VERSE 1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts (~a'b'c.-lk'w> #r,a'h'w> ~yIm;V'h; WLkuy>w: [waw w/Pual impf.3m.p. kakah accomplish, complete, finish + def.art.w/noun m.p. shamayim heaven + waw w/def.art.w/noun both s.abs. erets earth + waw w/noun m.s.constr. kol all + noun both s.constr.w/3m.p.suff. tsaba army; "hosts"]).

VERSE 2 By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done (hf'[' rv,a] ATk.al;m. y[iybiV.h; ~AYB; ~yhil{a/ lk;y>w: [waw w/Piel impf.3m.s. kakah accomplish + noun m.p.abs. Elohim + prep beth w/noun m.s.abs. yom day + def.art.w/adj.m.s.abs. shebi-it seventh + noun f.s.const.w/3m.s.suff. mela-kah work, labor + rel.pro. asher which + Qal perf.3m.s. ashah do], and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done [hf'[' rv,a] ATk.al;m.-lK'mi y[iybiV.h; ~AYB; tBov.YIw: [waw w/Qal impf.3m.s. shabath rest + prep beth w/noun m.s.abs. yom day + def.art.w/adj.m.s.abs. shebi-it seventh + prep min from w/noun m.s.constr. kol all + noun f.s.constr.w/3m.s.suff. melakah work + rel.pro. asher which + Qal perf.3m.s. ashah do]).

VERSE 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it (Atao vDeq;y>w: y[iybiV.h; ~Ay-ta, ~yhil{a/ %r,b'y>w: [waw w/Piel impf.3m.s. barak bless + noun m.p.abs. Elohim + d.o.marker w/noun m.s.abs. yom day + def.art.w/adj.m.s.abs. shebi-it seventh + waw w/Piel impf.3m.s. qadash to consecrate, sanctify + d.o. marker "it"], because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made [tAf[]l; ~yhil{a/ ar'B'-rv,a] ATk.al;m.-lK'mi tb;v' Ab yKi [part ki for, since + prep beth w/3m.s.suff "in it" + Qal perf.3m.s. shabath rest + prep min from w/noun m.s.constr. kol all + noun f.s.constr.w/3m.s.suff. melakah work + rel.pro. asher + Qal perf.3m.s. bara created + noun m.p.abs. Elohim + prep lamedh w/Qal infin.constr. ashah make, do, fashion]).

ANALYSIS: VERSES 1-3

1. The first three verses of this chapter should have concluded chapter one.
2. There is no reason to make a chapter break in the account between 1:31 and 2:1.
3. The medieval chapter division at this point separates the 7^th day from days one through 6.
4. These verses form an appropriate conclusion to the account of the six day restoration/creation.
5. At the conclusion of D+6 "the heavens and earth, and all the host of them were finished."
6. The subject of the verb "were completed" is threefold: "heavens," "earth," and "their host" (this is reflected in the revised translation in point 5).
7. Out of a state of TOHU WABOHU God brought the earth into a condition of beauty and utility for its most favored occupant created in the divine image.
8. "Were completed" is a pual imperfect (3p.) of the verb hlK (kalah).
9. It views the on-going activity over the six days culminating in a completed project.
10. Only the One perfect in power and wisdom could have done so wondrously.
11. "The heavens" refer to the 1^st (earth’s atmosphere) and 2^nd (arrangement of the solar system, etc.) heavens.
12. The earth proper refers to the separation of land from water as that was the one thing that affected the earth proper so as to establish life on land.
13. "Their host" (singular noun tsaba host/army) refers to those things that occupy heaven and earth.
14. The stars (Deut. 4:19), and in 1Kgs. 22:19, the angels are referred to by this term.
15. Here the heavenly luminaries are in view in connection with the heavens.
16. As for the earth, the "host" applies to all life forms generated on days 3-6.
17. "And on the seventh day God ended (Piel kalah) His work which He had done (Qal perf. ashah)" is the preferred translation of v.2.
18. The "work which He had done" refers to all He accomplished on days 1 through 6, and not to anything He did previous to the days of restoration (e.g., Gen.1:1).
19. The framework here is the first week of the history of mankind starting with the illumination of the earth and proceeding forward to the establishment of man upon the earth.
20. "His work" (melakah) carries the connotation of one’s business or area of expertise.
21. The entire and completed project is spoken of as being ashahed (2x in v2).
22. This is the general term and the appropriate term when referring to the totality of the project.
23. Compare Ex. 40:33 where "Moses finished the work" of erection of the tabernacle.
24. God’s approval of His work for the six days is seen in 1:31a: "God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good."
25. By the 7^th day there was nothing more to be done, so God "rested" on that first Saturday "from all the work which He had done."
26. Obviously this should be taken in the sense of God rested because His work was finished and not for any other reason.
27. So the sense here is "desist from work."
28. God did not name the day, the Sabbath, as it later came to be so designated.
29. It is striking that the 7^th day is not referred as the Sabbath.
30. Furthermore, God did not command Adam to keep the Sabbath.
31. The Sabbath was institutionalized with the giving of the Law.
32. Until that happened there was no law ordering men to keep the Sabbath.
33. The Sabbath idea is as old as Genesis chapter two.
34. But a highly regimented Sabbath observance was reserved for Israel living under the Law.
35. What is intended for men to take from the divine rest on the 7^th day is that man should himself take time off from his labors.
36. Even though the 7^th day is not called the Sabbath, God "blessed" it and "sanctified" it.
37. Here these terms are applied to a day.
38. Biblical usage generally confines these terms to animate objects−God, men, and animals.
39. It is not immediately obvious in what sense a day can be blessed in perpetuity.
40. Divine blessing of animals and men results in reproductive fecundity.
41. Here the association of a specifically blessed day is that those who honor the Sabbath principle are those who take a day out of the week to rest from their labors.
42. Furthermore, the 7^th day is the very first thing to be "sanctified" in Scripture.
43. When an otherwise ordinary thing is set apart or sanctified then it is placed in a class by itself.
44. It is this day that man should acknowledge as the day the Creator rested and man should honor the principle and take time off work and reflect upon God and His goodness.
45. Maybe that is what the righteous of those days did on the 7^th day.
46. It became for them the day they set aside for worship (cf. Gen 4:3-4).
47. Man created in the image of God aspiring to the likeness of God would have caught the clue to emulated the Creator by setting aside a day to rest from his labors.
48. The final words of the restoration narrative are the phrase "from all His work which God had created in reference to the making of it" (Qal perfect bara followed by Qal infinitive ashah with the prefix lamedh).
49. This covers specifically the 6 days of restoration recorded in chapter 1:3-31.
50. Gen. 1:1 and 1:2 constitute necessary background information as how the earth came to be in the state it was when D+1 commenced.

Eden Home of Adam and Eve (vv. 4-25)

The Gardener (vv. 4-7)

VERSE 4 This is the account [offsprings] of the heavens and the earth when they were created (~a'r>B'hiB. #r,a'h'w> ~yIm;V'h; tAdl.At hL,ae [~a'r>B'hiB. #r,a'h'w> ~yIm;V'h; tAdl.At hL,a [adj.p.abs. elleh these + noun f.p.constr. toledoth descendants, proceedings, results; history; "account" + def.art.w/noun m.p.abs. shamayim heavens + waw w/def.art.w/noun both s.abs. erets earth + prep beth w/Niphal infin.constr.w/3m.p.suff. bara create], in the day that the LORD God made earth and heaven [~yIm'v'w> #r,a, ~yhil{a/ hw"hy> tAf[] ~AyB. [prep beth w/noun m.s.abs. yom day + Qal infin.constr. ashah make + proper noun abs Yahweh + noun m.p.abs. Elohim + noun both s.abs. erets earth + waw w/noun m.p.abs. shamayim heavens]).

ANALYSIS: VERSE 4

1. Verse 3 concludes the first section of Genesis and verse 4 begins the second section of this book.
2. In this verse we encounter the first of ten appearances of the formulaic "This is the account [toledoth]of the generations…" (cf. 6:9; 10:1; 11:10, 27: 25:12, 19; 36:1,9; 37:2).
3. This first example differs from the others in that it describes "the generations of the heavens and the earth" while the other nine examples introduce the descendants of some individual or a narrative about some person (e.g., Noah, sons of Noah/Terah/Ishmael/Issac/Esau/Jacob).
4. Something like "offspring/descendants" fits most of the last nine, so it may seem strange to refer to the "offspring" or "children" of the heavens and the earth, but that is exactly what Gen. 2:4 intends.
5. The phrase "the generations of the heavens and the earth" does not describe the process by which the heavens and earth are generated, but rather that which is generated by the heavens and the earth.
6. The process as laid down in 1:1-2:3 is introduced by this header.
7. This whole process beginning from original creation and proceeding through the six days of restoration culminate in a garden.
8. Another curiosity of this verse is the sudden shift in the name for deity from simply "God" to Yahweh Elohim.
9. This combination is consistently found throughout the rest of this chapter and the next (chap. 3).
10. It is found 19x in all but only 1x elsewhere in the Pentateuch (Ex. 9:3).
11. There are many instances of such phrases as "Yahweh, our God," "Yahweh your God," "Yahweh, the God of heaven," "Yahweh, the God of Abraham," and so forth.
12. Then there is "Adonai Yahweh" which occurs in 15:2,8.
13. Compound names were used in the Near East among the heathen as in the Egyptian Amon-Re.
14. The more generic name Elohim fits the context of Gen. 1 where the account is impersonal.
15. Here the personal aspect is reflected in Yahweh Elohim.
16. The God who is sovereign (Elohim) is also a personal God (Yahweh).
17. Interestingly, the first conversation using God’s name, the serpent quotes Elohim, not Yahweh (Gen.3:1b-5).
18. Note the subtle change of the word order "God made earth and heaven" versus "heaven and earth (v.4b)."
19. What God "created" (niphal infin. bara)in v.4a is what we find in Gen. 1:1.
20. What God "made" (Qal infin. Ashah) is what we find in Gen. 1:2-31).
21. The one refers to original creation the other to the six day restoration.
22. The prepositional phrase "in the day" is not a reference to a 24 hour period but is an expression for a indefinite period of time defined by the context.
23. An example of this usage is "day of the Lord."
24. The term "day" can be used for a 24 hour period, less than 24 hours or more than 24 hours.

 

VERSE 5 Now no shrub of the field was yet in the earth (#r,a'b' hy<h.yI ~r,j, hd,F'h; x;yfi lkow [waw w/noun m.s.abs. kol all, any; "no" + noun m.s.conste. shiach shrub, plant + def.art.w/noun m.s.abs. shadeh field + adv terem not yet + Qal impf.3m.s. hayah be + prep beth w/noun both s.abs. erets earth], and no plant of the field had yet sprouted [xm'c.yI ~r,j, hd,F'h; bf,[e-lk'w> [waw w/noun m.s.constr. kol all, any, "no" + noun m.s.abs. esheb plant, herb + def.art.w/noun m.s.abs. shadeh field + adv terem not yet + Qal impf.3m.s. tsamach sprout], for the LORD God had not sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground [hm'd'a]h'-ta, dbo[]l; !yIa; ~d'a'w> #r,a'h'-l[; ~yhil{a/ hw"hy> ryjim.hi al{ yKi [part ki for + neg lo + Hiphil perf.3m.s. matar rain + proper noun Yahweh + noun m.p.abs. Elohim + prep al upon + def.art.w/noun both s.abs. erets earth + waw w/noun m.s.abs. adam man + adv ayin no + prep lamedh w/Qal infin.constr. abadh work; "cultivate" + d.o.marker w/def.art.w/noun f.s.abs. adamah ground]).

VERSE 6 But a mist used to rise from the earth and water the whole surface of the ground (hm'd'a]h'-ynEP.-lK'-ta, hq'v.hiw> #r,a'h'-!mi hl,[]y: daew> [waw w/noun m.s.abs. edh mist; Job 36:27 + Qal impf.3m.s. alah go up + prep min from + def.art.w/noun both s.abs. erets earth + waw w/Hiphil perf.3m.s. shaqah irrigate, give drink to + d.o. marker w/noun m.s.const. kol all + noun m.p.constr. panim face; surface + def.art.w/noun f.s.abs. adamah ground]).

ANALYSIS: VERSES 5-6

1. The scene described here is that of a barren landscape.
2. The only possibility that makes any sense as to what is being referred to here is the earth or dry ground before God created plant life.
3. This took place on D+3 of the restoration week (cf. Gen. 1:9-10).
4. Immediately after God raised the sea bed and made Pangea He established plant life in the barren soil (Gen. 1:11-12).
5. This took place on the 3^rd day (Gen. 1:13).
6. The phrase "no plant of the field had yet sprouted" again refers back to the situation on D+3.
7. Also, prior to the Flood there was no "rain upon the earth."
8. God is the rainmaker, and water is essential to plant growth.
9. The answer to the watering factor for the antediluvian world is seen in v.6.
10. "No shrub" refers to plants that are not edible (Heb. Siach is not found in chapter 1, but see 21:15 where young Ishmael was placed under a shrub by his mother and Job 30:4,7 where the "trogs" frolicked), while "plant of the field" suggests plants that are suitable for cultivation for food.
11. The two kinds of plants are here presented because they stand in contrast to one another.
12. One grows wild and the other needs cultivation to flourish and provide food for large numbers of people efficiently.
13. God provided the all plant life and he made provision for their watering (v.6).
14. God is not the tiller of the soil so he made provision for that when He created man.
15. At the outset of D+3 the three (or four) things mentioned in the history or generations or offspring of the heavens and the earth in this verse that were not present are: shrubs/plants, rain, and a human tiller of the soil.
16. Water falling out of the sky is strictly a post-diluvian phenomenon.
17. Plants appearing in fields did were not a reality until Cain became an adult (Gen. 4:2-3).
18. God made provision for the watering of plants before the Flood by a "mist" that would "rise from the earth and water the whole surface of the ground."
19. This was all made possible by the presence of the water vapor canopy set up on D+2 (Gen. 1:5-6).
20. This greenhouse effect accounts for a variety of environmental factors for life under the canopy.
21. The very rare term "mist" occurs only here and in Job 36:27b in connection with evaporation and the make-up of clouds.
22. This "mist" is comparable to our dew.
23. This toledoth (or history) is designed to accomplish one main objective and that is how it was that plant life came exist in a special garden with a gardener.

The Gardener (v.7)

VERSE 7 Then the LORD God formed man of [from] dust from the ground (hm'd'a]h'-!mi rp'[' ~d'a'h'-ta, ~yhil{a/ hw"hy> rc,yYIw: [waw w/Qal impf.3m.s. yatsar form, fashion, sculpt + proper noun Yahweh + noun m.p.abs. Elohim + d.o. marker + def.art.w/noun m.s.abs. adam man + noun m.s.abs. aphar dust + prep min from + def.art.w/noun f.s.abs. adamah ground], and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life [yhiy>w: ~yYIx; tm;v.nI wyP'a;B. xP;YIw: [waw w/Qal impf.3m.s. naphach breathe, blow + prep beth w/noun m. dual constr.w/3m.s.suff. aph nostril + noun f.s.constr. neshamah breath + noun m.p.abs. chay living; "lives"]; and man became a living being [soul] [hY"x; vp,n<l. ~d'a'h' [def.art.w/noun m.s.abs. adam man + prep lamedh w/noun f.s.abs. nephesh soul + adj.f.s.abs. chay living]).

ANALYSIS: VERSE 7

1. Actually verses 4b-7 are one long sentence in the Hebrew, containing an protasis (v.4b), a series of circumstantial clauses (vv. 5-6), and an apodosis (v.7).
2. We are informed in the protasis that God the artisan formed man from the dust of the ground.
3. The Hebrew here uses a play on words "God formed earthling from the earth."
4. He formed ha-adam from ha-adamah.
5. The verb "formed" (Qal impf yatsar) is used to describe the vocation of a potter (2Sam. 17:28; Isa. 29:16; Jer. 18:2,3,4,11).
6. This term is used in Isa. 44:12 to describe the work of an ironsmith on metals (e.g. "forge").
7. Here the reference is to Adam’s physical person, that is, human anatomy in all its incredible detail.
8. In Job 33:6 Elihu says that he was "formed out of clay" (Pual perf qarats).
9. Job reminds God that he was made clay in 10:9 (Qal perf ashah).
10. In 1:26 we have mankind being made out of something already in existence, and that something is the divine plan as seen in the words "Let us make man…"
11. But there the reference has nothing whatsoever to do with the physical person but is confined to the living soul as noted in the words "image" and "likeness."
12. In 1:27 the execution verses has God creating out of nothing the living soul in His image.
13. The human body is a house for the soul (cf. 2Cor. 5:1-2).
14. Here we have the history or record of the building of that house, a fact not mentioned in Genesis 1.
15. The human body is made from dust that is chemicals that makeup the soil.
16. We have a science we call biochemistry.
17. Various elements found in the periodic chart occur in the bones and flesh of humans.
18. Put another way there is nothing that makes up the human body that is not found in the soil.
19. According to this verse the God formed the body and then He "breathed into his nostrils the breath of life."
20. Abraham restated this truth in Gen. 18:27 "Now behold, although I am dust and ashes."
21. Actually all living things are "dust."
22. "The man" of this verse Paul identifies with Adam in 1Cor. 15:45.
23. Whenever the term adam is found with the definite article it refers to mankind or man, and when used without the article it is used of a specific individual, in this case Adam.
24. Here it is with the article.
25. Into Adam’s nostrils God blows "the breath of life" (neshemah chayyim).
26. Man is the recipient of the divine breath and the result is stated as "man became a living soul."
27. Until God did this Adam was a lifeless corpse.
28. If the process is reversed man dies (cf. Job 34:14-15; Isa. 37:36; Lk. 23:46; Jam. 2:26).
29. The human soul is immortal (Matt. 10:28), while the human body is mortal.
30. All of Adam’s descendants follow the same pattern; namely, the body comes first then the living soul.
31. At birth God imparts the soul to the newborn (or not).
32. The living soul is given out from the womb.
33. All souls are created ex nihilo.
34. The human soul is created in the image of God not the human body.
35. The TSELEM factor is that the soul is immaterial, immortal, possessing free will, conscience and self-determination and self-conscience.
36. Adam’s first inhale of air was when he received his soul and so it is with each and every newborn.
37. Conversely when a person dies he takes in his final breath (cf. Gen. 25:8, 17; 35:29; 49:33; Josh. 10:40; 11:11,14; Matt. 15:37, 39; Acts 5:5,10; cp. Jn. 20:22).
38. Simultaneous with the giving of the soul God filled Adam’s lungs with air/breath.
39. Adam continued to live on for 930 years.
40. The living soul is the ‘real you’ and is your most valuable possession; to gain everything an lose it is the greatest of all losses (Mk. 8:36 "What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul."

The Garden (vv. 8-14)

The Trees (vv. 8-9)

VERSE 8 The LORD God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden (~d,Q,mi !d,[eB.-!G: ~yhil{a/ hw"hy> [J;YIw: [waw w/Qal impf.3m.s. nata plant + proper noun Yahweh + noun m.p.abs. Elohim + noun both s.abs. gan garden; 10x in Genesis 2 & 3; also at SoS 4:12; Lam. 2:6 + prep beth w/proper noun Eden + prep min from w/noun m.s.abs. qedem east]; and there He placed the man whom He had formed [rc'y" rv,a] ~d'a'h'-ta, ~v' ~f,Y"w: [waw w/Qal impf.3m.s. shum place + adv sham there + d.o. marker + def.art.w/noun m.s. adam man + rel.pro. asher which + Qal perf.3m.s. yatsar fashion, form]).

VERSE 9 Out of the ground the LORD God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food (lk'a]m;l. bAjw> ha,r>m;l. dm'x.n< #[e-lK' hm'd'a]h'-!mi ~yhil{a/ hw"hy> xm;c.Y:w: [waw w/Hiphil impf.3m.s. tsamach sprout; "caused to grow" + proper noun Yahweh + noun m.p. Elohim + prep min from + def.art.w/noun f.s.abs. adamah ground + noun m.s.constr. kol every + noun m.s.abs. ets tree + Niphal part.m.s.abs. chamadh desire; "desirable" or "pleasing" + prep lamedh w/noun m.s.abs. mare-eh vision; "to the sight" + waw w/adj.m.s.abs. tobh good + prep lamedh w/noun m.s.abs. ma-akal food]; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil [[r'w" bAj t[;D;h; #[ew> !G"h; %AtB. ~yYIx;h; #[ew> [waw w/noun m.s.abs. ets tree + def.art.w/noun m.p.abs. chayyim live + prep beth w/noun ms.constre. tawek midst, middle + def.art.w/noun both s.abs. gan garden + waw w/noun m.s.constr. ets tree + def.art.w/noun f.s.abs. da-ath knowledge + noun m.s.abs. tob good + waw w/adj.m.s.abs. ra evil]).

ANALYSIS: VERSES 8-9

1. The historical narrator now provides physical and geographical insights into the designated home where the man and the woman would live until the Fall.
2. The planting of a garden presumably took place on D+3 when God covered Pangea with plants.
3. All plants were created on that day, including a special place on Pangea called Eden.
4. The etymology of this term is pleasure or delight.
5. In 3:23 of the LXX the expression "paradise of delight" (paradeison tes tryphes) refers to Eden.
6. The term Paradise comes from this LXX translation.
7. This term in used in the Bible to represent the believer in Ph3 (Lk. 23:43; 2Cor. 12:4; Rev. 2:7) whether below in Sheol, or above in heaven, or in the new creation.
8. The location appears to be a plain or flatland between the Tigris and Euphrates in southern Mesopotamia.
9. The cognate verb adan occurs only one in the Hithpael stem− "to delight oneself" (Neh. 9:25) and related words include ‘edna,’ "pleasure" (Gen. 18:12) and ‘edina,’ "pleasure seeker" (Isa. 47:8).
10. Other expressions for this garden include "the garden of Yahweh" (Gen. 13:10; Isa. 51:3) and "the garden of God" (Ezek. 31:8).
11. East is where the sun rises and so symbolizes light and life.
12. By contrast the west is symbolic of death.
13. Interestingly in Egypt all the gods of life are on the east bank and all the pyramids and gods of death are on the west bank.
14. The garden of Eden was a temple-garden, represented later in the Tabernacle with its three distinct areas.
15. The Holy of Holies parallels the Garden proper; the Holy Place represents the territory known as Eden, and everything else on Pangea is the third area.
16. According to Ezek. 28:13 there is a heavenly Eden where once Lucifer served God.
17. The final and permanent representation of this is the New Jerusalem with its beauty and trees (Rev. 20-21).
18. In Genesis all movement toward the east is typically negative, in the context of judgment (3:24; 4:16), vainglory and greed (11:2; 13:11), and alienation (25:6).
19. Adam, after his creation Adam was "placed" by God in this paradise.
20. This indicates that God had a geographical will for the man and the woman within the vast content of Pangea.
21. Verse 9 focuses on the trees within the Garden.
22. The first part of this verse provides the background to the existence of trees in Eden.
23. "Out of the ground the LORD God caused to grow (Hiph) every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food" was fulfilled on D+3 (1:11-12).
24. The trees are classified according to whether they gave pleasure primarily thorough the eye-gate or through the taste buds.
25. The aesthetic aspect is seen in the words "every tree that is pleasing to the sight," and the culinary aspect is seen in the words "good for food."
26. Normal people like attractive surroundings and all people need to eat to survive.
27. The human body of this creation requires food and drink to stay healthy and not perish.
28. Two very special trees also resided within the Garden.
29. The Tree of Live(s) was located in the dead center of the Garden and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was somewhere in the immediate vicinity.
30. These two trees contained within their fruit the potential to radically change human genetics.
31. These were super trees, just like the trees that grace the New Jerusalem.
32. There was only one each of these trees on the earth at that time.
33. Both were in Eden.
34. As will be demonstrated later in chapter 3 these two trees were not merely symbolic but they contained the power to transform human genetics.
35. The term "Tree of Life" occurs 3x in Genesis (2:9; 3:22, 24).
36. In Proverbs "tree of life" is used in a strictly metaphorical fashion for the what BD does for the one who receives it (Prov. 3:18; 11:30; 13:12; 15:4).
37. Otherwise it is used of its counterpart in connection with the New Jerusalem (Rev. 2:7; 22:2, 14, 19).
38. Only twice does the OT refer to the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, here and at v.17 (Adam is told to not eat from this tree).
39. The harmful and deadly genetic alteration that resulted when Eve and Adam ate involves two major hits upon their physiology.
40. The death or aging gene came to them through the dynamic of the fruit and the sin nature gene came as well.
41. Knowledge means of course an awareness of something good or bad.
42. The sin nature is called in the NT flesh and so it is that the OSN or STA resides within human genetics.
43. The sin nature has a trend towards human good and human evil.
44. Each of these aspects will be demonstrated in the post-fall behavior of the man and the woman.
45. Eating of the Tree of Life on the other hand logically has a genetic side effect.
46. This is proven by the fact that mankind after the expulsion from Eden was barred from reentering the Garden ensuring that none would have access to the Tree of Life (3:24).
47. If a person with the death gene had eaten of the fruit they would have regained immortality of body.
48. Put another way they would have lived perpetually with a sin nature minus the death gene.
49. No one was ever allowed to get into that situation.
50. Both trees lived on in the overgrown Garden until they were destroyed at the Flood.
51. This tree awakened within man the appeal of sin (evil) and human good.
52. Eating of the tree’s fruit gave man the capacity to decide for himself what was in his best interests and so rival the divine prerogative.
53. By eating man would become a god, making himself the center of his universe (cf. 3:22).
54. God has not delegated this prerogative to humans.

Principal Geological Feature: Four Rivers

(vv. 10-14)

VERSE 10 Now a river flowed out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it divided and became four rivers (~yviar' h['B'r>a;l. hy"h'w> dreP'yI ~V'miW !G"h;-ta, tAqv.h;l. !d,[eme aceyO rh'n"w> [waw w/noun m.s.abs. nahar river, stream + Qal part.m.s.abs. yatsa go out + prep min from + proper noun Eden + prep lamedh w/Hiphil infin.constr. shaqach water + d.o. marker + def.art.w/noun both s.abs. gan garden + waw w/prep min from w/adv sham there + Niphal impf.3m.s. paradh divide + waw w/Qal perf.3m.s. hayah became + prep lamedh w/adj.m.s.abs. araba- four + noun m.p.abs. rosh head; "rivers" or "headwaters"]).

VERSE 11 The name of the first is Pishon; it flows around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold (bh'Z"h; ~v'-rv,a] hl'ywIx]h; #r,a,-lK' tae bbeSoh; aWh !AvyPi dx'a,h' ~ve [noun m.s.constr. shem name + def.art.w/adj.m.s.abs. echadh first + proper noun Pishon (scatter) + pro.3m.s. hu it + def.art.w/Qal part.m.s.abs. shababh encircle + d.o. marker + noun m.s.constr. kol all + noun both s.abs. erets land + def.art.w/proper noun abs. Havilah (sandy) + rel.pro. asher + adv sham there + def.art.w/noun m.s.abs. zahab gold]).

VERSE 12 The gold of that land is good; the bdellium and the onyx stone are there (~h;Voh; !b,a,w> xl;doB.h; ~v' bAj awhih; #r,a'h' bh;z]W [waw w/noun m.s.constr. zabah gold + def.art.w/noun both s.abs. erets land + def.art.w/pro.3f.s. hi it + adj.m.s.abs. tob good + adv sham there + def.art.w/noun m.s.abs. bedolah bdellium + waw w/noun f.s.constr. eben stone + def.art.w/noun m.s.abs. shoachm a gem, probably onyx]).

VERSE 13 The name of the second river is Gihon; it flows around the whole land of Cush (vWK #r,a,-lK' tae bbeASh; aWh !AxyGI ynIVeh; rh'N"h;-~vew> [waw w/noun m.s.constr. shem name + def.art.w/noun m.s.abs. nahar river + def.art.w/adj.m.s.abs. sheni second + proper noun Gihon (to draw) + pro.3m.s. hu it + def.art.w/Qal part.m.s.abs. sabab encircle + dir.obj. marker + noun m.s.constr. kol all + noun both s.abs. erets land + proper noun Kush (Ethiopia)]).

VERSE 14 The name of the third river is Tigris; it flows east of Assyria (rWVa; tm;d>qi %lehoh; aWh lq,D,xi yviyliV.h; rh'N"h; ~vew> [waw w/noun m.s.constr. shem name + def.art.w/noun m.s.abs. nahar river + def.art.w/adj.m.s.abs. shelishi third + proper noun abs. chiddeqel Tigris + pro.3m.s. hu it + def.art.w./Qal part.m.s.abs. halak walk, go; "flows" + noun f.s.constr. qedem east + proper noun abs. Asshur Assyria on of the sons of Shem]).

And the fourth river is the Euphrates (tr'p. aWh y[iybir>h' rh'N"h;w> rWVa; [waw w/def.art.w/noun m.s.abs. nahar river + def.art.w/adj.m.s.abs. rebi-i fourth + pro.3m.s. hu it + proper noun abs. perath Euphrates]).

ANALYSIS: VERSES 10-14

1. The two featured parts of the Garden are the trees (v.9) and rivers (vv. 10-14).
2. The description of the rivers associated with Eden function as an interlude in the narrative.
3. "Now a river flowed out of Eden to water the garden" refers to a river whose headwaters were in the territory of Eden and this river watered the garden proper.
4. Eden was a region with a special garden (cf. 4:16 "Then Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden." See also 2:8 "The LORD planted a garden toward the east, in Eden…").
5. This river flowed near the garden and was a major source of water for the garden, much like the Nile in Egypt.
6. "From there" reports the narrator, the river "divided and became four rivers."
7. Such a river flows from Jerusalem during the 1000 years and is replicated in the New Jerusalem (cf. Ezek. 47:5-12; Zech. 14:8; Rev. 22:1-2).
8. Its waters symbolize ever flowing eternal life (cf. Jn. 4).
9. The first river mentioned, the Pishon, is a lost river as it did not survive the Flood.
10. This river is said to skirt "the whole land of Havilah."
11. Havilah is a term used either of a land or a person (Gen. 2:11; 25:18; 1Sam. 15:7 (place); and Gen. 10:7, 29; 1Chron. 1:9, 23 (person).
12. In 1Sam. 15:7 Havilah is mentioned along with Shur as one of the limits of the territory of the Amalekites.
13. This Havilah is located in the western part of Arabia, north of Yemen.
14. The Havilah of v.11 is located on the Persian Gulf.
15. The narrator informs us that within that territory in the continent of Pangea there were valuable deposits including gold, bdellium and onyx.
16. The gold is described as "good."
17. Bdellium is an aromatic gum used in the manufacture of perfumes.
18. Why these seemingly unimportant details?
19. It is designed to lend historical credibility to the overall account.
20. The ordinary is associated with the extraordinary.
21. The second lost river in the narrative is the Gihon ("Gusher").
22. It like the Pishon skirted a territory which is specified as "the whole land of Cush."
23. Cush is the Hebrew term used in the OT for Ethiopia/Ethiopians (cf. Est. 1:1; 8:9; Job 28:19; Ps. 68:31; 87:4; Isa. 11:11; 18:1; 20:3-5; 37:9; 43:3; 45:14; Jer. 46:9; Ezek. 29:10; 30:4-5, 9; 38:5; Nah. 3:9; Zeph. 3:10).
24. The term Cush ("black") is used of personal names such as Cush the father of Nimrod (Gen. 10:8) son of Ham (Gen. 10:6) and one Cush a Benjamite (Ps. 7:1).
25. At the time of the founding of the Garden there was a river that flowed around what today is modern Ethiopia one of the driest countries on the earth.
26. Gihon was the most important of two springs that provided water for Jerusalem in OT times.
27. It was Gihon that determined the original site of the city on the hill called Ophel, just west of the spring.
28. Because it lay outside the wall of the fortified city, the pre-Israelite inhabitants cut a tunnel down through the rock of Ophel to provide protection for those drawing water when the city was under siege.
29. David’s men gained access to the city through this tunnel (2Sam. 5:6-9).
30. Gihon was chosen as the place where Solomon was anointed to succeed David as king (1Kgs. 1:33,38,45) and so this place was symbolic.
31. Some two and a half centuries after Solomon, when Sennacherib attacked Judah (2Chron 33), Hezekiah built a new water system, constructing the famous Siloam tunnel to provide a more secure means of getting Gihon’s water into the fortified city (2Chron. 32:30).
32. The series of rivers ends with a brief mention of the Tigris and even a mention of the Euphrates.
33. The narrator remarks that the Tigris flows east of the Assyrian capital.
34. Tigris is the Greek name for what is named Hiddekel (Akkad. Diglat; Arab. Dijlah).
35. The river did not flow to the east of the Assyrian empire as the territory of the Assyrians extended on both sides of the Tigris.
36. The designation Assyria is Asshur (occurs 151x in 138 verses).
37. Nimrod was the first to extend his empire into this part of Mesopotamia (Gen. 10:11).
38. The human author of Genesis knew of this city and river as both were in existence in his day (c. 1400 BC).
39. The modern Tigris originates in the Zagros mountains of western Kurdistand and flows form NW to SE some 700 miles and empties into the Persian Gulf.
40. Both the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers run more or less parallel and join up just before emptying into the Red Sea.
41. The land between the rivers is called by the psalmists Aram Naharaim (Ps. 60:1).
42. This means "Aram between (the) twin rivers."
43. Mesopotamia means "(the land) between the rivers."
44. Great empires flourished along this river system in ancient times.
45. Whatever men called this 3^rd branch of the river flowing out of Eden before the Flood, it is here referred to by its post-Flood name that has come down to us.
46. The mighty Euphrates is merely mentioned as "the fourth river."
47. Only this river is not connected with any territory/land.
48. This river is the most western of the rivers as far as Palestine is concerned.
49. This Hebrew term means "the great river," and the Akkadian is simply "the river" (parattu).
50. From Ebla texts this river is ba-ra-du which means "cold river" as the modern version originates in the Armenian mountains.

 

The Gardener in the Garden (vv. 15-17)

VERSE 15 Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep [guard] it (Hr'm.v'l.W Hd'b.['l. !d,[e-!g:b. WhxeNIY:w: ~d'a'h'-ta, ~yhil{a/ hw"hy> xQ;YIw: (waw w/Qal impf.3m.s. laqach take + proper noun Yahweh + noun m.p.abs. Elohim + def.art.w/noun m.s.abs. adam man + waw w/Hiphil impf.3m.s.w/3m.s.suff. nuach rest, settle down; "put" + prep beth w/noun both s.constr. gan garden + proper noun Eden + prep lamedh w/Qal infin.constr.w/3f.s.suff. abadh work, serve; "to cultivate" + waw w/prep lamedh w/Qal infin.constr.w/3f.s.suff. shamar guard; "keep it"]).

VERSE 16 The LORD God commanded the man, saying, "From any tree of the garden you may eat freely (lkeaTo lkoa' !G"h;-#[e lKomi rmoale ~d'a'h'-l[; ~yhil{a/ hw"hy> wc;y>w: [waw w/Piel impf.3m.s. tsawah command, charge + proper noun Yahweh + noun m.p.constr. Elohim + prep al to + def.art.w/noun m.s.abs. adam man + prep lamedh w/Qal infin.constr. amar say + prep min from + noun m.s.abs. kol all, every, any + noun m.s.constr. ets tree + def.art.w/noun both s.abs. gan garden + Qal infin.constr. akal eat + Qal impf.2m.s. akal eat]);

VERSE 17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat (WNM,mi lk;ato al{ [r'w" bAj t[;D;h; #[emeW [waw w/prep min w/noun m.s.abs. ets tree + def.art.w/noun f.s.abs. da-ath knowledge + adj.m.s.abs. tob good + waw w/adj.m.s.abs. ra evil + neg lo + Qal impf.2m.s. akal eat], for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die (tWmT' tAm WNM,mi ^l.k'a] ~AyB. yKi [part ki for + prep beth w/noun m.s.abs. yom day + Qal infin.constr.w/2m.s.suff. akal eat + prep min w/3m.s.suff. "from it" + Qal infin.constr. muth die + Qal impf.2m.s. muth die])."

ANALYSIS: VERSES 15-17

1. Adam was made and created just outside the Garden and God escorted him to his new home on the 6^th day.
2. Verse 15 repeats the thought from v. 8b: "and there He placed (Qal impf shum) the man whom He had formed."
3. The verb translated "put" is not the same as in v. 8; here we have nuach (Hiph impf) which means ‘to settle down’ or ‘to rest" in a place (cf. 8:4).
4. Next we have two infinitives: "to cultivate it and to keep it."
5. There is no magic in Eden, as gardens need attention otherwise the area will go back to a overgrown wild wilderness.
6. God Himself planted the first earthly garden and so had it in pristine condition for man’s occupancy.
7. The verb "cultivate" is abadh (‘to serve’ or ‘to work’) indicates that Adam had the responsibility to act as the gardener.
8. In other words, he had a job assigned to him by God to keep the place looking attractive and kept.
9. Gardening is the oldest profession!
10. The verb "to keep it" (shamar) carries the notion of protection.
11. Adam was to guard or protect his new home.
12. From what you ask?
13. The only conceivable danger out there was Lucifer’s organization.
14. And this was a very real and present threat as it turns out (chap. 3).
15. Adam could not protect himself and the woman from a physical attack on their persons but he could protect against a spiritual assault.
16. In the garden God gives Adam ample permission ("any tree you may freely eat") but only a single prohibition.
17. "Any tree" includes the Tree of Life as the prohibition only concerns the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil."
18. By the way, maybe they ate of fruit of the tree in the center of the garden as the dynamic from eating its fruit could not add to what the man and the woman already had in their physiology.
19. They did not possess the death gene from their creation so eating of this tree would not improve the perfection they already possessed.
20. Their bodies were equipped to live on forever.
21. Had they not sinned they would have remained youthful forever.
22. Once they were expelled from the garden men were banned from entering the area so that they would not eat of the Tree of Life and live forever says God in 3:22!
23. God manufactured the body of man to possess a kind of immortality.
24. It was not bullet-proof immortality as the body need food, water and air to survive.
25. The body was not impervious to injury and even fatal injury.
26. Did Adam not experience nicks and bruises when working with plants?
27. One thing is clear, the human body was first made to enjoy a forever existence and only the presence of the death/aging gene overruled that.
28. Adam the lord and protector of the garden is specifically warned not to eat the forbidden fruit.
29. He could look at the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, touch it, relax under its branches but he must not eat and digest its fruit.
30. When food it eaten it is digested, absorbed into the blood stream and transported to the cells for energy.
31. Otherwise malnutrition and starvation results in death of the organism.
32. Adam in innocence and sinless perfection was given one prohibition.
33. The prohibition was not onerous and extended to only one tree.
34. Adam without the ISTA had no inclination to sin; furthermore he had no knowledge of sin.
35. We call this time before the Fall the Age of Innocence.
36. Adam was clearly temptable and peccable (able to sin).
37. He possessed volition and his volition was tested in the Garden by this single prohibition.
38. We humans, inheriting Adam’s genetics are subject to temptation from within (ISTA) and from without (lust of the eyes, the world, satan).
39. Jesus, not possessing an STA/OSN was only tempted from without (Satan during the 40 days and see Heb. 2:18; 4:15).
40. For Adam the divine threat was that if he ate of that tree he "would surely die."
41. The literal Hebrew is: "dying you shall die."
42. The Qal infinitive "dying" refers to spiritual death as neither Eve nor Adam fell over dead when they ate as if they were poisoned.
43. The second use of the verb to die (muth) in v.17 is a Qal imperfect and refers to the ultimate ravages of the death gene resulting in the death of the organism (e.g. human body).
44. Adam must have had some understanding of what the term "die" meant, otherwise God’s judgment would have been meaningless.
45. Adam had with his brain computer a rather extensive dictionary.
46. It was downloaded when he was formed.
47. For something to die it must cease to exist as per the word’s most basic meaning.
48. Adam a part from the woman is briefed on the ground rules of living and prospering in the garden.
49. Adam was a test case to resolve the satanic appeal.
50. For it to be a real test he would have to be tempted and so we find out in chapter 3 that Satan was granted access to him and the woman.
51. So Adam the human authority on earth was to protect himself and the woman from any attempt to get them to sin and ruin what they had in paradise.
52. Adam received a death threat and the carrying out of that divine edict was for him to experience death with two distinct aspects.
53. The first aspect is spiritual death which was a punishment for disobedience.
54. The second aspect affected his genetic code and had to do with the special makeup of the forbidden fruit.
55. This was no ordinary fruit as was the fruit of the tree in the midst of the garden.
56. When Adam sinned God withdrew the human spirit making him "the natural man" (cf. 1Cor. 2:14 or the psuchikos or soulish man).
57. Then the chemistry of the forbidden fruit did its thing once it was fully absorbed into the body.
58. One act of disobedience produced two deaths: spiritual (immediately) and physical (much later for him).
59. In addition to the death gene, the dynamic within the forbidden fruit resulted in the indwelling genetically engineered sin nature (see doc of ISTA).

In Search of a Helper (vv. 18-20)

VERSE 18 Then the LORD God said [thought], "It is not good for the man to be alone (ADb;l. ~d'a'h' tAyh/ bAj-al{ ~yhil{a/ hw"hy> rm,aYOw: [waw w/Qal impf.3m.s. amar say + proper noun Yahweh + noun m.p.abs. Elohim + neg lo + adj.m.s.abs. tob good + Qal infin.constr. hayah to be + def.art.w/noun m.s.abs. adam man + prep lamedh w/noun m.s.constr.w/3m.s.suff. badad alone]; I will make him a helper suitable for him [Qal impf. 1p.s. ashah make + prep lamedh w/3m.s.suff. "him" + noun m.s.abs. ezer help + prep kaph w/part. neged before; "suitable" + "comparable"])."

VERSE 19 Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air (~yIm;V'h; @A[-lK' taew> hd,F'h; tY:x;-lK' hm'd'a]h'-!mi ~yhil{a/ hw"hy> rc,YIw [waw w/Qal impf.3m.s. yatsar fashion + proper noun Yahweh + noun m.p.abs. Elohim + prep min from + def.art.w/noun f.s.abs. adamah ground + noun m.s.constr. kol all + noun f.s.constr. chay living + def.art.w/noun m.sabs. sadeh field + waw w/d.o. marker + noun m.s.constr. kol every + noun m.s.abs. oph bird + def.art.w/noun m.p.abs. shamayim heaven, sky]).

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 (Amv. aWh hY"x; vp,n< ~d'a'h' Al-ar'q.yI rv,a] lkow> Al-ar'q.YI-hm tAar>li ~d'a'h'-la, abeY"w: [Hiphil impf.3m.s. bo go; bring (hiph) + prep el to + def.art.w/noun m.s.abs. adam man + prep lamedh w/Qal infin.constr. ra-ah see + interrog mah what? + Qal impf.3m.s. qara call, name + prep lamedh w/3m.s.suff. "them" + waw w/noun m.s.abs. kol "ever" + rel.pro. asher that "what" + Qal impf.3m.s. qara call + prep lamedh w/3m.s.suff. "each" + def.art.w/noun m.s.abs. adam man + noun f.s.abs. nephesh soul, breath; here "breathing" + adj.f.s.abs. chay living + pro.3m.s hu it; "that" + noun m.s.constr.w/3m.s.suff. shem name]).

VERSE 20 The man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field (hd,F'h; tY:x; lkol.W ~yIm;V'h; @A[l.W hm'heB.h;-lk'l. tAmve ~d'a'h' ar'q.YIw: [waw w/Qal impf.3m.s qara call + def.art.w/noun m.s.abs. adam man + noun m.p.abs. shem name + prep lamedh w/noun m.s.const. kol all + def.art.w/noun f.s.abs. behemah beast; "cattle" or "livestock" + waw w/noun m.s.constr. kol all; every + prep lamedh w/noun m.s. oph bird + def.art.w/noun m.p.abs. shamayim heaven, sky + waw w/prep lamedh w/noun m.s.abs. kol every + noun f.s.constr. chay living; "beast" + def.art.w/noun m.s.abs. shadeh field], but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him [ADg>n<K. rz<[e ac'm'-al{ ~d'a'l.W [waw w/prep lamedh w/noun m.s.abs. adam Adam + neg lo + Qal perf.3m.s matsa find + noun m.s.abs. ezer help + prep kaph w/part negedh before; "comparable"]).

ANALYSIS: VERSES 18-20

1. For the first time since chap. 1 God speaks, or thinks (one can speak to oneself silently).
2. In 1:26 the words, "Let us make man" reflect divine self-deliberation and so it is as well in 2:18.
3. The need for the creation of woman is summarized by God, "It is not good for the man to be alone."
4. Everything so far in Genesis has been deemed as either good or very good.
5. For the very first time there is something that is not good.
6. This stands over against the sevenfold refrain of "and God saw that it was good" in chap. 1.
7. And that something is the lack of a corresponding companion.
8. The sky without the luminaries and the birds are incomplete.
9. The seas without the fish are incomplete.
10. The land without plants and animals and man is incomplete.
11. As a matter of observation everything in chaps. 1 and 2 is in need of something else to complete it and to enable it to fully function.
12. The exception to that rule is God Himself.
13. God makes the judgment about the undesirability of man being alone.
14. Man is not consulted on the matter.
15. Divine anticipation precedes human awareness.
16. The fact that there was no something right with man’s situation is arresting.
17. It alerts us to the importance of companionship for the man.
18. Divine analysis is followed by divine solution.
19. The solution: "I will make (ashah) a helper suitable for him."
20. Literally, the phrase is: "I will make a helper for him according to what is in front of him."
21. Or, he needs a "helper matching him."
22. The noun "helper" or "help" is the masculine singular noun ezer.
23. To help someone does not imply that the helper is stronger than the helped; simply that the latter’s strength is inadequate for the task at hand.
24. The compound prepositional phrase "matching him" or "suitable for him" (keneged), literally, "like opposite him" is found only here and in v.20.
25. It seems to denote that which is complimentary rather than identical.
26. If identity were meant then the natural phrase would be "like him" (prefix kaph).
27. The help needed includes procreation of offspring, assistance in man’s daily occupation and the mutual support companionship provides (e.g. fellowship).
28. Above all else, the woman delivers man from the solitude of life.
29. In the NT this relationship between a believing man and woman is that they are fellow heirs in "the grace of life" (1Pet. 3:7).
30. As it says in Scripture "two are better than one…for if they fall one will lift up the his fellow" (Eccl. 4:9-10; cf. Prov. 31:10-31).
31. Despite the divine specification of man’s need, there is a delay in its provision.
32. This is in contrast to the divine word in chap. 1 where the need was met with instantaneous fulfillment.
33. It allows the reader to share in the man’s sense of loneliness.
34. All the animals were paraded in front of Adam (1^st parade!) on D+6 (super Friday), and we see him looking at each one in the hope one of them might make a suitable companion.
35. A rabbinic source pictures the animals passing by in pairs and man commenting, "Everything has its partner but I have no partner" (Ber. Rab. 17:5).
36. The emotion is heightened by the fact that the narrative notes that fact that both land animals, like man, are formed/shaped from the ground (v.19), and like him are living creatures.
37. Both ashah and yatsar are used in connection with the manufacture of the physical being of living things (Gen. 1:25; 2:18; 3:1a; cp. 2:7, 8, 19).
38. Despite man’s superior position over the animals as evidence by his naming them (to give a name to something denotes asserting authority over it; cf. 1:26,28), no suitable helper is found.
39. The groundwork is being laid in the narrative for chap. 3 where man is a little lower than the angels and a little higher than the animals.
40. V.19a looks back to chap. 1 where God early on day six placed animal on the earth (1:25), as well as day five when he formed the birds of the sky (1:20).
41. Adam’s very first assigned task as a human being was to name the animals brought before him.
42. Here God is originator but not namer.
43. He leaves that to the man who from creation had an extensive vocabulary downloaded into his brain-soul.
44. He received what it takes others years to develop as he had no pre-adult training.
45. By naming the animals Adam fulfills the command to "rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves on the earth" (1:28).
46. Obviously fish could not qualify as man’s helpmate.
47. Even the domesticated animals proved unsuitable for man’s companionship.
48. The phrase "to see what he would call them" is language of accommodation or anthropopathism.
49. Omniscience does not find out or learn things in the conventional sense.
50. Adam acts as God’s regent over lower creation.
51. In so doing he exhibits the image of God factor (animals can’t do this).
52. In chap. 1 it is God who name "light" (1:5), "darkness" (1:5), "the expanse" (1:8), and "dry land" (1:10).
53. Man possesses linguistic skills unlike animals that have to rely on sounds to communicate basic needs.
54. The list of living things in v.20 includes domestic animals ("cattle"), birds, and wild animals ("every beast of the field").
55. As namer of the animals man demonstrates capacity for discernment.

The Creation of Woman (vv. 21-25)

VERSE 21 So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept (!v'yYIw: ~d'a'h'-l[; hm'Der>T; ~yhil{a/ hw"hy> lPeY:w: [waw w/Hiphil impf.3m.s. naphal fall + proper noun Yahweh + noun m.p.abs. Elohim + noun f.s.abs. tardemah deep sleep; cf. 1Sam. 26:12 + prep al upon + def.art.w/noun m.s. adam man + waw w/Qal impf.3m.s yashan sleep]; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place [hN"T,x.T; rf'B' rGOs.YIw: wyt'[ol.C;mi tx;a; xQ;YIw: [waw w/Qal impf.3m.s laqach take + adj.f.s.abs. echad one + prep min from w/noun f.p.constr.w/3m.s.suff. tsela- rib + waw w/Qal impf.3m.s sagar shut, close + noun m.s.abs. bashar flesh + prep tachath beneath]).

VERSE 22 The LORD God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man (~d'a'h'-la, h'a,biy>w: hV'ail. ~d'a'h'-!mi xq;l'-rv,a] [l'Ceh;-ta, ~yhil{a/ hw"hy> !b,YIw: [waw w/Qal impf.3m.s. banah build; "fashioned" + proper noun Yahweh + n.m.p.abs. Elohim + d.o. marker + def.art.w/noun f.s.as. tsela- rib + rel.pro. asher which + Qal perf.3m.s. laqach take + prep min from + def.art.w/noun m.s.abs. adam man + prep lamedh w/noun f.s.abs. ishshah woman + waw w/Hiphil impf.3m.s.w/3f.s.suff. bo go; bring (hiph) + prep el to + def.art.w/noun m.s.abs. adam man]).

VERSE 23 The man said, "This is now bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh (yrIf'B.mi rf'b'W ym;c'[]me ~c,[, ~[;P;h; tazO ~d'a'h' rm,aYOw: [waw w/Qal impf.3m.s. amar say + def.art.w/noun m.s.abs. adam man + adj.f.s.abs. zoth this; see v.23b where it occurs 2x and is translated "she" + def.art.w/noun f.s.abs. pa-am + noun f.s.abs. etsem bone + prep min from + noun f.p.constr.w/1s.suff. etsem bone + waw w/noun m.s.abs. bashar flesh + prep min from + noun m.s.constr.w/1s.suff. bashar flesh]);

She [This one] shall be called Woman, Because she [this one] was taken out of Man (taZO-hx'q\lu vyaime yKi hV'ai areQ'yI tazOl. [prep lamedh w/adj.f.s.abs. zoth this; "She" + Nipahl impf.3m.s. qara call + noun f.s.abs. ishshah woman + prep ki because + prep min w/noun m.s.abs. ish man + Qal pass.part.f.s. laqach take + adj.f.s.abs. zoth this one; "she"])."

VERSE 24 For this reason a man shall leave [forsake] his father and his mother, and be joined [cling] to his wife; and they shall become one flesh (dx'a, rf'b'l. Wyh'w> ATv.aiB. qb;d'w> AMai-ta,w> wybia'-ta, vyai-bz"[]y: !Ke-l[; [prep al w/part ken = "therefore" + Qal impf.3m.s. azab forsake, leave + noun m.s.abs. ish man + d.o. marker + noun m.s.constr.w/3m.s.suff. abh father + waw w/d.o. marker + noun f.s.constr.w/3m.s.suff. em mother + waw w/Qal perf.3m.s. dabaq cleave, join + prep beth w/noun f.s.cnstr.w/3m.s.suff. ishshah woman, wife + waw w/Qal perf.3p. hayah be + prep lamedh w/noun m.s.abs. bashar flesh + adj.m.s.abs. echad one]).

VERSE 25 And the man and his wife were both naked and [but] were not ashamed (Wvv'Bot.yI al{w> ATv.aiw> ~d'a'h' ~yMiWr[] ~h,ynEv. Wyh.YIw: [waw w/Qal impf.3m.p. hayah be + adj. m. dual constr.w/3m.p.suff. shenayim two; "both" + adj.m.p.abs. arom naked + def.art.w/noun m.s.abs. adam man + waw w/noun f.s.constr.w/3m.s.suff. ishshah woman; "his wife" + waw w/neg lo + Hithpolel impf.3m.p. bosh be ashamed]).

ANALYSIS: VERSES 21-25

1. In Gen. 1:27 we are informed that when God created two earthlings who would be His image bearers he created one that was male and one that was female.
2. The verse said nothing about how God made their bodies or when He did so, whether simultaneously or sequentially.
3. Gen. 1:27 records the creation of their souls NOT their bodies.
4. The narrative regarding the origin of their bodies is reserved for chap. 2.
5. After forming the animals, God first made the male from the dust of the ground, then He made the female around the man’s rib.
6. "Then the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept" refers to the heavy sleep that is often divinely induced (cf. 1Sam. 26:12).
7. Such a sleep (tardemah) is a occasion for divine revelation (Gen. 15:12; Job 33:15).
8. Here we have the first instance of surgery where in this case something is removed while the patient in unconscious.
9. Obviously the Almighty could have done this while Adam was awake causing him no pain.
10. After the procedure Adam required no time for recovery as do all who experience invasive surgery.
11. One rib, probably on the right side of his body, was removed and God "closed up the flesh in its place."
12. Perhaps there was a faint scar (or not).
13. Adam went through life minus a rib in his right side.
14. Something non vital was taken and something much more was returned to him.
15. The surgery part of the lesson is to teach that right-man, right-woman is a mystery.
16. Adam is unconscious, a part of him is removed and he is not complete until that part is returned to him.
17. Principle: the woman completes the man and the man fulfills the woman.
18. Adam having been very much sensitized to his incompleteness is taken out of the picture and God acts on his behalf.
19. God fills the void in his life, how and when He is ready, and the result is a perfect match.
20. V.22 records the making of the woman’s body.
21. The translation is: "The LORD God built into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man."
22. Adam’s rib was transplanted into the woman’s side and her body was "built" as the appropriate counterpart to the man’s.
23. The text does not tell us that her body was made from dust but clearly it was.
24. Adam’s rib made up only a small part of the mass of Eve’s body.
25. The text does not record the breathing into her nostrils the breath of life.
26. But Gen. 1:27 does record the creation of her soul.
27. The verb "fashioned" (NAS) is not the gender specific verb used for the making of the male body.
28. That verb is yastar (v.7), while the gender specific verb for the female body is banah which means ‘to build’ something (377x in 345 verses).
29. This verb suggests beauty and durability.
30. Working with clay God is potter, working with bone, God is builder.
31. By bringing the woman to the man there is the suggestion of one who is lesser in authority, even as in the case of the animals who were brought to Adam.
32. In so doing God alleviates Adam’s loneliness and sets the stage for the first wedding.
33. For the very first time in Scripture the words of a human being are recorded in direct discourse.
34. What the man has to say upon laying eyes upon the woman is an exclamatory outburst concerning his helper.
35. The first line of Adam’s poem is literally: "This one (adj. zoth) , this time ( def.art.w/noun pa-am time)…"
36. The second line: "bone of my bones…"
37. The third line: "and flesh of my flesh…"
38. The fourth line: "This one (zoth) shall be called woman (ishah)…"
39. And the fifth line: "for from man (ish) was taken this one (zoth)."
40. The first three lines are a poetic formulation of the kinship formula.
41. For example, Laban said to his nephew Jacob, "You are my bone and my flesh" (29:14; cf. Judg. 9:2; 2Sam. 5:1; 19:12-13).
42. English speaks of "blood relations," while Hebrews spoke of relatives as one’s "flesh and bone."
43. The first man could employ these words in a literal connotation, as the woman was actually bone of his bones, and flesh of his flesh."
44. This formula sets man and woman on an equal footing as regards their humanity, yet sets them apart from the animals.
45. Flesh (basar) is often a symbol for human weakness and frailtye.
46. Bone (etsem), derived from the verb "to be or make strong" (Gen. 296:16; Ps. 105:24; Dan. 8:8, 24), stands as the opposite of flesh.
47. Etsem stands as the antonym to basar.
48. The phrase, first used in the wedding ceremony of Adam and Eve, is actually a covenant formula that speaks not so much of a common origin but a common, reciprocal loyalty.
49. When the assembled tribes visited David at Hebron they said to him, "we are your bone and flesh" (2Sam. 5:1).
50. This is not so much a statement of relationship ("we have the same roots") but a pledge of loyalty ("we will support you in all kinds of circumstances").
51. Taken this way, the man’s this one, this time, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh becomes a covenantal statement of his commitment to her.
52. So it would serve as the biblical counterpart to the modern marriage ceremony, "in weakness (i.e. flesh) and in strength (i.e. bone)."
53. So understood, the verse does not attribute strength to the man and weakness to the woman, as if he is the embodiment of bone and she is the embodiment of flesh.
54. Both the man and the woman share the entire spectrum of human characteristics, for strong to weak.
55. In lines four and five we have the first man naming the first woman.
56. In these two lines we encounter our first instance of popular etymology, a derivation based on assonance, "she shall be called ‘woman’ (ishshah), for she was taken from ‘man’ (ish)."
57. The text does not say, "she shall be called female (neqeba), for she was taken from male (zakir)."
58. Employing two words that sound alike, the thought is to emphasize the identity and equality of the first couple.
59. Though the man and woman are equal in nature, that man names the woman (cf. 3:20), indicates that she is expected to be subordinate to him, an important factor in the ensuing narrative (3:17).
60. Verse 24 is not a continuation of the man’s remarks in v.23, but a comment by the narrator, applying the principles of the first marriage to every marriage.
61. Note that it is the man who forsakes father and mother rather than the wife who leaves hers.
62. That this separation is presented from the man’s standpoint rather than the woman’s is because the man is the head of the marriage.
63. He is to see to it that both he and his wife maintain the appropriated distance from their respective parents.
64. As the authority he is to see to it that the wife complies with the mandate he himself is under.
65. The crucial element in this verse is the verbs used: "forsake" ("leaves") and "clings" ("be joined").
66. The verb "forsake" frequently describes Israel’s rejection of her covenant relationship with Yahweh (Jer. 1:16; 2:13, 17, 19; 5:7; 16:11; 17:13; 19:4; 22:9).
67. By contrast, the verb "cling" often designates the maintenance of the covenant relationship (Deut. 4:4; 10:20; 11:22; 13:4; 30:20).
68. To leave one’s father and mother and cling to one’s wife means to sever one loyalty and begin another.
69. Marriage is a sacred covenant rather than an ad-hoc, makeshift arrangement.
70. Forsaking father and mother is to be understood in a relative sense, not an absolute sense.
71. Otherwise, the two could not fulfill obligations to parents in their time of need.
72. Honoring father and mother is one of the highest human obligations next to honoring God.
73. The phrase "and sticks to his wife" suggests passion and permanence.
74. Shechem’s love of Dinah is described as "his soul stuck to Dinah" (Gen. 34:3).
75. Israel is repeatedly urged to stick to the LORD (Deut. 10:20; 11:22; 13:5, etc.).
76. The tribes of Israel are assured that they will stick to their own inheritance; i.e. that it will be theirs in perpetuity (Num. 36:7, 9).
77. "They shall become one flesh" denotes sexual union that results in a kinship similar to blood relations.
78. In other words they become related to one another as brother and sister are.
79. Here we have the kinship-of-spouses principle.
80. "The man and the woman were both naked, but were not ashamed" has an important narrative function.
81. It closes scene two, thereby creating a parallel with the scene at the end of chap. 3.
82. After eating the forbidden fruit the two notice their nakedness, make fig-leaf aprons, cover themselves and hide in the bushes when they hear God approaching. (3:7-11).
83. In the time of their innocence "they were not ashamed."
84. God Himself united them in marriage and both appeared naked.
85. No guilt was involved as there was no ISTA and no one to tell them that they were in any was in the wrong (legalism).
86. Adam and Eve were like young children who are not ashamed at their nakedness.
87. They had no past and they had no occasion to think of their nakedness as inappropriate.