King James Version
Genesis 2
25 verses with commentary
Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them....</strong> This passage continues the detailed account of Eden, human creation, and God's design for human flourishing. Genesis 2 complements chapter 1 by providing intimate details about human origins, the garden setting, marriage institution, and humanity's vocation as priest-kings in God's sanctuary-garden.<br><br>...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
II.
THE SABBATH.
(1) **Were finished.**—The first three verses of this chapter form part of the previous narrative, and contain its Divine purpose. For the great object of this hymn of creation is to give the sanction of the Creator to the Sabbath. Hence the ascribing of rest to Him who wearies not, and hence also the description of the several stages of creation as days. Labour is, no doubt, enno...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**28. Be fruitful, &c.--**The human race in every country and age has been the offspring of the first pair. Amid all the varieties found among men, some black, some copper-colored, others white, the researches of modern science lead to a conclusion, fully accordant with the sacred history, that they are all of one species and of one family (Ac 17:26). What power in the word of God! "He spake a...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 2
Chapter Outline
The first sabbath.(1-3)
Particulars about the creation.(4-7)
The planting of the garden of Eden.(8-14)
Man is placed in it.(15)
God's command.(16-17)
The animals named, The making of woman, The Divine institution of marriage.(18-25)
**Verses 1-3**
After six days, God ceased from all works of creation. In miracles, he has overruled nature,...
Read full commentary →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.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from a...</strong> This passage continues the detailed account of Eden, human creation, and God's design for human flourishing. Genesis 2 complements chapter 1 by providing intimate details about human origins, the garden setting, marriage institution, and humanity's vocation as priest-kings in Go...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **God ended his work.**—Not all work (see John 5:17, and Note *in loc.*)*, *but the special work of creation. The laws given in these six days still continue their activity; they are still maintained, and there may even be with them progress and development. There is also something special on this seventh day; for in it the work of redemption was willed by the Father, wrought by the Son, and a...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 2
Chapter Outline
The first sabbath.(1-3)
Particulars about the creation.(4-7)
The planting of the garden of Eden.(8-14)
Man is placed in it.(15)
God's command.(16-17)
The animals named, The making of woman, The Divine institution of marriage.(18-25)
**Verses 1-3**
After six days, God ceased from all works of creation. In miracles, he has overruled nature,...
Read full commentary →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. created: Heb. created to make
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his wo...</strong> This passage continues the detailed account of Eden, human creation, and God's design for human flourishing. Genesis 2 complements chapter 1 by providing intimate details about human origins, the garden setting, marriage institution, and humanity's vocation as priest-kings in Go...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **Sanctified it.**—That is, separated it from ordinary uses, and hallowed it. Legal observance of the Sabbath did not begin till the days of Moses (Exodus 31:13; Exodus 35:2); but this blessing and sanctification were given prior to any covenant with man, and by Elohim, the God of nature, and not Jehovah, the God of grace. The weekly rest, therefore, is universal, permanent, and independent of...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 2
Chapter Outline
The first sabbath.(1-3)
Particulars about the creation.(4-7)
The planting of the garden of Eden.(8-14)
Man is placed in it.(15)
God's command.(16-17)
The animals named, The making of woman, The Divine institution of marriage.(18-25)
**Verses 1-3**
After six days, God ceased from all works of creation. In miracles, he has overruled nature,...
Read full commentary →The Garden of Eden
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,
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that th...</strong> This passage continues the detailed account of Eden, human creation, and God's design for human flourishing. Genesis 2 complements chapter 1 by providing intimate details about human origins, the garden setting, marriage institution, and humanity's vocation as priest-kings in Go...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **When they were created.**—Heb., *in, *or upon, *their creation.*
**In the day.**—Viewed in its several stages, and with reference to the weekly rest, there were six days of creation, which are here described as one day, because they were but divisions in one continuous act.
**The Lord God.**—Jehovah-Elohim. (See *Excursus *at the end of this book.)
EXCURSUS C: ON THE DURATION OF THE PARADISI...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 4-7**
Here is a name given to the Creator, "Jehovah." Where the word "LORD" is printed in capital letters in our English Bibles, in the original it is "Jehovah." Jehovah is that name of God, which denotes that he alone has his being of himself, and that he gives being to all creatures and things. Further notice is taken of plants and herbs, because they were made and appointed to be f...
Read full commentary →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.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew:...</strong> This passage continues the detailed account of Eden, human creation, and God's design for human flourishing. Genesis 2 complements chapter 1 by providing intimate details about human origins, the garden setting, marriage institution, and humanity's vocation as priest-kings in Go...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5)**And every plant . . . —**The Authorised Version follows the LXX. in so translating this as to make it simply mean that God created vegetation. The more correct rendering is, “There was no shrub of the field (no wild shrub) as yet on the earth, and no herb of the field had as yet sprung up.” The purpose of the writer is to prepare for the planting of the paradise, though geology teaches us the...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 4-7**
Here is a name given to the Creator, "Jehovah." Where the word "LORD" is printed in capital letters in our English Bibles, in the original it is "Jehovah." Jehovah is that name of God, which denotes that he alone has his being of himself, and that he gives being to all creatures and things. Further notice is taken of plants and herbs, because they were made and appointed to be f...
Read full commentary →But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. there: or, a mist which went up from, etc.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground....</strong> This passage continues the detailed account of Eden, human creation, and God's design for human flourishing. Genesis 2 complements chapter 1 by providing intimate details about human origins, the garden setting, marriage institution, and humanity's vocation as priest-kings in God's sanctuary-gard...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **A mist.**—This mist, as we learn from Job 36:27, where the same word is translated *vapour, *is the measure and material of the rain, and thus there was already preparation for the Divine method of watering the earth, and making it capable of producing food for man. But, as we gather from Genesis 1, vast periods of indefinite length intervened between the first rain and the creation of man; ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 2 Ge 2:1. The Narrative of the Six Days' Creation Continued. The course of the narrative is improperly broken by the division of the chapter.
**1. the heavens--**the firmament or atmosphere.
**host--**a multitude, a numerous array, usually connected in Scripture with heaven only, but here with the earth also, meaning all that they contain.
**were finished--**brought to completion. No ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 4-7**
Here is a name given to the Creator, "Jehovah." Where the word "LORD" is printed in capital letters in our English Bibles, in the original it is "Jehovah." Jehovah is that name of God, which denotes that he alone has his being of himself, and that he gives being to all creatures and things. Further notice is taken of plants and herbs, because they were made and appointed to be f...
Read full commentary →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. of the dust: Heb. dust of the ground
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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.</strong> This verse provides intimate details of humanity's creation, complementing chapter 1's broader account. The divine name "LORD God" (<em>Yahweh Elohim</em>) combines covenant relationship with creative power, appearing for the first time in Scriptu...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground.**—Literally, *formed the man *(adam) *dust from the ground. *In this section the prominent idea is not that of producing out of nothing, but of *forming, *that is, shaping and moulding. So in Genesis 2:19 Jehovah forms the animals, and in Genesis 2:8 He plants a garden. As Elohim is almighty power, so Jehovah is wisdom and skill, and His...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Ge 2:2-7. The First Sabbath.
**2. and he rested on the seventh day--**not to repose from exhaustion with labor (see Is 40:28), but ceased from working, an example equivalent to a command that we also should cease from labor of every kind.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 4-7**
Here is a name given to the Creator, "Jehovah." Where the word "LORD" is printed in capital letters in our English Bibles, in the original it is "Jehovah." Jehovah is that name of God, which denotes that he alone has his being of himself, and that he gives being to all creatures and things. Further notice is taken of plants and herbs, because they were made and appointed to be f...
Read full commentary →And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed....</strong> This passage continues the detailed account of Eden, human creation, and God's design for human flourishing. Genesis 2 complements chapter 1 by providing intimate details about human origins, the garden setting, marriage institution, and humanity's vocation as priest-kings in God's ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(8) **The Lord God planted a garden.**—The order followed in the text, namely, man first and the garden afterwards, is not that of chronology, but of precedence. In Genesis 2:15 we find that the garden was ready as soon as man needed a home. It was a separate plot of ground, fenced off from the rest of Eden, and planted with trees and herbs that were of choicer kinds, more fit for food, and more b...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**3. blessed and sanctified the seventh day--**a peculiar distinction put upon it above the other six days, and showing it was devoted to sacred purposes. The institution of the Sabbath is as old as creation, giving rise to that weekly division of time which prevailed in the earliest ages. It is a wise and beneficent law, affording that regular interval of rest which the physical nature of man and...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-14**
The place fixed upon for Adam to dwell in, was not a palace, but a garden. The better we take up with plain things, and the less we seek things to gratify pride and luxury, the nearer we approach to innocency. Nature is content with a little, and that which is most natural; grace with less; but lust craves every thing, and is content with nothing. No delights can be satisfying ...
Read full commentary →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.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good f...</strong> This passage continues the detailed account of Eden, human creation, and God's design for human flourishing. Genesis 2 complements chapter 1 by providing intimate details about human origins, the garden setting, marriage institution, and humanity's vocation as priest-kings in Go...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) **Every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food.**—It has often been noticed that while the ancients do not seem to have had much taste for the beauty of the landscape, they greatly admired large and umbrageous trees. This feeling seems like a reminiscence of the joy of our first parents when they found themselves in a happy garden, surrounded by trees, the beauty of which is eve...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**4. These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth--**the history or account of their production. Whence did Moses obtain this account so different from the puerile and absurd fictions of the heathen? Not from any human source, for man was not in existence to witness it; not from the light of nature or reason, for though they proclaim the eternal power and Godhead by the things which a...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-14**
The place fixed upon for Adam to dwell in, was not a palace, but a garden. The better we take up with plain things, and the less we seek things to gratify pride and luxury, the nearer we approach to innocency. Nature is content with a little, and that which is most natural; grace with less; but lust craves every thing, and is content with nothing. No delights can be satisfying ...
Read full commentary →And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into fou...</strong> This passage continues the detailed account of Eden, human creation, and God's design for human flourishing. Genesis 2 complements chapter 1 by providing intimate details about human origins, the garden setting, marriage institution, and humanity's vocation as priest-kings in Go...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(10) **A river went out of Eden.**—Out of the large region of which the garden formed a part. The tenses, too, are present, as if the main features of the country remained unchanged: “a river goeth forth from Eden, and thence outside of it is parted, and becometh four main streams.” The idea is that of a stream rising in Eden, and flowing through the Paradise, and at some distance outside of it di...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**5-6. rain, mist--**(See on Ge 1:11).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-14**
The place fixed upon for Adam to dwell in, was not a palace, but a garden. The better we take up with plain things, and the less we seek things to gratify pride and luxury, the nearer we approach to innocency. Nature is content with a little, and that which is most natural; grace with less; but lust craves every thing, and is content with nothing. No delights can be satisfying ...
Read full commentary →The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there i...</strong> This passage continues the detailed account of Eden, human creation, and God's design for human flourishing. Genesis 2 complements chapter 1 by providing intimate details about human origins, the garden setting, marriage institution, and humanity's vocation as priest-kings in Go...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11, 12) **The name of the first is Pison.**—“The full-flowing” (Gesenius), or “free-streaming” (Fürst). Neither derivation has much authority for it in the Hebrew language, and we must wait for the true explanation till the cuneiform inscriptions have been more thoroughly examined. As two of the four rivers of Paradise rise in Armenia, so we must probably seek the other two there; but the conject...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**5-6. rain, mist--**(See on Ge 1:11).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-14**
The place fixed upon for Adam to dwell in, was not a palace, but a garden. The better we take up with plain things, and the less we seek things to gratify pride and luxury, the nearer we approach to innocency. Nature is content with a little, and that which is most natural; grace with less; but lust craves every thing, and is content with nothing. No delights can be satisfying ...
Read full commentary →And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone....</strong> This passage continues the detailed account of Eden, human creation, and God's design for human flourishing. Genesis 2 complements chapter 1 by providing intimate details about human origins, the garden setting, marriage institution, and humanity's vocation as priest-kings in God's sanctuary-garden.<br><br...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
7. Here the sacred writer supplies a few more particulars about the first pair.
**formed--**had FORMED MAN OUT OF THE DUST OF THE GROUND. Science has proved that the substance of his flesh, sinews, and bones, consists of the very same elements as the soil which forms the crust of the earth and the limestone that lies embedded in its bowels. But from that mean material what an admirable structure...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-14**
The place fixed upon for Adam to dwell in, was not a palace, but a garden. The better we take up with plain things, and the less we seek things to gratify pride and luxury, the nearer we approach to innocency. Nature is content with a little, and that which is most natural; grace with less; but lust craves every thing, and is content with nothing. No delights can be satisfying ...
Read full commentary →And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. Ethiopia: Heb. Cush
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia...</strong> This passage continues the detailed account of Eden, human creation, and God's design for human flourishing. Genesis 2 complements chapter 1 by providing intimate details about human origins, the garden setting, marriage institution, and humanity's vocation as priest-kings in Go...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(13) **Gihon,** “the river that bursts forth,” has been supposed to be the Nile, because it is said to wind about Ethiopia (Cush). According to this view, there was originally no break between Asia and Africa, and the Nile, entering Abyssinia from Arabia, took thence a northerly course, and traversed Egypt. But Cush is now known to have signified at this period the southern half of Arabia, and it ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**8. Eden--**was probably a very extensive region in Mesopotamia, distinguished for its natural beauty and the richness and variety of its produce. Hence its name, signifying "pleasantness." God planted a garden eastward, an extensive park, a paradise, in which the man was put to be trained under the paternal care of his Maker to piety and usefulness.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-14**
The place fixed upon for Adam to dwell in, was not a palace, but a garden. The better we take up with plain things, and the less we seek things to gratify pride and luxury, the nearer we approach to innocency. Nature is content with a little, and that which is most natural; grace with less; but lust craves every thing, and is content with nothing. No delights can be satisfying ...
Read full commentary →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. toward: or, eastward to Assyria
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And ...</strong> This passage continues the detailed account of Eden, human creation, and God's design for human flourishing. Genesis 2 complements chapter 1 by providing intimate details about human origins, the garden setting, marriage institution, and humanity's vocation as priest-kings in Go...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(14) Of the “Hiddekel” and “Euphrates” there is no doubt: the former is the Tigris, or Tigres, which is a mere Graecising of its Oriental name, Daglath in Arabic, and Deklath in Syriac, and in the Targum of Onkelos. The word Hiddekel is startling as being a quadriliteral, but the Samaritan Codex reads *the Dehel, *that is, it has the article instead of the Hebrew Kheth. Mr. Sayce accepts the uncer...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**9. tree of life--**so called from its symbolic character as a sign and seal of immortal life. Its prominent position where it must have been an object of daily observation and interest, was admirably fitted to keep man habitually in mind of God and futurity.
**tree of the knowledge of good and evil--**so called because it was a test of obedience by which our first parents were to be tried, whe...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-14**
The place fixed upon for Adam to dwell in, was not a palace, but a garden. The better we take up with plain things, and the less we seek things to gratify pride and luxury, the nearer we approach to innocency. Nature is content with a little, and that which is most natural; grace with less; but lust craves every thing, and is content with nothing. No delights can be satisfying ...
Read full commentary →And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. the man: or, Adam
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it....</strong> This passage continues the detailed account of Eden, human creation, and God's design for human flourishing. Genesis 2 complements chapter 1 by providing intimate details about human origins, the garden setting, marriage institution, and humanity's vocation as priest-kings in God's sa...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(15) **And the Lord God took the man (the adam),** **and put him into the garden of Eden.**—The narrative now reverts to Genesis 2:8, but the word translated *put *is not the same in both places. Here it literally means *He made him rest, *that is, He gave it to him as his permanent and settled dwelling.
**To dress it and to keep it.**—The first word literally means *to work it; *for though a para...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verse 15**
After God had formed Adam, he put him in the garden. All boasting was thereby shut out. Only he that made us can make us happy; he that is the Former of our bodies, and the Father of our spirits, and none but he, can fully provide for the happiness of both. Even in paradise itself man had to work. None of us were sent into the world to be idle. He that made our souls and bodies, h...
Read full commentary →And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: thou: Heb. eating thou shalt eat
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:...</strong> This passage continues the detailed account of Eden, human creation, and God's design for human flourishing. Genesis 2 complements chapter 1 by providing intimate details about human origins, the garden setting, marriage institution, and humanity's vocation as priest-kings in God's s...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(16, 17) **The Lord God commanded.**—Probation is the law of man’s moral condition now, and it began in Paradise, only the conditions there were different. (See *Excursus *at end of this book.)
**In the day. . . . —**Used, as in Genesis 2:4, for an indefinitely long period. But just as on the third day God gave the whole law of vegetation, though trees as the highest development of that law may no...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 16-17**
Let us never set up our own will against the holy will of God. There was not only liberty allowed to man, in taking the fruits of paradise, but everlasting life made sure to him upon his obedience. There was a trial appointed of his obedience. By transgression he would forfeit his Maker's favour, and deserve his displeasure, with all its awful effects; so that he would become ...
Read full commentary →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. thou shalt surely: Heb. dying thou shalt die
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that tho...</strong> This passage continues the detailed account of Eden, human creation, and God's design for human flourishing. Genesis 2 complements chapter 1 by providing intimate details about human origins, the garden setting, marriage institution, and humanity's vocation as priest-kings in Go...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 16-17**
Let us never set up our own will against the holy will of God. There was not only liberty allowed to man, in taking the fruits of paradise, but everlasting life made sure to him upon his obedience. There was a trial appointed of his obedience. By transgression he would forfeit his Maker's favour, and deserve his displeasure, with all its awful effects; so that he would become ...
Read full commentary →The Creation of Woman
And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. meet: Heb. as before him
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.</strong> This divine assessment introduces the only "not good" element in creation before the fall. Human aloneness contradicts God's design for relationship and community, reflecting God's own Trinitarian nature of love and communion.<br><br>The phrase "help meet" (<em>ezer kenegdo</e...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(18) **It is not good . . . —**In these words we have the Divine appointment of marriage, and also the declaration that the female is subsequent in order of production to the male, and formed from him. In Genesis 1:27; Genesis 5:2, the creation of male and female is represented as having been simultaneous. She is described as “a help meet for him:” Heb., *a help as his front, *his reflected image,...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 18-25**
Power over the creatures was given to man, and as a proof of this he named them all. It also shows his insight into the works of God. But though he was lord of the creatures, yet nothing in this world was a help meet for man. From God are all our helpers. If we rest in God, he will work all for good. God caused deep sleep to fall on Adam; while he knows no sin, God will take c...
Read full commentary →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. Adam: or, the man
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and b...</strong> This passage continues the detailed account of Eden, human creation, and God's design for human flourishing. Genesis 2 complements chapter 1 by providing intimate details about human origins, the garden setting, marriage institution, and humanity's vocation as priest-kings in Go...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(19) **Out of the ground.**—The adâmâh; thus the physical constituents of the animals are the same as those of the body of man. Much curious speculation has arisen from the mistaken idea that the order here is chronological, and that the animals were created subsequently to man, and that it was only upon their failing one and all to supply Adam’s need of a companion that woman was called into bein...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 18-25**
Power over the creatures was given to man, and as a proof of this he named them all. It also shows his insight into the works of God. But though he was lord of the creatures, yet nothing in this world was a help meet for man. From God are all our helpers. If we rest in God, he will work all for good. God caused deep sleep to fall on Adam; while he knows no sin, God will take c...
Read full commentary →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. gave: Heb. called
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but ...</strong> This passage continues the detailed account of Eden, human creation, and God's design for human flourishing. Genesis 2 complements chapter 1 by providing intimate details about human origins, the garden setting, marriage institution, and humanity's vocation as priest-kings in Go...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(20) **And Adam gave names.**—Throughout this chapter Adam is but once mentioned as a proper name; and the regular phrase in the Hebrew is *the adam, *that is, the man, except in the last clause of this verse. In Genesis 2:23 there is a different word for man, namely, *ish. *We must not confine this giving of names to the domestic animals, nor are we to suppose a long procession of beasts and bird...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**15. put the man into the garden of Eden to dress it--**not only to give him a pleasant employment, but to place him on his probation, and as the title of this garden, the garden of the Lord (Ge 13:10; Eze 28:13), indicates, it was in fact a temple in which he worshipped God, and was daily employed in offering the sacrifices of thanksgiving and praise.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 18-25**
Power over the creatures was given to man, and as a proof of this he named them all. It also shows his insight into the works of God. But though he was lord of the creatures, yet nothing in this world was a help meet for man. From God are all our helpers. If we rest in God, he will work all for good. God caused deep sleep to fall on Adam; while he knows no sin, God will take c...
Read full commentary →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;
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, a...</strong> This passage continues the detailed account of Eden, human creation, and God's design for human flourishing. Genesis 2 complements chapter 1 by providing intimate details about human origins, the garden setting, marriage institution, and humanity's vocation as priest-kings in Go...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(21) **And the Lord God caused a deep sleep **(comp. Job 4:13, where it is the same word) to fall upon Adam.—Heb., the man.
**One of his ribs.**—The word is never translated *rib *except in this place, but always *side, flank. *This is the true meaning also of the Latin word by which it is rendered in the Vulgate, *costa, *as shown in the French *côte, *and our *coast *Both the Greek and Syriac al...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 18-25**
Power over the creatures was given to man, and as a proof of this he named them all. It also shows his insight into the works of God. But though he was lord of the creatures, yet nothing in this world was a help meet for man. From God are all our helpers. If we rest in God, he will work all for good. God caused deep sleep to fall on Adam; while he knows no sin, God will take c...
Read full commentary →And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. made: Heb. builded
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man....</strong> This passage continues the detailed account of Eden, human creation, and God's design for human flourishing. Genesis 2 complements chapter 1 by providing intimate details about human origins, the garden setting, marriage institution, and humanity's vocation as priest-kings in God'...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(22) **Made he a woman.**—Heb., *he built up into a woman. *Her formation is described as requiring both time and care on the heavenly artificer’s part. Thus woman is no casual or hasty production of nature, but is the finished result of labour and skill. Finally, she is brought with special honour to the man as the Creator’s last and most perfect work. Every step and stage in this description is ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**17. thou shalt not eat of it ... thou shalt surely die--**no reason assigned for the prohibition, but death was to be the punishment of disobedience. A positive command like this was not only the simplest and easiest, but the only trial to which their fidelity could be exposed.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 18-25**
Power over the creatures was given to man, and as a proof of this he named them all. It also shows his insight into the works of God. But though he was lord of the creatures, yet nothing in this world was a help meet for man. From God are all our helpers. If we rest in God, he will work all for good. God caused deep sleep to fall on Adam; while he knows no sin, God will take c...
Read full commentary →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. Woman: Heb. Isha Man: Heb. Ish
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, becau...</strong> This passage continues the detailed account of Eden, human creation, and God's design for human flourishing. Genesis 2 complements chapter 1 by providing intimate details about human origins, the garden setting, marriage institution, and humanity's vocation as priest-kings in Go...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(23) **This is now.**—Literally, *this stroke, *or *beat of the foot *in keeping time. It means, therefore, *this time, *or colloquially, *at last. *Adam had long studied the natural world, and while, with their confidence as yet unmarred by human cruelty, they came to his call, grew tame, and joined his company, he found none that answered to his wants, and replied to him with articulate speech. ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Ge 2:18-25. The Making of Woman, and Institution of Marriage.
**18. it is not good for the man to be alone--**In the midst of plenty and delights, he was conscious of feelings he could not gratify. To make him sensible of his wants,
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 18-25**
Power over the creatures was given to man, and as a proof of this he named them all. It also shows his insight into the works of God. But though he was lord of the creatures, yet nothing in this world was a help meet for man. From God are all our helpers. If we rest in God, he will work all for good. God caused deep sleep to fall on Adam; while he knows no sin, God will take c...
Read full commentary →Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shal...</strong> This passage continues the detailed account of Eden, human creation, and God's design for human flourishing. Genesis 2 complements chapter 1 by providing intimate details about human origins, the garden setting, marriage institution, and humanity's vocation as priest-kings in Go...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(24) **Therefore shall a man leave . . . —**These are evidently the words of the narrator. Adam names this new product of creative power, as he had named others, but he knew nothing about young men leaving their father’s house for the wife’s sake. Moreover, in Matthew 19:5, our Lord quotes these words as spoken by God, and the simplest interpretation of this declaration is that the inspired narrat...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**19. God brought unto Adam--**not all the animals in existence, but those chiefly in his immediate neighborhood to be subservient to his use.
**whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof--**His powers of perception and intelligence were supernaturally enlarged to know the characters, habits, and uses of each species that was brought to him.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 18-25**
Power over the creatures was given to man, and as a proof of this he named them all. It also shows his insight into the works of God. But though he was lord of the creatures, yet nothing in this world was a help meet for man. From God are all our helpers. If we rest in God, he will work all for good. God caused deep sleep to fall on Adam; while he knows no sin, God will take c...
Read full commentary →And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed....</strong> This passage continues the detailed account of Eden, human creation, and God's design for human flourishing. Genesis 2 complements chapter 1 by providing intimate details about human origins, the garden setting, marriage institution, and humanity's vocation as priest-kings in God's sanctuary-garden.<br><br>Th...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
**THE TEMPTATION AND FALL.**
(25) **They were both naked.**—This is the description of perfect childlike innocence, and belongs naturally to beings who as yet knew neither good nor evil. It is not, however, the conclusion of the marriage section, where it would be indelicate, but the introduction to the account of the temptation, where it prepares the way for man’s easy fall. Moreover, there is a ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**20. but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him--**The design of this singular scene was to show him that none of the living creatures he saw were on an equal footing with himself, and that while each class came with its mate of the same nature, form, and habits, he alone had no companion. Besides, in giving names to them he was led to exercise his powers of speech and to prepare for s...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 18-25**
Power over the creatures was given to man, and as a proof of this he named them all. It also shows his insight into the works of God. But though he was lord of the creatures, yet nothing in this world was a help meet for man. From God are all our helpers. If we rest in God, he will work all for good. God caused deep sleep to fall on Adam; while he knows no sin, God will take c...
Read full commentary →