complete verse (Genesis 2:25)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Genesis 2:25:

  • Kankanaey: “Then he took the rib that he had removed and he turned-it-into a woman. When the man got-up/woke-up, right-there was the woman that God had taken to him. They two were naked, but they were not ashamed. The man said, ‘Now this is the one that suits me, because my bone, that is her bone just the same, and my flesh (muscle), that is her flesh also. I name her woman, because she came-from man.’ That is the reason that a man leaves his father and mother so-that he will take-into-his-home his wife, and they will become one.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Even though the husband and wife were both naked, they felt no shame.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “At that time, even-though the two of them were naked, they were- not -ashamed.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Although the man and his wife were naked, they were not ashamed about that.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Genesis 2:25

This verse, which pictures the couple in the garden as being innocently naked, anticipates 3.7, in which they become aware of their nakedness.

And the man and his wife were both naked: naked means “totally naked, without any clothing.”

Not ashamed renders the reflexive form of the Hebrew verb “to have shame”; and this form suggests a reciprocal action, that is, “they did not feel ashamed of each other” or “they were not ashamed of each other.” Bible en français courant says “but without feeling any embarrassment with each other,” and New English Bible “they had no feeling of shame towards one another.” Shame is the painful consciousness of having done or thought something that is recognized as wrong or unacceptable; it is generally most intense in the presence of other people. Many languages express this feeling in figurative terms; for example, “to have burning cheeks,” “to lower the head,” or “to have a dry tongue.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .