Discuss Genesis 2

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RachelBibleStudent

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#1
Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts. By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.

This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made earth and heaven. Now no shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the Lord God had not sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground. But a mist used to rise from the earth and water the whole surface of the ground. Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. The Lord God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed. Out of the ground the Lord God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Now a river flowed out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it divided and became four rivers. The name of the first is Pishon; it flows around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. The gold of that land is good; the bdellium and the onyx stone are there. The name of the second river is Gihon; it flows around the whole land of Cush. The name of the third river is Tigris; it flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. The Lord God commanded the man, saying, "From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; 17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die."

Then the Lord God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him." Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. The Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. The man 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."

For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.
 
Jul 12, 2012
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#2
I tend to think of the break between chapter 1 and 2 as being somewhat oddly placed. I view the first 3 verses of chapter 2 as part of chapter 1.
That way, it's easier to see that "These are the generations..." kinda sounds like the beginning of a reiteration of the previous story.
I guess most of yall have noticed this too. The oddity that day seven is broken off from chapter 1. Trivial maybe, but makes me wonder why they did that.

To address the thread more directly, I would like to see what peoples' opinions are on the narrative of the rivers? They are a very interesting part of it to me. I mean beyond the current physical locations and such. I have my name dictionaries open at the moment so I think I'll post it with the river names in a few minutes in case it interests anyone.
 
Nov 29, 2012
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#3
I tend to think of the break between chapter 1 and 2 as being somewhat oddly placed. I view the first 3 verses of chapter 2 as part of chapter 1.
That way, it's easier to see that "These are the generations..." kinda sounds like the beginning of a reiteration of the previous story.
I guess most of yall have noticed this too. The oddity that day seven is broken off from chapter 1. Trivial maybe, but makes me wonder why they did that. (...)

Good point, since with verse 4 begins the second account of creation.
 
Jul 12, 2012
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#4
Per earlier...

And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads. 11 The name of the first is Pison (to spread, a state of spreading out): that is it which circles the whole land of Havilah (strong accomplishment), where there is gold;
12 And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone.
13 And the name of the second river is Gihon (burst forth): the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Cush (volitile).
14 And the name of the third river is Hiddekel (thorny, painful, however from a lot of research too lengthy to get into, I believe it means something more like "perfect memory"): that is it which goeth toward the east of Aram (elevation). And the fourth river is Euphrates (fruitfulness).


My interpretation of "Hiddekel" involves going as deep as the meanings of each letter, which obviously played a role in chaining letters to make longer words in the rest of the hebrew language.
Take it for what it's worth, but it does seem to fit better with some sense of "elevation"


Possibly as if to say in an edenistic state, before the fall, man could remember every single little thing that happens?
Sounds plausible to me so I stick with it for now.
What if in the day they ate the fruit, their memories at least did indeed start to die along with aging of the body?

Peace.
 
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May 18, 2010
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#5
I look at the chapter's begin as a sentence to begin the 2nd chapter because in it the works were ended while in the first chapter the works began, but remember there never were verses to begin with however, they help us to book mark places very precisely.
He is just clarifying what had happened further more in depth I think, as everything was made in the 6 days and here he was describing more detail about them.
 
May 18, 2010
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#6
it's important in the end how the creation of male and female were more in depth and the end where it says the man must leave his parents to find his bride, much like what one of God's intentions for Christ were. and i'm thinking about how male and female are one flesh when in the beginning was really the matter, flesh of my flesh and bone of my bone.
it also is very interesting to me that Adam he made from dust but his partner he made from himself, that's amazing.
 
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RachelBibleStudent

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#7
here are my observations on genesis 2...

the first four verses actually belong with the creation story from the previous chapter... the phrase in verse four...'this is the account of'...or 'these are the generations of' in the king james version...is the hebrew 'toledoth'... the significance of the term 'toledoth' was made clear by the discovery of a library of cuneiform tablets in the ruins of the ancient city of ebla...there the word 'toledoth' appeared at the -end- of a tablet's text...it identified either the text's author or the person the text pertained to... likewise the phrase 'this is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created' in genesis 2:4 indicate that the preceding account...genesis 1:1-2:3...was the record of heaven and earth and their creation...

at the beginning of chapter two it says that all of the hosts of the heavens and earth were completed...this is another indicator that the angels were made sometime during the six days of creation...

the account of the heavens and the earth ends with the first sabbath... obviously God did not rest because he was tired...instead he rested in recognition of the fact that he had finished his creation...he took a day to enjoy the satisfaction of completed work...

it is important to note that while God blessed the seventh day...he did not issue a command at this time for anyone to observe the sabbath themselves...the first command regarding the sabbath will come later...

the next account is a more detailed explanation of the events of the creation week...especially the sixth day and the creation of humans...

the account begins with a short description of the environment at that time... first of all none of the cultivated plants had appeared yet...no humans had yet appeared to plant and grow crops... it also says that it had not yet rained and that the ground was watered by a mist coming from the earth instead... many creation scientists believe that there was a different hydrological system before the flood...with no rain...and with mist rising from hot springs...

given the fact that the creation of the man from dust is included right after the mention of mists watering the ground...it is probable that the man was made from damp earth and not dry sand...

God made the man's spirit from the breath of life...the words 'spirit' and 'breath' are the same hebrew word... the man became a living being when the spirit entered the previously lifeless body... that tells us about the nature of human beings...we are bodies with a spirit inside that animates the body...without a spirit the body is dead...

next there is the geography of the garden where God put the man...it was in an eastern region called eden... two of the four rivers of eden are well known today...the tigris and euphrates rivers in modern iraq... the pishon river is evidently the dry river bed called wadi al-batin and wadi al-rummah that goes east into saudi arabia...part of which was called havilah in ancient times... that region also has many guggul trees where bdellium comes from...and the gold mining area of madh adh dhahab which is also known as the 'cradle of gold'... also many people believe that the gihon river is the modern karun river in iran...that interpretation depends on the 'cush' in this chapter being hindu kush instead of the usual ethiopian cush...

the garden of eden was where the four rivers met...which would have been where southern iraq is today... the geology of the region suggests that the garden itself may have been located in a valley that was buried under two miles of sediment in the flood... maybe it is not a coincidence that crude oil...which is a 'fossil fuel' produced from dead organisms buried deep in sediment under certain conditions...is especially plentiful in that part of the world...

there were two trees in the middle of the garden...the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil... personally i don't believe that these were 'magic' trees with actual powers to give life or knowledge...i think that the names refer to the purpose God created them for...not their natural properties...

i view the tree of knowledge of good and evil as a 'teaching aid' that God would use to demonstrate the difference between good and evil... God gave the man a command not to eat from the tree...which defined 'good' as obeying God and not eating from the tree... this is the most basic definition of 'good'...obedience to God... eating from the tree would have been an act of disobedience...which is the most basic definition of 'evil'...in the next chapter the serpent will introduce that to adam and eve as a viable option...

the evil act of eating from the tree in disobedience against God would have corrupted the world with sin...introducing degeneration and death...which is why God warned the man that he would die if he ate from the tree...

we can learn an important lesson from the assignment God gave to the man in the garden...the man was put there to take care of the garden...the man was given the role of a gardener... the garden was not his...he was just watching over it on behalf of God... similarly we should always keep in mind that this earth does not belong to us...and we are expected to take good care of God's property while he has left us in charge of it...

another thing to realize is that humans were expected to work from the very beginning...we were not created to be idle... of course before the fall work was not tiring or tedious... i think it is likely that we will have satisfying and enjoyable work to do in the new heaven and new earth too...

after God puts the man into the garden he points out to himself that it is not good for the man to be alone...and that the man should have a helper...

it is important to note here that the woman God is about to create is considered a helper for the man...that is the role God designed for us... most modern feminists are offended at the idea of being a 'helper' to a man...because they see it as inferior...but to be a helper is really not a lesser role... to illustrate why...imagine what would happen if you removed all of the 'helper' employees from a public school for a day...you would have a student riot at lunch time because there is nobody to cook lunch...the riot would continue indefinitely because there are no school police officers to break it up...and after the disaster the mess would remain because there are no janitors to clean it up... the point is that the helping role is -vital- and not in any way inferior...we should consider it an honor that God gave us such an important role...

before God creates the woman...he brings many animals to the man...and he gives them all names... obviously God being omniscient was not searching for a helper for the man...he already knew that there was no helper suitable for adam...but adam needed to discover that as well...that way he would realize his aloneness and his need for a companion like him...

some people have questioned how adam could have named all of the animals in the world in one day...the answer to that question comes by paying close attention to the text... it only says that God brought adam the cattle and birds and beasts of the field to name...that is only the land mammals and birds and probably also large reptiles like dinosaurs and crocodilians... it does not say that adam also had to name the 'creeping things'...meaning he did not have to name insects or reptiles or any marine creatures...which actually means that the animal categories containing the most species were left out... there are only about 5,300 species of land animals...10,000 species of birds...and a few hundred species of large reptiles and dinosaurs...making about 16,000 species in all... and since the creation account refers to animals being created according to their -kinds- and not their species...with each created kind including up to several dozen species...adam probably only had to name a few thousand animal kinds... if he named an animal kind every ten seconds...he could have named over 4,000 animal kinds in twelve hours...meaning that he had plenty of time to name them all...

the fact that no animal was found to be a suitable helper for adam shows that humans and animals are not equal...this refutes the 'deep green' philosophies that assert that humans are just another part of the environment and should not be held in any special regard compared to other living things...

after no helper was found for adam...God put adam to sleep...and we see the first surgery in history...with God removing one of adam's ribs and fashioning a woman from the rib... again many modern feminists will object and say that being taken from the man means that the woman is inferior... but actually the opposite is the case...if adam is refined dust then eve is doubly refined... paul wrote that the woman is the glory of the man...and matthew henry said that if the man is the head then the woman is the crown...

there is a saying...the woman was not made from adam's head to rule over him...not made from his feet to be trampled on by him...but made out of his side to be equal with him...under his arm to be protected by him...and near to his heart to be loved by him...

i should also point out that it is not true that men nowdays are missing one rib...amputations are not passed on to future generations...so while adam lacked one rib...his descendants have all of their ribs...

when God brought the woman to adam...adam evidently was aware of where she had come from...and he recognized her as being one with him...his bones and his flesh...he identified her life as being part of his life...

the story ends with a statement of the institution of marriage...making marriage the world's oldest social institution... wife and husband are joined together and become one flesh...just as the first woman was literally a part of adam and was the same flesh with him...

later in the bible jesus explains that the marriage of adam and his wife was God's pattern for all marriages...one man and one woman united...which means that polygamy and homosexuality and divorce and anything else that does not fit this pattern is displeasing to God... and it is so important to preserve this original pattern of marriage because God has appointed it as an illustration of the relationship between christ and the church...anything other than one man marrying one woman distorts the picture...

finally there is a note that adam and his wife were both naked but felt no shame... before sin there was no fleshly lust...and without fleshly lust there was no sexual shame in nakedness...

this statement also tells us that the climate in eden was such that a person would have been comfortable there without clothes...not too hot and not too cold...possibly the water canopy that may have surrounded the earth at that time was responsible for moderating the climate...
 
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RachelBibleStudent

Guest
#8
My interpretation of "Hiddekel" involves going as deep as the meanings of each letter, which obviously played a role in chaining letters to make longer words in the rest of the hebrew language.
the hebrew 'hiddekel' comes from the akkadian 'idiqlat'...which in term came from the sumerian 'idigna'

'idigna' is derived from 'id gina' which means 'running water'

interestingly the more common 'tigris' that appears in most modern bibles traces back to the same original sumerian name... 'tigris' is the greek form of the old persian 'tigra'...'tigra' comes from the elamite 'ti ig ra' which came from the sumerian 'idigna'
 
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GreenNnice

Guest
#10
Quite a lot said, rache, quite a lot of spectacular thought said, God bless ya, milady :)

Yes, a 'helper,' isn't it interesting, rache, that Jesus says that He is going to bring us a 'Helper,' too, but He cannot come until after Jesus goes away (ascends to Heaven).

The iraq oil and garden of Eden tie-in is very rich thought, too.

Just a lot of well said analyzation, I can only guess, based on deductive reasoning mulled over for some time, asking 'who,' asking 'what,' asking, 'when,' asking 'why,' and, 'where,' and, 'how, and meticulously coming to conclusions through prayer in Him before said words to here.

That's all, for now, is time to talk about 'now,' as it is a pivotal, integral ligature to make the whole of chapter 3 click, this also 'now' word in chapter 2, telling us something big is coming, of great important, emphasis, and, it is interesting how it pulls everything together in chapter 2 with its meaning.

As you can tell, the word 'now' really does a lot for moving me. But, my most powerful word is from chapter 1 and I don't think it's 'now,' do you ? :)

Great thread, I like to just throw thoughts out there, too, as He leads me, this I hope and pray :)
 
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Jan 12, 2013
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When God created Adam from the dust they were perfect. He created for them a perfect garden with everything they needed to survive. The placement of this garden was so happily situated, well watered, eye pleasing, perfect. This garden was not set in place as a tease or temporary habitat but as a permanent resident for obedient mankind.

Genesis 2:16, 17
New International Version (NIV)
16 And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden;
17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”

From these scriptures we see that God endowed this perfect pair with free will. They were not pre-programmed to please him like a robot, but could obey him out of love. Would God have offered the couple a choice he already knew did not exist?

We too have choices to make. We can please him with our obedient choices or sadden him with our disobedient choices. It is the issue that was presented to the perfect pair in chapter 3. God has not pre-chosen or choices but gave us free will.

We know our Creator is all-wise with the capability to know from the beginning to end. He does not have to use this capability, just as he does not always have to use his immense power to the full. He wisely uses his ability of foreknowledge selectively. He uses it when it makes sense to do so and fits the circumstances.

After naming the variety of animal life, no doubt seeing them paired, Adam was given a wife in this first marriage ceremony. She was not to be a lower creation for Adam to discount as inferior, for human reproduction only, but as a complement or helper for him. Genesis 18-25
 
Apr 24, 2012
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#12
Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts. By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.

This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made earth and heaven. Now no shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the Lord God had not sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground. But a mist used to rise from the earth and water the whole surface of the ground. Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. The Lord God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed. Out of the ground the Lord God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Now a river flowed out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it divided and became four rivers. The name of the first is Pishon; it flows around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. The gold of that land is good; the bdellium and the onyx stone are there. The name of the second river is Gihon; it flows around the whole land of Cush. The name of the third river is Tigris; it flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. The Lord God commanded the man, saying, "From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; 17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die."

Then the Lord God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him." Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. The Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. The man 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."

For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.
Can anyone explain how God created everything in chapter 1 and then makes what I consider a stunning statement in vs 5 of chapter 2 about no plants on the earth and no man on the earth. Where were all those things created in chapter1 if they did not yet live on the earth? What was created in chapter 1, because man was formed and given his spirit and he became a living soul in chapter 2 vs 7? I think Genesis 2:5 is one of the most interesting scriptures in the Bible. Any thoughts would be helpful.
 
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nathan3

Guest
#13
Can anyone explain how God created everything in chapter 1 and then makes what I consider a stunning statement in vs 5 of chapter 2 about no plants on the earth and no man on the earth. Where were all those things created in chapter1 if they did not yet live on the earth? What was created in chapter 1, because man was formed and given his spirit and he became a living soul in chapter 2 vs 7? I think Genesis 2:5 is one of the most interesting scriptures in the Bible. Any thoughts would be helpful.
Everything was created in verse one of chapter one .
 
Apr 24, 2012
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Everything was created in verse one of chapter one .
Where were they created in chapter 1? There was not a man to till the ground in chapter 2. In chapter 2:7 God gives Adam his spirit and he became the first living man, and the only man on the whole earth. Where were the others, even Adam before vs 7. Where were the others even when Adam was on the earth in the garden of Eden.

Don't mean to be difficult, but this is an interesting topic and I'm looking for answers.

Thanks for your help.
 
May 18, 2010
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Can anyone explain how God created everything in chapter 1 and then makes what I consider a stunning statement in vs 5 of chapter 2 about no plants on the earth and no man on the earth. Where were all those things created in chapter1 if they did not yet live on the earth? What was created in chapter 1, because man was formed and given his spirit and he became a living soul in chapter 2 vs 7? I think Genesis 2:5 is one of the most interesting scriptures in the Bible. Any thoughts would be helpful.
well, chapter two is talking about what happened in chapter one, but in more detail.