Chapter 2 finishes the story of creation, and then gives us a more detailed account of the creation of the human
1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
When the Bible was first written and translated, there were no chapter or verse separations. In fact, there was neither punctuation nor space between the words! It looked something like this:
Inthebeginninggodcreatedtheheavensandtheearthandtheearthwaswithoutformandvoidanddarknesswasuponethefaceoftheearth
Punctuation, chapters and verses were all added later (in the Geneva Bible in 1560). Sometimes those divisions were made based simply on when the translator needed to go to bed; he’d just start a new chapter the next morning. The first few verses of chapter two are part of the story told in chapter one.
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 that in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made.
Why did God rest? Was He tired? No, of course not. He chose to take six days to make the world and rest the seventh as an example to us. Our bodies need to work for six days and rest for one. It is important we follow this pattern for our health.
Also, our spirits need at least one day out of seven to focus on our Creator. This is rest to our souls.
My family chooses to take most of Saturday for physical rest (most of the time. We aren’t religious about it) and take Sunday to rest our souls by worshiping our God and fellowshipping with His followers.
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,
This is the end of the over-all Creation account. This gives us an overview of what God did. It may well have been in song format in the original. Next we begin the detailed account of the sixth day.
5 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon 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.
This sounds like a contradiction; “every plant before it was in the earth…there went up a mist from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground.” Almost like the plants came from somewhere besides earth. But the word “earth” here comes from the Hebrew word “’erets” meaning;
- firm,
- earth,
- land,
- common,
- country,
- field,
- ground,
- nations,
- way,
- wilderness,
- world
"4 And this is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens,
5 And [the history of] every plant of the field before it was in the country [of Eden] and every herb of the field before it grew [everywhere]: for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the world and there was not a man to till the ground [and spread the seeds around and water them].
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 of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
God did not breath the Breath Of Life into any other part of Creation. I believe this is when man received his soul as well as his life.
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 made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the Tree of Life also in the midst of the garden, and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.
God took some of the plants and their seeds that He had created three days ago and planted them in Eden; everything that was good for food, especially trees, it seems.
He put two trees in the middle of the garden; the Tree of Life (which would have given immortality to those who ate of it) and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The Tree of Life is mentioned again in Revelation as being in Heaven where all believers will get to eat of it. It evidently blooms and produces fruit all year long. (Must be chocolate as it, too, blooms and produces fruit all year long. Joke.)
Before eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and evil, mankind would not have known what sin was any more than an animal does. He would have learned eventually (due to his possession of a soul) through his continued resisting temptation and his obedience to God.
However, it was no surprise to God when man fell and He provided for it in His plan before He even began building the world. God did not want robots running around. He wanted us to truly love Him.
To do this, we must have had a choice. Without a choice we would have been no different than monkeys, just smarter. This would not have fulfilled God’s plans for a people who choose to worship and serve Him.
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: that is it 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 is it that compasses the whole land of Ethiopia.
14 And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goes toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.
This set of verses lends support to the theory that Adam wrote this part of the Bible. By the time of Moses, no such garden or riverheads existed. The river through Ethiopia would have to be the Nile. The Euphrates and the Nile flow in completely different directions and there is no way they could possibly have the same origin. This had to have been rivers and countries from before the flood that no longer exist but whose names were carried forward and applied to new features in the new world.
15 And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the Garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
God gave man work from the start. Man (humans) need work in order to be healthy and happy. Without it, he becomes bored and temperamental.
However, this was no high-demand job. He had to keep a garden in a time with no weeds, no winter, no drought. His duties would have been pruning, planting, and harvesting; very pleasant work to be sure.
16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden thou may freely eat:
17 But of the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, thou shall not eat of it: for in the day that thou eat thereof thou shall surely die.”
The first prophecy, so to speak. More of a promise really. Adam had the choice of every tree to eat from except that one. He even had the choice of the Tree of Life.
Instead of “the day that thou eat thereof thou shalt surely die,” this should properly be translated “the day that thou eat thereof, dying, thou shall die.” In other words, “the day that you eat of that tree is the day you begin to die.” From the time we all reach maturity we are dying. Slowly, to be sure. But dying just the same.
18 And the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone: I will make him an help meet for him.”
Notice that it doesn’t say that Adam was lonely yet. But God still knew that Adam was incomplete and would need companionship and help in order to accomplish his assignment. Adam would be given the job of conquering, caring for and populating the earth. He had the logic and drive to conquer and care for the earth, but the populating part would be hard to handle the way God made him.
Of course, God could have made him where he could reproduce without help. He made some animals that way (the snail, for example).
But He had a better plan.
- He wanted a couple; a man to represent God and a woman to represent the Church.
- He wanted someone to show God’s power and someone to show God’s gentleness.
- He wanted someone to show God’s strength and someone to show God’s beauty.
19 And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.
“Adam” is Hebrew for “man.” This is the same word used in chapter one and translated “man.”
This doesn’t say that this is the time God created each animal. It says He had made them all from the ground and now brought them to Adam to be named.
Why would God bring animals to Adam? Didn’t he know they couldn’t be his help meet?
Of course He did.
But Adam didn’t.
This was Adam’s Sex Education class.
20 And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the fields; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.
Imagine having the mental ability to name all the species of land animals and the birds all in one day? It appears that Adam had a more fully functioning brain than we do.
As for the time this would have taken, remember God did not create two Poodles and two German Shepherds and two Collies. He only created two dogs, probably the ancestors not only all of our domestic dog breeds but also the wolves, dingoes, possibly coyotes and several others we now call separate “species.”
He also only made two equines; our modern horse, donkey, and zebra all being descended from them. The fact that they can’t successfully interbreed now is due to a degrading of the genetic code, a result of the Fall. This is different than evolution because evolution requires an increase in the genetic code, an adding of new information, not the loss of information apparent since the Fall.
Now Adam understands he is alone. He named Mr. and Mrs. Lion, Mr. and Mrs. Bluebird, Mr. and Mrs. Horse, and so on. He now realizes he is the only one without a Mrs. Now he is lonely. Now he will appreciate God’s next creation.
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 instead thereof;
22 And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
The first surgery in history- a ribectomy.
Why didn’t God make Eve from the dirt like He had done with Adam and the animals?
- He wanted her to be part of Adam, truly one.
- She wasn’t made from a bone in his foot because then he would have walked all over her, or one from his head because she would have ruled over him.
- He used a bone from under Adam’s arm so he would protect her and from by his heart so he would love her.
- Man and woman are to be truly one just as the church and God are to be truly one. When the church acts, it is the same to the world as if God acts. And God uses the church to do His will.
- A woman is her husband’s help meet; his helper to accomplish his calling in life. That is her purpose.
- And just as God protects the church and provides for her all she needs, the man is to protect and provide for his wife (physically, mentally, spiritually).
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.”
He was impressed.
“Man” here is from the Hebrew word “eesh” meaning a male person or husband. The other times the word “man” is used in this and the preceding chapter it is from the Hebrew word “adam” meaning ruddy, a human being, an individual, the species of mankind, person.”
“Woman” is from the Hebrew word “ishshah” meaning “a woman, female, wife.” This is the feminine form of “eesh” plus the word for “pit, well, or engrave.” She was taken from the pit of his side and was beautifully carved.
24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
I wonder if the original author put this here or if it was a footnote added by Moses? Either way, “This is why a man leaves his own family and marries a woman forming a whole new family:
1) It is not good for ANY man to be alone. He should seek a wife (except in rare cases of God calling someone to a life of celibacy).
He was impressed.
“Man” here is from the Hebrew word “eesh” meaning a male person or husband. The other times the word “man” is used in this and the preceding chapter it is from the Hebrew word “adam” meaning ruddy, a human being, an individual, the species of mankind, person.”
“Woman” is from the Hebrew word “ishshah” meaning “a woman, female, wife.” This is the feminine form of “eesh” plus the word for “pit, well, or engrave.” She was taken from the pit of his side and was beautifully carved.
24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
I wonder if the original author put this here or if it was a footnote added by Moses? Either way, “This is why a man leaves his own family and marries a woman forming a whole new family:
1) It is not good for ANY man to be alone. He should seek a wife (except in rare cases of God calling someone to a life of celibacy).
- Proverbs 18:22 says, “Whoso finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor of the LORD.”
- Proverbs 31:10 says, (in paraphrase) "Who can find a woman who acts in conformity to moral law, performs her moral duties, and abstains from vice? Her worth is far more than the most precious of gemstones." From “Rubies, Silk, and Chocolate Covered Peanuts” by Betty Tracy available at http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/bettysbooks and for free from Mom.TracyEnt.com
2) A man does not marry and stay with his parents. They form a new family. To stay under the authority of your parents after marriage is to ruin the symbolism of the God/church relationship. There is no one over God in authority. There should be no one over a man, except God.
3) It is very bad for a marriage for the man and woman to be trying to obey their parents and have godly roles towards each other. It is nearly impossible to do. God meant for a man and woman to be a separate entity with its own calling separate from their parent’s callings.
25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
Shame of our nakedness comes from sin. A small child too young to understand right and wrong will show no shame of their naked body (ask any mother whose child has learned to take their clothes off just when company is visiting!) Though they can be taught to leave their clothes on, it isn’t until they understand right and wrong that a true shame of their nakedness sets in.
25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
Shame of our nakedness comes from sin. A small child too young to understand right and wrong will show no shame of their naked body (ask any mother whose child has learned to take their clothes off just when company is visiting!) Though they can be taught to leave their clothes on, it isn’t until they understand right and wrong that a true shame of their nakedness sets in.