“They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.” (Gen 3:8, NASB)
We think we understand a verse in scripture until we start to examine the verse word by word. The word for “sound” is “qol,” which can mean sound, but is most often translated as “voice.” The KJV translates the verse as “They heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden…” Adam and Eve did not hear the sound of crunching leaves in the garden, but the voice of the LORD God in the garden.
The word “cool” originates from a Hebrew word familiar to many “ruach”. Ruach is primarily translated as spirit or wind. The JPS Tanakh renders the verse as “the breezy time of day.” The rendering makes it sound like there was a time of day to fly kites in the garden. Most often the word is translated into English as “spirit,” 127 times out of 375 times. The word is translated as “cool,” just this one time.
When the man and woman heard the voice, the Bible tells us they “hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God…” The word “presence” comes from the Hebrew word “panim”, which has a primary meaning of “face or faces.” This is the same word used in reference to Moses when scripture tells us, “The LORD used to speak to Moses face to face,” (Ex 33:11). Apparently Adam and Eve had a “face to face” relationship with the LORD God, but after they sinned, they “hid themselves from the face of the LORD God.” The implication for believers who find “the Way” (John 14:6), back into the garden through the blood of Jesus, we will know the LORD God “face to face,” (1 Cor 13:12).
Young’s literal is a little closer to the original Hebrew,
“And they hear the sound of Jehovah God walking up and down I the garden at the breeze of the day, and the man and his wife hide themselves from the face of Jehovah God in the midst of the trees of the garden,” (Gen 3:8, YLT)
Still the various translations seem to lose something from the original Hebrew. So here is my uninspired pass at capturing the passage.
“They heard the voice of the Spirit of the LORD God in the garden, but on that day Adam and Eve hid themselves from the face of the LORD God and became tree huggers.”
One last note, the word “heard” is “shema,” the same word used in the passage, “Hear (shema), O Israel!,” (Deut 6:4). The LORD God was calling Adam and Eve to obedience, just like Israel and believers today, but they were not obedient.
So, how would you translate the passage?
Shabbot Shalom - Scott
