The first encounter between humanity and God following the first sin reveals a profound psychological and spiritual collapse. Rather than confessing, the man attempts to control the conversation through evasion. He offers a preemptive excuse about hiding to avoid a direct admission of guilt [ביאור יש״ר] and to prevent God from asking why he hid, which would uncover the forbidden eating [בכור שור]. However, he does not dare lie openly. Ironically, his attempt to justify himself provides the exact incriminating evidence needed to expose the earlier sin [קאסוטו].
This reaction reflects a deep sense of despair. The man accepts his fallen state and the new distance from God as a permanent reality, completely missing God's hidden invitation to repent [חומש קה״ת]. His spiritual standing has dropped significantly, and he no longer communicates with God face to face [אדרת אליהו]. His prophetic vision is now clouded by physical imagination, leading him to perceive the divine presence merely as physical footsteps walking within the confined space of the garden [שד״ל, מלבי״ם].
The fear he expresses carries a double meaning. On the surface, he frames his anxiety as reverence, claiming it is disrespectful to stand before the Divine Presence without clothing [העמק דבר, קאסוטו], driven by deep shame and embarrassment [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Underneath, however, lies the raw terror of a guilty person awaiting punishment from a judge, much like the fear the Israelites experienced after their own sin [ספורנו, ביאור יש״ר, קאסוטו]. This dread is further fueled by the realization that God is now encountering a human being ruled by physical urges [מלבי״ם].
His sudden awareness of being unclothed goes beyond a physical description; it marks a painful moral awakening. Having previously known only good, his heart has now shifted toward evil, making him acutely aware of his own degradation [אדרת אליהו, ביאור יש״ר]. He recognizes the newly discovered dark aspects of his nature, which terrify him even when alone, making it unbearable to expose them before God [רש ר הירש]. On a practical level, although the couple had already sewn fig leaves together, these belts only covered their most private parts, leaving the man feeling completely exposed and vulnerable [הטור הארוך, חזקוני].