Genesis 2, Paradise

The first chapter of the Bible describes the initial period of creation of the universe. Now we move on to a description of a special animal that appeared on the sixth day.

Genesis 2:1-4a, The seventh day

Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.

By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created.

The heavens and earth are indeed vast. What is the significance of the seventh day?  Did God need to rest? (NIV footnotes suggest that "rested" could be translated "ceased.")

Verse 4, "this is the account", sounds like a conclusion to the primary account of creation. Now we move on to some details.  John Walton argues that the Hebrew word here, toledoth, often announces a break in the text, moving on to a new topic.  That word, translated here "is the account" is often translated "are the generations of" and in most other occurrences in the Old Testament the word is indeed followed by a genealogy. With this word as a separator, Walton argues that Genesis 1:1 through 2:3 should be read as a single chapter; after this, until the next occurrence of toledoth in Genesis 5:1, we see a more detailed description of this creation.

Genesis 2:4b-9, Garden of Eden

When the LORD God made the earth and the heavens-- and no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth and no plant of the field had yet sprung up, for the LORD God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no man to work the ground, but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground--  the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground--trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

The Hebrew text of verse 4 literally speaks of the day (yom, יוֹם) of creation, collapsing the previous six days into one. The NIV slides over this with the word "When." In this "day", a human is created, the ground is watered and a garden is planted, with a special tree.

NIV footnotes suggest that the word "earth" could be translated "land" and that "streams" could be translated "mist."  The Hebrew for human, adam ( אָדָם), is closely related to the word adamah (אֲדָמָה) for ground.

Genesis 2:10-14, The rivers of the Garden 

A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there.) The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush. The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Asshur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

Notice how the writer assumes that his readers know of these rivers.  The writer describes some of the richness of the nearby land. The locations of these ancient rivers is speculative; see for example the Wikipedia page on Havilah. The land of Cush, says the NIV, is "possibly southeast Mesopotamia." Tim Mackie, in his course on Ezekiel (see this video, around the sixth minute) argues that this river flowing out of Eden moves off to the four corners of the earth, watering lands such as Egypt and Assyria.

Genesis 2:15-17, Man's calling 

The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." 

Mankind is assigned to work in Paradise, this before the Fall. Good creative work is not a result of the fall, but a natural part of God's paradise.

There is only one proscription... to not eat from that one special tree.

Genesis 2:18-20, Naming all the creatures

The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."

Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found.

During this Creation Day, the human gets to "name" the animals in God's creation, observing and identifying them. This is a special, supervisory role. But in this study, this human is always alone.

In verse 20, the name "Adam" is merely the Hebrew word for "human."

Genesis 2:21-25, Eve

So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. 

The man said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called `woman,' for she was taken out of man."

For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.

To solve the adam's need for a partner, a woman is created. The last verses of this chapter summarize the theme of marriage, of an adult human leaving one's family and "becoming one flesh" with another, creating a new family.

In Genesis 1:27 we see "male and female" humans created and so the woman (later named Eve) was created on Day Six of the Genesis 1 account.

The Hebrew word tsela is translated "rib" by the NIV, but it is more literally "side" or "chamber", not a rib.

Some Hebrew Vocabulary

Our Hebrew word for the day is adam, a masculine noun, "man, human."

אָדָם

Some Random Thoughts

Day Seven of Creation, unlike the previous six days, is not given an ending in 2:2. Then in verse 2:4, the first six (or seven) days are summarized as a single, very active, "day", a day during which the "human" identifies and catalogues all the animals and then, lonely, is given a partner, a helpmate. The author's flexible use of "day" throughout this report fits the culture of the ANE and is not an attempt to give a historical timeline.

First published Jan 3, 2023; updated Jan 2, 2026