Genesis 2:4-25

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A Creation Record

With chapter 3, this is the second of the Bible's Creation Records. See Comparing the two accounts of the Creation in Genesis.

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This passage was referenced here (2.4.4) in our response to the AACE discussion questions.

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A tour of the Bible's Creation Records

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temporary TRANSCLUSIONS FOLLOW: (edit at the relevant page, not here.)

Genesis 2:2-3

Contents of the Genesis 2:2-3 page: →Bible→Old Testament→Genesis

DAY 7. THE DAY OF REST
← Land creatures and humankind

KJV

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 that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

NRSV

³ So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation.

לעשות — The redundant final word

[speaking of the Hebrew Bible's first distinct section, Genesis 1:1 to 2:3, which ends with this word לעשות.]

"When a text is written this way, apparently superfluous words become highly conspicuous. There is one obviously superfluous word: the last of the entire passage. The verse says, 'God sanctified the seventh day for on it he rested from all the work that he had created' (2:3). The sentence should finish there. In fact, though, there is one extra word in the Hebrew, לעשות la'asot, which means 'to do, to make, to function'. What is its significance? Two classic commentators, Ibn Ezra and Abrabanel, interpret it to mean, '[he had created it] in such a way that it would continue to create itself.' Without stretching the text too far, we might say that la'asot means, quite simply, 'to evolve'.

— Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, The Great Partnership

Re asah: la'asot is from asah, a verb that goes along with the create-form-make trio, but with a more general meaning, as evident from Rabbi Sacks' translation of it above. — BP

A longer quotation from The Great Partnership, showing the context of this passage, is cited at Structure of Genesis 1:1-2:3.

See also this rabbinical observation of a pre-scientific concept corresponding to evolution, in Genesis 1:21, also mentioned by Rabbi Sacks.

God's rest

God's rest when the creation is finished foreshadows the promised rest after the wilderness wanderings of Israel (95:11) and the rest in the Kingdom of God, a reward that has always been expected to follow a life in Jesus Christ (Hebrews 4:1-11).

Was further creation ruled out?

A literal reading may suggest that God stopped creating at the end of a literal week. See, however, Psalm 102:18, which refers to people "yet to be created", and other references at Ongoing Creation.

— Bruce (talk)

Many references

There are many links to this Genesis 2:1-3 page in this wiki. As of 1st July 2023:

• "adam" the common noun
• Bible References - the long list
• Biology Timeline
• ColinQ1-18-KerryA
• Created, Formed and Made
• Creation
• Daily Readings 01 Jan
• Daily Readings 26 Feb
• Daily Readings 16 Mar
• Evolution
• Exodus 39:32,42-43
• Genesis 1:1 to 2:3
• Genesis 1:24-31
• Genesis
• Hebrews 4:1-11
• J. Burke: A Personal Statement On Creation
• Ongoing Creation
• Psalm 102:18
• Psalm 95
• Questions Probing Theistic Evolution
• R Evans, Genesis in Context - 1
• Reaffirmation Statement Concerning Creation and the Fall of Man
• Ron Cowie: "Theistic Evolution" (2021) - 007
• Ron Cowie: "Theistic Evolution" (2021) - 028
• Ron Cowie: "Theistic Evolution" (2021) - 034
• Ron Cowie: "Theistic Evolution" (2021) - 039
• R Cowie "Theistic Evolution" 2021 responses
• Two Creations

{{#setmainimage:Sutherland logo-icon.png}}

Genesis 2:4

Contents of the Genesis 2:4 page:→Bible→Old Testament→Genesis
← Overview of Genesis ch.2

KJV

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 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.

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Verse 4 is cited by Jacaf at The Earth 6000 years old as "indicat[ing] that the earth was created in the 6 days of creation, which we know to be about 6000 years ago"

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It is claimed that this verse shows that a "day" in Genesis may not be a literal day of twenty-four hours. Bro Ron Abel suggests the following arguments in Wrested Scriptures to make the contrary case:

1. "Day" in scripture is sometimes used to represent an unspecified length of time.^[a]The Hebrew word "yom" translated "day" in this passage is translated "time elsewhere. (e.g., Gen. 4:3; 26:8; 38:12). But when second, third, etc., occur as they do in Genesis 1, the word refers to a literal day, defined in Genesis by the "evening and the morning".

[a] For example, "the day of temptation" (Psa. 95:8), "the day of adversity" (Prov. 24:10), "the day of vengeance" (Isa. 61:2), but when Scripture refers to "the fifteenth day of the same month" (Lev. 23:6), the seven days of Unleavened Bread, or the fifty days until Pentecost, the word "day" can mean only a 24 hour period.

2. As used in Genesis 2, "yom" covers the whole period when the LORD God "made the earth and the heavens". (Gen. 2:4). Failure to distinguish between these two uses of "day" have led to faulty interpretations of Genesis 1. The days of Genesis 1 are determined by light and darkness, evening and morning.

Test these arguments for yourself against the Scriptures cited at Non-literal days in the Bible.

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See Comparing the two accounts of the Creation in Genesis

Genesis 2:6

Contents of the Genesis 2:6 page:→Bible→Old Testament→Genesis
← Overview of Genesis ch.2

KJV

⁶ But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.

NRSV

⁶ but a stream would rise from the earth, and water the whole face of the ground—

New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

NET Bible

⁶ Springs^[a] would well up^[b] from the earth and water^[c] the whole surface of the ground^[d].

[a] tn The conjunction vav (ו) introduces a third disjunctive clause. The Hebrew word אֵד ('ed) was traditionally translated "mist" because of its use in Job 36:27. However, an Akkadian cognate edu in Babylonian texts refers to subterranean springs or waterways. Such a spring would fit the description in this context, since this water "goes up" and waters the ground.
[b] tn Heb "was going up." The verb is an imperfect form, which in this narrative context carries a customary nuance, indicating continual action in past time.
[c] tn The perfect with vav (ו) consecutive carries the same nuance as the preceding verb. Whenever it would well up, it would water the ground.
[d] tn The Hebrew word אֲדָמָה ('adamah) actually means "ground; fertile soil."

sn Here is an indication of fertility. The water would well up from the earth (אֶרֶץ, 'erets) and water all the surface of the fertile soil (אֲדָמָה). It is from that soil that the man (אָדָם, 'adam) was made (Gen 2:7).

— NET Bible Notes

ESV

⁶ and a mist^[a] was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground—

[a] Or spring

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This verse appears to describe inundation or irrigation. — Bruce

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This passage was referenced here (4.5.2) in our responses to the AACE discussion questions.

Genesis 2:7

Contents of the Genesis 2:7 page:→Bible→Old Testament→Genesis
← Overview of Genesis ch.2

NRSV

⁴In the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, ⁵ when no plant of the field was yet in the earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up . . . ⁷ then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground*, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life [נִשְׁמַ֣ת חַיִּ֑ים]; and the man became a living being. ⁸ And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man whom he had formed.

* Or formed a man (Heb adam) of dust from the ground (Heb adamah)

New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

NET

⁷ The LORD God formed^a the man from the soil of the ground^b and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life,^c and the man became a living being.^d

NET Bible Notes to this verse

^a tn Or "fashioned." The prefixed verb form with vav (ו) consecutive initiates narrative sequence. The Hebrew word יָצַר (yatsar) means "to form" or "to fashion," usually by plan or design (see the related noun יֵצֶר [yetser] in Gen 6:5). It is the term for an artist's work (the Hebrew term יוֹצֵר [yotser] refers to a potter; see Jer 18:2-4.)

sn Various traditions in the ancient Near East reflect this idea of creation. Egyptian drawings show a deity turning little people off of the potter's wheel with another deity giving them life. In the Bible humans are related to the soil and return to it (see 3:19; see also Job 4:19, 20:9; and Isa 29:16).

^b tn The line literally reads "And Yahweh God formed the man, soil, from the ground." "Soil" is an adverbial accusative, identifying the material from which the man was made.

^c The Hebrew word נְשָׁמָה (nÿshamah, “breath”) is used for God and for the life imparted to humans, not animals (see T. C. Mitchell, “The Old Testament Usage of Nÿshama,” VT 11 [1961]: 177-87). Its usage in the Bible conveys more than a breathing living organism (נֶפֶשׁ חַיַּה, nefesh khayyah). Whatever is given this breath of life becomes animated with the life from God, has spiritual understanding (Job 32:8), and has a functioning conscience (Proverbs 20:27).

sn Human life is described here as consisting of a body (made from soil from the ground) and breath (given by God). Both animals and humans are called "a living being" (נֶפֶשׁ חַיַּה) but humankind became that in a different and more significant way.

^d tn The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, "being") is often translated "soul," but the word usually refers to the whole person. The phrase נֶפֶשׁ חַיַּה (nefesh khayyah, "living being") is used of both animals and human beings (see 1:20, 24, 30; 2:19).

Created, formed, made ...

The image in Genesis chapter 2 is of God as a potter. Hebrew verb yatzer = form, fashion; the word for a "potter" is [yatzer]-er

This is one of the trio of "creating" verbs, brought together in Isaiah 43:7 — see Created, Formed and Made. In the first chapter of Genesis humankind is said to be created, not formed.

See Literal and Figurative Creation in the Bible

Made from the Dust

See made from the dust and F.F. Bruce: "a man of dust". The BASF Clause 4 references this verse when speaking of "the first man ... Adam, whom God created out of the dust of the ground as a living soul, or natural body of life..."

A chain of references relevant to humankind made from the dust continues here →

The Breath of Life

God putting "the breath of life" (in this verse, נִשְׁמַ֣ת חַיִּ֑ים Neshamah hayyim — see also Ruach hayyim) into people and other living things is a theme that runs through the Bible. The complex and overlapping semantics of Hebrew Nephesh, Neshamah and Ruach, as well as Neshamah hayyim, can be understood as a lasting tradition of the giving of life and breath, as Paul put it in his speech to the Areopagites — see at Acts 17:24-28. This chain of references follows relevant passages.

Follow the theme of "giving life and breath" beginning here →

Where was Adam formed? Not in the Garden of Eden!

KJV

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. ⁸ And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.

Note the sequence: God formed Adam and gave him life (verse 7); then verse 8 says God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and then it says "and there he put the man whom he had formed". So Adam was not made in the Garden of Eden as commonly thought, he was made outside it.

— Bruce (talk)

Mistranslation

See a scholarly critique here of a fundamentalist mistranslation of verse 8.

Genesis 2:9,17

Contents of the Genesis 2:9,17 page:→Bible→Old Testament→Genesis
KJV

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.

. . .

¹⁷ But 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.

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See:

• The Two Trees and The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil
• "thou shalt surely die" (môṯ tāmûṯ)
  

Genesis 2:16-17

Contents of the Genesis 2:16-17 page:→Bible→Old Testament→Genesis
← Overview of Genesis ch.2

NRSV

¹⁶ And the LORD God commanded the man, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; ¹⁷ but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.”

KJV

¹⁶ And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: ¹⁷ But 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.

JPS Tanakh

¹⁶ And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you are free to eat; ¹⁷ but as for the tree of knowledge of good and bad, you must not eat of it; for as soon as you eat of it, you shall die.”

Jewish Study Bible Notes:

2.16-17: 'Knowledge of good and bad' may be a merism, a figure of speech in which polar opposites denote a totality (like 'heaven and earth' in 1.1). But 'knowledge' can have an experiential, not only an intellectual, sense in biblical Heb, and "good and bad" can mean either "weal and woe" or "moral good and moral evil." The forbidden tree offers an experience that is both pleasant and painful; it awakens those who partake of it to the higher knowledge and to the pain that both come with moral choice.

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Difficulties of a Literal Reading

• See "thou shalt surely die" for interpretations of the phrase.
• See "Thou shalt not eat thereof..." for the difficulty of a literal reading and a link to the LXX, which has a plural "ye" in v.17

Was God lying??

Christadelphian brother Jonathan Bowen says that "in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die" would be a lie if Adam and Eve had evolved:

"Like, if Adam and Eve got to their state through a process of evolution, death has already been a major factor in the world to this point in time. 'In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die' - that is a lie, because you're already dying creatures, because that's how you achieved your current state! by a whole process of creatures dying over a period of time."

— talk published by The Christadelphian Watchman on Youtube
(still there 29th February 2024)

Genesis 2:18-19

Contents of the Genesis 2:18-19 page:→Bible→Old Testament→Genesis
← Overview of Genesis ch.2

KJV

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. 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 whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. ²⁰ And 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.

RSV

¹⁸ Then the LORD God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” ¹⁹ So out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. ²⁰ The man gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for the man there was not found a helper fit for him.  (RSV)

NRSV

¹⁸ Then the LORD God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner.” ¹⁹ So out of the ground the LORD God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. ²⁰ The man gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of the air, and to every animal of the field; but for the man^[a] there was not found a helper as his partner.

[a] Or for Adam

New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

REB

¹⁸ Then the LORD God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone; I shall make a partner suited to him.’ ¹⁹ So from the earth he formed all the wild animals and all the birds of the air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; whatever the man called each living creature, that would be its name. ²⁰ The man gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every wild animal; but for the man himself no suitable partner was found.

NET Bible

¹⁸ The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a companion for him who corresponds to him.” ¹⁹ The LORD God formed^[a] out of the ground every living animal of the field and every bird 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. ²⁰ So the man named all the animals, the birds of the air, and the living creatures of the field, but for Adam no companion who corresponded to him was found.

NET Bible Notes: [a] tn Or "fashioned." To harmonize the order of events with the chronology of chapter one, some translate the prefixed verb form with vav (ו) consecutive as a past perfect ("had formed," cf. NIV) here. (In chapter one the creation of the animals preceded the creation of man; here the animals are created after the man.) However, it is unlikely that the Hebrew construction can be translated in this way in the middle of this pericope, for the criteria for unmarked temporal overlay are not present here. See S. R. Driver, A Treatise on the Use of the Tenses in Hebrew, 84-88, and especially R. Buth, "Methodological Collision between Source Criticism and Discourse Analysis," Biblical Hebrew and Discourse Linguistics, 138-54. For a contrary viewpoint see IBHS 552-53 §33.2.3 and C. J. Collins, "The Wayyiqtol as 'Pluperfect': When and Why," TynBul 46 (1995): 117-40.

NIV

¹⁸ The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” ¹⁹ Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the 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. ²⁰ So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.
But for Adam^[a] no suitable helper was found.

[a] Or the man (NIV)

ESV

¹⁸ Then the LORD God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for^[a] him.” ¹⁹ Now out of the ground the LORD God had formed^[b] every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. ²⁰ The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam^[c] there was not found a helper fit for him.

[a] Or corresponding to; also verse 20

[b] Or And out of the ground the Lord God formed

[c] Or the man

A deduction from verse 18

Colin takes God's words “It is not good that the man should be alone . . . “ as an indication that "TE" are wrong to assume that "there were others around when Adam was created (evolved?), and from which Cain & Seth found wives."

A deduction from verse 19

According to brother Alan Fowler v. 19 is one of "three passages in Genesis 2 and 3 which support the view that the account is non-literal" — see Problems with Literal Readings of Genesis 2:4-3:24. It is particularly grotesque to read literally that the animals were created as partners for Adam, brought to him and rejected, and finally replaced by Eve.

Sequence of Events

In Genesis ch. 2, the sequence of events is:

1. God makes the man
2. God makes the garden
3. God takes the man, puts him in the garden, and gives him instructions
4. God decides to make the man a suitable helper
5. God makes the animals and birds, and brings them to the man
6. The man names the animals and birds, but none is a suitable helper
7. So God makes a woman from the man's side

whereas in Genesis ch. 1 the sequence is

1. On the 5th day, God makes fish and birds
2. On the 6th day, God makes animals
3. Also on the 6th day, God makes adam (humankind) and gives them dominion over the earth

Concordist (mis)translation

Fundamentalist translations change this order of events to conform to Genesis ch. 1, where the sequence is:

1. God makes the animals
2. God makes humankind, male and female

This change is effected primarily by using a pluperfect verb: God "had formed" the animals, which makes nonsense of God's decision "I will make him a helper . . . " in the previous verse. Compare a similar mistranslation in Genesis 3:20.

See Comparing the two accounts of the Creation in Genesis.

See also NET Bible notes above, and discussion in bro Rick Brower's The Enigma of Creation, p. 106 cited here with additional discussion and a table comparing the two accounts of early Genesis.

See Christadelphians Origins Discussion for controversy arising from their criticism of the way this passage of Genesis was treated in IEAC's Reaffirmation Statement Concerning Creation and the Fall of Man and a response by brother Rob Thiele in Lampstand Magazine.

This mistranslation of Genesis was referenced here (5.3.4) in our responses to the AACE discussion questions.

Genesis 2:21-22

Contents of the Genesis 2:21-22 page:
→Bible→Old Testament→Genesis
← Overview of Genesis 2:4-25

KJV

²⁰ And 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.
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.
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.

RSV

²⁰ The man gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for the man there was not found a helper fit for him. ²¹ So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh; 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 Then the man said,
“This at last is bone of my bones
    and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called Woman,^[a]
    because she was taken out of Man.”^[b]

[a] Heb ishshah

[b] Heb ish

JPS Tanakh

²⁰ And the man gave names to all the cattle and to the birds of the sky and to all the wild beasts; but for Adam no fitting helper was found. . . . 

NET Bible

²¹ So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep, and while he was asleep, he took part of the man’s side and closed up the place with flesh. ²² Then the LORD God made a woman from the part he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.

Robert Alter

²¹ And the LORD God cast a deep slumber on the human, and he slept, and He took on of his ribs and closed over the flesh where it had been, and the LORD God built the rib He had taken from the human into a woman and He brought her to the human.

[footnote] built. Though this may seem an odd term for the creation of woman, it complements the potter's term, "fashion," used for the creation of the first human, and is more appropriate because the LORD is now working with hard material, not soft clay. As Nahum Sarna has observed, the Hebrew for "rib," tselaˋ, is also used elsewhere to designate an architectual element.

Adam's tardemah

Notes from John Walton's lecture The Lost World of Adam and Eve:

• Tardemah: deep sleep
  • a visionary state: unresponsive to the human realm, responsive to communication from the divine realm
  • compare Abraham's tardemah in Genesis 15:12-17 also Eliphaz, Daniel
    • Eliphaz: Job 4:12-17
    • Daniel:
  • LXX translates έκστασς [ekstasis]; Vulgate sopor (as early as Tertullian)
  • i.e. Adam in a vision sees himself cut in two, and she is the other half
• As "dust", it's a matter of identity, not formation.
  • v.24 This is why they have such "one flesh" identity!

A paragraph from John Walton's "Hebrew Corner" page about this word and the related verb is quoted in this wiki at Tardemah - תרדמה.

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• See Adam's Deep Sleep for the view that Genesis does not deal with the material origin of woman.
• See Created, Formed and Made for the different ways that the man and woman were created (Adam was "formed", Eve was "built").

The act of naming

To give a name to a person, concept, etc. has practical and symbolic effect. It is an aspect of language, and thus exclusively (or almost exclusively) something done by God himself or by his creatures created in his image.

Genesis 2:24

Contents of the Genesis 2:24 page: →Bible→Old Testament→Genesis
KJV

²⁴ Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

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See New Testament references to "the beginning" and Problems with Literal Readings of Genesis 2:4-3:24

This verse was referenced here (4.2.1) in our response to the AACE discussion questions.