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Pentateuch · WORLD ENGLISH BIBLE

Genesis 2

Beginnings, creation, human rebellion, covenant, and the family of Abraham.

Old Testament

Genesis 2

1The heavens, the earth, and all their vast array were finished.

2On the seventh day God finished his work which he had done; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done.

3God blessed the seventh day, and made it holy, because he rested in it from all his work of creation which he had done.

4This is the history of 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.

5No plant of the field was yet on the earth, and no herb of the field had yet sprung up; for the LORD God had not caused it to rain on the earth. There was not a man to till the ground,

6but a mist went up from the earth, and watered the whole surface of the ground.

7The LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

8The LORD God planted a garden eastward, in Eden, and there he put the man whom he had formed.

9Out of the ground the LORD God made every tree to grow that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food, including the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

10A river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it was parted, and became the source of four rivers.

11The name of the first is Pishon: it flows through the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;

12and the gold of that land is good. Bdellium and onyx stone are also there.

13The name of the second river is Gihon. It is the same river that flows through the whole land of Cush.

14The name of the third river is Hiddekel. This is the one which flows in front of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates.

15The LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate and keep it.

16The LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden;

17but you shall not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; for in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die.”

18The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make him a helper comparable to him.”

19Out of the ground the LORD God formed every animal of the field, and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. Whatever the man called every living creature became its name.

20The man gave names to all livestock, and to the birds of the sky, and to every animal of the field; but for man there was not found a helper comparable to him.

21The LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. As the man slept, he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place.

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

23The man said, “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh. She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken out of Man.”

24Therefore a man will leave his father and his mother, and will join with his wife, and they will be one flesh.

25The man and his wife were both naked, and they were not ashamed.

READ IN CONTEXT

Before applying this chapter

Beginnings, creation, human rebellion, covenant, and the family of Abraham. Read Genesis 2 within the complete Genesis overview, and use the contextual Bible reading guide before forming a personal application. Chapter divisions aid navigation, but the literary unit may begin earlier or continue into the next chapter.

Observe first

Mark repeated words, changes of speaker, commands, promises, contrasts, questions, and the relationship between paragraphs.

Apply responsibly

Distinguish description from command and immediate audience from later readers before forming a personal application.

TEXT-DERIVED READING NOTES

What to notice in Genesis 2

Genesis 2 contains 25 verses and about 606 words in this translation. These observations come from the chapter itself; they are prompts for close reading, not claims about its only possible meaning.

The opening movement

Verse 1 begins: “The heavens, the earth, and all their vast array were finished.” Ask what situation, voice, image, or argument this opening establishes for everything that follows.

The closing movement

Verse 25 closes: “The man and his wife were both naked, and they were not ashamed.” Compare the ending with the opening and note what changed, resolved, intensified, or remained open.

Vocabulary worth tracing

Recurring or prominent content words include earth, will, ground, garden, tree, good. Follow where each word appears and whether its meaning shifts with the speaker or setting.

COMMON QUESTIONS

About Genesis 2

Which Bible translation is shown here?+

This page reproduces the World English Bible Protestant edition (WEBP), a modern-English translation dedicated to the public domain.

How should I cite a specific verse?+

Use the book, chapter, and verse—for example, Genesis 2:1—and name the World English Bible if the wording matters. Each verse number above is a direct anchor link.

Does the chapter number define the complete literary unit?+

Not always. Chapter and verse numbers were added for navigation. Check the paragraphs, scenes, poetic stanzas, or argument before and after this chapter.

A SMALL NEXT STEP

You do not have to have everything figured out.

Begin with one honest question, one passage read carefully, and one faithful next step.

Start with prayer