Genesis 3:9

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Genesis 3:9 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “And Jehovah God called unto the man, and said unto him, Where art thou?” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

And Jehovah God called unto the man, and said unto him, Where art thou?
Genesis 3:9 — American Standard Version

Context — Genesis 3

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
9And Jehovah God called unto the man, and said unto him, Where art thou?

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“And the Lord God called unto Adam, etc.] The Jerusalem Targum is, the Word of the Lord God, the second Person in the Trinity; and this is the voice he is said to have heard before: and said unto him, where [art] thou? which is said, not as ignorant of the place where he was, nor of what he had done, nor of the circumstances he was in, or of the answers he would make; but rather it shows all the reverse, that he knew where he was, what he had done, and in what condition he was, and therefore it was in vain to seek to hide himself: or as pitying his case, saying, “alas for thee” f219, as some render the words, into what a miserable plight hast thou brought thyself, by listening to the tempter,…”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“- XVI. The Judgment 15. שׁוּף shûp “bruise, wound.” τηρεῖν (=τερεῖν?) tērein ἐκτρίβειν ektribein Job 9:17, καταπατεῖν katapatein Psalms 139:11, συντρίβειν suntribein Romans 16:20. 16. תשׁוּקה teshûqâh “desire, inclination.” αποστροφή apostrofee, ἐπιστροφή epistrophē Song of Solomon 7:11. 20. חוּה chavâh Eve, “the living, life, life-place, or village.” This passage contains the examination of the transgressors, Genesis 3:8-13; the sentence pronounced upon each, Genesis 3:14-19; and certain particulars following thereupon, Genesis 3:20-21. Genesis 3:8-9 The voice, we conceive, is the thunder of the approach of God and his call to Adam. The hiding is another token of the…”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“Where art thou? - This enquiry after Adam may be looked upon as a gracious pursuit in order to his recovery. If God had not called to him to reduce him, his condition had been as desperate as that of fallen angels. Genesis 3:10”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“3:9-10 Where are you? The true intent of this rhetorical question is revealed in the man’s answer (3:10). The real question was, why are you hiding? (cp. 4:9-10). • I was afraid because I was naked: Modesty was not the issue. The shame brought on by rebellion drove Adam and his wife to hide. Possibly they also feared punishment (see study note on 3:8).”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“Gen 4:9, Gen 11:5, Gen 16:8, Gen 18:20, Gen 18:21; Jos 7:17-19; Rev 20:12, Rev 20:13 Genesis 3:10”
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Keil & Delitzsch
C. F. Keil & F. Delitzsch · Commentary on the Old Testament · 19th-century historical commentary
“The man could not hide himself from God. "Jehovah God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?" Not that He was ignorant of his hiding-place, but to bring him to a confession of his sin. And when Adam said that he had hidden himself through fear of his nakedness, and thus sought to hide the sin behind its consequences, his disobedience behind the feeling of shame; this is not to be regarded as a sign of peculiar obduracy, but easily admits of a psychological explanation, viz., that at the time he actually thought more of his nakedness and shame than of his transgression of the divine command, and his consciousness of the effects of his sin was keener than his sense of the sin…”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification