The First Book of Moses, Called Genesis

Chapter 2

The first Sabbath, 1-3. Further particulars concerning the manner of creation, 4-7. The planting of the garden of Eden and its situation, 8-14; man is placed in it; and the tree of knowledge only forbidden, 15-17. The animals are named by Adam, 18. The making of woman and the institution of marriage, 21-25.

1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made. And he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. 3 And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

4 These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens. 5 And no plant of the field was yet in the earth and no herb of the field had yet grown, because the LORD God had not caused it to rain on the earth and there was not a man to till the ground. 6 But there went up a mist from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground. 7 And the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. And man became a living soul. 8 And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 And out of the ground the LORD God made every tree to grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, and also the tree of life in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

10 And a river went out of Eden to water the garden. And from there it was parted and became into four heads. 11 The name of the first is Pison, which compasses the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 And the gold of that land is good. There is bdellium and the onyx-stone. 13 And the name of the second river is Gihon, the same that compasses the whole land of Cush. 14 And the name of the third river is Hiddekel, which flows toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.

15 And the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "From every tree of the garden you may freely eat. 17 But from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat from it. For in the day that you eat from it you shall surely die."

18 And the LORD God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone. I will make him a helper suitable for him." 19 And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called every living creature, that was its name. 20 And Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field, but for Adam, a helper suitable for him was not found. 21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept. And he took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh in its place. 22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from the man, he made into a woman, and brought her to the man.

23 And Adam said,

"This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh./
She shall be called Woman,/
because she was taken out of man."

24 Therefore, a man shall leave his father and his mother and shall cleave to his wife, and they shall be one flesh. 25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

Commentary

Matthew Henry Commentary - Genesis, Chapter 2[➚]

Notes

[v.2] - Quoted in Hebrews 4:4.

[v.4a] - "These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth" - LXX: "This is the book of the generation of heaven and earth." The Greek text contains the phrase, “ἡ βίβλος γενέσεως,” which is where we get the title of this book, The Book of Genesis.

[v.4b] - LORD - The word, LORD, in all caps, is the English rendering of the Jewish national name of God, יְהֹוָה, or Yahweh (a.k.a. Jehovah—though this form is arguably improper). See also, Exodus 6:3; Psalm 83:18; Isaiah 51:22; Jeremiah 16:21; Amos 5:8; etc.

[v.6] - "a mist" - LXX: "a fountain."

[v.7] - See also, Genesis 1:26-27. Quoted in 1st Corinthians 15:45.

[v.9] - "the tree of knowledge of good and evil" - LXX: "the tree of learning the knowledge of good and evil."

[v.15] - "the garden of Eden" - LXX: "the garden of Delight."

[v.22-24] - These verses make up the first marriage ceremony ever performed, which was that of Adam and Eve performed by God Himself.

[v.24] - Quoted in Matthew 19:5; Mark 10:7; 1st Corinthians 6:16; Ephesians 5:31.

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