Genesis
Chapter 2
1- Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
The heavens and the earth… which are now, i.e. this earth age, as opposed to the age that was, or the age that is still to come.
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 made.
According to the Bullinger notes in the Companion Bible, rested is from achievement, man rests from fatigue.
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.
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.
Generations = family history. The Bullinger notes point out there are 14 generations of Jesus Christ. God is still “Elohim” #430 here in the Strong’s Concordance until chapter 6. He also points out there is absolutely no trace of the Elohistic and Jehovistic theories (the “P” and the “J”), which would be evident here if anywhere. The text continues in a chronological order and is not simply a retelling of the sixth day creation but rather the creation bringing forth His family history.
This verse is also the first appearance of “the Lord God.”
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.6- But there went up a mist of 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 soul.
Formed is “yatsar” in the hebrew, #3335 in the Strong’s Concordance. It means to squeeze or mould into a form, as a potter.
Man in this instance is different than the man from the sixth day creation in that the article and particle are used- “‘eth-‘ Ha’ adham.” That is the man or bloodline which Christ would come from, created after the seventh day.
Dust is “aphar” #6083 in the Strong’s. It is clay, earth, mud.
Breathed is “naphach” #5301 is Strong’s. To puff or inflate.
Breath is “neshamah” #5397. It is wind, vital breath, divine inspiration, intellect, soul and spirit among others.
Life and living are #2416, “chay” meaning alive. From the prime root “chayah” #2421, to live literally or figuratively, to be whole.
Soul is #5315, “nephesh.”
8- (And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there He put the man He had formed.
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.
The trees here are an interesting study. It is listed as “etsin” #6086 in the Strong’s Concordance, from the prime root “atsah” which is #6095. “Atsah” is also the prime root for “atseh,” #6096, which means the spine or the back, as a man has a backbone to stand straight and the spine carries the knowledge of the body to the brain and to the rest of the body.
The trees that grow from the ground are obviously different from the trees which are in the midst of the garden. Both God and Satan are referred to as trees elsewhere. God is a great fir tree, and Satan is a common cedar. Here the tree of life would be Jesus, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil is Satan.
Compare the tree of life to Rev. 2.7 “… To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.” See Appendix 17 of the Companion Bible for the tree of life.
10- And a river went out of eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.
According to Bullinger’s notes in the Companion Bible, river = the Persian Gulf, known as such to the Accadians, which breaks into four heads or mouths.
11- The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;
Bullinger states the Pison is a river West of the Euphrates, known also as Pallukat.
12- And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone.
13- And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia.
The companion bible declares Gihon Kerkah or the ancient Khoaspes, rising in the mountains of the Kassi. It is East of the Tigris in the Accadian Kas.
14- And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.
Hiddakel is Accadian for the Tigris according to the Companion Bible’s side notes.
15- And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the Garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.)
The man here is eth-haadham, the same man Adam from 2.7.
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 knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”
Eat is “akal,” is a prime root, #398 in the Strong’s, and means amongst other things, to eat literally or figuratively, to devour or burn up, freely, lay or meat.
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.
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.
The rib is “tsela,” #6763 in the Strong’s. It means a rib, curved, side, arch, timber, plank, or floor. It is from the prime root “tsala,” #6360, which is to curve. It has recently been suggested that one might even think of the helix curve of man’s DNA, a very interesting consideration here.
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.”
Man here is “ish,” # 376. It is used in regards to the male sex. It is also used to describe “higher” male beings than Adam. For example, when God is referred to as “man,” it is ish.
24- Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
25- And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.