Even for Hebrew speakers, there's a problem understanding the Biblical/original definition of Hebrew words and terms. It seems like original meanings have been lost or distorted. One of them is the adjective ערום , erum, a word which appears in Bereishit, Genesis, and then in few other Biblical books. My Biblical quotations are from here.
It is used to describe the snake.
א וְהַנָּחָשׁ, הָיָה עָרוּם, מִכֹּל חַיַּת הַשָּׂדֶה
1 Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field...
And a few lines later, it describes how Adam and Eve felt after eating from ֵעֵץ, הַדַּעַת טוֹב וָרָע "The tree of the knowledge of good and evil."
ז וַתִּפָּקַחְנָה, עֵינֵי שְׁנֵיהֶם, וַיֵּדְעוּ, כִּי עֵירֻמִּם הֵם
7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked;
Now what does clever, crafty, sly or devious have to do with "naked?"
I think that the word has a different meaning, "tempting," "capable of sin." I'd say that after eating the fruit, Adam and Eve's innocence was lost. Their eyes suddenly opened to the realization that they were attracted to each other's bodies. And at the same time they knew that they could attract others with their bodies. They suddenly realized that their bodies had a power to tempt people do evil. That's why they felt it necessary to cover them. They were ashamed before G-d.
Today the word "erum" is used to mean naked. I wonder how long that has been. In Mishle, Proverbs, and Job the word is used to mean "crafty." It just doesn't make sense that the word, used so few times in the Bible, can have two different meanings.
I keep looking for the best English adjective to translate "erum" as it is used in Bereishit. Maybe it's "irresistibly sexy?" Adam and Eve then, in their "innocence" tried to hide it, since they couldn't deal with the power. They were uncomfortable with the emotions it produced.
A Dvar Torah for Berieshit.
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