...Walking In The Garden To The Wind Of The Day... (Part 3)

ְהוָה אֱלֹהִים מִתְהַלֵּךְ - Yahweh God walking

מְעוּ אֶת־קוֹל יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים מִתְהַלֵּךְ בַּגָּן לְרוּחַ הַיּ֑וֹם וַיִּתְחַבֵּא הָֽאָדָם

וְאִשְׁתּוֹ מִפְּנֵי יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים בְּתוֹךְ עֵץ הַגָּֽן

Then they heard the sound of Yahweh-God walking in the garden to the wind of the day and they hid...

Genesis 3:8

You can never assume that what you think you understand about another culture is how they understand themselves unless you work to set aside your own cultural background, place yourself in their shoes, and try to understand theirs from their perspective.

Which God is present in Genesis 3:8? As we have already seen the Hebrew is clear; it is Yahweh-God - I was who I was, I am who I am, and I will be whom I will be. This is immanent-God, and relational-God. And true to form Genesis 3:8 says that this knowable, personable, observable God walks - מִתְהַלֵּך (meet-hah-LEKH).

This word, walking, is not meant to be taken as a metaphore. This phrase - ְהוָה אֱלֹהִים מִתְהַלֵּךְ, Yahweh God walking - is meant to not simply present God as immanent, but to quantify just how tangible God can be. Here God has observable locomotion that is readily undersood and familiar to the hearers of the narrative.

What is really remarkable about applying this word, מִתְהַלֵּך - walking , to God is that it is describes God's movement as not slow and it is not fast. It is not rushed. It is simply a normal gait. God is at ease, familiar, and comfortable.