And they sewed leaves of the fig tree and made loin coverings for themselves. Genesis 3:7

Loin Coverings – As Adam discovered, fig leaves don’t really do the job. Rembrandt might have used them to cover certain parts of the body, but I don’t think that is the point of this text. The Hebrew word for loin covering is hagore’, from the root hagar. The verb means “to gird, to put on a belt.” But the pictograph really tells the story. It means “to make private (by fencing) the pride of a person.” Interestingly, one of the cognates of this word in Babylon was about a military belt which served no useful purpose except to show off the status of the person. It was a belt of pride in prominent display. When Adam attempted to sew fig leaves for coverings, he was trying to conceal something, but it wasn’t his genitals. It was his disobedient pride. There are additional insights in the Hebrew word translated “pride” comes from the root ga’ah. Its basic meaning is to rise up, to be lifted up or exalted. That’s precisely what Adam wished to conceal from the eyes of the Lord. He wanted to put a fence around his self-exaltation, to cover his rising up against God’s command. The verb ga’ah paints the picture, “what comes from the lifting up of strength.” With great remorse, Adam discovered lifting himself up produced the necessity of privacy. One time he could be entirely open about who he really was. Now his true self had to be concealed.

So, why pick the fig tree? Perhaps you never asked feeling embarrassed to take a peek. But you would have missed something important. You see, the words are ale teena (literally, leaves of vine); the consonants for the root words are Ayin-Lamed-Hey and Tau-Aleph-Vav-Hey. The picture is “what comes from knowing (experiencing) authority” “what comes from securing the strength of a covenant.” I doubt if “fig leaves” really matters here. What matters is the picture behind “fig leaves”; namely, Adam attempts to produce an authority secured by the strength of a covenant from his own efforts. He needs a covenant that will cover his self-exaltation. He needs to get himself under control. He chooses an insufficient means (which God corrects) but nevertheless, he recognizes the need for something that will conceal what has been revealed. The idiomatic expression used here (“leaves of the vine”) points us toward a much deeper reality. This is a remez; a hint at something more important. It isn’t being naked that needs to be covered up. It’s far more humiliating than exposed genitals. What must be covered up is the unleashed aggression of the yetzer ha’ra. What must be covered up is what’s on the rise; the will to power that wants to dominate. Adam tries to find a strong covenant able to harness this force. He uses something that carries the same imagery of the unbridled evil inclination. ‘alah (the root of ale) means “to go up, to ascend, to spring up, to excel, to be superior.” Adam attempts to use “what springs up” to cover “what is rising up”. He tries to control his sin. He fails. So do we all when we fight fire with fire. This is not God’s way.

Your evil inclination is a spring-loaded snare. Unleashed, it will attempt to ascend to the heights. It knows no limits in its rise to power. So, the Lord says, “You must master it.” But not with leaves of the vine! To master the yetzer ha’ra, we must submit. Domestication comes from another direction – descent, what is low and humble. The covenant of strength that covers us is a covenant of blood, a covenant of death. If you haven’t died, you aren’t alive.

Topical Index: yetzer ha’ra, ale teena, ga’ah, fig leaves, hagore, loin coverings, Genesis 3:7