# What was the purpose of the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 26, 2023, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-purpose-of-the-tree-of-the-knowledge-of-good-and-evil/980405 "2023-02-26T19:56:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2023, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-purpose-of-the-tree-of-the-knowledge-of-good-and-evil/980405/174 "2023-03-06T20:09:44Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Does [the camouflaged looper caterpillar](https://www.thecaterpillarlab.org/single-post/2015/10/07/camouflaged-looper) count? Hah! Maybe. > [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > My question is why should they feel ashamed by their nakedness? Couples are naked around each other all of the time with no shame. And there is no one else around to see their nudity, unless you count Yahweh. So were they ashamed of God seeing them naked? They hid and covered themselves when they heard God’s voice in the garden; not before. So apparently, yes; they were ashamed of God seeing them naked. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2023, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-purpose-of-the-tree-of-the-knowledge-of-good-and-evil/980405/175 "2023-03-06T20:22:09Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > So apparently, yes; they were ashamed of God seeing them naked. But the question remains, _“Why?”_. They didn’t even have the concept, let alone the memory, of clothing. If there were other creatures in Eden that were clothed that _may_ have triggered such an emotion. Did God wear a suit and tie when he visited? ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2023, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-purpose-of-the-tree-of-the-knowledge-of-good-and-evil/980405/176 "2023-03-06T20:31:06Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > They hid and covered themselves when they heard God’s voice in the garden; not before. No, that is not accurate. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2023, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-purpose-of-the-tree-of-the-knowledge-of-good-and-evil/980405/177 "2023-03-06T20:31:44Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > I suspect you may be thinking about this from a modern point of view. How often would people several thousand years ago, in the kind of society where this story arose, have been alone together as a couple without any other people around? Every married couple in their own home? ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2023, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-purpose-of-the-tree-of-the-knowledge-of-good-and-evil/980405/178 "2023-03-06T20:39:03Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Every married couple in their own home? In a MacMansion with HVAC, sure. Those were scarce only half a century ago. How much privacy do you think a married couple had, living in a one “room” mud hut, sharing it with chickens, a goat and five kids? And - do married couple in MacMansions actually spend time together naked all the time? They might not be walking around in business attire around the house but people do wear clothes for reason beyond that, modesty and shame. Frying bacon naked is a decidedly stupid activity. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2023, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-purpose-of-the-tree-of-the-knowledge-of-good-and-evil/980405/179 "2023-03-06T20:50:56Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Couples are naked around each other all of the time with no shame. Except for sexyfuntime I don’t think we’ve ever been around each other just hanging out in the nude. Not in the ten years before we had kids and not in the 15 years since. I mean maybe I’d dash out of the shower into the master bedroom if I forgot a towel, but just lounging around in the buff? Never. Are we more prudish than most people in western society. In the old country (Pakistan) my parents living with six kids in a small bungalow with one bathroom, I can’t even imagine. And that’s probably the living situation for 99% of people throughout history, at best. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2023, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-purpose-of-the-tree-of-the-knowledge-of-good-and-evil/980405/180 "2023-03-06T21:01:56Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > > [@thorny\_locust](#): > > > > So apparently, yes; they were ashamed of God seeing them naked. ⁢ > > But the question remains, _“Why?”_. They didn’t even have the concept, let alone the memory, of clothing. If there were other creatures in Eden that were clothed that _may_ have triggered such an emotion. Did God wear a suit and tie when he visited? ⁢ The way I always interpreted it as a kid was that the line about clothing was an excuse. What they originally do is simply hide from God, because they are ashamed of their sin. But when God catches them, that’s when they claim they hid because they were naked. God then points out that they wouldn’t know they were naked had they not eaten the Fruit, so they’re busted. God does still clothe them himself after this (with the fig leaves) so it’s still possible that they genuinely do feel some shame for being naked. But I still suspect it has to do with a feeling of being exposed, linking the clothing and the need to hide from God. It definitely works symbolically, at least. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2023, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-purpose-of-the-tree-of-the-knowledge-of-good-and-evil/980405/181 "2023-03-06T21:14:01Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > > [@thorny\_locust](#): > > > > They hid and covered themselves when they heard God’s voice in the garden; not before. > > No, that is not accurate. Took another look and you’re right. They didn’t hide until they heard God; but they covered themselves before that. Thanks for correction. – whether they did so because they were embarrassed in front of each other, or because they expected that God might show up, or because they were embarrassed in front of the serpent or the other creatures, seems to be an open question. The audience hearing the story might have assumed they’d be embarrassed to be naked outdoors, but Adam and Eve wouldn’t have had any concept of indoors and therefore none of outdoors. Don’t know whether the author(s) had thought of that, though. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-purpose-of-the-tree-of-the-knowledge-of-good-and-evil/980405.md?page=8)