Genesis 2: Chapter Overview

November 25, 2021 in Today's Reading by TGV

Bible Study Guide/ Chapter Overview/ Genesis 2, (1-BSG-2D)/ Theme: Creation Completed; Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.


Characters: God, Adam, Eve. 

Key Text: “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” (Genesis 2:7, NKJV)

Key Word Study: Neshamah, Breath (Gen 2:7)  — “1. “breath, blast of breath, i.e., unit of air that passes in and out of the lungs through mouth and nostrils, essential to life and a causative agent for an activity of God (Dt 20:16; 2Sa 22:17); 2. life, formally, the breathing, i.e., persons and creatures in a state of animate life as a figurative extension of a breath (Jos 10:40); 3. spirit, i.e., the inner-most part of a person that can respond to God (Pr 20:27).” –[James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament), 1997].

Key Word Study: Ezer kenegdo, “Helper suitable for Him” (Gen. 2:18)—“1. helper, assistant, i.e., one who assists and serves another with what is needed (Ge 2:18, 20; Ex 18:4; Dt 33:29; Eze 12:14; Hos 13:9+); 2. help, assistance, i.e., acts of supplying what is needed to another (Dt 33:7, 26; Ps 20:3; 33:20; 70:6; 115:9, 10, 11; 121:1, 2; 124:8; 146:5; Isa 30:5; Da 11:34).” –(Ibid).

Selected Phrases – God rested on the seventh day (2:2); And breathed into his nostrils the breath of life (2:7); And man became a living being (2:7); The tree of the knowledge of good and evil (2:9); You shall surely die (2:17); A helper comparable to him (2:18); It is not good that man should be alone! (2:18); And they shall become one flesh! (2:24).

Striking Verses: Genesis 2:1-3, 7, 8-9, 17, 18, 21, 22, 25.

Division of Main Points Review: 1. Creation of Humans (Gen 1:26–31)/ 2. The Institution of the Sabbath (Gen 2:1–3)/ 3. God creates the Man (Gen 2:4–7)/ 4. God plants the Garden (Gen 2:8–14)/ 5. Man tends the Garden (Gen 2:15–17)/ 6. Man’s needs for a Helper (Gen 2:18–22)/ 7. The First Wedding: Eve becomes Adam’s wife (Gen 2:23–25).

Biblical Events: [Events Occurring]—

  • God creates the heavens and the earth • Gen 1:1–2:3
  • Creation and the Fall • Gen 1:1–4:25
  • Pre-patriarchal Period • Gen 1:1–9:27
  • God creates man • Gen 2:4–17
  • God creates woman • Gen 2:18–25

Issues for Further Study: The Creation of Man; The Garden of Eden; The Tree of Life; The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil; The Creation of Woman; Significance of family; Purpose of marriage; Holiness as set apart for God; Sabbath, the central issue in the Great Controversy between God and Satan (Rev. 12:17; 13; 14:6-12).

Background Studies: The Land of Dilmun, The Garden of Eden.

Key Thought: “Genesis 2 introduces three vital principles, the Sabbath, marriage and choice. Let’s begin with the last of these three. The essence of what it means to be a human being is the capacity to choose. God did not create mechanized robots who serve Him because they were programmed too on some celestial computer.

The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil was placed in the garden to allow for the expression of free will. It was God’s intent from the beginning that understanding His character and knowing His love and care, His children would joyfully serve Him. Our first parents were not predestined to fall but they were given the choice to obey or disobey. We have been given this same choice.

“The Sabbath calls us back to our roots each week. It reminds us of our loving Creator who made us to enjoy life to the fullest. Just as the Sabbath anchors our relationship with God, marriage solidifies the relationship between one man and one woman. The Sabbath and marriage are twin institutions from the Garden of Eden and the devil has viciously attacked them both. Faithfully keeping the Sabbath each week builds a solid foundation for our faith. It undergirds our relationship with God. A loving home and a rock solid Christian marriage reveal God’s love to both our family members and our circle of influence. How has the Sabbath or marriage enhanced your relationship with God?” –(Mark Finley).

Exhortation: “Tell the people of Israel: ‘Be careful to keep my Sabbath day, for the Sabbath is a sign of the covenant between me and you from generation to generation. It is given so you may know that I am the Lord, who makes you holy.” (Exodus 31:13, NLT)

Admonition: “Give honor to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage. God will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery.” (Hebrews 13:4, NLT)


 

Bible Reading Plan/ The Book of Genesis 2/ Theme: Creation Completed; Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.

 

Genesis 2 (NASB 2020) — 1 And so the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their heavenly lights. 2 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. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because on it He rested from all His work which God had created and made. 4 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. 5 Now no shrub of the field was yet on 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. 6 But a mist used to rise from the earth and water the whole surface of the ground. 7 Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living person. 8 The Lord God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed. 9 Out of the ground the Lord God caused every tree to grow that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 10 Now a river flowed out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it divided and became four rivers. 11 The name of the first is Pishon; it flows around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 The gold of that land is good; the bdellium and the onyx stone are there as well. 13 The name of the second river is Gihon; it flows around the whole land of Cush. 14 The name of the third river is Tigris; it flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. 15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to cultivate it and tend it. 16 The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for on the day that you eat from it you will certainly die.” 18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.” 19 And out 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; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. 20 The man gave names to all the livestock, and to the birds of the sky, and to every animal of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him. 21 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. 22 And the Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. 23 Then the man said, “At last this is bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called ‘woman,Because she was taken out of man.” 24 For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. 25 And the man and his wife were both naked, but they were not ashamed.

 

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