God Clothes Adam and Eve in the Serpent's Cast Skin

Midrash Aggadah Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Genesis 3:21 View source

Curated by The Jewish Mythology Team · Published January 21, 2025

The Torah says God made "garments of skin" for Adam and his wife. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Genesis 3:21) tells us whose skin.

"The Lord God made to Adam and to his wife vestures of honour from the skin of the serpent, which he had cast from him, upon the skin of their flesh, instead of that adornment which had been cast away."

The poetry here is devastating. Remember — God has just punished the serpent with the sentence that he will shed his skin every seven years. The first shed skin becomes the material for humanity's first clothing. The very creature whose deception stripped Adam and Eve of their purple robe is now stripped himself to clothe them.

This is midah k'neged midah, measure for measure. What the serpent took, the serpent now pays for with his own body. And the Targumist calls these "vestures of honour" — not shameful coverings, but a dignified replacement. God does not leave his creatures naked. Even in exile, they walk out of the garden fully dressed.

Themes

Adam & Eve Eden Divine justice Mysticism

Biblical References

Genesis 3:21

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