God resteth on the seventh day and blesseth it. The earthly paradise, in
which God placeth man. He commandeth him not to eat of the tree of
knowledge. And formeth a woman of his rib.
2:1. So the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the furniture
of them.
2:2. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made: and he
rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done.
He rested, etc... That is, he ceased to make or create any new kinds of
things. Though, as our Lord tells us, John 5.17, "He still worketh",
viz., by conserving and governing all things, and creating souls.
2:3. And he blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because in it he
had rested from all his work which God created and made.
2:4. These are the generations of the heaven and the earth, when they
were created, in the day that the Lord God made the heaven and the
earth:
2:5. And every plant of the field before it sprung up in the earth, and
every herb of the ground before it grew: for the Lord God had not rained
upon the earth; and there was not a man to till the earth.
2:6. But a spring rose out of the earth, watering all the surface of the
earth.
2:7. And the Lord God formed man of the slime of the earth: and breathed
into his face the breath of life, and man became a living soul.
2:8. And the Lord God had planted a paradise of pleasure from the
beginning: wherein he placed man whom he had formed.
2:9. And the Lord God brought forth of the ground all manner of trees,
fair to behold, and pleasant to eat of: the tree of life also in the
midst of paradise: and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
The tree of life... So called because it had that quality, that by
eating of the fruit of it, man would have been preserved in a constant
state of health, vigour, and strength, and would not have died at all.
The tree of knowledge... To which the deceitful serpent falsely
attributed the power of imparting a superior kind of knowledge, beyond
that which God was pleased to give.
2:10. And a river went out of the place of pleasure to water paradise,
which from thence is divided into four heads.
2:11. The name of the one is Phison: that is it which compasseth all the
land of Hevilath, where gold groweth.
2:12. And the gold of that land is very good: there is found bdellium,
and the onyx stone.
2:13. And the name of the second river is Gehon: the same is it that
compasseth all the land of Ethiopia.
2:14. And the name of the third river is Tigris: the same passeth along
by the Assyrians. And the fourth river is Euphrates.
2:15. And the Lord God took man, and put him into the paradise of
pleasure, to dress it, and to keep it.
2:16. And he commanded him, saying: Of every tree of paradise thou shalt
eat:
2:17. But of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat.
For in what day soever thou shalt eat of it, thou shalt die the death.
2:18. And the Lord God said: It is not good for man to be alone: let us
make him a help like unto himself.
2:19. And the Lord God having formed out of the ground all the beasts of
the earth, and all the fowls of the air, brought them to Adam to see
what he would call them: for whatsoever Adam called any living creature
the same is its name.
2:20. And Adam called all the beasts by their names, and all the fowls
of the air, and all the cattle of the field: but for Adam there was not
found a helper like himself.
2:21. Then the Lord God cast a deep sleep upon Adam: and when he was
fast asleep, he took one of his ribs, and filled up flesh for it.
2:22. And the Lord God built the rib which he took from Adam into a
woman: and brought her to Adam.
2:23. And Adam said: This now is bone of my bones, and flesh of my
flesh; she shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man.
2:24. Wherefore a man shall leave father and mother, and shall cleave to
his wife: and they shall be two in one flesh.
2:25. And they were both naked: to wit, Adam and his wife: and were not
ashamed.