Coats of Skins

Text and Content

The coats of skins appear in Genesis 3. After eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, Adam and Eve realized that they were naked, so they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons (Genesis 3:7). God then pronounces judgment on the two of them and on the serpent. This is followed by the verse "Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them" (Genesis 3:21), and immediately afterward comes the scene in which the two are driven out of the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:22–24).

Terminology and Background

The Hebrew expression combines the plural of kuttonet with ʿor. Kuttonet denotes a long tunic or garment that covers the body, and ʿor means skin or hide. The word kuttonet is also used for the coat that Joseph received from his father (Genesis 37:3) and for the tunic worn by the priests (Exodus 28:4). The fig-leaf "aprons" that the man and woman made for themselves were little more than coverings wrapped around the waist. By contrast, the garments God made are portrayed as clothing that adequately covers the body. Read alongside Genesis 2:25, "And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed," the coats of skins depict God covering the shame that arose after the Fall.

Significance Across Scripture

Throughout Scripture, the act of clothing someone serves repeatedly as an image of covering shame and conferring a new status. Isaiah sings, "for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation" (Isaiah 61:10). In the New Testament, Paul says that those who have been baptized "have put on Christ" (Galatians 3:27). The Book of Revelation speaks of white raiment that covers the shame of nakedness (Revelation 3:18). Many interpreters read the coats of skins as the first instance of this recurring theme.

Interpretations and Issues

• As a type of atonement: Many commentators and preachers in the Reformed and evangelical traditions reason that because an animal had to die to provide the skins, this scene foreshadows the Old Testament sacrifices and Christ's atonement.
• As an expression of care: Other interpreters read the scene as an expression of God's providence and grace, protecting humanity for life outside Eden even after judgment. They are cautious about drawing a sacrificial meaning directly from the text.
• Patristic and Jewish traditions: Some Church Fathers, such as Gregory of Nyssa, are reported to have interpreted the coats of skins as the mortality and passions that humanity took on after the Fall. This reading continues in the Eastern Orthodox tradition. Rabbinic literature is also reported to contain a tradition that links "skin" (ʿor) with the homophonous word for "light" and reads the phrase as "garments of light."
• The text and later embellishments: The text does not say what kind of animal was involved, who killed it or how, or whether it was a sacrifice. Claims such as "they were the skins of a lamb" or "Adam offered the first sacrifice" are later additions arising from interpretation.

In the Korean Church

In Korean church preaching, the coats of skins are commonly contrasted with the fig leaves. The fig leaves are explained as an attempt to cover sin by human effort, while the coats of skins represent the grace that God provides. This contrast is frequently used as an illustration of salvation through the shedding of blood.