Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

(A: iv, S: ii) ⁴ Here is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created. On the day when Adonai, God, made earth and heaven, ⁵ there was as yet no wild bush on the earth, and no wild plant had as yet sprung up; for Adonai, God, had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no one to cultivate the ground. ⁶ Rather, a mist went up from the earth which watered the entire surface of the ground.

⁷ Then Adonai, God, formed a person ^[a] from the dust of the ground ^[b] and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, so that he became a living being. ⁸ Adonai, God, planted a garden toward the east, in ‘Eden, and there he put the person whom he had formed. ⁹ Out of the ground Adonai, God, caused to grow every tree pleasing in appearance 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 divided into four streams. ¹¹ The name of the first is Pishon; it winds throughout the land of Havilah, where there is gold. ¹² The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx stone are also found there. ¹³ The name of the second river is Gichon; it winds throughout the land of Kush. ¹⁴ The name of the third river is Tigris; it is the one that flows toward the east of Ashur. The fourth river is the Euphrates.

¹⁵ Adonai, God, took the person and put him in the garden of ‘Eden to cultivate and care for it. ¹⁶ Adonai, God, gave the person this order: “You may freely eat from every tree in the garden ¹⁷ except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. You are not to eat from it, because on the day that you eat from it, it will become certain that you will die.”

¹⁸ Adonai, God, said, “It isn’t good that the person should be alone. I will make for him a companion suitable for helping him.” ¹⁹ So from the ground Adonai, God, formed every wild animal and every bird that flies in the air, and he brought them to the person to see what he would call them. Whatever the person would call each living creature, that was to be its name. (S: iii) ²⁰ So the person gave names to all the livestock, to the birds in the air and to every wild animal. But for Adam there was not found a companion suitable for helping him.

²¹ Then God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the person; and while he was sleeping, he took one of his ribs and closed up the place from which he took it with flesh. ²² The rib which Adonai, God, had taken from the person, he made a woman-person; and he brought her to the man-person. ²³ The man-person said, “At last! This is bone from my bones and flesh from my flesh. She is to be called Woman ^[c], because she was taken out of Man ^[d].” ²⁴ This is why a man is to leave his father and mother and stick with his wife, and they are to be one flesh.

²⁵ They were both naked, the man and his wife, and they were not ashamed.

⁶ But the present condition of Isra’el does not mean that the Word of God has failed.

For not everyone from Isra’el is truly part of Isra’el; ⁷ indeed, not all the descendants are seed of Avraham;^[a] rather, “What is to be called your ‘seed’ will be in Yitz’chak.”^{[b] 8} In other words, it is not the physical children who are children of God, but the children the promise refers to who are considered seed. ⁹ For this is what the promise said: “At the time set, I will come; and Sarah will have a son.”^{[c] 10} And even more to the point is the case of Rivkah; for both her children were conceived in a single act with Yitz’chak, our father; ¹¹ and before they were born, before they had done anything at all, either good or bad (so that God’s plan might remain a matter of his sovereign choice, not dependent on what they did, but on God, who does the calling), ¹² it was said to her, “The older will serve the younger.”^{[d] 13} This accords with where it is written, “Ya‘akov I loved, but Esav I hated.”^[e]