Genesis 2

Chapter 2 supplements the brief mention of the creation of Man in vs. 27, of the last chapter, by describing the formation of man and woman and their first dwelling place, as preliminary to the temptation, and consequent expulsion form the garden of Eden in Ch. 3.

Genesis 2: 1-3

Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. 2 And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.

God did not need to rest, he is Omnipotent, but he left for us an example, we need rest, our minds bodies our spirits we need to rest, from activities.

we are not under the Sabbath law !!!.

Genesis 2: 4-7 This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens, 5 before any plant of the field was in the earth and before any herb of the field had grown. For the LORD God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to till the ground; 6 but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground. 7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

notice the word LORD - in all capitols we will see this word all along our study,

they had not grown, the vegetation remained in the same state as on the day of it creation, through lack of rain,

we do not know were it is today, at the flood all things were rearranged,

2 Peter 3:6 6 by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. (NKJV)

Genesis 2:8 The LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed.

Eden = actually means delight, , East of Eden is a strange Idea, is it a geographical area,

yes is does mean East; however KEDEM can also have a time quality about it, As such , it would have the sense of “Before” or “From ancient times” to reinforce this understating , we should note that the Targum Onkelos translates it as “aforetime” . This is especially clear with we understand that before the world KEDEM is the hebrew proposition, “M” this also means “From” instead of “in”

Putting this all together, we can say that in the literal garden called Edam, man was placed there by God in such total delight from the very ancient of times that in Later Jewish literature the phrase “ Garden of Eden” has become a phrase used of the blissful eternal state.

Why was this garden such a delight for man ? the text does not say specifically, But is reasonable to assume that was in total delight because he was in total harmony and unity with God, with ever, his God-given partner, and with himself ! what else could cause such utter delight? [1]

Genesis 2: 10 And out of the ground the LORD God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

we will see this tree of life again in the new city,

Rev. 22

Genesis 2: 10-14 Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted and became four riverheads. 11 The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one which skirts the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 And the gold of that land is good. Bdellium and the onyx stone are there. 13 The name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one which goes around the whole land of Cush. 14 The name of the third river is Hiddekel; it is the one which goes toward the east of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates.

Pishon - nowhere else mentioned in the bible.

Havilah - N.E. of Arabia, on the Persian gulf. Arabia was famed in antiquity for its gold.

Bdellium - possibly the pearl.

Gihon - like the Pishon , the identify of this river is a matter of conjecture.

Cush - usually rendered Ethiopia; but it may also denote some territory in Asia

Asshur - Assyria; which lies some distance East of the Tigris and possibly includes Babylonia.

Euphrates. No further description is given , because it was universally known as the great river, sometimes just called the river.

Genesis 2: 15-17 Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 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 surely die."

Literally in your dying you shall die

why did God put it there, Free choice, God will respect out Choice

Genesis 2: 18-20 And the LORD God said, "It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him." 19 Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him.

every thing is good and then it is not good. Man is incomplete, some God gives a gift of singleness, not to me.

Genesis 2:21-25 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. 22 Then the rib which the LORD God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to 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." 24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

Rib - side , I grew up thinking that man had one less rib, but just the logic in this, if I lost my hand would my children loose there hand, the pure logic breaks down.

Cell ??

the woman is formed out of the mans side hence it is the wife’s natural duty to be at hand, ready at all times to be a “help” to her husband.[2]

Out of his side

the rabbis says in a message I heard he says he is quoting the Talmud

that man was created from the rib of man,

not from his head to top him

not from his feet to be trotted on by him

but from this rib, next to his heart to be loved by him

and under his arm to be cared for by him

naked a play on words see the next chapter

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[1] First fruits of Zion

[2] the Pentateuch and haftorahs J.H. Hertz pg. 9