(BA) Notes on Genesis 2

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31 July 2022 index-genesis

These notes only cover 2:4 and following. For the first three verses of Genesis 2, see ba-genesis-1.

(2:4-7) For a look at the overall structure of 2:4-7, and for a probably incorrect pet theory of mine, see here.

(2:4) generations. Hebrew toldot. See here. The word "generations" is not quite right, but then neither is any other simple equivalent that I know of. The Septuagint adds "book of" before toldot.

The World English Bible reads "history of the generations". This is not a result of following the Septuagint reading, but instead reflects reading toldot as "history of the generations of", as in Genesis 6:9 and 10:1.

There has been some discussion about whether the first part of 2:4 is properly the ending of the first creation story, or the beginning of the second. Because other "These are the generations" statements precede the material to which they refer, it seems to me and many others best to see 2:4a as part of the second creation story.

The phrase "these are the generations" is the standard phrase used repeatedly to introduce mostly genealogical information in Genesis. The general format is "These are the generations of [Name]." It is unique that the phrase is here used of the sky and earth, as if identifying this chapter as the "family history" of the universe. In this verse, where the Masoretic Text reads "These are the generations", the Septuagint reads, "This is the book of the generations".

(2:4) when they were created. On a Masoretic oddity in this verse, see here.

(2:4) On the day. Does this imply that, in contrast to the six-day scheme of Genesis 1, Genesis 2 describes a single-day creation process?

(2:4) Yahweh God. On this first use of "Yahweh God" instead of "God," see here.

(2:5) shrub of the field. The exact sort of vegetation embraced by this Hebrew term has been the subject of some discussion, with some commentators holding that here it refers to wild plants in general. The word translated "shrub" is śiaḥ, and appears only in this verse, in Genesis 21:15, and in Job 30:4,7. The other usages seem to indicate that it must refer to some sort of wild plants.

(2:5) herb of the field. Hebrew ʿeseb haśśadeh. The exact sort of vegetation embraced by this Hebrew term has been the subject of some discussion. It would seem, based on the use of the same term in Genesis 3:18, that it should include at the very least grains eaten by humans. Some translators read "grass of the field". My doubts about whether this is broad enough are due both to the reference to humans eating the "herb of the field" in 3:18, as well as the clause "because ... there was no man to till the ground". If the "herb of the field" refers to grass, it is difficult to see why the presence or absence of human beings would matter. While the word ʿeseb is at times used of plants that livestock eat, as far as I can tell every instance of ʿeseb haśśadeh refers to food for humans.

(2:5) Yahweh God. Following the Masoretic Text. The Septuagint simply has "God".

(2:6) This verse raises in interesting question. If there was a means of watering the earth, why does verse 5 say, "because Yahweh God had not made rain on the earth?" Does the means of watering in verse 6 predate God's creative action and describe part of the same state of affairs envisioned in verse 5, or does it refer to some event that comes only afterward?

(2:6) flowing water. The meaning of this Hebrew term is unclear, though it refers to some kind of water source. Various proposals have been made, including "a flow", "springs", "a flood", "a mist", and "a rain-cloud." The only other use of the term is in Job 36:27.

(2:6) from the land. According to Kittel, there is a Targum that reads, "upon the earth".

(2:7) Yahweh God. Following the Masoretic Text. The Septuagint reads simply "God".

(2:7) the ground. Hebrew ʾadamah, quite close to the word ʾadam ("human").

(2:8) garden. Hebrew gan. On the meaning of the Hebrew term, see here.

(2:8) in Eden. In pop culture it is often spoken as though the garden is called Eden, but here it is simply in Eden. The Bible does not give a precise location for Eden, and in fact the geographic details of 2:10-14 do not correspond to any place on earth. I don't know if the reference to a "house of Eden" in Amos 1:5 is any relation. If the name is taken simply as symbolic, the word could in Hebrew mean "pleasure" or "delight" (Driver, Genesis). Driver suggests it might be related to an Assyrian term edinu, meaning "plain, prarie, desert", thus referring to the "great alluvial plain watered by the Tigris and the Euphrates".

(2:8) eastward. The placing of the first humans "in the east" parallels a theme of eastern origins that appears throughout the early stories of Genesis. Eden is in the east, and then humankind is kicked out of it to the east. After the flood, humankind forms its first civilization in the east, viz. in Babylonia. It is clear from this and other details that the cultural influence of Babylonian mythology looms in the background of Genesis.

(2:8) formed. On the anthropomorphic language, see here.

(2:9) Yahweh God. The Septuagint here reads simply "God".

(2:9) for food. Notice that the only food for humans found in the Genesis 2 story is fruit from trees. According to Driver this indicates that the ideal original diet, in the mind of the writer, was fruit. It is only when God curses the man that the idea of labor-intensive agriculture is brought up.

(2:9) and the tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. According to Kittel, perhaps we should read here only "and in the midst of the garden the tree of knowledge".

(2:9) tree of life. The material about the tree of life parallels the earlier Epic of Gilgamesh, in which the hero has a plant of life stolen from him by a snake.

(2:9) knowledge of good and evil. There has been quite a bit of discussion of what exactly this phrase might mean.

(2:10-14) On how this section was likely added to this text, see here.

(2:10) On the contrast between this and the rivers of the natural world, see here.

(2:11) encircles. Hebrew sbb, here and in the following verses. It may mean meanders. See here.

(2:11) Pishon ... Havilah. On these two names, see here.

(2:12) good. Following the Masoretic Text. The Samaritan Pentateuch, and according to Kittel one medieval Hebrew manuscript, read "very good".

(2:12) bdolah ... shoham. On the meaning of these two words, see here.

(2:13) Gihon. On Gihon and Kush, see here.

(2:14) Hiddekel. By general agreement, this is the Tigris. For more on it and the Euphrates in this text, see here.

(2:17) of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Here Kittel says we should delete "good and evil", or else perhaps read "of the tree which is in the midst of the garden". He directs the reader to compare the wording of 3:3.

(2:17) you will surely die. And yet, on the day Adam eats of it, he doesn't die. In fact, he lives to 930 years old. On the other hand, he does lose access to immortality.

(2:18) I will make. Following the Masoretic Text. The Septuagint and Vulgate have We will make.

(2:18) a helper suitable for him. On this phrase, see here.

(2:19) Yahweh God. Following the Masoretic Text. The Septuagint here reads simply "God".

(2:19) formed. The Samaritan Pentateuch and Septuagint add "again" (Kittel).

(2:19) ground ... every. Between these two words, a Hebrew grammatical marker is missing in the Masoretic Text. See here.

(2:19) *called it, a living being.* The presence of "it" is odd here. Why does the Hebrew text not simply say "called a living being"? Kittel suggests that "a living being" might be a later addition to the text.

(2:20) *the human gave names.* The KJV reads "Adam" here, as if the Hebrew term lacked the article.

(2:20) the birds of the sky. Kittel says we should read with some Masoretic manuscripts, the Vulgate, the Peshitto, the Vulgate, and the Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, "and to all the birds of the sky."

(2:20) for Adam. Hebrew le-adam. But the presence of ha-adam throughout the surrounding text indicates that the reading must have originally been la-adam, "for the human."

(2:20) was found. For text-critical and interpretive options, see here.

(2:21) Yahweh God. Following the Masoretic Text. The Septuagint here reads only "God".

(2:21) deep sleep. Hebrew, tardemah. See here.

(2:21) ribs. The Hebrew term translated here as "rib" is tsela. On its meaning, see here.

(2:23) the human. The case here is like the one in verse 19.

(2:23) woman. Hebrew, ʾišša.

(2:23) a man. Hebrew ʾiš, following the Masoretic text. The Septuagint, Samaritan Pentateuch, and Targum Onkelos read išah, "her husband." See here.

(2:24) On this verse, see Genesis 2:24.

(2:25) naked. On the relationship of this term to the Hebrew for clever, see here.