the reference to the tree brings out this point very well.

⁶ tn Heb “And the two of them were naked, the man and his wife.”

⁷ tn The imperfect verb form here has a customary nuance, indicating a continuing condition in past time. The meaning of the Hebrew term בּוֹשׁ (bosh) is “to be ashamed, to put to shame,” but its meaning is stronger than “to be embarrassed.” The word conveys the fear of exploitation or evil – enemies are put to shame through military victory. It indicates the feeling of shame that approximates a fear of evil.