Genesis2
New American Standard
1And so the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their heavenly lights.
2By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.
3Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because on it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.
4This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made earth and heaven.
5Now no shrub of the field was yet on the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the Lord God had not sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground.
6But a mist used to rise from the earth and water the whole surface of the ground.
7Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living person.
8The Lord God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed.
9Out of the ground the Lord God caused every tree to grow that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
10Now a river flowed out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it divided and became four rivers.
11The name of the first is Pishon; it flows around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold.
12The gold of that land is good; the bdellium and the onyx stone are there as well.
13The name of the second river is Gihon; it flows around the whole land of Cush.
14The name of the third river is Tigris; it flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.
15Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to cultivate it and tend it.
16The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may freely eat;
17but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for on the day that you eat from it you will certainly die.”
18Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.”
19And out of the ground the Lord God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name.
20The man gave names to all the livestock, and to the birds of the sky, and to every animal of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him.
21So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place.
22And the Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man.
23Then the man said, “At last this is bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called ‘woman,’ Because she was taken out of man.”
24For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.
25And the man and his wife were both naked, but they were not ashamed.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Genesis 2.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: The first sabbath. (1–3). Particulars about the creation. (4–7). The planting of the garden of Eden. (8–14). Man is placed in it. (15). God's command. (16, 17). The animals named, The making of woman, The Divine institution of marriage. (18–25).
vv1-3
After six days, God ceased from all works of creation. In miracles, he has overruled nature, but never changed its settled course, or added to it. God did not rest as one weary, but as one well pleased. Notice the beginning of the kingdom of grace, in the sanctification, or keeping holy, of the sabbath day. The solemn observing of one day in seven as a day of holy rest and holy work, to God's honour, is the duty of all to whom God has made known his holy sabbaths. At this time none of the human race were in being but our first parents. For them the sabbath was appointed; and clearly for all succeeding generations also. The Christian sabbath, which we observe, is a seventh day, and in it we celebrate the rest of God the Son, and the finishing the work of our redemption.
vv4-7
Here is a name given to the Creator, “Jehovah.” Where the word “LORD” is printed in capital letters in our English Bibles, in the original it is “Jehovah.” Jehovah is that name of God, which denotes that he alone has his being of himself, and that he gives being to all creatures and things. Further notice is taken of plants and herbs, because they were made and appointed to be food for man. The earth did not bring forth its fruits of itself: this was done by Almighty power. Thus grace in the soul grows not of itself in nature's soil, but is the work of God. Rain also is the gift of God; it came not till the Lord God caused it. Though God works by means, yet when he pleases he can do his own work without them; and though we must not tempt God in the neglect of means, we must trust God, both in the use and in the want of means. Some way or other, God will water the plants of his own planting. Divine grace comes down like the dew, and waters the church without noise. Man was made of the small dust, such as is on the surface of the earth. The soul was not made of the earth, as the body: pity then that it should cleave to the earth, and mind earthly things. To God we must shortly give an account, how we have employed these souls; and if it be found that we have lost them, though it were to gain the world, we are undone for ever! Fools despise their own souls, by caring for their bodies before their souls.
vv8-14
The place fixed upon for Adam to dwell in, was not a palace, but a garden. The better we take up with plain things, and the less we seek things to gratify pride and luxury, the nearer we approach to innocency. Nature is content with a little, and that which is most natural; grace with less; but lust craves every thing, and is content with nothing. No delights can be satisfying to the soul, but those which God himself has provided and appointed for it. Eden signifies delight and pleasure. Wherever it was, it had all desirable conveniences, without any inconvenience, though no other house or garden on earth ever was so. It was adorned with every tree pleasant to the sight, and enriched with every tree that yielded fruit grateful to the taste and good for food. God, as a tender Father, desired not only Adam's profit, but his pleasure; for there is pleasure with innocency, nay there is true pleasure only in innocency. When Providence puts us in a place of plenty and pleasure, we ought to serve God with gladness of heart in the good things he gives us. Eden had two trees peculiar to itself. 1. There was the tree of life in the midst of the garden. Of this man might eat and live. Christ is now to us the Tree of life, Re 2:7; 22:2; and the Bread of life, Joh 6:48, 51. 2. There was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, so called because there was a positive revelation of the will of God about this tree, so that by it man might know moral good and evil. What is good? It is good not to eat of this tree. What is evil? It is evil to eat of this tree. In these two trees God set before Adam good and evil, the blessing and the curse.
Key Words
שָׁמַיִם: the sky (as aloft; the dual perhaps alluding to the visible arch in which the clouds move, as well as to the higher ether where the celestial bodies revolve)
אֶרֶץ: the earth (at large, or partitively a land)
כָּלָה: to end, whether intransitive (to cease, be finished, perish) or transitived (to complete, prepare, consume)
כֹּל: properly, the whole; hence, all, any or every (in the singular only, but often in a plural sense)
צָבָא: a mass of persons (or figuratively, things), especially reg. organized forwar (an army); by implication, a campaign, literally or figuratively (specifically, hardship, worship)
שְׁבִיעִי: seventh
יוֹם: a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb)
אֱלֹהִים: gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative
מְלָאכָה: properly, deputyship, i.e. ministry; generally, employment (never servile) or work (abstractly or concretely); also property (as the result of labor)
עָשָׂה: to do or make, in the broadest sense and widest application
Cross References
Genesis 2Explicit commandment grounding the weekly Sabbath rest in God's six-day creation and seventh-day rest.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole, JFB
New Testament citation of Genesis 2:2 establishing the theological meaning of God's Sabbath rest.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole
Jesus quotes verse 24 to establish the lifelong, monogamous nature of marriage against easy divorce.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Paul quotes verse 24 verbatim, applying the 'one flesh' union to Christ and the Church.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Paul contrasts Adam becoming a 'living soul' with Christ, the last Adam, a life-giving spirit.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Christ breathing on His disciples mimics God breathing the breath of life, signaling the new creation.
Supported by JFB
Paul bases his arguments on gender order on the fact that woman came from man.
Supported by Matthew Henry, John Calvin
Paul alludes to Adam's 'bone of my bones' statement to describe believers' union with Christ.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Mark's parallel account where Jesus quotes the creation and marriage mandate of Genesis 2.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Parallels the dual origin of man: dust returning to earth and spirit returning to God.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
The Tree of Life reappears in the New Jerusalem, symbolizing restored access to eternal life.
Supported by Matthew Henry
The NT theological development of the Edenic penalty: the wages of sin is death.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Apostolic commentary on the creation order: woman was created for the man, as his help meet.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Paul highlights the order of creation (Adam first, then Eve) to instruct the church.
Supported by John Calvin
Affirms that a prudent wife is a gift directly from the Lord, echoing Eve's presentation.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Paul quotes 'the two shall be one flesh' to warn against sexual immorality.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Direct contrast: immediately after the Fall, they realized their nakedness and felt shame.
Supported by Matthew Henry
God's curse on fallen man explicitly references his origin: 'dust thou art, and unto dust return'.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Prophetic description of Eden as the 'garden of God', adorned with precious stones.
Supported by JFB
The river watering Eden typifies the river of the water of life in the New Jerusalem.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Poetic reflection on man's dominion over the beasts, demonstrated by Adam naming them.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Finding a wife is finding a good thing and obtaining favor from the Lord.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Laban uses Adam's familial idiom ('my bone and my flesh') to acknowledge kinship.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Malachi appeals to the original marital covenant union made by God in Eden.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Confirms the Sabbath covenant was established on God resting and being refreshed.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Direct narrative link as the serpent immediately targets the specific prohibition given in 2:17.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Paul argues for creation order based on Adam being formed first, then Eve.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Verbal link: a similar deep sleep (tardemah) falls upon Abram during his covenant vision.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Israel uses the covenant language of Genesis 2:23 to declare allegiance to King David.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Contrast: Adam confesses he hid from God because he was naked and afraid.
Supported by Matthew Henry