Genesis 3:21

Hebrew Bible

20 The man named his wife Eve, because she was the mother of all the living. 21 The Lord God made garments from skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them. 22 And the Lord God said, “Now that the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil, he must not be allowed to stretch out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.”

Onkelos Genesis 3:21

Targum

20 And Adam called the name of his wife Hava, because she was the mother of all the children of men. 21 And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife vestments of honour upon the skin of their flesh, and clothed them. 22 And the Lord God said, Behold, man is become unique in the world by himself, knowing good and evil; and now, lest he stretch forth his hand and take also of the Tree of Life, and eat, and live for ever;...

 Notes and References

"... Bible: 'Garments of skin.' It is possible that since the Bible does not inform us that any animal died or gave up its skin for other purposes, and since there is no apparent significance to a divine gift of a skin garment, our targumist chose in its place 'garments of honor.' The rendering also enhances the honor given to the humans who were now dressed in sartorial splendor ... Onkelos adds this phrase to explain that the biblical phrase 'garments of skin' means 'garments of honor upon the skin.' Rashi, however, cites 'those who say' that the garments were made of material that originates from animal skin, such as rabbit wool ..."

Drazin, Israel, and Stanley M. Wagner Onkelos on the Torah, Genesis: Understanding the Bible Text (p. 21) Gefen, 2006

 User Comments

Do you have questions or comments about these texts? Please submit them here.