Notes on Verses 1-18
2:1 Creation is complete. There is no allowance here for creation to continue for eons of time to an eventual completion when Christ is born or any other such eventual ending date. This verse is clear in that it leaves no room for the idea that natural processes that exist today are responsible for the creation of our world and universe. It was finished.
2:2 God ended His work and rested.
2:3 God blessed the seventh day.
2:4 This is the first of several "signatures" applied to the different sections of the Book of Genesis. This section has no "patriarch" attached to it, since it doesn't describe the generations of a person, but rather the universe itself. It must have either been written down by God himself or revealed to Adam.
2:5 This verse reflects a mature creation. It was created and present on the Earth "before it grew". I take this to mean that it was created fully grown and began to grow after the rain started and it would begin reproduction at that time also.
2:6 The plants were watered by a heavy mist or dew from daily temperature cycles and the presence of humidity in the air.
2:7 Man's physical body is made up of the same physical elements at the actual Earth. This is something that is easily confirmed by modern science and was written down in this book long before the scientific tests were available. God delivered the "breath" of life to Man directly. If we had evolved from less complex animals, then we would have received our soul through that process.
2:8 It seems like God planted Eden especially for Adam. He had already created the heavens and the Earth and the plants and animals. He made a special place for man, His most treasured creation.
2:9 God "made to grow" in the garden the trees of life and the knowledge of good and evil. The tree of life was freely available to Adam and Eve. This fruit was not forbidden.
2:10 This river is most likely to be fed by springs, since God had not yet caused it to rain.
2:11-14 The names given do not correspond to any that presently exist. It is likely that the great flood changed the landscape dramatically.
2:15 Even in the Garden of Eden, man was expected to work. His life was not one of idleness and laziness, but one of service. He also had no possessions, so to speak, but was responsible for the whole Earth and its care-taking.
2:16-17 Adam was only given one rule. If he eats of the tree, he will die. He would be seperated from God (death) and he was be cast out and God would guard the tree of life and prevent Adam from eating its fruit.
2:18 God determined that Adam needed a "helper like him". This was on the sixth day.
