Who told you that you were naked?This question from God highlights the newfound awareness of Adam and Eve after their disobedience. Prior to eating the forbidden fruit, they were naked and unashamed (
Genesis 2:25). The question implies that their awareness of nakedness came from an external source, indicating a shift in their understanding and innocence. This moment marks the entrance of sin into the human experience, bringing shame and guilt. Theologically, it underscores the loss of innocence and the beginning of human self-consciousness and moral awareness.
asked the LORD God.
The use of "LORD God" combines the covenant name of God, Yahweh, with Elohim, emphasizing both His personal relationship with humanity and His sovereign authority. This duality reflects God's intimate involvement with His creation and His role as the ultimate judge. The question is not for God's information but to prompt Adam and Eve to self-reflection and confession, a pattern seen throughout Scripture where God asks questions to lead individuals to truth and repentance (e.g., Cain inGenesis 4:9).
Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?
This direct question addresses the act of disobedience. The tree represents God's command and the boundary set for Adam and Eve. Eating from it was a direct violation of God's explicit command inGenesis 2:16-17. This act of disobedience is the original sin, introducing sin and death into the world (Romans 5:12). Theologically, it sets the stage for the need for redemption, which is fulfilled in Jesus Christ, the second Adam, who obeys God perfectly (Romans 5:19). The question also highlights human responsibility and accountability before God, a theme that runs throughout the Bible.
Persons / Places / Events
1.
GodThe Creator, who is omniscient and omnipresent, questioning Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
2.
AdamThe first man created by God, who has disobeyed God's command.
3.
EveThe first woman, created from Adam, who also disobeyed God's command.
4.
The Garden of EdenThe perfect place created by God for Adam and Eve to live in harmony with Him.
5.
The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and EvilThe specific tree in the Garden that God commanded Adam and Eve not to eat from.
Teaching Points
God's OmniscienceGod knows all things, including our thoughts and actions. We cannot hide from Him, and His questions are meant to lead us to self-awareness and repentance.
The Consequences of DisobedienceDisobedience to God's commands leads to separation from Him and brings about consequences. Understanding this helps us strive for obedience in our own lives.
The Importance of ConfessionGod’s question to Adam and Eve invites them to confess. Confession is a crucial step in restoring our relationship with God.
The Deceptiveness of SinSin often appears appealing but leads to shame and separation from God. Recognizing this helps us resist temptation.
God's Grace and RedemptionEven in the midst of judgment, God provides a way for redemption, as seen in the promise of a Savior. This encourages us to trust in His grace.
Bible Study Questions and Answers
1.What is the meaning of Genesis 3:11?
2.How does Genesis 3:11 reveal the consequences of disobedience to God's commands?
3.What does "Who told you that you were naked?" imply about sin's awareness?
4.How can Genesis 3:11 guide us in recognizing and confessing our sins?
5.Connect Genesis 3:11 with Romans 5:12 on sin entering the world.
6.How can we apply God's questioning in Genesis 3:11 to our daily lives?
7.How does Genesis 3:11 challenge the concept of free will in humanity's actions?
8.Why does God question Adam if He is omniscient, as seen in Genesis 3:11?
9.What does Genesis 3:11 reveal about God's expectations for obedience?
10.What are the top 10 Lessons from Genesis 3?
11.Who are the two witnesses in Revelation?
12.What defines true righteousness according to the Bible?
13.Psalm 33:9 claims God spoke and it came to be; how do we reconcile this with the fossil record and evolutionary timelines?
14.Who is known as the father of lies?What Does Genesis 3:11 Mean
Who told you that you were naked?• God’s first words expose the sudden awareness of guilt. Until sin entered, “The man and his wife were both naked, yet they felt no shame” (Genesis 2:25).
• The question uncovers that something foreign has intruded—shame. Similar moments appear when conviction comes: “When He comes, He will convict the world regarding sin” (John 16:8).
• No one had “told” them; disobedience awakened an inner alarm. “Your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God” (Isaiah 59:2).
• God’s inquiry invites confession, offering a path back, just as He later invites Israel: “Come now, let us reason together… though your sins are scarlet, they shall be as white as snow” (Isaiah 1:18).
•Revelation 3:17 pictures the same blindness: “You do not realize that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked.” Sin strips, and only God can clothe (Genesis 3:21).
asked the LORD God.• The covenant name LORD (YHWH) highlights a personal, relational Creator who seeks the sinner. He is “the LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious” (Exodus 34:6).
• Though omniscient (Psalm 139:1–4), He asks—not for information but to draw Adam into responsibility. Jesus does the same: “What do you want Me to do for you?” (Mark 10:51).
• Divine questions reveal hearts.Hebrews 4:13 reminds us, “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God… to whom we must give account.”
• From the beginning, God initiates restoration.Luke 19:10 echoes this pattern: “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?• The question pinpoints the transgression, tying guilt to a clear command: “You must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (Genesis 2:17).
• Breaking God’s word brings death (Romans 6:23). Paul links Adam’s act to universal consequence: “Through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin” (Romans 5:12).
• Notice God’s gracious method:
– He states the fact.
– He recalls the command.
– He waits for confession.
Similar grace appears in1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us.”
• Disobedience is never abstract; it is measured against specific revelation.Deuteronomy 30:15–18 shows this principle—life or death hinges on obeying God’s commands.
•James 1:14–15 traces the same path: desire → sin → death.Genesis 3 is the prototype.
summaryGenesis 3:11 records a real dialogue in which the Lord skillfully exposes sin, awakens conscience, and invites repentance. His questions reveal humanity’s lost condition—naked, ashamed, disobedient—while also showcasing His relentless pursuit of restoration.
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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.
Verses 11, 12. -
And he said. "To reprove the sottishness of Adam" (Calvin); "to awaken in him a sense of sin" (Keil).
Who told thee that thou wast naked? Delitzsch finds in
מִי an indication that a personal power was the prime cause of man's disobedience; but, as Lange rightly observes, it is the occasion not of sin, but of the consciousness of nakedness that is here inquired after.
Hast thou eaten of the tree (at once pointing Adam to the true cause of his nakedness, and intimating the Divine cognizance of his transgression)
whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? "Added to remove the pretext of ignorance" (Calvin), and also to aggravate the guilt of his offence, as having been done in direct violation of the Divine prohibition. The question was fitted to carry conviction to Adam's conscience, and halt the instantaneous effect of eliciting a confession, though neither a frank one nor a generous.
And the man said (beginning with apology and ending with confession, thus reversing the natural order, and practically rolling back the blame on God),
The woman whom thou gavest to be with me (accusing the gift and the Giver in one),
she gave me of the tree. Cf. with the cold and unfeeling terms in which Adam speaks of Eve the similar language in
Genesis 37:32;
Luke 15:30;
John 9:12. "
Without natural affection" is one of the bitter fruits of sin (cf.
Romans 1:31). Equally with the blasphemy, ingratitude, unkindness, and meanness of this excuse, its frivolity is apparent; as if, though Eve gave, that was any reason why Adam should have eaten.
And I did eat. Reluctantly elicited, the confession of his sin is very mildly stated. "
A cold expression, manifesting neither any grief nor shame at so foul an act, but rather a desire to cover his sin" (White).
Parallel Commentaries ...
Hebrew
“Whoמִ֚י(mî)Interrogative
Strong's 4310:Who?, whoever, in oblique construction with prefix, suffixtoldהִגִּ֣יד(hig·gîḏ)Verb - Hifil - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 5046:To be conspicuousyouאָ֑תָּה(’āt·tāh)Pronoun - second person masculine singular
Strong's 859:Thou and thee, ye and youthatכִּ֥י(kî)Conjunction
Strong's 3588:A relative conjunctionyou [were] naked?”עֵירֹ֖ם(‘ê·rōm)Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 5903:Naked, nakednessasked the LORD God.וַיֹּ֕אמֶר(way·yō·mer)Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 559:To utter, say“Have you eatenאֲכָל־(’ă·ḵāl-)Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct
Strong's 398:To eatofהֲמִן־(hă·min-)Preposition
Strong's 4480:A part of, from, out ofthe treeהָעֵ֗ץ(hā·‘êṣ)Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 6086:Tree, trees, woodfrom whichאֲשֶׁ֧ר(’ă·šer)Pronoun - relative
Strong's 834:Who, which, what, that, when, where, how, because, in order thatI commanded youצִוִּיתִ֛יךָ(ṣiw·wî·ṯî·ḵā)Verb - Piel - Perfect - first person common singular | second person masculine singular
Strong's 6680:To lay charge (upon), give charge (to), command, ordernot toלְבִלְתִּ֥י(lə·ḇil·tî)Preposition-l
Strong's 1115:A failure of, not, except, without, unless, besides, because not, untileat?”אָכָֽלְתָּ׃(’ā·ḵā·lə·tā)Verb - Qal - Perfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 398:To eat
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OT Law: Genesis 3:11 God said Who told you that you (Gen. Ge Gn)