John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 2:16
And the Lord God commanded the man ,.... Over whom he had power and authority; and he had a right to command him what he pleased, being his Creator, benefactor, and preserver; and this is to be understood not of man only, but of the woman also, whose creation, though related afterwards, yet was before this grant to eat of all the trees of the garden but one, and the prohibition of the fruit of that; for that she was in being, and present at this time, seems manifest from Genesis 3:2 . ... read more
Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Genesis 2:16-17
Observe here, I. God's authority over man, as a creature that had reason and freedom of will. The Lord God commanded the man, who stood now as a public person, the father and representative of all mankind, to receive law, as he had lately received a nature, for himself and all his. God commanded all the creatures, according to their capacity; the settled course of nature is a law, Ps. 148:6; Ps. 104:9. The brute-creatures have their respective instincts; but man was made capable of performing... read more