The sound of the LORD God

Genesis 3:8-9 - Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?"

What was the "sound of the LORD God as he was walking"? If he was walking, that implies that he had taken on a visible (probably human-like) form -- that he was not just a spirit using a voice. How many times has God appeared to man? I tend to think it is more often than the Bible specifically mentions it. For Adam and Eve to have recognized the sound of God walking in this instance seems to imply that they had heard something similar before.

There are so many spoken words in the Bible that should come with stage directions but don't. How did God say, "Where are you?" Of course he knew where they were hiding, but he called to them anyway. (Nothing's really changed since then, has it?) Did he call...

• sternly?
• gruffly?
• in a sing-song voice with the high note on "are"?
• quietly?
• gently?
• as if playing hide-and-seek?
• like your best buddy?
• as if surprised?
• sadly?
• worriedly?

I think he used the tone that would have gotten their attention and kept them listening. Despite the disobedience and the hiding, I'll say this much for them: They didn't try to run away. God's voice must have kept them from doing that. Perhaps it was a combination of several of the possibilities above.

People sometimes wonder if they have ever seen an angel without realizing it. I wonder if I've ever seen God as he was walking in the garden.