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Genesis 3:11

EOB (Eastern / Greek Orthodox Bible):

Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree I commanded you not to eat from?

EOB Footnote:

The MT includes the phrase “that you were naked” after “Who told you,” which is also present in the LXX. The MT reads “from the tree which I commanded you not to eat from it” with a resumptive pronoun (“from it”) that is characteristic of Hebrew syntax; the LXX renders this more smoothly without the redundant pronoun. No DSS manuscript witness exists for this verse.

Other Translations:

KJV (King James Version):

Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?

WEB (World English Bible):

He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”

Benton LXX (Vaticanus):

And he said, Who told thee that thou art naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree of which I commanded thee not to eat?

Douai-Rheims (Vulgate):

And he said to him: And who hath told thee that thou wast naked, but that thou hast eaten of the tree whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldst not eat?

Apostoliki Diakonia (LXX):

He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”

YLT (Young Literal Translation )(MT):

“Who has declared to you that you are naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”

BBE (Bible in Basic English):

“Who said to you that you were without clothing? Have you taken of the fruit of the tree which I said you were not to take?”

EOB COMMENTARY:

EOB Commentary:

Commentary on Genesis 3:11

The Divine Question as Spiritual Diagnosis

This verse presents God’s penetrating question to Adam: “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” The question is not asked out of ignorance, for God is omniscient, but serves a pedagogical and therapeutic purpose. The Fathers consistently emphasize that God questions Adam to lead him toward repentance and self-knowledge.

Saint John Chrysostom observes that God proceeds with the gentleness of a physician, offering Adam the opportunity to confess his transgression. The question “Who told you?” reveals that Adam’s newfound shame did not come from divine instruction but from the corruption introduced through disobedience. Before the fall, nakedness carried no shame because Adam and Eve were clothed in divine glory and grace. Their sudden awareness of nakedness manifests the loss of this spiritual garment.

Christological Significance

The Church Fathers see in this passage a foreshadowing of Christ’s redemptive work. Where Adam hid in shame, Christ willingly exposed Himself to shame on the Cross. The nakedness that Adam sought to cover, Christ assumed in His crucifixion, thereby healing human shame and restoring the garment of incorruption. Saint Gregory of Nyssa and other Fathers speak of baptism as the restoration of the original robe of glory lost in Eden.

Liturgical Connections

The theme of spiritual nakedness and divine clothing permeates Orthodox hymnography. During the Baptismal service, the newly illumined are clothed in white garments while the choir sings “Grant unto me the robe of light, O Most Merciful Christ our God.” This directly recalls the garments of skin God provides later in Genesis 3 and points toward the eschatological wedding garment of the Kingdom.

The Lenten Triodion, particularly during Forgiveness Sunday, extensively treats the expulsion from Paradise. The kontakion “Adam sat before Paradise and lamenting his nakedness, he wept” echoes the shame revealed in this verse while directing the faithful toward repentance.

Spiritual Application

For Orthodox spirituality, this verse illuminates the nature of sin as self-deception and hiding from God. The spiritual life involves allowing God’s questions to penetrate our hearts, bringing hidden sins to light. The Jesus Prayer and the practice of confession embody this dynamic of standing honestly before God rather than concealing ourselves behind fig leaves of self-justification.

The verse also teaches that shame, while a consequence of sin, can become the beginning of healing when it leads us back to God rather than further into hiding.

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