Naked
Naked [ebd]
This word denotes (1) absolute nakedness (Gen. 2:25; Job 1:21; Eccl. 5:15; Micah 1:8; Amos 2:16); (2) being poorly clad (Isa. 58:7; James 2:15). It denotes also (3) the state of one who has laid aside his loose outer garment (Lat. nudus), and appears clothed only in a long tunic or under robe worn next the skin (1 Sam. 19:24; Isa. 47:3; comp. Mark 14:52; John 21:7). It is used figuratively, meaning "being discovered" or "made manifest" (Job 26:6; Heb. 4:13). In Ex. 32:25 the expression "the people were naked" (A.V.) is more correctly rendered in the Revised Version "the people were broken loose", i.e., had fallen into a state of lawlessness and insubordination. In 2 Chr. 28:19 the words "he made Judah naked" (A.V.), but Revised Version "he had dealt wantonly in Judah," mean "he had permitted Judah to break loose from all the restraints of religion."
NAKED; NAKEDNESS [isbe]
NAKED; NAKEDNESS - na'-ked, na'-ked-nes: "Naked" in the Old Testament represents various derivatives of `ur and `arah chiefly, `arom (adj.) and `erwah (noun); in the New Testament the adjective is gumnos, the noun gumnotes, with verb gumneteuo, in 1 Cor 4:11. In Ex 32:25; 2 Ch 28:19, the King James Version adds para`, "break loose," "cast away restraint." Both the Greek and Hebrew forms mean "without clothing," but in both languages they, are used frequently in the sense of "lightly clad" or, simply, "without an outer garment." So, probably, is the meaning in Jn 21:7--Peter was wearing only the chiton (see DRESS); and so perhaps in Mk 14:51,52 and Mic 1:8. In Isa 20:2-4, however, the meaning is literally (for the "three years" of Isa 20:3 see the commentaries). So in Gen 2:25; 3:7, where the act of sin is immediately followed by the sense of shame (see Delitzsch, Biblical Psychology, and Gunkel, at the place). A very common use of "naked" is also "without proper clothing" (Job 22:6; 1 Cor 4:11, etc.), whence, of course, the expression "clothe naked." "Nakedness," in addition, is used as a euphemism in 1 Sam 20:30. A slightly different euphemistic usage is that of Lev 18:19, which in Ezek 16:36,37 is played off against the literal sense (compare Ezek 22:10; 23:18,29). The point of Gen 9:22,23 is a little hard to grasp, but apparently there is here again a euphemism--this time for a particularly horrible act (see the commentaries and compare Hab 2:15). Possibly some of these euphemisms are due to the Massoretes (see TEXT OF THE OLD TESTAMENT). The Jews objected vigorously to exposure of the body (even athletes insisting on a loin-cloth (compare 2 Macc 4:12,13)), and compulsory nudity was the extreme of shame and humiliation (Isa 20:2-4; Lam 1:8; Hos 2:3; Nah 3:5, etc.). The relation of this attitude to Israel's high sexual morality needs no explanation.Buroton Scott Easton
