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About this book

Genesis

About this book

The Seventh Day

Chapter 2

1 The heavens and the earth were completed with everything that was in them.⁠ 2 By the seventh day God finished the work⁠ that he had been doing,⁠ and he ceased on the seventh day all the work that he had been doing.⁠ 3 God blessed the seventh day and made it holy because on it he ceased all the work that he had been doing in creation.⁠

The Garden and the First Humans

4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created—when the Lord God made the earth and heavens.⁠ 5 Now no shrub of the field had yet grown on the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground. 6 Springs would well up from the earth and water the whole surface of the ground.⁠ 7 The Lord God formed the man⁠ from the soil of the ground⁠ and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life,⁠ and the man became a living being.⁠ 8 The Lord God planted an orchard in the east, in Eden;⁠ and there he placed the man he had formed.⁠ 9 The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow from the soil, every tree that was pleasing to look at and good for food.⁠ (Now the tree of life⁠ and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil⁠ were in the middle of the orchard.)⁠ 10 Now a river flows from Eden⁠ to water the orchard, and from there it divides into four headstreams. 11 The name of the first is Pishon;⁠ it runs through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 (The gold of that land is pure; pearls and lapis lazuli are also there.) 13 The name of the second river is Gihon;⁠ it runs through the entire land of Cush. 14 The name of the third river is Tigris; it runs along the east side of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates. 15 The Lord God took the man and placed him in the orchard in Eden to care for it and to maintain it.⁠ 16 Then the Lord God commanded the man, “You may freely eat fruit from every tree of the orchard, 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will surely die.”⁠ 18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone.⁠ I will make a companion for him who corresponds to him.”⁠ 19 The Lord God formed out of the ground every living animal of the field and every bird of the air.⁠ He brought them to the man to see what he would name them, and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man named all the animals, the birds of the air, and the living creatures of the field,⁠ but for Adam no companion who corresponded to him was found.⁠ 21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep, and while he was asleep, he took part of the man’s side and closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the part he had taken out of the man,⁠ and he brought her to the man. 23 Then the man said, “This one at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh;⁠ this one will be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.”⁠ 24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and unites with his wife,⁠ and they become one family.⁠ 25 The man and his wife were both naked, but they were not ashamed.⁠

Texts in conversation

Compare Genesis 2:25 and Gospel of Thomas 37

Hebrew Bible · Nag Hammadi

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Summary

Genesis describes Adam and Eve naked in the garden without shame. The Gospel of Thomas echoes this image, promising that disciples who strip without being ashamed and trample their garments will see the Son of the Living One.

Passages

Genesis 2:25

Hebrew Bible
23 Then the man said, “This one at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one will be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” 24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and unites with his wife, and they become one family. 25 The man and his wife were both naked, but they were not ashamed.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Genesis

Gospel of Thomas 37

Nag Hammadi
36 Jesus said, “Do not be anxious from morning to evening and from evening to morning about what you will wear.” 37 His disciples said, “When will you become revealed to us, and when shall we see you?” Jesus said, “When you strip without being ashamed, and you take your garments and place them under your feet like little children and trample them, then you will see the Son of the Living One, and you will not be afraid.” 38 Jesus said, “Many times you have desired to hear these sayings that I am speaking to you, and you have no one else from whom to hear them. There will be days when you will seek me and will not find me.”
135–200 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Gospel of Thomas

References

“... In his remarkably learned article, Smith argues that all four elements in Jesus’ statement, (1) undressing; (2) being naked without shame; (3) treading on the garments; (4) being like children, can be paralleled in early Christian baptismal discourse. Baptismal nudity can be associated with new life, and the lack of shame associated with nudity from Genesis 2:25 is also used sometimes in baptismal contexts. Treading on the garments is thought by Smith to relate especially to standing on the cilicium at baptism, and the connection with children again evokes new life and reconstituted social relations. On the other hand, such motifs can also be used outside the baptismal context. Some have criticised Smith’s use of fourth- and fifth-century parallels (where most of the comparative baptismal material comes) to illuminate Thomas. Baptismal language can also often be used in a metaphorical context. Some of the elements simply come from Genesis, such as being naked without shame (2:25); compare 3:10, Adam and Eve are afraid because they are naked. In the absence of other clear ritual elements in Thomas, one should be cautious of seeing indications of baptism where the language is quite unspecific. ...”
Simon Gathercole, The Composition of the Gospel of Thomas: Original Language and Influences, SNTSMS 151 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012), 364.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Genesis 2:25 and Gospel of Thomas 37

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