Nakedness and the Clothing of Adam and Eve

I finally did it.
I ordered a copy of Jeffrey M. Bradshaw’s book, In God’s Image and Likeness.




I have been contemplating this addition to my library for some time, but the following snippet from the book made it a sure sale!


The Nakedness and the Clothing of Adam and Eve

Moses’ account depicts Adam and Eve as naked and without shame in the Garden,”’ and clothed by God in coats of skin only later, after the Fall.”` However, many of the earliest artistic depictions of the story show a surprising reversal of the situation, portraying Adam and Eve clothed in regal glory within Eden, and naked after their expulsion. How can this be?

Recalling the parallels between the Garden of Eden and Israelite Houses of God, Anderson points out that “the vestments of the priest matched exactly those particular areas of the Temple to which he had access… Each time the high priest moved from one gradient of holiness to another, he had to remove one set of clothes and put on another to mark the change”:

(a) Outside the Tabernacle priests wear ordinary clothes. (b) When on duty in the Tabernacle, they wear four pieces of clothing whose material and quality of workmanship match that of the fabrics found on the outer walls of the courtyard. (c) The High Priest wears those four pieces plus four additional ones-these added garments match the fabric of the Holy Chamber where he must go daily to tend the incense altar.

In Eden a similar set of vestments is found, again each set suited to its particular space. (a) Adam and Eve were, at creation, vested like priests and granted access to most of Eden. (b) Had they been found worthy, an even more glorious set of garments would have been theirs (and according to St. Ephrem, they would have entered even holier ground). (c) But having [transgressed], they were stripped of their angelic garments and put on mortal flesh. Thus, when their feet met ordinary earth-the realm of the animals-their constitution had become “fleshly;’ or mortal.

Consistent with this schema, each stage in the sequence of changes in Adam and Eve’s status in the book of Moses is marked by a change in their appearance. The imagery of clothing is “a means of linking together in a dynamic fashion the whole of salvation history; it is a means of indicating the interrelatedness between every stage in this continuing working out of divine Providence;” including “the place of each individual Christian‘s ordinances within the divine economy as a whole.” Note the chiastic structure of the sequence, which begins and ends in glory:

1. From glory to nakedness. Though “naked” because their knowledge of their premortal state had been taken away by a veil of forgetfulness, Adam and Eve had come to Eden nonetheless “trailing clouds of glory.”‘” While the couple, as yet, were free from transgression, they could stand “naked” in God‘s presence without shame, being “clothed with purity’ in what early commentators called “garments of light“ or “garments of contentment.“ In one source, Eve describes her appearance by saying: “I was decked out like a bride, And I reclined in a wedding-chamber of light”

In the context of rituals and ordinances based on the experiences of Adam and Eve, Nibley explained: “The garment [of light] represents the preexistent glory of the candidate… When he leaves on his earthly mission, it is laid up for him in heaven to await his return. It thus serves as security and lends urgency and weight to the need for following righteous ways on earth. For if one fails here, one loses not only one‘s glorious future in the eternities to come, but also the whole accumulation of past deeds and accomplishments in the long ages of preexistence.’

1. From innocence to transgression.’”‘ Rabbinical tradition taught that, following his transgression, “Adam… lost his heavenly clothing-God stripped it off him.. “ and similarly that Eve “was stripped of the righteousness in which [she] had been clothed..” Likewise, the Discourse on Abbaton records that both Adam and Eve “became naked” upon eating the forbidden fruit. According to the Life of Adam and Eve, God then “sent seventy plagues upon us, to our eyes, and to our ears and as far as our feet, plagues and portents laid up in his treasuries.“ Anderson takes this to mean that “Adam has exchanged an angelic constitution for a mortal one,” in other words that he has been “clothed with flesh” Shamed by their loss of glory, Adam and Eve covered their earthly bodies with fig leaf aprons.

Rabbinical writings describe how, in likeness of Adam and Eve, each soul descending to earth “divests itself of its heavenly garment, and is clothed in a garment of flesh and blood; the prior glory being, as it were, “veiled… in flesh” The various “afflictions” of mortality initially given to Adam and now bestowed upon “all… generations” frequently number seven rather than the seventy mentioned above: “They are against the ‘seven natures: the flesh for hearing, the eyes for seeing, the breath to smell, the veins to touch, the blood for taste, and bones for endurance, and the intelligence for joy’; or against life, sight, hearing, smell, speech, taste, procreation”‘” Though Adam and Eve were protected from fatal harm at the time of extremity, ancient texts recount that Satan had been allowed to hurt them, and the “wounds;” foreshadowing the later wounds received by Christ at His crucifixion, “remained on their bodies”” Nibley sees the wounds of nature and of Satan to various parts_ of the body as figuratively corresponding to the “blows of death” taught by Satan to Cain.’” He describes their enactment in Jewish ritual as follows: “The wages of sin is death, and the dead body is chided at an old-fashioned Jewish funeral because its members no longer function, and each one is struck an impatient and accusing blow. This is the chibut ha-keber. `On the third day the departed is treated with increased rigor. Blows are struck on his eyes because he would not see, on his ears because he would not hear, on his lips because they uttered profanities, on his tongue because it bore false testimony against his neighbor, on his feet because they ran toward evil doing”‘

Thank you David J. Larsen, from Heavenly Ascents for sharing these great insights.

Earth Day Reminder

And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto Moses, saying: Behold, I reveal unto you concerning this heaven, and this earth. . . . I created these things; yea, in the beginning I created the heaven, and the earth upon which thou standest. . . .

And I, God, said: Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, the fruit tree yielding fruit, after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit. . . .

And the earth brought forth grass, every herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit. . . and I, God, saw that all things which I had made were good. . . .

And I, God, said: Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl which may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. . . .

And I, God, created great whales, and every living creature that moveth. . . and I, God, saw that all things which I had created were good. . . .

And I, God, said: Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping things, and beasts of the earth after their kind, and it was so. . . and I, God, saw that all these things were good.

And I, God, said unto mine Only Begotten, which was with me from the beginning: Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and it was so. And I, God, said: Let them have dominion over the fishes of the sea, and over the fowl of the air. . . and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. . . .

And I, God, saw everything that I had made, and, behold, all things which I had made were very good. . . .

And I, the Lord God, took the man, and put him into the Garden of Eden, to dress it, and to keep it. (Moses 2: 1, 11-12, 20-21, 24-28, 31; 3: 15))

The Lord created this beautiful earth and gave Adam certain charges regarding it.

He told Adam to multiply and replenish the earth, to subdue it, to have dominion over every living thing, to dress it, to keep it, to take good care of it (Moses 2: 28, 3: 15).

What exactly does the direction of dominion mean?

Hugh Nibley, in his book Nibley on the Timely and the Timeless (1978), has said,

"Lordship and dominion are the same thing; the responsibility of the master for the comfort and well- being of his dependents and guests. . . . [H]e is not a predator, a manipulator or an exploiter of other creatures, but one who cooperates with nature as a diligent husbandman.

The ancients taught that Adam's dominion was nothing less than the priesthood. . . with the understanding that 'from this time forth, man must work to improve the earth and preserve and take care of all that is in it, exactly as God had done before.' (88)

Man's call to dominion then is a "call to service," not a call to "exterminate" (Nibley 96)."

Dominion, when seen as a priesthood responsibility, becomes an even greater charge.

As today is Earth Day, I felt inclined to remind myself of this great responsibility.

Our First Parents Adam and Eve

I believe the scriptures are a wonderful place to look to find examples of valiant women who honored their role as wife and mother. Since March is designated as National Women in History month, I have decided to honor a few of the significant women who have played important roles in the history of the world.

One of the greatest women to have come to this earth is Eve. Eve is the ultimate example of the word mother, for she was designated “the mother of all living.” Being given the title of the first mother, Eve naturally can be looked to as a model for all mothers to follow.

Joined together as husband and wife, she and Adam in obedience lived by the perfect pattern, set by the Lord, for all families to follow. Being symbolically formed from the rib of Adam, Eve became a lateral partner with her husband. Working side by side in equality Adam and Eve raised their children in righteousness, teaching them, making “all things known unto them.” Such is the job of righteous parent throughout all time periods.

As partners, Adam and Eve became co-creators with Deity, to build and organize bodies of mortal men. This partnership made them literal parents, or progenitors, of the entire human race. As their children we can all fondly call them Father Adam and Mother Eve. Thus the Lord declared, “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife; and they shall be done flesh.” The pattern for procreation was clearly established on this earth, patterned after what was in Heaven before.

Eve was created in the image of God, and deemed “very good” by Him. She learned to call upon the Father in the name of the Lord as she learned to pray. She and Adam blessed the name of the Lord, and were taught the law of sacrifice as it pointed to the last great sacrifice, Jesus Christ. These concepts of prayer, calling upon the Father through Jesus Christ, and offering sacrifices, they lovingly taught their children.

As a mother, Eve knew the heartache of loss. She understood the effects of both the spiritual death and the physical death, learned very clearly through the example of her children Cain and Able. Eve also knew great happiness and joy in her posterity with the gift of an obedient child in Seth. She understood the blessing she received, in that, a righteous posterity would continue on the earth through his line. Eve received all the blessings of the gospel of Jesus Christ and enjoyed all of the gifts of the spirit. As a great mother and teacher she sought to prepare her posterity for all the same blessings she enjoyed.

Elder Bruce R. McConkie stated:

"Thus, in the beginning, the perfect pattern is set for perfecting the family. The man and the woman are together in worship; they are together in teaching their children; they are together in establishing the family unit that hopefully will endure in the eternities ahead, thus giving eternal life to all those who earn it."

In a time where the sanctity of marriage may be in question, and the importance of the role of mother is at stake, I am grateful for the example set by our righteous first parents, Adam and Eve.