Genesis 2:15 ESV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Genesis 2:8-15

Man consisting of body and soul, a body made out of the earth and a rational immortal soul the breath of heaven, we have, in these verses, the provision that was made for the happiness of both; he that made him took care to make him happy, if he could but have kept himself so and known when he was well off. That part of man by which he is allied to the world of sense was made happy; for he was put in the paradise of God: that part by which he is allied to the world of spirits was well provided... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 2:15

And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden ,.... This is observed before in Genesis 2:8 and is here repeated to introduce what follows; and is to be understood not of a corporeal assumption, by a divine power lifting him up from the place where he was, and carrying him into another; rather of a manuduction, or taking him by the hand and leading him thither; so Onkelos renders it, he "led" him, that is, he ordered and directed him thither: hence Jarchi paraphrases... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 2:15

Put him into the garden - to dress it, and to keep it - Horticulture, or gardening, is the first kind of employment on record, and that in which man was engaged while in a state of perfection and innocence. Though the garden may be supposed to produce all things spontaneously, as the whole vegetable surface of the earth certainly did at the creation, yet dressing and tilling were afterwards necessary to maintain the different kinds of plants and vegetables in their perfection, and to repress... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 2:15

Verse 15 15.And the Lord God took the man Moses now adds, that the earth was given to man, with this condition, that he should occupy himself in its cultivation. Whence it follows that men were created to employ themselves in some work, and not to lie down in inactivity and idleness. This labor, truly, was pleasant, and full of delight, entirely exempt from all trouble and weariness; since however God ordained that man should be exercised in the culture of the ground, he condemned in his... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 2:8-17

Man's first dwelling-place. The description of Eden commences an entirely new stage in the record. We are now entering upon the history of humanity as such. I. The first fact in that history is a state of " PLEASANTNESS ." The garden is planted by God. The trees are adapted to human life, to support it, to gratify it; and in the midst of the garden the two trees which represent the two most important facts with which revelation is about to deal, viz; immortality and sin. II. ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 2:15

Having prepared the garden for man's reception, the Lord God took the man. "Not physically lifting him up and putting him down in the garden, but simply exerting an influence upon him which induced him, in the exercise of his free agency, to go. He went in consequence of a secret impulse or an open command of his Maker" (Bush). And put him into the garden ; literally, caused him to rest in it as an abode of happiness and peace. To dress it . I .e. to till, cultivate, and work it.... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Genesis 2:15-17

- XII. The Command15. נוּח nûach “rest, dwell.” עבד ‛ābad “work, till, serve.” שׁמר shāmar “keep, guard.”We have here the education of man summed up in a single sentence. Let us endeavor to unfold the great lessons that are here taught.Genesis 2:15The Lord God took the man. - The same omnipotent hand that made him still held him. “And put him into the garden.” The original word is “caused him to rest,” or dwell in the garden as an abode of peace and recreation. “To dress it and to keep it.”... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Genesis 2:4-25

2:4-4:26 EARLY HUMAN LIFELife in the Garden of Eden (2:4-25)From this point on, the story concentrates on the people God made, rather than on other features of the created universe. Again the Bible states that the world was not always as it is now, but was prepared stage by stage till it was suitable for human habitation. God created Adam (meaning ‘man’ or ‘mankind’) not out of nothing, but out of materials he had previously created. Like the other animals, Adam had his physical origins in the... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Genesis 2:15

the man. Hebrew. 'eth - ha'adham = this same man Adam. See App-14 . keep = keep safe, preserve. Same Hebrew as Genesis 3:24 ; Genesis 17:9 , Genesis 17:10 ; Genesis 18:19 , &c. read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Genesis 2:15

"And Jehovah God took the man, and put him in the garden of Eden to dress it and keep it."The ideal state of man was not one of idleness, but one of labor and responsibility. It is not revealed how long was the time intervening before man's rebellion against his Creator took place, resulting in his expulsion from Eden.There are numbers of comments on HOW God put man in the garden of Eden, concerning which question our text contains nothing. Perhaps we should also discuss the query of HOW God... read more