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The Creation of Man and Woman

This is the account about the development[a] of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens:

No bushes that grow in the field were yet on the earth,[b] and no plants of the field had yet sprung up, since the Lord God had not yet caused it to rain on the earth. There was not yet a man to till the soil, but water[c] came up from the earth and watered the entire surface of the ground.

The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground[d] and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. The Lord God planted a garden[e] in Eden in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. Out of the ground the Lord God made every kind of tree grow—trees that are pleasant to look at 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 from Eden to water the garden, and from there it divided and became the headwaters of four rivers. 11 The name of the first river is Pishon. It flows through the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold, 12 and the gold of that land is good. Incense[f] and onyx stone are also found there. 13 The name of the second river is Gihon. It is the same river that winds through the whole land of Cush.[g] 14 The name of the third river is Tigris. This is the one which flows along the east side of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates.

15 The Lord God took the man and settled him in the Garden of Eden to work it and to take care of it. 16 The Lord God gave a command to the man. He said, “You may freely eat from every tree in the garden, 17 but you shall not eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, for on the day that you eat from it, you will certainly die.”

18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is a suitable partner for him.” 19 Out of the soil the Lord God had formed every wild animal and every bird of the sky, and he brought them to the man to see what he would call them. Whatever the man called every living creature, that became its name. 20 The man gave names to all the livestock, and to the birds of the sky, and to every wild animal, but for Adam[h] no helper was found who was a suitable partner for him. 21 The Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. As the man slept, the Lord God took a rib[i] and closed up the flesh where it had been. 22 The Lord God built a woman from the rib that he had taken from the man and brought her to the man.

23 The man said,
Now this one is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh.
She will be called “woman,”
because she was taken out of man.[j]
24 For this reason a man will leave his father and his mother
and will remain united with his wife,
and they will become one flesh.[k]
25 They were both naked, the man and his wife, and they were not ashamed.

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 2:4 The Hebrew word toledoth, which is used in the headings of the ten sections of Genesis, is related to the Hebrew root for give birth, but as used in the section headings of Genesis (such as 2:4; 5:1; 6:9, etc.), toledoth seems to refer to the development more than to the origin of the group being discussed. For this reason, in the section headings of Genesis, toledoth is regularly translated account about the development.
  2. Genesis 2:5 Literally every bush of the field was not yet on the earth. This wording seems to refer to the time before the creation of plants on day 3, but the context of chapter 2 seems to be the preparation of the Garden of Eden as a special home for man and woman. Some commentators suggest that this verse refers only to the area of the Garden of Eden, which had been left unfinished, but the wide term on the earth does not seem to be a natural way to say this, so this may be a reference back to day 3.
  3. Genesis 2:6 A rare word (ed) is used. It may refer to springs or, less likely, to mist. Genesis 2:10 refers to the presence of rivers.
  4. Genesis 2:7 Literally as dust from the ground. This means man is still dust and will return to dust.
  5. Genesis 2:8 In Hebrew, the term garden includes groves of trees.
  6. Genesis 2:12 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain. It probably refers to a fragrant resin or a precious stone.
  7. Genesis 2:13 In the Old Testament, Cush often refers to the land south of Egypt. Here the names of the third and fourth rivers suggest an area in Mesopotamia, today’s Iraq.
  8. Genesis 2:20 Here the Hebrew word adam without the article becomes a personal name.
  9. Genesis 2:21 Part of his side is a more literal translation than the traditional translation rib.
  10. Genesis 2:23 Here the Hebrew word for man is ish not adam. Like the English word pair man/woman, the Hebrew words ish/ishah correspond to one another.
  11. Genesis 2:24 Verse 24 may be a continuation of the words of Adam or a comment of the inspired writer. In either case, Jesus recognizes them as part of the divine institution of marriage (Matthew 19:4-5).

The Generations of Heaven and Earth

These are the generations[a] of heaven[b] and earth[c] when they were created, in the day that Yahweh God made earth and heaven[d] before any plant of the field was[e] on earth, and before any plant of the field[f] had sprung up, because Yahweh God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no human being to cultivate the ground, but a stream would rise from the earth and water the whole face of the ground— when[g] Yahweh God formed the man[h] of dust from the ground, and he blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.

And Yahweh God planted a garden in Eden in the east, and there he put the man[i] whom he had formed. And Yahweh God caused to grow every tree that was pleasing to the sight and good for food. And the tree of life was in the midst of the garden, along with[j] the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

10 Now[k] a river flowed out from Eden that watered the garden, and from there it diverged and became four branches. 11 The name of the first is the Pishon. It went around all the land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 (The gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stones are there.) 13 And the name of the second is Gihon. It went around all the land of Cush. 14 And the name of the third is Tigris. It flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

15 And Yahweh God took the man[l] and set him in the garden of Eden to cultivate it and to keep it. 16 And Yahweh God commanded the man,[m] saying, “From every tree of the garden you may freely eat,[n] 17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat[o] from it you shall surely die.”[p]

18 Then[q] Yahweh God said, “it is not good that the man[r] is alone. I will make for him a helper as his counterpart.”[s] 19 And out of the ground Yahweh God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky,[t] and he brought each to the man[u] to see what he would call it. And whatever the man[v] called that living creature was its name. 20 And the man[w] gave names[x] to every domesticated animal and to the birds of heaven[y] and to all the wild animals.[z] But for the man there was not found a helper as his counterpart.[aa] 21 And Yahweh God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man.[ab] While[ac] he slept, he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh where it had been.[ad] 22 And Yahweh God fashioned the rib which he had taken from the man[ae] into a woman and brought her to the man.[af] 23 And the man[ag] said,

She is now[ah] bone from my bones
    and flesh from my flesh;
she[ai] shall be called ‘Woman,’
    for she was taken[aj] from man.”

24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and shall cling to his wife, and they shall be as one flesh. 25 And the man[ak] and his wife, both of them, were naked, and they were not ashamed.

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 2:4 Or “family records”
  2. Genesis 2:4 Or “the sky”
  3. Genesis 2:4 Or “the earth”
  4. Genesis 2:4 Or “sky”
  5. Genesis 2:5 Literally “and every plant of the field not yet was”
  6. Genesis 2:5 Literally “and every plant of the field not yet”
  7. Genesis 2:7 Or “and”
  8. Genesis 2:7 “The man” indicates the noun is singular and occurs with the definite article
  9. Genesis 2:8 “The man” indicates the noun is singular and occurs with the definite article
  10. Genesis 2:9 Or “and”
  11. Genesis 2:10 Or “And”
  12. Genesis 2:15 “The man” indicates the noun is singular and occurs with the definite article
  13. Genesis 2:16 “The man” indicates the noun is singular and occurs with the definite article
  14. Genesis 2:16 Literally “eating you may eat”
  15. Genesis 2:17 Literally “of your eating”
  16. Genesis 2:17 Literally “dying you shall die”
  17. Genesis 2:18 Or “And”
  18. Genesis 2:18 “The man” indicates the noun is singular and occurs with the definite article
  19. Genesis 2:18 Literally “as his opposite”
  20. Genesis 2:19 Or “the heavens”
  21. Genesis 2:19 “The man” indicates the noun is singular and occurs with the definite article
  22. Genesis 2:19 “The man” indicates the noun is singular and occurs with the definite article
  23. Genesis 2:20 “The man” indicates the noun is singular and occurs with the definite article
  24. Genesis 2:20 Literally “called names”
  25. Genesis 2:20 Or “the sky”
  26. Genesis 2:20 Literally “animals of the earth/land”
  27. Genesis 2:20 Literally “as his opposite”
  28. Genesis 2:21 “The man” indicates the noun is singular and occurs with the definite article
  29. Genesis 2:21 Or “And”
  30. Genesis 2:21 Literally “the flesh in the place of it”
  31. Genesis 2:22 “The man” indicates the noun is singular and occurs with the definite article
  32. Genesis 2:22 “The man” indicates the noun is singular and occurs with the definite article
  33. Genesis 2:23 “The man” indicates the noun is singular and occurs with the definite article
  34. Genesis 2:23 Literally “this one the time”
  35. Genesis 2:23 Literally “this one
  36. Genesis 2:23 Literally “this one was taken”
  37. Genesis 2:25 “The man” indicates the noun is singular and occurs with the definite article