Who got naked first?

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William Branham taught that Eve took off her clothes before her Adam took off his.

But is this scriptural?

What the Bible says

Genesis 2 tells us that:

 Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.[1]

Shame has to do with sin. Their lack of shame was not a moral weakness but an indication of their sinless perfection.[2]

With the exception of this verse, nakedness in the Old Testament is always connected with some form of humiliation. The three major uses of nakedness are:

  1. as a description of the poor (Job 24:7, 10; 31:19; Ezek. 18:16);
  2. as a sign of shame or guilt (Gen. 3:7, 10, 11; Ezek. 16:22, 37, 39; Hos. 2:3; Amos 2:16; Mic. 1:8);
  3. in reference to birth (Job 1:21; Eccl. 5:15). [3]

We further read in Genesis 3:

Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.[4]

After eating the forbidden fruit, the couple notice their nakedness, make fig-leaf aprons, cover themselves, and hide in the bushes when they hear God approaching (Gen. 3:7–11). But Genesis 2:25 points out that originally they did not react this way: “They were not ashamed.”[5]

Nowhere in scripture does it state that Eve was naked prior to Adam being naked. They were created naked and that was there initial state. William Branham implies that they were both first wearing clothes, that Eve first removed her clothing and then Adam followed suit. This teaching is clearly not scriptural.

Quotes of William Branham

Satan did it by the woman’s lust for knowledge, for sex, which she chose by her own choosing. Now notice, it was Eve that led Adam to the wrong, and it was the woman that took off her clothes before her Adam took off his. See? It’s the woman, always. It’s always been. It still is the same way.

It’s the church that leads the man astray. It’s the church, see, that leads the man that wanted to be a son of God. It’s the woman, the church. Not the Bible, God, for the Bible is man. Oh, yeah, “the Word was made flesh,” and He was a Man. See? The Bible is man; the church is woman. See? It isn’t the church…the Bible that leads the man astray. It’s the church that leads him astray. It’s the church he went naked with, not the Bible. See? No, indeed. The Bible tells him he’s naked. Yes, sir. [6]


Footnotes

  1. The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Ge 2:25.
  2. Philip H. Eveson, The Book of Origins: Genesis Simply Explained, Welwyn Commentary Series (Darlington, England: Evangelical Press, 2001), 84.
  3. Victor P. Hamilton, The Book of Genesis, Chapters 1–17, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1990), 181.
  4. The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Ge 3:7.
  5. Gordon J. Wenham, Genesis 1–15, vol. 1, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1998), 71.
  6. William Branham, 65-0829 - Satan's Eden, para. 160-161


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