Limitless Word
And the LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and He clothed them.
Genesis 3:21 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Yahweh God made coats of animal skins for Adam and for his wife, and clothed them.
  • KJV Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
  • NKJV Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.
  • NASB And the Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.
  • NLT And the Lord God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

God Himself clothes Adam and Eve with garments of animal skin, covering their shame. It is an early picture of God providing a covering for sin at the cost of life.

Overview

The fig leaves of human effort are replaced by skins God provides, requiring the death of an animal. This act of grace shows God mercifully covering the guilt and shame His fallen creatures could not cover themselves. Many see here a foreshadowing of the substitutionary covering ultimately given in Christ, whose sacrifice clothes believers in righteousness.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 5

  • Isa 61:10I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, my soul will exult in my God; for He has clothed me with garments of salvation and wrapped me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom wears a priestly headdress, as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
  • 2 Cor 5:21God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.
  • 2 Cor 5:2–3For in this tent we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling,
  • Gen 3:7And the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; so they sewed together fig leaves and made coverings for themselves.
  • Rom 3:22And this righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no distinction,

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (6)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Genesis videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Genesis 3:21YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on GenesisMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.

How Genesis 3:21 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.