Genesis 2:17 ESV

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

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 2:17

But of the tree of knowledge of good and evil ,.... Of the name of this tree, and the reasons of it; see Gill on Genesis 2:9 . thou shalt not eat of it ; not that this tree had any efficacy in it to increase knowledge, and improve in science and understanding, as Satan suggested God knew; and therefore forbid the eating of it out of envy to man, which the divine Being is capable of; or that there was anything hurtful in it to the bodies of men, if they had eaten of it; or that it was... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 2:17

Of the tree of the knowledge - thou shalt not eat - This is the first positive precept God gave to man; and it was given as a test of obedience, and a proof of his being in a dependent, probationary state. It was necessary that, while constituted lord of this lower world, he should know that he was only God's vicegerent, and must be accountable to him for the use of his mental and corporeal powers, and for the use he made of the different creatures put under his care. The man from whose mind... 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 2:16-17

And Jehovah Elohim commanded the man (Adam), saying . Whether or not these were the first words listened to by man (Murphy), they clearly presuppose the person to whom they were addressed to have had the power of understanding language, i.e. of interpreting vocal sounds, and representing to his own mind the conceptions or ideas of which they were the signs, a degree of intellectual development altogether incompatible with modern evolution theories. They likewise assume the pre-existence... 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

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Genesis 2:17

Genesis 2:17. Of the tree of knowledge thou shalt not eat Hitherto God has been manifested as man’s powerful Creator and bountiful Benefactor: now he appears as his Ruler and Lawgiver, and, as such, enters into covenant with him. He gives him but one positive precept, to try his obedience, which, as his Sovereign Lord, he had a right to do, annexing death to the breach, and, of consequence, life and immortality to the observance of it. It is evident, however, that this was not all... 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 2:17

tree. Note the three trees: "Knowledge" (Genesis 2:9 ), man's Ruin; "the Cross" (Acts 10:39 ; Acts 5:30 . 1 Peter 2:24 ), man's Redemption; "the Tree of Life" (Genesis 2:9 . Revelation 2:7 ; Revelation 22:2 ), man's Regeneration. good and evil. See on "knowledge", Genesis 2:9 . Obedience proving what was "good" (Deuteronomy 6:24 ), disobedience revealing what was "evil" (Romans 3:20 ). in the day = when. See App-18 . Compare Genesis 2:4 . 1 Kings 2:37 . Ezekiel 36:33 , &c. thou shalt... read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Genesis 2:16-17

"And Jehovah God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 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 die."Every line of this chapter moved straight to the climactic revelation here, this divine commandment being the emphatic pivot upon which turned the temptation and Fall of mankind, their rebellion against their Creator, their expulsion from Eden, the curse of the... read more