Genesis 2

1: Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.  

This verse refers back to the previous chapter, which described the creation of the world and everything in it. This verse affirms that God’s work of creation is finished. 

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 had made.  

This verse explains that God rested on the seventh day, after completing his work of creation.  

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. 

This verse explains that God declared the seventh day to be holy, and that he blessed it. This is why many religious traditions observe a day of rest and worship on the seventh day of the week. 

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,  

This verse is a sort of summary of what has come before, and introduces the next section of the chapter, which focuses on the creation of humanity. 

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.  

This verse describes a time before plants had grown on the earth, because there had been no rain and no one to tend the ground. 

6: But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.  

This verse explains how the plants were eventually able to grow, through the natural process of water rising from the earth. 

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. 

This verse describes the creation of Adam, the first man. God formed him from the dust of the earth and gave him the breath of life. Which makes sense why we leave this world as dust. 

8: And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.  

This verse describes the location of the Garden of Eden, where God placed Adam after creating him. 

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.  

This verse describes the trees that God made grow in the Garden of Eden, including the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge. 

10: And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.  

This verse describes the river that flowed through the Garden of Eden, and its four tributaries. 

11: The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;  

This verse describes the first tributary of the river that flowed through the Garden of Eden, called the Pishon, which flowed through the land of Havilah where gold was found. 

12: and the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone.  

This verse further describes the wealth of the land of Havilah. 

13: And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia.  

This verse describes the second tributary of the river that flowed through the Garden of Eden, called the Gihon. Ethiopia (by Greek/Romans) is translated as “a land south of Israel”, commonly known by Egyptians as land of Cush. 

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.  

This verse describes the third and fourth tributaries of the river that flowed through the Garden of Eden, called the Hiddekel (which is widely accepted as Tigris) and the Euphrates. 

15: And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.  

This verse explains that God placed Adam in the Garden of Eden with the responsibility of tending to it. 

16: And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:  

This verse gives Adam permission to eat from any tree in the Garden of Eden except for the Tree of Knowledge. 

17: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. 

This verse warns Adam of the consequences of eating from the Tree of Knowledge. For if he eats from the Tree of knowledge, he will die. 

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.  

This verse introduces the creation of Eve, who will be Adam’s companion. 

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.  

This verse describes God’s creation of the animals, and how he gave Adam the task of naming them. 

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.  

This verse explains that despite naming all the animals, Adam still did not have a suitable companion. 

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;  

This verse describes how God created Eve from one of Adam’s ribs while he slept. The widespread myth of man having more ribs than woman is incorrect. God created Adam to have complete set of ribs, his genes – therefore his children would have complete ribs. It’s like a person who was born with two hands, and got into an accident and lost one arm, will have children with two hands. 

22: and the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.  

This verse explains how God created Eve and presented her to Adam. 

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.  

This verse records Adam’s reaction to seeing Eve for the first time, and his recognition of their shared nature. 

24: Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.  

This verse explains the purpose of marriage, which is for a man and woman to become one flesh and form a new family unit. Through their union they produce one flesh – a child. In other versions/translations instead of using the word Cleave (faithful), Joined or Cling is being used. In Hebrew, the word Dabaq was used. See link for definition from Biblestudytools. 

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

This verse describes the innocence and purity of Adam and Eve in their relationship with each other and with God. 

---

Overall Insights 

This chapter provides a detailed account of the creation of Adam and Eve, their placement in the Garden of Eden, and their relationship with God and each other. It also establishes the importance of human companionship. 

---