1. Thus the heaven and the earth were finished, and all their array.


A Japanese movie, shown at right, told the story of two Samurais
in an existential battle.

2. By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He abstained on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.

For observant Jews, of course, the seventh day connotes
Shabbat, the day of rest. But for Chinese moviegoers,
it connotes a bittersweet tale of a couple born on the same
day--August 7th--and the love they find.

3. God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it because on it He abstained from all His work which God created to make.

4. These are the products of the heaven and the earth when they were created on the day that Hashem God made earth and heaven.

5. Now all the trees of the field were not yet on the earth and all the herb of the field had not yet sprouted for Hashem God had not sent rain upon the earth and there was no man to work the soil.

6. A mist ascended from the earth and watered the whole surface of the soil

7. And Hashem God formed the man of dust from the ground, and He blew into his nostrils the soul of life; and man became a living being.


Although this painting by Michelangelo on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel does not literally
follow Genesis 2:7, it is perhaps the best known representaiton of man's creation.



8.Hashem God planted a garden in Eden, to the east, and placed there the man whom He had formed.

Based on Genesis 2:10 and ensuing passages, many countries and areas in the Middle East have laid claim to being the site of the biblical Eden. One popular theory, expounded on the Bible Track website maintained by the Fayette Bible Church in Fayetteville, Georgia, is that Eden was in modern-day Iraq, close to the current-day Persian Gulf.

11. The name of the first is Pishon, the one that encircles the whole land of Havilah, where the gold is.


A property management firm in Williamsburg, Virginia chose
a name that connotes an entity encircling a land that brings
forth riches. Would that all our consultants could do this for us!

12. The gold of that land is good, bedolach is there, and the shoham stone.


At left is the emblem for the municipality of Shoham, Israel,
named after the precious stone (onyx)that is among the
dozen stones incorporated into the breastplate of the high priest.
The town is located near the highway connecting Jerusalem
to Tel Aviv. The green color of the emblem was chosen to
symbolize the verdure of this community.

13. The name of the second river is Gihon, the one that encircles the whole land of Cush.


In Hebrew, Gihon means "gushing." Although
the river never has been found, the name is found
in a variety of places. Gihon Elementary School
(pictured at left) is located in Parkersburg, West Virginia.
The Gihon Foundation, celebrating the accomplishments
of women, was named by Bette C. Graham, the inventor
of liquid paper for the river mentioned in Genesis 2:13 .
The Foundaton is based in Sand City,California

14. The name of the third river is Hiddekel, the one that flows toward the east of Assyria; and the fourth river is the Euphrates.


ESK-Dredging Co. in the United Kingdom names its workboats
for rivers, including this one working on the Thames River.
It is named for the biblical river most people assume corresponds
with the Tigris River in Iraq.

15. Hashem God took the man and placed him in the Garden of Eden to work it and guard it.

The perfect place and paradise are, of course, the images
conveyed by "the Garden of Eden" and the phrase has been
used by writers of adventure stories, mysteries and vegetarian
guide books, among many others.

16. And Hashem God commanded the man, saying "of every tree of the garden you may freely eat,"


Not surprisingly this biblical verse became the title of a
vegetarian cook book , by JoAnn Rachor.

17. but of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Bad, you must not eat thereof; for on the day you eat of it, you shall surely die.


The cover for this book cleverly draws and analogy
between a the "Tree of Knowledge" and the human brain.

2:18 Hashem God said, "It is not good that man be alone; I will make him a helper corresponding to him."

Man alone (without his helper) has been a popular theme in literature and music.


2:19 Now, Hashem God had formed out of the ground every beast of the field and every birde of the sky, and brought them to man to see what he would call each one; and whatever the man called each living creature that remained its name.

The concept of man naming animals is seen here in a public domain cartoon from www.zorger.com in promotional literature for a reprint of the 1918 work, Biltmore Oswald: The Diary of a Hapless Recruit.

2:20 And the man assigned names to all the cattle and to the birds of the sky and to every beast of the field; but as for man, he did not find a helper corresponding to him.

This chart was created by Skyflight Mobiles on giftregistryworks.com.

2:21-22 . So Hashem cast a deep sleep upon the man and he slept; and He took one of his sides and He filled in flesh in its place. Then Hashem God fashioned the side that He had taken from the man into a woman, and He brought her to the man.


This painting at left by Michelangelo on the ceiling of the Sistine chapel is the best known representation of these two biblical verses. Another popular representation is the illustration by Gustav Doré, at right

2:23: And the man said, "This time it is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. This shall be called Woman, for from man she was taken."

Painting at left by George Frederick Watts, at right is another conception by William Blake

2: 24: Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and cling to his wife and they shall become one flesh.


This engraving at left by Albrecht Dürer is part of the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Bel0w an album cover for the score of a popular movie of 1966.

They were both naked, the man and his wife, and they were not ashamed.



Above left, from the Bible and Art website, is a depiction of this biblical verse by Jheronimus Bosch, circa 1490 or 1500. From more modern times, a famous cover of Rolling Stone showing Beatle John Lennon and Yoko Ono.

Go to Genesis 3