God Rests on the Seventh Day
Study note
God finishes his work of creation and rests on the seventh day. This does not mean God was tired — it means the work was complete. God blesses this day and sets it apart as holy. This becomes the basis for the Sabbath day of rest that later becomes central to Israelite life.
1 And that is how the sky, the earth, and everything in them were finished. Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
2 By the time the seventh day arrived, God was done with all the work he had been doing. So on that seventh day, he took a rest from everything. 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.
3 God blessed the seventh day and made it holy. That was the day he stopped all his work of creating and rested. 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.
God Forms the First Man
Study note
This is a closer look at how God created humanity. God forms the man from the dust of the ground and breathes life into him. The Hebrew word for man is 'adam,' which sounds like the Hebrew word for ground, 'adamah.' This shows the close connection between humans and the earth they came from.
4 Here is the story of how the sky and the earth came to be. On the day the Lord God made them, 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,
5 there were still no wild plants or crops growing anywhere on the earth. That was because the Lord God had not yet sent any rain, and there were no people around to farm the soil. 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 Instead, water would rise up from the ground like a mist and soak the whole surface of the earth. But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.
7 Then 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. 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.
The Garden of Eden
Study note
God plants a garden in a place called Eden, which means 'delight.' In the middle of the garden are two special trees: the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. A river flows out of Eden and splits into four branches. Two of these rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates, are real rivers in modern-day Iraq, suggesting the garden was in the ancient Near East.
8 The Lord God had planted a beautiful garden over in the east, in a place called Eden. That is where he put the man he had just made. And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.
9 And out of the ground the LORD God made every tree to grow 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. 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.
10 A river flowed through Eden to keep the garden watered. From there, it split off into four separate rivers. And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.
11 The first river was called the Pishon. It flowed through the whole land of Havilah, a place where you can find gold. The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;
12 The gold in that land is excellent. You can also find bdellium and onyx stone there. And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone.
13 The second river was called the Gihon. It flowed through the whole land of Cush. And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia.
14 The third river was called the Tigris. It flows along the eastern edge of Assyria. And the fourth river was the Euphrates. 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.
God's Command About the Tree
Study note
God gives the man two things: a job and a rule. The job is to work in the garden and take care of it. The rule is that he may eat from any tree in the garden except one — the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God warns that eating from that tree will bring death. This single command becomes the test of human obedience.
15 The Lord God brought the man to the Garden of Eden and gave him the job of taking care of it and working the land. And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
16 The Lord God gave the man a clear rule: "Go ahead and eat freely from any tree in this garden." And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
17 "But that tree over there — the one that gives knowledge of good and evil — stay away from its fruit. The day you eat from it, you will certainly die." 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.
God Creates the First Woman
Study note
God says it is not good for the man to be alone and decides to make a helper who is a perfect match for him. First, God brings all the animals to the man to name, but none of them is the right partner. So God causes the man to fall into a deep sleep, takes one of his ribs, and forms a woman from it. The man is overjoyed and declares that she is 'bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.' The chapter ends by saying a man will leave his parents and be united with his wife, and the two become one.
18 Then the Lord God thought, "It is not good for this man to be all by himself. I need to make someone who will be the perfect partner for him." 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 Now, the Lord God had already formed every wild animal and every bird from the ground. He brought them all to the man to see what names he would pick for them. Whatever the man decided to call each creature became its official name. 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 So the man picked out names for all the farm animals, all the birds, and all the wild animals. But none of those creatures turned out to be the right partner for him. 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 So the Lord God put the man into a very deep sleep. While the man was sleeping, God removed one of his ribs and then closed everything back up. 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 The Lord God used that rib to build a woman, and then he brought her to the man. And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
23 The man took one look at her and said, "Finally! Here is someone made from my very own bones and my very own body! She will be called 'woman' because she came right out of man." 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.
24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall hold fast to his wife: and they shall be one flesh. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
25 Both the man and his wife were naked, but neither of them felt embarrassed about it at all. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.