The Torah · Old Testament
Genesis 2
Life and companionship in Eden
General context
God finishes the work of creation, rests on the seventh day, and blesses and sanctifies it. The account then turns to the man formed from dust and given the breath of life. God places him in a garden to work and keep it, permits him to eat freely from its trees, and forbids eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The man's solitude is described as not good. After the animals are named and no suitable helper is found for him, God makes a woman, whom the man recognizes as bone of his bones and flesh of his flesh.
Cited passages: Genesis 2:1, Genesis 2:2, Genesis 2:3, Genesis 2:7, Genesis 2:8, Genesis 2:15, Genesis 2:16, Genesis 2:17, Genesis 2:18, Genesis 2:19, Genesis 2:20, Genesis 2:21, Genesis 2:22, Genesis 2:23
Genesis 2 (KJV)
1Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
2And 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.
3And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
4These 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,
5And 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.
6But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.
7And 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.
8And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.
9And 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.
10And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.
11The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;
12And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone.
13And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia.
14And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.
15And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
16And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
17But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
18And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.
19And 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 whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.
20And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.
21And 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;
22And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
23And 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.
24Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
25And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
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Historical context
The garden is described as eastward in Eden, with trees that are pleasing to see and good for food, including the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. A river waters the garden and divides into four branches, named Pison, Gihon, Hiddekel and Euphrates. The account names surrounding lands but gives no modern location for Eden. Cultivating the ground, keeping the garden and naming animals form the man's activities. The closing description presents the man and his wife together, naked and without shame.
Cited passages: Genesis 2:8, Genesis 2:9, Genesis 2:10, Genesis 2:11, Genesis 2:12, Genesis 2:13, Genesis 2:14, Genesis 2:15, Genesis 2:19, Genesis 2:20, Genesis 2:25
Literary context
The seventh-day conclusion gives way to a closer account of human life in a garden. Dust, breath, trees, water and food make the scene concrete. Permission to eat freely is followed by a single prohibition. The judgment that solitude is not good precedes the naming of animals and the making of the woman. Naming the animals precedes the man's recognition of the woman in words of shared bone and flesh. A general statement about a man and wife becoming one flesh follows, and the chapter ends with their absence of shame.
Cited passages: Genesis 2:2, Genesis 2:3, Genesis 2:4, Genesis 2:7, Genesis 2:8, Genesis 2:9, Genesis 2:10, Genesis 2:15, Genesis 2:16, Genesis 2:17, Genesis 2:18, Genesis 2:19, Genesis 2:20, Genesis 2:23, Genesis 2:24, Genesis 2:25
Key moments
- The seventh day is blessed (Genesis 2:3). God blesses and sanctifies the day on which he rests from the work of creation.
- Life from dust and breath (Genesis 2:7). God forms the man from the ground and breathes life into him.
- Work entrusted in the garden (Genesis 2:15). The man is placed in Eden to cultivate and keep the garden.
- A companion recognized (Genesis 2:23). The man recognizes the woman as bone of his bones and flesh of his flesh.
For reflection
What do the garden’s provision, the work entrusted to the man and the need for companionship bring into view together?