Bible Commentaries

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the ^a host of them.

(a) That is, the innumerable abundance of creatures in heaven and earth.

And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he ^b rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.

(b) For he had now finished his creation, but his providence still watches over his creatures and governs them.

And God blessed the seventh day, and ^c sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

(c) Appointed it to be kept holy, that man might in it consider the excellency of his works and God's goodness toward him.

And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to ^d rain upon the earth, and [there was] not a man to till the ground.

(d) God only opens the heavens and shuts them, he sends drought and rain according to his good pleasure.

And the LORD God formed man ^e [of] the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

(e) He shows what man's body was created from, to the intent that man should not glory in the excellency of his own nature.

And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in ^f Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.

(f) This was the name of a place, as some think in Mesopotamia, most pleasant and abundant in all things.

And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the ^g tree of life also in the midst of the garden, ^h and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

(g) Who was a sign of the life received from God.

(h) That is, of miserable experience, which came by disobeying God.

The name of the first [is] Pison: that [is] it which compasseth the whole land ⁱ of Havilah, where [there is] gold;

(i) Havilah is a country adjoining Persia to the east, and inclining towards the west.

And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to ^k dress it and to keep it.

(k) God would not have man idle, though as yet there was no need to labour.

And the LORD God ^l commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:

(l) So that man might know there was a sovereign Lord, to whom he owed obedience.

But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely ^m die.

(m) By death he means the separation of man from God, who is our life and chief happiness: and also that our disobedience is the cause of it.

And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought [them] unto ⁿ Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that [was] the name thereof.

(n) By moving them to come and submit themselves to Adam.

And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a ^o woman, and brought her unto the man.

(o) Signifying that mankind was perfect, when the woman was created, who before was like an imperfect building.

Therefore shall a man leave ^p his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

(p) So marriage requires a greater duty of us toward our wives, than otherwise we are bound to show to our parents.

And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ^q ashamed.

(q) For before sin entered, all things were honest and comely.