And he said, Who told thee that thou [wast] naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
11. Who told thee, &c.?] To this question no answer is expected. The knowledge could only come in one way. The sense of shame implies contact with sin.
Hast thou eaten, &c.?] An opportunity is given for a full confession of disobedience and for the expression of contrition.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
That thou wast naked; or, that thy nakedness, which lately was thy glory, was now become matter of shame.
Whereof I commanded thee; concerning which I gave thee so severe a charge upon pain of death.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
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, 1Jo 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.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? 12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. 13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
We have here the offenders found guilty by their own confession, and yet endeavouring to excuse and extenuate their fault. They could not confess and justify what they had done, but they confess and palliate it. Observe,
I. How their confession was extorted from them. God put it to the man: Who told thee that thou wast naked? v. 11. “How camest thou to be sensible of thy nakedness as thy shame?” Hast thou eaten of the forbidden tree? Note, Though God knows all our sins, yet he will know them from us, and requires from us an ingenuous confession of them; not that he may be informed, but that we may be humbled. In this examination, God reminds him of the command he had given him: “I commanded thee not to eat of it, I thy Maker, I thy Master, I thy benefactor; I commanded thee to the contrary.” Sin appears most plain and most sinful in the glass of the commandment, therefore God here sets it before Adam; and in it we should see our faces. The question put to the woman was, What is this that thou hast done? v. 13. “Wilt thou also own thy fault, and make confession of it? And wilt thou see what an evil thing it was?” Note, It concerns those who have eaten forbidden fruit themselves, and especially those who have enticed others to eat it likewise, seriously to consider what they have done. In eating forbidden fruit, we have offended a great and gracious God, broken a just and righteous law, violated a sacred and most solemn covenant, and wronged our own precious souls by forfeiting God’s favour and exposing ourselves to his wrath and curse: in enticing others to eat of it, we do the devil’s work, make ourselves guilty of other men’s sins, and accessory to their ruin. What is this that we have done?
II. How their crime was extenuated by them in their confession. It was to no purpose to plead not guilty. The show of their countenances testified against them; therefore they become their own accusers: “I did eat,” says the man, “And so did I,” says the woman; for when God judges he will overcome. But these do not look like penitent confessions; for instead of aggravating the sin, and taking shame to themselves, they excuse the sin, and lay the shame and blame on others. 1. Adam lays all the blame upon his wife. “She gave me of the tree, and pressed me to eat of it, which I did, only to oblige her”–a frivolous excuse. He ought to have taught her, not to have been taught by her; and it was no hard matter to determine which of the two he must be ruled by, his God or his wife. Learn, hence, never to be brought to sin by that which will not bring us off in the judgment; let not that bear us up in the commission which will not bear us out in the trial; let us therefore never be overcome by importunity to act against our consciences, nor ever displease God, to please the best friend we have in the world. But this is not the worst of it. He not only lays the blame upon his wife, but expresses it so as tacitly to reflect on God himself: “It is the woman whom thou gavest me, and gavest to be with me as my companion, my guide, and my acquaintance; she gave me of the tree, else I had not eaten of it.” Thus he insinuates that God was accessory to his sin: he gave him the woman, and she gave him the fruit; so that he seemed to have it at but one remove from God’s own hand. Note, There is a strange proneness in those that are tempted to say that they are tempted of God, as if our abusing God’s gifts would excuse our violation of God’s laws. God gives us riches, honours, and relations, that we may serve him cheerfully in the enjoyment of them; but, if we take occasion from them to sin against him, instead of blaming Providence for putting us into such a condition, we must blame ourselves for perverting the gracious designs of Providence therein. 2. Eve lays all the blame upon the serpent: The serpent beguiled me. Sin is a brat that nobody is willing to own, a sign that it is a scandalous thing. Those that are willing enough to take the pleasure and profit of sin are backward enough to take the blame and shame of it. “The serpent, that subtle creature of thy making, which thou didst permit to come into paradise to us, he beguiled me,” or made me to err; for our sins are our errors. Learn hence, (1.) That Satan’s temptations are all beguilings, his arguments are all fallacies, his allurements are all cheats; when he speaks fair, believe him not. Sin deceives us, and, by deceiving, cheats us. It is by the deceitfulness of sin that the heart is hardened. See Rom 7:11; Heb 3:13. (2.) That though Satan’s subtlety drew us into sin, yet it will not justify us in sin: though he is the tempter, we are the sinners; and indeed it is our own lust that draws us aside and entices us, Jam. i. 14. Let it not therefore lessen our sorrow and humiliation for sin that we are beguiled into it; but rather let it increase our self-indignation that we should suffer ourselves to be beguiled by a known cheat and a sworn enemy. Well, this is all the prisoners at the bar have to say why sentence should not be passed and execution awarded, according to law; and this all is next to nothing, in some respects worse than nothing.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
11. Who told thee that thou wast naked ? An indirect reprimand to reprove the sottishness of Adam in not perceiving his fault in his punishment, as if it had been said, not simply that Adam was afraid at the voice of God, but that the voice of his judge was formidable to him because he was a sinner. Also, that not his nakedness, but the turpitude of the vice by which he had defiled himself, was the cause of fear; and certainly he was guilty of intolerable impiety against God in seeking the origin of evil in nature. Not that he would accuse God in express terms; but deploring his own misery, and dissembling the fact that he was himself the author of it, he malignantly transfers to God the charge which he ought to have brought against himself. What the Vulgate translates, ‘Unless it be that thou hast eaten of the tree,’ (187) is rather an interrogation. (188) God asks, in the language of doubt, not as if he were searching into some disputable matter, but for the purpose of piercing more acutely the stupid man, who, laboring under fatal disease, is yet unconscious of his malady; just as a sick man, who complains that he is burning, yet thinks not of fever. Let us, however remember that we shall profit nothing by any prevarications but that God will always bind us by a most just accusation in the sin of Adam. The clause, “whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat,” is added to remove the pretext of ignorance. For God intimates that Adam was admonished in time; and that he fell from no other cause than this, that he knowingly and voluntarily brought destruction upon himself. Again, the atrocious nature of sin is marked in this transgression and rebellion; for, as nothing is more acceptable to God than obedience, so nothing is more intolerable than when men, having spurned his commandments, obey Satan and their own lust.
(187) “ Nisi quod de arbore,” are the words which Calvin gives. The expression of the Vulgate really is — “ Nisi quod ex ligno.” There is no difference in the sense. — Ed.
(188) “ Nonne ex ipsa arbore… comedisti ?” as in our own version.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(11) Who told thee that thou wast naked?Adam had given as his excuse that which was really the consequence of his sin; but by this question God awakens his conscience, and makes him feel that what he had described as a want or imperfection was really the result of his own act. And as long as a man feels sorrow only for the results of his actions there is no repentance, and no wish to return to the Divine presence. God, therefore, in order to win Adam back to better thoughts, carries his mind from the effect to the sin that had caused it.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
11. Who told thee A question adapted to suggest to him the cause of his sense of nakedness . How is it that thou wast never conscious of thy nakedness before? This plea of nakedness was itself a confession of guilt .
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And he (God) said, “Who has made you aware that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?” ’
The man, of course, had always known that he was physically naked, but that had been unimportant. This question goes deeper. There is something in the man that has filled him with conscious shame, that has made him afraid to be looked at by God. The man is ashamed of his inner nakedness, which reveals him as one who has failed God, as one who has rebelled against God, as one who has weakly given way to the one for whom he was held responsible.
God is aware of what the man means, He knows that there is only one thing that could have filled him with this sense of shame and He determines to pin him down and to make him admit the whole truth. ‘Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?’ If there is to be a remedy the lesson must first be brought fully home.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
DISCOURSE: 6
EXCUSES MADE BY OUR FIRST PARENTS, AFTER THEIR FALL
Gen 3:11-13. Hast thou eaten of the tree whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
THE immediate effects of sin are not easily discovered by us at this time: for if we look for them in ourselves, our partiality and self-love conceal them from us; and if we look for them in others, the universal prevalence of those effects prevents us from ascribing them to their proper cause. To see them in their true colours, we should be able to contrast the habits of some person during a state of innocence with those which he manifests after the commission of sin. Doubtless there are glaring instances of iniquity, from the investigation of which we may gather instruction: but we shall make our observations to the greatest advantage, if we examine the records respecting the conduct of our first parents after their unhappy fall. The accounts given of them are not indeed very full and circumstantial; yet the narration, brief as it is, is sufficient to elucidate the immediate influence of sin upon the mind, as well as its remoter consequences in the destruction of the soul. There are two things in particular which we shall be led to notice from the words before us;
I.
The way in which men betray their consciousness of guilt
Mark the conduct of our first parents. While they were innocent, they were strangers either to shame or fear: but instantly after their transgression, they made coverings for themselves of fig-leaves, and fled from the presence of their God. Here we may behold ourselves as in a glass: they have set a pattern to us which all their posterity have followed: however men may affect to be innocent, they all be-tray their consciousness of guilt in these two things;
1.
They conceal themselves from themselves, and from each other
[Knowing that their hearts are depraved, and that, if narrowly inspected, they would exhibit a most disgusting appearance, men will not turn their eyes inwards. They will not examine the motives and principles of their actions: they cast a veil over the workings of pride and ambition, of envy and malice, of falsehood and covetousness, of carnality and selfishness: and then, because they see no evil in their actions, they hastily conclude there is none. And so successful are they in hiding from themselves their own deformity, that when all around them are even amazed at the impropriety of their conduct, they take credit to themselves for virtuous principles and laudable deportment.
If we should attempt to open their eyes, and to set before them their own picture, they would not even look at it, but would be offended with our fidelity, and condemn us as destitute of either charity or candour.
Now, would men act in this manner if they had not a secret consciousness that all was not right within? Would they not rather be glad of any assistance whereby they might discover any latent evil; or, at least, be glad to come to the light, that their deeds might be made manifest that they were wrought in God?
There is the still greater anxiety in men to hide their shame from each other. The whole intercourse of mankind with each other is one continued system of concealment. All endeavour to impose on others, by assuming the appearances of virtue; but no one will give credit to his neighbour for being as guiltless in his heart as he seems to be in his conduct. A thorough knowledge of a person whose principles have been tried, will indeed gain our confidence: but who has so good an opinion of human nature in general as to commit his wife or daughter to the hands of a perfect stranger; or to give him unlimited access to all his treasures; or even to take his word, where he can as easily obtain a legal security? But, if men were not conscious of depravity within themselves, why should they be so suspicious of others? The fact is, they know themselves to have many corrupt propensities; and justly concluding that human nature is the same in all, they feel the necessity of withholding confidence where they have not been warranted by experience to place it.]
2.
They shun, rather than desire, the presence of their God
[God comes to all of us in his word, and speaks to us in the language of love and mercy: He bids us to draw nigh to Him, and to enjoy fellowship with him, and with his Son, Jesus Christ. But are these employments suited to the taste of all? or do the habits of the generality evince any regard for these inestimable privileges? Nay, if we endeavour to set God before them, and to make known to them his will, do they consider us as their friends and benefactors? They may bear with us, indeed, in the exercise of our public ministry: but will they be pleased, if we come home to their houses, and labour to bring them, as it were, into the presence of their God? Will they not be ready to say to us, as the demoniac did to Christ, Art thou come hither to torment us before the time; or, like the Jews of old, Prophesy unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits; make the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us?
Now would this be the conduct of men, if they were not conscious of much guilt within? Would a man who had just received gold from the mint, be afraid of having it tried by a touchstone? or one who was perfectly innocent of a crime, be afraid of being interrogated in relation to it? Would not rather the knowledge of God be desirable to one who had no wish but to perform his will? Would he not account it his highest happiness to gain an increasing acquaintance with his Saviour, and a more entire conformity to his image?]
When the guilt of men can no longer be concealed, they have many refuges of lies to which they flee; to expose which, we shall shew,
II.
The way in which they endeavour to palliate and excuse it
Our first parents confessed indeed their transgression, but in a way which clearly shewed, that they were not humbled for it. Thus, when we cannot deny our guilt,
1.
We cast it upon others
[Doubtless we all are accessory to the production of much guilt in others: and it is well to take shame to ourselves in that view. But to take occasion from this to excuse our own wickedness, is only to add sin to sin. Yet who does not betake himself to this refuge? Mark persons in the early stage of life; they will deny their faults as long as there remains for them any hope of concealment; and, when they are clearly detected, they will do their utmost to shift the blame off from themselves: according to the nature of the crime alleged, they will impute it to accident, or inadvertence, or mistake, or, like our first parents, to the instigation and example of their accomplices. What is the disposition which shews itself in persons of riper years, when they are called to account for any evil that they have committed, or when their angry passions have involved them in dispute and quarrel: is it not the endeavour of each to criminate the other, in hopes thereby to exculpate himself? Or when no particular ill-will is exercised towards others, is not the same system prevalent; and do not men justify their own conduct from the habits and examples of those around them? But what folly is this! Did the Serpent compel Eve to eat the fruit? or was Adam necessitated to follow her example? They were free agents in what they did: and they should have rejected with abhorrence the first proposals of sin, however specious they might be, and by whomsoever they might be made. And in the same manner, it is no excuse to us that the ways of iniquity are crowded; for we are to withstand the solicitations that would allure us from God, and stem the torrent that would drive us from him.]
2.
We cast it even upon God himself
[There is peculiar force in those words of Adam, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat: it is no less than a reflection upon God himself for giving him the woman; and a casting of the blame upon him as accessory at least to his fall, if not also as the original cause of it. It is thus also that we account for our transgressions from the peculiar circumstances in which we are placed, and thus ascribe them rather to the dispensations of Providence, than to our own willful depravity. One is poor, and therefore has not leisure to consult the welfare of his soul; or is under the authority of others, and cannot serve God without subjecting himself to their displeasure. Another is rich, and cannot deviate so far from the habits of the world, as to conform to the precise rules which God has prescribed. In this manner, persons endeavour to persuade themselves that a life of entire devotedness to God is incompatible with their worldly duties; and that their deviations or defects are rather their misfortune than their fault. Some indeed will be yet more bold in accusing God; and, when condemned for giving the rein to their appetites, will say, Why did God give me these passions? I cannot act otherwise than I do.
How far these excuses will avail in the day of judgment, it becomes every one to consider with fear and trembling. They may stifle the accusations of a guilty conscience now; but there is not a man in the universe so stupid as seriously to believe that his conscience will acquit him at the tribunal of his God.]
We shall conclude with an address,
1.
To those who are unhumbled for their sins
[Some are so impious, that they declare their sin as Sodom: the very shew of their countenance witnesses against them. To such persons we say with the prophet, Woe unto them [Note: Isa 3:9.] ! Nor can we deliver any milder message to those who cover their transgressions, as Adam, and hide their iniquity in their bosom [Note: Job 31:33]: for Gods word to them is plain; He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy. [Note: Pro 28:13.] It is absolutely indispensable that we humble ourselves before God, and that we repent in dust and ashes. God has noted our transgressions, whether we have observed them or not: for there is no darkness nor shadow of death where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves [Note: Job 34:22.]. God is extremely earnest in endeavouring to impress this thought upon our minds [Note: Isa 29:15 with Amo 9:2-3.]. It is equally certain that we cannot impose upon him by any vain excuses. The day is coming, when he will not only ask in general, Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? but will interrogate us, as he did Eve, with holy indignation, saying, What is this that thou hast done? Art thou aware of its malignity? art thou prepared to meet the consequences? O let us, every one of us, humble ourselves before him, while yet the effects of his displeasure may be averted from us: but if yet we remain impenitent and stout-hearted, a sudden and irremediable destruction shall come upon us [Note: Pro 29:1.].]
2.
To those whose hearts are beginning to relent
[Do not think that a small and transient humiliation is sufficient. If you could weep rivers of tears, it would be no more than the occasion calls for. You may perhaps comfort yourselves with the thought of not having committed many or great offences: but consider what it was that brought guilt and ruin upon the whole race of mankind; it was not many offences, but one; nor was it what would appear to us a very heinous sin, but only the violation of a positive precept, the eating of a forbidden fruit: reflect on this, and you will derive little consolation from the thought that you are not so bad as others. But, whether your sins have been more or less heinous, there is one Refuge, and only one, to which you must flee for safety. The refuge provided for our first parents was, The seed of the woman, who was in due time to bruise the serpents head. The same is provided for you. Jesus was born into the world for this very end: He has made a full atonement for your sin: and if only you acknowledge your transgressions, and believe in him, they shall be remembered against you no more for ever.]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
Gen 3:11 And he said, Who told thee that thou [wast] naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
Ver. 11. Who told thee. ] His own conscience, awakened and cited by God’s voice, “told him” – as the woman of Samaria said of our Saviour – “all Joh 4:29 that ever he did.” Before and in the acting of sin, we will hear nothing; but afterwards, conscience will send forth a shrill and sharp voice, that shall be heard all the soul over; such as was that of Reuben to his brethren: “Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child?” &c. Gen 42:22 The books of our consciences are now sealed up, and the woeful contents are not read by the law. They remain as letters written with the juice of oranges or onions, which are only to be made legible by the fire of God’s wrath. Then shall the wicked run away (but all in vain). with those words in their mouths, “Who amongst us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who shall dwell with everlasting burnings?” Isa 33:14 Then shall they tire the mountains with their hideous outcries, Fall upon us, hide us, crush us in pieces, grind us to powder. But how can that be, when the mountains melt, and the rocks rend asunder at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob?
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Gen 4:10, Psa 50:21, Rom 3:20
Reciprocal: Gen 2:17 – of the tree Gen 2:25 – naked Gen 3:7 – knew Gen 3:17 – and hast Jdg 2:2 – why have 1Ki 21:19 – Hast thou killed 2Ch 28:19 – made Judah Jer 44:19 – without Eze 16:36 – and thy Hos 6:7 – men 1Co 12:24 – General Rev 3:17 – naked
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Gen 3:11. Who told thee thou wast naked? That is, how camest thou to be sensible of thy nakedness as thy shame? Hast thou eaten of the tree Though God knows all our sins, yet he will know them from us, and requires from us an ingenuous confession of them, not that he may be informed, but that we may be humbled; whereof I commanded thee Not to eat of it; I thy Maker, I thy Master, I thy Benefactor, I commanded thee to the contrary. Sin appears most plain and most sinful in the glass of the commandment.