And the LORD God made garments of skinThis phrase highlights God's direct intervention and provision for Adam and Eve after the Fall. The use of "garments of skin" suggests the first instance of animal sacrifice, symbolizing the seriousness of sin and the necessity of atonement. This act foreshadows the sacrificial system later established in the Mosaic Law and ultimately points to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the "Lamb of God" (
John 1:29), who provides the ultimate covering for sin. The act of making garments also demonstrates God's continued care and mercy, even in judgment.
for Adam and his wife
The specific mention of "Adam and his wife" underscores the personal nature of God's provision. It reflects the intimate relationship between God and humanity, despite the breach caused by sin. This provision for both Adam and Eve indicates the equal need for redemption and covering for both genders, aligning with the biblical theme of equality in spiritual need and provision (Galatians 3:28).
and He clothed them
Clothing Adam and Eve signifies a transition from innocence to awareness of sin, as they had previously been naked and unashamed (Genesis 2:25). This act of clothing is symbolic of God's grace, covering their shame and guilt. It prefigures the righteousness of Christ that believers are clothed with through faith (Isaiah 61:10;2 Corinthians 5:21). The act of God clothing them also contrasts with their earlier attempt to cover themselves with fig leaves (Genesis 3:7), highlighting the insufficiency of human efforts to deal with sin compared to God's provision.
Persons / Places / Events
1.
The LORD GodThe Creator and Sustainer of all things, who acts with authority and compassion in this passage.
2.
AdamThe first man created by God, who, along with his wife, disobeyed God's command, resulting in the Fall.
3.
EveThe first woman, created from Adam, who also partook in the disobedience against God.
4.
The Garden of EdenThe initial dwelling place of Adam and Eve, representing a place of perfect fellowship with God before the Fall.
5.
The Making of GarmentsAn act of God providing for Adam and Eve's physical needs and symbolizing a deeper spiritual truth.
Teaching Points
God's Provision and GraceDespite Adam and Eve's disobedience, God provides for their needs, demonstrating His grace and mercy even in judgment.
The Cost of SinThe making of garments from animal skins implies the first physical death, illustrating that sin results in death and foreshadowing the ultimate sacrifice of Christ.
Covering of ShameGod's act of clothing Adam and Eve signifies the covering of their shame, pointing to the spiritual covering provided through Christ's righteousness.
The Necessity of AtonementThe shedding of blood for the garments prefigures the necessity of atonement for sin, fulfilled in Jesus' sacrifice.
Restoration of RelationshipGod's continued interaction with Adam and Eve, even after their sin, shows His desire to restore broken relationships.
Bible Study Questions and Answers
1.What is the meaning of Genesis 3:21?
2.How does Genesis 3:21 demonstrate God's provision despite Adam and Eve's disobedience?
3.What significance do the "garments of skin" hold in understanding God's grace?
4.How does Genesis 3:21 foreshadow the sacrificial system in Leviticus?
5.How can we apply God's example of provision in Genesis 3:21 today?
6.What does Genesis 3:21 teach about God's care for His creation?
7.Why did God make garments of skin for Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:21?
8.Does Genesis 3:21 imply the first instance of animal sacrifice?
9.How does Genesis 3:21 reflect God's mercy despite Adam and Eve's disobedience?
10.What are the top 10 Lessons from Genesis 3?
11.Are all our sins forgiven across time?
12.How should we dress to honor God?
13.What are the Bible's teachings on modest dress?
14.What are Garments of Skin in biblical context?What Does Genesis 3:21 Mean
And the LORD God• Scripture shows the Creator personally entering the broken scene rather than commanding from a distance. He is still “the LORD” who “is compassionate and gracious” (Exodus 34:6–7).
• The same hands that “formed the man from the dust” (Genesis 2:7) now work to restore what sin marred.
• This direct action anticipates the ultimate personal intervention when “the Word became flesh” (John 1:14).
made garments of skin• Literal animal skins imply the first physical death in Eden. “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” (Hebrews 9:22) begins here.
• A substitutionary life is taken so the guilty can be covered—foreshadowing the Lamb “slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8).
• These garments are durable, hinting that humanity’s self-made fig leaves (Genesis 3:7) were never sufficient. Only God’s provision truly covers.
•Isaiah 61:10 celebrates the same reality: “He has clothed me with garments of salvation.”
for Adam and his wife• Both sinners receive equal, personal care. God’s grace makes no distinction of worth between the man and the woman (Galatians 3:28).
• Their earlier innocence—“they were both naked…and were not ashamed” (Genesis 2:25)—is gone, yet the Lord meets them where they are, teaching that redemption is relational.
• Even in judgment (Genesis 3:16-19) He preserves the marriage bond and dignity, anticipating Christ’s love for His bride, the church (Ephesians 5:25).
and He clothed them• God not only provides the covering; He applies it. Grace is more than a gift handed over—it is wrapped around us.
• The prophetic picture appears again when Joshua the high priest stands in filthy garments and the Lord commands, “Remove his filthy garments…clothe him with rich robes” (Zechariah 3:3-4).
• New-covenant fulfillment: “Clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 13:14) and be “found in Him” (Philippians 3:9).
•2 Corinthians 5:21 captures the exchange: our sin for His righteousness, our shame for His covering.
summaryGenesis 3:21 records the first gospel hint: the holy Creator personally sheds innocent blood to cover guilty people, supplying what they could never produce and placing it upon them Himself. The verse assures believers that God’s redemptive plan is both literal and loving—He sees our need, provides the sacrifice, and wraps us in righteousness through His own initiative.
(21)
Coats of skins.--Animals, therefore, were killed even in Paradise; nor is it certain that man's diet was until the flood entirely vegetarian (see Note on
Genesis 1:29). Until sin entered the world no sacrifices could have been offered; and if, therefore, these were the skins of animals offered in sacrifice, as many suppose, Adam must in some way, immediately after the fall, have been taught that without shedding of blood is no remission of sin, but that God will accept a vicarious sacrifice. This is perhaps the most tenable view; and if, with Knobel, we see in this arrival at the idea of sacrifice a rapid development in Adam of thought and intellect, yet it may not have been entirely spontaneous, but the effect of divinely-inspired convictions rising up within his soul. It shows also that the innocence of our first parents was gone. In his happy state Adam had studied the animals, and tamed them and made them his friends; now a sense of guilt urges him to inflict upon them pain and suffering and death. But in the first sacrifice was laid the foundation of the whole Mosaical dispensation, as in
Genesis 3:15 that of the Gospel. Moreover, from sacrificial worship there was alleviation for man's bodily wants, and he went forth equipped with raiment suited for the harder lot that awaited him outside the garden; and, better far, there was peace for his soul, and the thought--even if still but faint and dim--of the possibility for him of an atonement.
Verse 21. -
Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats (
cathnoth, from
cathan, to cover; cf.
χιτών; Sanscrit,
katam; English,
cotton)
of skin (
or, the skin of a man, from
ur, to be naked, hence a hide). Neither their bodies (Origen), nor garments of the bark of trees (Gregory Nazianzen), nor miraculously-fashioned apparel (Grotius), nor clothing made from the serpent's skin (R. Jonathan), but tunics prepared from the skins of animals, slaughtered possibly for food, as it is not certain that the Edenie man was a vegetarian (
Genesis 1:29), though more probably slain in sacrifice. Though said to have been made by God, "it is not proper so to understand the words, as if God had been a furrier, or a servant to sew clothes" (Calvin). God being said to make or do what he gives orders or instructions to be made or done. Willet and Macdonald, however, prefer to think that the garments were actually fashioned by God. Bush finds in the mention of Adam and his wife an intimation that they were furnished with different kinds of apparel, and suggests that on this fact is based the prohibition in
Deuteronomy 22:5 against the interchange of raiment between the sexes.
And clothed them.1. To show them how their mortal bodies might be defended from cold and other injuries.
2. To cover their nakedness for comeliness' sake;vestimenta honoris (Chaldee Paraphrase).
3. To teach them the lawfulness of using the beasts of the field, as for food, so for clothing. . . .
Parallel Commentaries ...
Hebrew
The LORDיְהוָ֨ה(Yah·weh)Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068:LORD -- the proper name of the God of IsraelGodאֱלֹהִ֜ים(’ĕ·lō·hîm)Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 430:gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlativemadeוַיַּעַשׂ֩(way·ya·‘aś)Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 6213:To do, makegarmentsכָּתְנ֥וֹת(kā·ṯə·nō·wṯ)Noun - feminine plural construct
Strong's 3801:A shirtof skinע֖וֹר(‘ō·wr)Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 5785:Skin, hide, leatherand clothedוַיַּלְבִּשֵֽׁם׃(way·yal·bi·šêm)Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular | third person masculine plural
Strong's 3847:Wrap around, to put on a, garment, clotheAdamלְאָדָ֧ם(lə·’ā·ḏām)Preposition-l | Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 120:Ruddy, a human beingand his wife.וּלְאִשְׁתּ֛וֹ(ū·lə·’iš·tōw)Conjunctive waw, Preposition-l | Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 802:Woman, wife, female
Links
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OT Law: Genesis 3:21 Yahweh God made coats of skins (Gen. Ge Gn) 
