295. The reason they are said to have been 'clothed with a coat of skin' is that [initially] the most ancient people, on account of their innocence, were called 'naked', but that later on, once their innocence had perished, they realized they were dwelling in evil, which is called 'nakedness' as well. So that everything may appear to fit together as history according to the way the most ancient people expressed themselves, they are here said to have been 'clothed' to avoid their being naked, that is, dwelling in evil. That they possessed spiritual and natural good is clear from what has been said and shown about them in verses 1-13 of this chapter, and at this point from the statement that Jehovah God made [coats of skin] and clothed them. For the subject here is the first generation, but more especially the second and third generations, of the descendants of the Church, who were endowed with such good.