The Garden of Eden

Thus the heavens and the earth, and (A)all the host of them, were finished. (B)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. Then God (C)blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.

(D)This is the [a]history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, before any (E)plant of the field was in the earth and before any herb of the field had grown. For the Lord God had not (F)caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man (G)to till the ground; but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground.

And the Lord God formed man of the (H)dust of the ground, and (I)breathed into his (J)nostrils the breath of life; and (K)man became a living being.

Life in God’s Garden

The Lord God planted (L)a garden (M)eastward in (N)Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. And out of the ground the Lord God made (O)every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. (P)The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and (Q)evil.

10 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 (R)the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 And the gold of that land is good. (S)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 (T)Hiddekel;[b] it is the one which goes toward the east of [c]Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates.

15 Then the Lord God took [d]the man and put him in the garden of Eden to [e]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 (U)you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it (V)you[f] shall surely (W)die.”

18 And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; (X)I will make him a helper comparable to him.” 19 (Y)Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and (Z)brought them to [g]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.

21 And the Lord God caused a (AA)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 [h]made into a woman, (AB)and He (AC)brought her to the man.

23 And Adam said:

“This is now (AD)bone of my bones
And flesh of my flesh;
She shall be called [i]Woman,
Because she was (AE)taken out of [j]Man.”

24 (AF)Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and (AG)be[k] joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

25 (AH)And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not (AI)ashamed.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 2:4 Heb. toledoth, lit. generations
  2. Genesis 2:14 Or Tigris
  3. Genesis 2:14 Heb. Ashshur
  4. Genesis 2:15 Or Adam
  5. Genesis 2:15 cultivate
  6. Genesis 2:17 Lit. dying you shall die
  7. Genesis 2:19 Or the man
  8. Genesis 2:22 Lit. built
  9. Genesis 2:23 Heb. Ishshah
  10. Genesis 2:23 Heb. Ish
  11. Genesis 2:24 Lit. cling

Shabbat For Rest

So the heavens and the earth were completed along with their entire array. God completed—on the seventh day—His work that He made, and He ceased—on the seventh day—from all His work that He made. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, for on it He ceased from all His work that God created for the purpose of preparing.

Humanity in Gan-Eden

These are the genealogical records of the heavens and the earth when they were created, at the time when Adonai Elohim made land and sky. Now no shrub of the field was in the land yet, and no green plants of the field had sprouted yet. For Adonai Elohim had not caused it to rain upon the land, and there was no one to work the ground. But a mist came up from the land and watered the whole surface of the ground.

Then Adonai Elohim formed the man out of the dust from the ground and He breathed into his nostrils a breath of life—so the man became a living being. Then Adonai Elohim planted a garden in Eden in the east, and there He put the man whom He had formed. Then Adonai Elohim caused to sprout from the ground every tree that was desirable to look at and good for food.

Now the Tree of Life was in the middle of the garden, and also the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. 10 A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden. From there it divided and became four riverheads. 11 The name of the first is Pishon, the one that winds around the whole land of the Havilah, where there is gold. 12 The gold of that land is good—bdellium and lapis lazuli stones are also there. 13 The name of the second river is Gihon—it winds around the whole land of Cush. 14 The name of the third river is Tigris—it runs east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.

15 Then Adonai Elohim took the man and gave him rest in the Garden of Eden in order to cultivate and watch over it. 16 Then Adonai Elohim commanded the man saying, “From all the trees of the garden you are most welcome to eat. 17 But of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil you must not eat. For when you eat from it, you most assuredly will die!

18 Then Adonai Elohim said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. Let Me make a well-matched helper for him.” 19 Adonai Elohim had formed from the ground every animal of the field and every flying creature of the sky, so He brought them to the man to see what he would call them. Whatever the man called them—each living creature—that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all of the livestock, and to the flying creatures of the sky, and to all the animals of the field; but for the man He did not find a well-matched helper for him. 21 Adonai Elohim caused a deep sleep to fall on the man and he slept; and He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh in its place. 22 Adonai Elohim built the rib, which He had taken from the man, into a woman. Then He brought her to the man. 23 Then the man said,

“This one, at last, is bone of my bones
        and flesh from my flesh.
    This one is called woman,
        for from man was taken this one.”

24 This is why a man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife; and they become one flesh.[a]

From Innocence to Shame

25 Now both of them were naked, the man and his wife, and they were not ashamed.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 2:24 cf. Matt. 19:5.