Thoughts about Genesis (12)

Genesis 2:4-9
⁴ These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens.
⁵ When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up — for the LORD God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground,
⁶ and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground
⁷ then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.
⁸ And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed.
⁹ And out of the ground the LORD God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Chapter 1 gave us the general view of creation with a day-by-day account. It neatly summarizes the entirety of the creation process. It showed us the logical sequence of the creation. It becomes evident that there was foresight and planning that demonstrated the incredible power and intelligence of God. Chapter 1 gave us a wide-angle and general view of the creation process. God himself is presented from a wide-angle and general view. All we are given is a description of God in the word Elohim. Chapter 1 shows us the all-powerful God creating everything. The message was that we should worship the creator and not anything that was created.

The Genesis chapter 1 account of creation describes the whole creation process from beginning to end. We see God creating and causing the creation to reproduce, which (in a manner of speaking) continues the creation process. There is no clear differentiation between God’s creative activity and the creations’ reproductive ability in the creation process. God started the cycle and enabled the creation to continue the cycle. This cycle does not mean that God started the process and then stepped back to watch from a distance. God remains actively involved in his creation, while at the same time, the creation remains actively dependent upon the creator. Genesis 1 points out an interdependency of the entire creation to produce life and a dependency upon God to maintain that order. If God ever stepped away from his creation or removed his presence, it would fall apart and possibly cease to exist. The creation is nothing without the creator.

Chapter two zooms in to show how the creation story specifically applies to the nation of Israel and how they became God’s chosen people. The Israelites will trace their roots back to Adam, so Adam will be the focus of Chapter 2. Just as Adam was set apart from all the rest of Mankind, the book of Genesis will explain why Israel is set apart from the rest of mankind. Chapter 2 becomes personal from Israel’s viewpoint, and God himself becomes personal in Chapter 2.

Chapter 2 separates from Chapter 1, and this happens in verse 4. It would have been a more logical choice for chapter 2 to start at verse 4. Chapter 2 zooms in on the creation of the first man, which happens before the creation of mankind on day 6 (we’ll get into this later). God formed this 1st man from the dust of the ground and breathed into him the breath of life. God placed the man in the garden of Eden, which He planted with every kind of pleasant and fruitful tree, including the two particular trees in the middle of the garden. God gave the man the responsibility of tending and keeping the garden and the commandment not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, lest he die.

Chapter 2 then describes God’s provision of a suitable helper for the man since it was not good for him to be alone. God brought every animal and bird to the man to see what he would name them, but none of them was a fitting companion for him. God then caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, took part of his body, and formed a woman. He brought her to the man, who recognized her as bone of his bones and flesh of his flesh. He then named her Woman because God had taken her out of Man. The chapter concludes with the statement that this is why a man leaves his father and mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh. The chapter also notes that the man and his wife were both naked and not ashamed.

The narrative in Genesis 2 is like seeing the creation through a zoom lens. This account allows us to see what the wide-angle lens in Genesis 1 does not show. The creation accounts do not contradict each other but complement each other. Specifically, Genesis 2 zooms in on the events that lead to an unfolding of history specific to the Israelites. Genesis 1 explains how the world came into being, while Genesis 2 explains Israel’s role and purpose in that world.

Genesis chapter two provides the account of how Adam was created. Unlike the rest of humanity in Genesis 1, this Adam was not spoken into existence. The word formed is the Hebrew word yatsar (יָצַר / ysr), which means to form, fashion, and shape,¹ just as a potter would mold and shape clay. And yet God's touch was so creative, complicated, and ingenious that even today, scientists barely even understand the complexity of human DNA. How God did that is beyond comprehension. God demonstrated just how important this specific man was to Him by using his own hands to form him and his own breath to bring him to life. Somehow, God took a clump of dirt and turned it into a man.

Genesis Chapter 2 began with a more detailed explanation of who the Israelites were and where they came from. After 400 years in Egypt, this may have been a big question that they had. They needed to know why they were different from every other culture and what God's plans for them were. Chapter 2 will start to answer their questions specifically by giving them their history. Chapter 2 sets the stage for the drama that is about to unfold. Chapter 2 will show Israel's relationship to God and his creation. Genesis 2 also helps us understand who we are as Christians (and spiritual children of Abraham (Galatians 3:29)) and how to interpret our existence on earth. We must see ourselves in a relationship with God and His creation.

Chapter 2 brings out four themes:

1.  We are created by God to relate to Him;
2.  God has given us productive work as the means of providing our basic need for food;
3.  God has made us to be morally responsible to Him
4.  God has provided the institution of marriage for our good.

These themes will be expounded upon as we delve into our verse-by-verse study of chapter 2.

Genesis 2:4
These are (אֵלֶה - elleh) the generations (תּוֹלְדָה - toledoth) of the heavens (שָׁמַיִם -shamayim) and the earth (אֶרֶץ - erets) when they were created (בָרָא - bara), in the day (יוֹם - yom) that the LORD (יְהוָ֥ה - YHWH) God (אֱלהִים - Elohim) made (עָשָׂה - asah) the earth (אֶרֶץ - erets) and the heavens (שָׁמַיִם -shamayim).

Verse 4 is setting the scene for what is about to transpire. Since we previously focused on the wide-angle view of creation, we are now ready to focus on how the Israelites fit into the big equation. The word generations (Strong’s H8435) is the Hebrew word toledoth and translates as generations, descendants, accounts, chronicle. My opinion is the word chronicle would be a better choice of words to translate toledoth in this verse. The definition of chronicle is: a factual account of important or historical events in the order of their occurrence.² Since Chapter 2 still refers to the creation account, translating toledoth as "chronicle" makes more sense. Therefore, the first part of verse 4 would translate as "This is the chronicle of the heavens and the earth."

The use of toledoths functions as a reminder of the genealogical succession essential to continuing the book’s plot.³ The toledoths explain the genealogy of the Israelites. The toledoths let them know who they were, where they came from, and how and why God chose them. The chronicle starts with a wide angle (the heavens and earth) but will narrow down to the generations of Jacob (Israel) (see the introduction for more detail). Chapter 2 starts the story of the Israelites and why they are the chosen people.

The words heavens (Strong’s H8064) and earth (Strong’s H776) were discussed in detail in the lesson about Genesis 1:1 (lesson 2), so I will not cover them again for this verse. If you want a refresher, please click the link to read about them.

The word created (בָרָא - bara - Strong’s H1254) means to bring something material into existence. That also brings with it the understanding that the created thing did not previously exist. Theologians use the Latin term ex nihilo, meaning from nothing, to emphasize this fact. The word bara emphasizes the initiation of the object, especially appropriate to the concept of creation by the authoritative command of God.⁴ The phrase when they were created refers to God speaking the land and the sky into existence. The phrase points us back to Genesis 1:1. The phrase reminds us that God spoke everything into existence out of nothing. Where nothing was, suddenly something (sky and land) was. It reminds us of the awesome power of God.

The phrase in the day is the word yom (day) with the preposition in in front of it. The word day does not have its standard referent of 24 hours here; instead, it stretches the idea. In this sense, day does not refer to a specific day but a particular timeframe. In this case, the timeframe is the week that God created everything. It might be more accurate to translate the phrase in the day as at the time when. The important point is that in the day refers not to 24 hours but to the entire creation week.

The word Lord is the Hebrew word YHWH (Strong’s H3068). This is a proper noun, which means that it is a name. YHWH is a form of the verb to be but has past, present, and future connotations. In other words, I was, I am, I will be. It’s not just that God is in the past, present, and future, but that he is the past, the present, and the future.

Chapter 2 introduces us to the personal name of God, YHWH (יְהוָ֥ה). It is the 1st time that God has given us his name. It consists of the Hebrew letters yod (י), hey (ה), waw (ו), hey (ה). (Hebrew is read from right to left.) The third letter י (waw) is a W. It did start being used the letter V (vav) until the 11th century AD when the Hebrew language was modernized.⁵ YHWH is not pronounced Jehovah. Jehovah is a Latin word, not a Hebrew word.⁶ What’s a little confusing is that all names of God, except Y-H-W-H, are “nicknames” borrowed from adjectives, traits, or roles.⁷

Sometime after the exile, between 400 and 300 B.C., when the rabbis and Pharisees started to come into power as religious leaders, the name YHWH became taboo, too. A tradition arose that prevented anyone from speaking God’s name. The purpose of this tradition was to prevent people from misusing the name of God (tied to Exodus 20:7). As a result, the religious leaders substituted the name Adonai instead of YHWH and also began using the phrase HaShem, which means The Name. They still do this to this day.

Why do I bring this up? If you ever have the opportunity to witness to Jewish people, always use HaShem or Adonai when talking about your relationship with God. Don’t even use the word ‥God. You will reach them far faster when discussing how and why HaShem sent Jesus into the world and how that has affected your life. Being mindful of this will show respect for their beliefs.

The word made (Strong’s H6213) is the verb to do. It is past tense, so it means he did. Unfortunately, that doesn’t translate well into English; the Lord God he did the earth and the heavens. Therefore, a word-for-word translation doesn’t work very well in English. We must ask: What did God do during that timeframe? Answer: He created; that is what he did.

In this verse, there is a repeat of the words heavens and earth. The verse starts with These are the generations (chronicles) of the heavens and the earth. The second part of the verse ends with the Lord God made the earth and the heavens. Did you see how they got reversed? How interesting is that? The reason is due to the chiastic structure of the verse. A chiastic structure is a literary device often used in the Old Testament that presents a series of ideas and then repeats them in the opposite order. The purpose is to highlight the most important ideas. Here is the chiastic structure of the verse:
These are the generations of:

1.  the heavens
2.  the earth
3.  when they were created

1.  in the day that the Lord God made
2.  the earth
3.  the heavens

So, what is the most important idea that this chiastic structure highlights? The most important idea is that the Lord God created the heavens and earth. No one else (and nothing else) created them. The highlight, or focus, is on God.

Genesis 2:5
When no bush (שִׂיחַ - siach) of the field (שָׂדֶה - sadeh) was yet (טֵרֵם - terem) in the land (אֶרֶץ - erets) and no small plant (עשׂב - eseb) of the field (שָׂדֶד - sadeh) had yet sprung up (צָמַח - tsamach) - for the LORD (יְהוָ֥ה - YHWH) God (אֱלהִים - Elohim) had not (ל֨אׁ - lo) caused it to rain (מָטַר - matar) on the land (אֶרֶץ - erets), and there was no (אַיִן - ayin) man (אָדָם - adam) to work (עָבַד - abad) the ground (אֲדָמָה - adamah).

The word bush (Strong’s H7880) is a noun meaning a shoot, brush, a plant, a shrub. The most common usage of this word is a shrub or brush.⁸ The idea is that these are small plants that wildlife would be eating. These are the leafy bushes and shrubs that deer, rabbits, rodents, beavers, squirrels, etc. like to eat. This verse points out that none of these plants have been created yet.

The word field (Strong’s H7704) 1s an agricultural term that generically refers to an open field, an open plain, or a pasture. It is land useful for growing crops or grazing cattle and sheep. It is land that is useful for growing crops, or grazing cattle and sheep.⁹ Specifically, it refers to land that has not been cultivated, i.e. land where crops have not yet been planted.

The phrase small plants (Strong’s H6212) is land that refers to herbs, grasses, and other vegetation that could include wheat and other grains, as well as agricultural produce.¹⁰ These are plants that humanity can eat. These plants can also have edible roots, such as carrots and beets, or produce edible seeds, like peas and corn. These include ground fruit plants such as grapes, sorghum, and berries.

The phrase sprung up (Strong’s H6779) means to sprout, to emerge, to grow. It refers to a plant as it breaks out of the ground or trees as they grow from the ground.¹¹ However, I must point out this verse’s negative connotation. This verse indicates that nothing has sprung up out of the ground yet. In other words, the verse points to a time when God has not yet created any plants.

The word rain (Strong’s H4305) can mean either rain or rainfall. The word does not refer to dew. In the Old Testament, the concept of rain is never taken for granted; it comes from the hand of God in amounts proportionate to the spiritual condition of the inhabitants of the land.¹² Not only were there no plants growing, but God had had noy yet provision for them to be watered. As we look out upon God’s creation, we are presented with a vista of a bleak landscape where nothing is growing yet.

The word man (Strong’s H120) means mankind or humanity. Adam can be a confusing word. It is a singular noun but carries a plural connotation. However, sometimes, a singular noun can refer to an entire kind of item rather than an individual entity. For example, the noun עַם people is singular and refers to a whole group of people as a single unit. In Hebrew, the pluralization of a singular word is called collective singular. The word adam is a singular masculine noun used as a collective noun. Therefore, man (adam) here is mankind (plural) and not Adam (singular). As a common noun, the word adam means people, mankind, or humanity.¹³

The word work (Strong’s H5647) generically means work or labor pertaining to a job or profession. There was no one to labor in the fields.¹⁴ Our picture of the land has now added that detail that not only is nothing growing but there are no humans to even till the soil (ground) to make anything grow. Verse 5 gives a lot of detail to provide us with this picture of uncultivated land on which no plants are growing. The purpose of this bleak picture of the land is to show us that God has not yet created, plants, animals, birds or humanity. There is, however, one more piece of information that God wants us to see.

The word ground (adamah - Strong’s H127) means land, ground, or soil. The word adamah denotes any cultivated, plantable ground or property that generates income for the owner.¹⁵ Once again, however, we note that there are no humans to cultivate the soil and grow crops.

Genesis 2:6
and a mist (אֵד - ed) was going up (עָלָה - alah) from (מִין - min)) the land (אֶרֶץ - erets) and was watering (שָׁקָה - shaqah) the whole (כֹּל - kol) face (פָנִים - panim) of the ground (אֲדָמָה - adamah).

The word mist (Strong’s H108) means mist, dew, or ground fog but is sometimes translated as spring. The word is only used twice in the Old Testament (Here and in the book of Job), making it difficult to obtain a concise definition. However, most Bible scholars I researched favor mist or ground fog as a definition. Dew is water in droplets that appear on thin, exposed objects in the morning or evening due to condensation. Ground fog is caused by the land cooling at night, which then cools as the air directly above it, which, upon reaching the dew point (cooled to the point of becoming saturated with water vapor), forms a low layer of fog.

The phrase going up (Strong’s H5927) means to arise, to climb, to ascend.¹⁶ The term denotes journeying towards a higher place. When sunlight starts to warm the dew, the dew gives a steam that looks similar to smoke rising off the ground. We often refer to this as ground fog, but it is the dew that returns to the sky. This moisture goes up from the ground but then returns to the ground as the temperature warms.

The word watering (Strong’s H8248) means to give a drink. Regarding the land, it means to water thoroughly. The land was ready and waiting for the plants to grow, for God to give the command and speak the plants into existence.

The word face (panim - Strong’s H6440) means face, surface. In the context of verse 6, the word surface would be a better fit. In modern English, we don’t think of the ground as having a face but as having a surface. The surface of the ground was being watered daily by the early morning mist or ground fog.

The main difference between Hebrew and English is that English is a static language and calls things after the way they look (hence verbs derive mostly from nouns), whereas Hebrew is a dynamic language and calls things after the way they act (hence nouns derive mostly from verbs). The word panim does not refer typically to the outer appearance of things like buildings but rather to the exact opposite, that is the inside of things. For living beings our word panim refers to their inner motivations and emotions, which obviously are witnessed of in a person's face but are not the same as the face. For lifeless objects, panim refers to their inner mechanisms. In other words: when in English we speak of the 'face of the earth' we refer to the earth's visible surface. To refer to the same thing in Hebrew we would have to use words that mean 'image' or 'skin' or something along those lines, but when we use the word panim, we typically don't refer to the way it looks but to the way it acts: it's turnings, it's doings, and mostly its inner workings.¹⁷

The word adamah (Strong’s H127) means land, ground, or soil. We tend to overlook the importance of the land or ground. Without the soil, there would be no plants to eat. Without plants to eat, there would be no animals or birds. Without plants or animals, humans would have nothing to eat. It is interesting that Adam will be made from the stuff that will sustain his life.

All of these conditions below fit inside of creation day number 3:

1.  The land has no plant life. (Day 3 starts off with no plants.)
2.  There is no rain. (This won’t happen until Noah)
3.  The earth is watered by a mist rising up. (Could easily start happening on day 3 before God created the plants.)
4.  Mankind has not yet been created. (This won’t happen until day 6.)

The first day these conditions in verses 5 and 6 align is day 3 (Genesis 1:9-13), which is the day dry land appears. See the lesson on day 3 for more information. It is not until the dry land appears that the plants are created. Remember that on day 3, there are no fish, animals, birds, or humans.

Genesis 2:7
then the LORD (יְהוָ֥ה - YHWH) God (אֱלהִים - Elohim) formed יָצַר - yatsar) the man (אָדָם - adam) of dust (עָפָר - aphar) from the ground (אֲדָמָה - adamah) and breathed (נָפַח - naphach) into his nostrils (אַפ - aph) the breath (נְשָׁמָה - neshamah) of life (חַי - chay), and the man (אָדָם - adam) became (וַֽיְהִי - wayhi) a living (חַי - chay) creature (נֶפֶשׁ - nephesh).

And now we have a conundrum in that it is not possible for Adam to have been created on both day 3 and on day 6. Most theologians teach that God created Adam on day six. If they are correct, then we have a serious disconnect between chapters 1 and 2.

•  In Genesis 1, we are told God created plants (day 3), then birds (day 5), then animals and then mankind (day 6).
•  In Genesis 2, we are told God created man (first), and then plants (day 3).

The first account from Genesis 1 says mankind (day 6) was created after the greenery on Day 3, while Chapter 2 says Adam (singular) was created some time before the greenery, probably in the early hours of Day 3. Therefore, Genesis 1 (day 6) must describe the creation of mankind (all races), while Genesis 2 must describe the creation of Adam (alone). Otherwise, the Bible contradicts itself. If the Bible did that, it would be a problem. Since I don’t believe the Bible contradicts itself, let me show you what I’m talking about.

As we discussed previously, chapter 1 is a wide-angle look at the entire creation process. Chapter 2, however, starts to zoom in and show us how Israel fitted into God’s creation. It shows the beginnings of Israel’s history. From chapter 2 all the way to the last chapter, the book of Genesis concentrates on Israel’s history. Since Israel’s history begins with Adam, he is the focus of chapter 2.

The Lord God formed (yatsar – Strong’s H3335) the man. The word yatsar means to form, to fashion. Yatsar implies creating something out of existing matter and shaping like a potter shapes clay. On day 6, God spoke humanity into existence. Click the link (Day 6) if you would like to reread that lesson. But here in verse 7, God did not speak this man into existence, but instead made him by hand.

The man was formed from dust (aphar – Strong’s H6083). But what is dust? Dust is dirt that has been broken down to its lowest component. In our day and age, we don’t like dust. We spend hours trying to remove it from our homes. Yet we never succeed at completely removing the dust. It is everywhere. My point is that God took something that we consider to be worthless and turned it into something of great worth, a man. God used something that we consider to be nuisance to create Adam. God took something that we prefer to throw away and made a lifeform out of it.

Unlike the general population that was spoken into existence on day 6, this man (whom we call Adam) had a unique connection to the ground (Adamah). So, not only is Adam formed from the adamah and named after adamah, but he will be assigned with working the adamah and cultivating the plants that come from it.

God then breathed (naphach – Strong’s H5303) in his nostrils (aph – Strong’s H639) the breath (neshamah – Strong’s H5397) of life (chay – Strong’s H5303). The word naphach means to breath out, to exhale. God exhaled (blew) His life-force breath out so that it would fill Adam’s lungs, causing him to start breathing and receive life. The word aph means nose, or nostrils. Breath is associated with life, no breath, no life. The first thing a doctor does when aa baby is born is to get it breathing. The word chay means life, or living being.

And the man (adam) became (wayhi - Strong’s H1961) a living (chay - Strong’s H2416) creature (nephesh - Strong’s H5315). What caused the man to become a living creature? The breath of God caused the man to become a living creature. The word nephesh, creature, can also be translated as soul. The breath of God caused the man to become a living soul. What is a soul? It is what distinguishes you from everyone else around you. It is your uniqueness, your emotions and your reactions and how you view your life experience. Some may call it your essence. The truth is, you do not have a soul, you are a soul. As a soul, you have a spirit, and you live in a body.

There is a difference between soul and spirit. This can be a little complicated because the soul and the spirit are similar, and sometimes intertwined together. Neither one is a physical part of our being. You can see your body, but not your soul or spirit. At times you get the sense that they are same yet other times the Bible lets us know that there is some distinction between the soul and the spirit – such as in Hebrews 4:12. For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Soul: the makeup of man. You are different from every other person. The thing that makes you who you are is the soul. The soul is how you relate to others, connect with others, and how you understand yourself. It is like an “outer” nature.

Spirit: how you relate to God. The spirit is how you relate to God, connect with God, and how you understand God. When you are reborn, you are born of spirit (John 3:5-6). The spirit is part of the soul, much like the mind is part of the soul. It is the soul, though, that comprises who you are. It like an inner nature.

Genesis 2:8
And the (יְהוָ֥ה - YHWH) God (אֱלהִים - Elohim) planted (נָטַע - nata) a garden (גַּן - gan) in Eden (עֵדֶן - Eden) in the east (קֶדֶם - qadem) and there (שָׁם - sham) he put (שׂוּם - sum) the man (אָדָם - adam) whom (אֲשֶׁר - asher), he had formed יָצַר - yatsar).

© 2024 by Steven P. Wickstrom, all rights reserved.