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The First Book of Moses: Genesis

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- Chapter 2 -

(Exodus 16:22–30; Hebrews 4:1–11)
1
And so the heavens and the earth were completed, with all their adornment.
2
And on the seventh day, God fulfilled his work, which he had made. And on the seventh day he rested from all his work, which he had accomplished.(a)
3
And he blessed the seventh day and sanctified it. For in it, he had ceased from all his work: the work whereby God created whatever he should make.(b)

Man and Woman in the Garden

4
These are the generations of heaven and earth, when they were created, in the day when the Lord God made heaven and earth,
5
and every sapling of the field, before it would rise up in the land, and every wild plant, before it would germinate. For the Lord God had not brought rain upon the earth, and there was no man to work the land.(c)
6
But a fountain ascended from the earth, irrigating the entire surface of the land.
7
And then the Lord God formed man from the clay of the earth, and he breathed into his face the breath of life, and man became a living soul.(d)
8
Now the Lord God had planted a Paradise of enjoyment from the beginning. In it, he placed the man whom he had formed.
9
And from the soil the Lord God produced every tree that was beautiful to behold and pleasant to eat. And even the tree of life was in the midst of Paradise, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.(e) (f)
10
And a river went forth from the place of enjoyment so as to irrigate Paradise, which is divided from there into four heads.
11
The name of one is the Phison; it is that which runs through all the land of Hevilath, where gold is born;
12
and the gold of that land is the finest. In that place is found bdellium and the onyx stone.
13
And the name of the second river is the Gehon; it is that which runs through all the land of Ethiopia.
14
Truly, the name of the third river is the Tigris; it advances opposite the Assyrians. But the fourth river, it is the Euphrates.
15
Thus, the Lord God brought the man, and put him into the Paradise of enjoyment, so that it would be attended and preserved by him.
16
And he instructed him, saying: “From every tree of Paradise, you shall eat.
17
But from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat. For in whatever day you will eat from it, you will die a death.”
18
The Lord God also said: “It is not good for the man to be alone. Let us make a helper for him similar to himself.”
19
Therefore, the Lord God, having formed from the soil all the animals of the earth and all the flying creatures of the air, brought them to Adam, in order to see what he would call them. For whatever Adam would call any living creature, that would be its name.
20
And Adam called each of the living things by their names: all the flying creatures of the air, and all the wild beasts of the land. Yet truly, for Adam, there was not found a helper similar to himself.
21
And so the Lord God sent a deep sleep upon Adam. And when he was fast asleep, he took one of his ribs, and he completed it with flesh for it.(g)
22
And the Lord God built up the rib, which he took from Adam, into a woman. And he led her to Adam.
23
And Adam said: “Now this is bone from my bones, and flesh from my flesh. This one shall be called woman, because she was taken from man.”
24
For this reason, a man shall leave behind his father and mother, and he shall cling to his wife; and the two shall be as one flesh.
25
Now they were both naked: Adam, of course, and his wife. And they were not ashamed.

Footnotes

(a)2:2 He rested, etc:That is, he ceased to make or create any new kinds of things. Though, as our Lord tells us, John. 5:17, “He still works”, viz., by conserving and governing all things, and creating souls.(Challoner)
(b)2:3 The Latin is phrased in such a way as to suggest that God did the work of creation to accomplish or to arrive at the seventh day.(Conte)
(c)2:5 In other words, this was the time before agriculture, when the trees and plants were wild and not yet cultivated. The saplings grew in fallow fields, like brushwood, and the edible plants ‘herbam’ were merely those found in the wild in that region, before planting and cultivated growing.(Conte)
(d)2:7 Clay is used in the Book of Daniel to symbolize human nature.(Conte)
(e)2:9 The tree of life:So called because it had that quality, that by eating of the fruit of it, man would have been preserved in a constant state of health, vigour, and strength, and would not have died at all.(Challoner)
(f)2:9 The tree of knowledge:To which the deceitful serpent falsely attributed the power of imparting a superior kind of knowledge, beyond that which God was pleased to give.(Challoner)
(g)2:21 The word ‘soporem’ refers to an unnatural sleep, often in the context of a drug (a soporific preparation) or even a trauma to the head. But in this case, the unnatural sleep is a supernatural sleep, sent by God.(Conte)
(Exodus 16:22–30; Hebrews 4:1–11)
1
The heavens, the earth, and all their vast array were finished.
2
On the seventh day God finished his work which he had done; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done.
3
God blessed the seventh day, and made it holy, because he rested in it from all his work of creation which he had done.

Man and Woman in the Garden

4
This is the history of the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD (a) God made the earth and the heavens.
5
No plant of the field was yet in the earth, and no herb of the field had yet sprung up; for the LORD God had not caused it to rain on the earth. There was not a man to till the ground,
6
but a mist went up from the earth, and watered the whole surface of the ground.
7
The LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
8
The LORD God planted a garden eastward, in Eden, and there he put the man whom he had formed.
9
Out of the ground the LORD God made every tree to grow that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food, including the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
10
A river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it was parted, and became the source of four rivers.
11
The name of the first is Pishon: it flows through the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;
12
and the gold of that land is good. Bdellium(b) and onyx stone are also there.
13
The name of the second river is Gihon. It is the same river that flows through the whole land of Cush.
14
The name of the third river is Hiddekel. This is the one which flows in front of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates.
15
The LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate and keep it.
16
The LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden;
17
but you shall not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; for in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die.”
18
The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make him a helper comparable to (c) him.”
19
Out of the ground the LORD God formed every animal of the field, and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. Whatever the man called every living creature became its name.
20
The man gave names to all livestock, and to the birds of the sky, and to every animal of the field; but for man there was not found a helper comparable to him.
21
The LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. As the man slept, he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place.
22
The LORD God made a woman from the rib which he had taken from the man, and brought her to the man.
23
The man said, “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh. She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken out of Man.”
24
Therefore a man will leave his father and his mother, and will join with his wife, and they will be one flesh.
25
The man and his wife were both naked, and they were not ashamed.

Footnotes

(a)2:4 When rendered in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS, “LORD” or “GOD” is the translation of God’s Proper Name.
(b)2:12 or, aromatic resin
(c)2:18 or, suitable for, or appropriate for.
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