Why Were Eve's Eyes Not Opened Until Adam Ate?

Why Were Eve’s Eyes Not Opened Until Adam Ate? A close look at the account of Adam and Eve eating the fruit in Genesis 3:6-7 keeps us wondering why Eve’s eyes were not opened until Adam ate. Likewise, we are also wondering on what exactly Scripture means by, “their eyes were opened.” Genesis 3:6-7 says, “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.”

Truthfully speaking, the Bible does not clearly give the reason(s) why Eve’s eyes did not open until Adam ate. However, there are a host of possibilities and suggestions made by Biblical Scholars as to why Eve’s eyes were not opened until Adam ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Suggestions As To Why Eve’s Eyes Were Not Opened Until Adam Ate?

The prominent possibilities and suggestions made by Biblical Scholars as to why Eve’s eyes were not opened until Adam ate are as follows:

Adam and Eve ate so close to the same time that the time difference was negligible.
The effect of eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was not immediate but took some time in terms of seconds or minutes before their eyes opened and they felt the guilt and shame of their disobedience to God’s instructions.
Adam was the one to whom the original command not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was given, so there may have been no bearing on Eve when she ate. However, this view is not highly supported since Eve pointed out to the serpent in Genesis 3:2 that God’s command encompassed her as well.
Adam was responsible for his wife, Eve. The Bible teaches us that the woman was created for the man (1 Corinthians 11:9). The creation order of humanity began with Adam; a fact which the Devil through the serpent refused to acknowledge when he approached Eve. Following this, Adam would have had to fall for their eyes to open. In other words, Adam was the one responsible, even for his wife’s actions. This probably explains why the Man was the one that God called upon arriving in the garden after the Fall.
Both Adam and Eve had dominion, so both had to fall for the change to occur. This point of view is supported by Genesis 1:26-28 in which Adam and Eve were given dominion together. Following this, for the entire dominion of man to fall, both partners had to sin.

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Thinking Conversely

Thinking conversely makes us ask ourselves the question, “If Adam had eaten first, would the same thing have happened?” From the shared-dominion perspective, the answer would be yes. That’s to say if Adam had eaten first nothing would have appeared to happen, but when Eve would have eaten, then both had sinned and the entire dominion would fall. According to this point of view, if Eve had eaten and Adam had not, then the dominion would not have fallen, and only Eve would have been punished and died. However, we should not get caught up in too much of this kind of thinking. Deuteronomy 29:29 says, “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.“

Consequences of the Fall

Eve’s sin affected her and subsequently all women (Genesis 3:16). As for Adam’s punishment in Genesis 3:17–19 – the ground was cursed (i.e. the whole of the dominion). The extent of this curse was revealed by Apostle Paul in Romans 8:20-22 as being the whole of creation, which explains why we need a new heaven and a new earth. As a matter of fact, this view can be coupled with that previously mentioned in which Adam was responsible for his wife as well as her actions. Although Adam and Eve had dominion, Adam was ultimately the responsible party. In support of these points, Romans 5:12 says, “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.” Looking at everything in the light of Scripture, Adam received the blame for sin’s entrance, so he was the responsible party.

Why did Adam and Eve Feel the Need to Wear Clothes?

Genesis 2:25 says, “And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.” Likewise, Genesis 3:7 says, “Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.” The Bible teaches us that when Adam and Eve sinned, their eyes were opened. After they had sinned, they both realized that they were naked and decided to make coverings from leaves. The sin they committed affected the way they perceived things (i.e., their eyes were opened). The guilt and shame that they felt were due to the sinful nature they had embraced and were no longer perceiving things in a perfect fashion as God created them to perceive.

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