Ramban

AND THEY HEARD THE VOICE OF THE ETERNAL G-D WALKING IN THE GARDEN. The Rabbis have said in Bereshith Rabbah: “Rabbi Chilfi said that from here we may learn that a voice ‘walks,’ for it is said, And they heard the voice of the Eternal G-d walking.” And so did the Rabbi [Moshe ben Maimon] write in Moreh Nebuchim. that is modified by walking.” And so is the opinion of Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra that “walking” refers to “the voice,” just as in the verse: The sound thereof shall go like the serpent’s. And Ibn Ezra further says that the meaning of toward the cool of the day is that they heard the voice towards evening. And he mentioned in the name of Rabbi Jonah ibn Ganach that the meaning of the verse is: “and man was walking in the garden toward the cool of the day,” [the sense of the verse thus being that while man was walking in the garden, he heard the voice of G-d]. In my opinion, the sense of walking in the garden of Eden is similar to that of the verses: And I will walk among you; And the Eternal went as soon as He had finished speaking with Abraham; I will go and return to My place. All these verses indicate a revelation of the Divine Presence in that place or the departure from the place wherein He was revealed. The sense of the expression, toward the cool of the day, is that with the revelation of the Divine Presence comes a great and strong wind, even as it says, And, behold, the Eternal passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before the Eternal. Similarly we find: Yea, He did swoop down upon the wings of the wind; and in the book of Job it is written, Then the Eternal answered Job out of the whirlwind. Therefore Scripture says here that they heard the voice of G-d as the Divine Presence was revealed in the garden approaching them in the wind of the day, because the breath of the Eternal blew upon it, that is, in the garden, like the wind of ordinary days, not a great and strong wind as in the vision of other prophecies, in order that they should not be frightened or terrified. Yet Scripture says that in spite of this they hid themselves on account of their nakedness. In Bereshith Rabbah we find that the Rabbis also said: “Said Rabbi Aba the son of Kahana: ‘Mehalech (walking) is not written here but mith’halech (meaning “it leaped and ascended).” Rabbi Aba thus interpreted the word mith’halech similarly to that of And the Eternal went, as we have explained the term “walking,” except that he explained the verse before us as referring to the withdrawal of the Divine Presence that dwelt in the garden of Eden and its retiring therefrom on account of the sin of Adam, even as it says, I will go and return to My place. We interpret it to mean the revelation of the Divine Presence in that place, which is the correct and fitting explanation of the verse.