“I was afraid, because I was naked” (Gen 3:10). On the Origin of Human Fear in the Biblical Account of the Garden of Eden

Ks. Dariusz DZIADOSZ

Department of Exegesis of Historical and Didactic Books of the Old Testament, Institute of Biblical Studies, Faculty of Theology, John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Al. Racławickie 14, 20-950 Lublin, Poland , Poland

Abstract

Fear is permanently inscribed in various dimensions of human existence, and therefore, in the history of humankind, it has always been subject to a multifaceted philosophical and theological reflection. Also the ancient traditions of the Hebrew Bible addressed that issue with due seriousness, pointing not only to the origin of fear and to the multifarious shapes it assumes, but also to some remedial measures which may alleviate its diverse consequences. All the inspired texts that elaborate on the origin of human fear relate it to the multifaceted reality of human sin which substantially affects the quality of the human relationships with God, with oneself, with other human beings, and with the surrounding world. The dependency in question is described, probably most exhaustively, in the Biblical account of the creation and the fall of the first human beings (Gen 2,4:b-3,24), pointing first to the beauty and perfection of God’s work, and then to the causes and the consequences of Adam’s and Eve’s disobedience. One of the leading literary and theological motifs of this Biblical tradition is precisely the issue of human fear.

Translated by Dorota Chabrajska

Keywords:

Gen 2:4b-3,24, Biblical account of sin and its consequences, psychology of temptation, fear as a consequence of human disobedience, Divine therapy of fear