William E. Combs Who Told You That You Were Naked?

Who Told You That You Were Naked? A Refreshing Reexamination of the Garden of Eden by William E. Combs is a thought-provoking book that takes a deeper look at the Genesis account of the Garden of Eden and offers a new and different perspective on the subject. Combs spends the first few chapters discussing what life may have been like in the Garden of Eden before and then immediately after Adam and his wife ate of the forbidden fruit. In the chapters that follow, he goes on to explain the consequences of what Adam and Eve had done and challenges the current, popular thoughts about such things as Adam and Eve’s motives for disobeying God, the true consequences of their actions (sin vs. the knowledge of good and evil), death, rebellion, and God’s

It provides new perspectives and new insights on a topic that has long been surrounded by traditional teaching. Combs does a good job of explaining his points and providing evidence for them. Throughout his book, Combs includes numerous Scripture references, as well as wonderful stories and personal testimonies, all of which help to illustrate his points and bring a personal aspect to his writing. Both the Scripture verses and the anecdotes allowed me to better understand the author’s points and connect to him on a more personal level. In addition, Combs provides definitions and in-depth explanations for various words, such as: knowledge, good, evil, death, sin, trespass, and disobedience (among others), which helped me to grasp the concepts he was sharing. Study questions are also provided at the end of each chapter, which allow the reader the opportunity to think deeper about the subject and encourage further study in the Word of God. The questions could also be used as a guide for discussion during a Bible study. The Endnotes included at the end of the book give some additional background information that I found to be helpful as well. In reading this book, I definitely learned some new things. For example, Combs writing indicates that in the Bible Adam’s wife is not referred to as “Eve” until the end of Genesis Chapter 3 (after they ate the forbidden fruit), and the word “sin” is not used until Genesis Chapter 4 in

The verse selected, 2 Corinthians 5:21, reads in most Bible versions as “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (or something similar to that). In the book, the verse (which is mistakenly referenced as 2 Corinthians 5:23) reads “For our sake he made him to be sin for us who knew no sin,…” From a quick online search, I noticed that this verse is stated as such in the Jubilee Bible, the King James Version, and the Wycliffe Bible (only 3 of the many versions available). Written this way, the verse can be a bit misleading, as it sounds as if we (people) knew no sin, when in reality it is “Him”, Jesus, who knew no sin (not us). I’m not sure if this was an oversight by the author or a typographical error, but my recommendation would have been to select a more traditional version of the verse, so the meaning is more straightforward and less subject to misinterpretation. Along the same lines, some of the suggestions that Combs makes about Adam and Eve’s motives for disobeying God seem a bit questionable. This caused me to be extra discerning when I read the book (which is always a good idea anyway). Specifically, Combs suggests that Adam and Eve did not act out of rebellion, but rather out of a desire to be like God. He compares it to a child wanting to be like their parent, and states that it is “one of the greatest