In Genesis 3:8 the Bible says Adam and Eve heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. Adam and his wife then hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. Since God is a spirit (John 4:24) that no man has ever seen (John 1:18), was He visibly walking in the garden for Adam and Eve to see?
God has chosen to appear to mankind (known as a theophany) in a number of different temporary forms throughout the Bible. While man cannot see the spirit of God, he can see whatever visible form God may choose to appear as. This would have been the case with Adam and Eve if God did indeed choose to appear to them visibly.
Regardless of the form God was in, the verse says Adam and Eve heard the sound of Him walking in the garden. The presence of the Lord that was there was certainly something they recognized as being God, and they believed they could hide from Him among the trees. There’s a couple of different interpretations of Genesis 3:8 and what the verse meant when it said God was walking in the garden.
A Theophany (In Human Form)
Some believe God appeared in human form to Adam and Eve. If this is the case, it would be just as he showed Himself to Abraham in Genesis 18. Abraham was visited by three men, with one of them seeming to be God.
Walking In The Cool Of The Day
The (cool of the day) in verse 8 can also be interpreted as the (breeze of the day) or the (wind of the day). This leads some scholars to believe God came to Adam and Eve in the garden as a strong and terrible wind that caused them to hide among the trees. This would be similar to when the Lord spoke to Job out of the whirlwind (Job 38:1).
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