Genesis 3:11

11 And he said, Who gave you the knowledge that you were without clothing? Have you taken of the fruit of the tree which I said you were not to take?

Genesis 3:11 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 3:11

And he said
The Lord God, or the Word of the Lord; who told thee that thou [wast] naked?
or showed it to thee; by what means hast thou got knowledge of it? what hast thou done that thou perceivest it, so as to cause shame and fear? man was made naked, and so he continued, and he must be sensible of it, but it gave him no uneasiness, because he was without shame on account of it; so that it was as if it was not, and he was regardless of it, as if he was not naked; but now, having sinned, he could not look upon his nakedness without blushing, and sin being what had produced this sensation, he was afraid to appear before God, against whom he had sinned; though he did not choose to acknowledge it, only alleges his outward nakedness, without confessing the inward nakedness of his soul, and being humbled for that as he ought to have been; and in order to bring him to this, is this question and the following put unto him; hast thou eaten of the tree, wherever I commanded thee that thou
shouldest not eat?
The Lord knew he had; but he puts this question to bring him to a confession of it, as well as to aggravate his crime; that it was a violation of a precept of his, who had been so kind and bountiful to him, who had crowned him with glory and honour, and set him over the works of his hands, and had put all creatures under his feet, and had allowed him to eat of every tree in the garden but one; there was but one tree restrained from him, but one command he gave him, and this he broke; sin is a transgression of the law, ( 1 John 3:4 ) . And in this light it is here put to bring Adam under a conviction, and to a confession of it; though he made it in a very lame manner, having covered it as long as he could; being found he excuses it, as loath to bear the blame and scandal of it. See ( Job 31:33 ) .

Genesis 3:11 In-Context

9 And the voice of the Lord God came to the man, saying, Where are you?
10 And he said, Hearing your voice in the garden I was full of fear, because I was without clothing: and I kept myself from your eyes.
11 And he said, Who gave you the knowledge that you were without clothing? Have you taken of the fruit of the tree which I said you were not to take?
12 And the man said, The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me the fruit of the tree and I took it.
13 And the Lord God said to the woman, What have you done? And the woman said, I was tricked by the deceit of the snake and I took it.
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