Genesis 2:8

6 but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground.

7 And the Lord God formed man of the ^adust of the ground, and ^bbreathed into his ^cnostrils the breath of life; and ^dman became a living being.

Life in God’s Garden

8 The Lord God planted ^aa garden ^beastward in ^cEden, and there He put the man whom He had formed.

9 And out of the ground the Lord God made ^aevery tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. ^bThe tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and ^cevil.

10 Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted and became four riverheads.

11 The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one which skirts ^athe whole land of Havilah, where there is gold.

12 And the gold of that land is good. ^aBdellium and the onyx stone are there.

13 The name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one which goes around the whole land of Cush.

14 The name of the third river is ^aHiddekel; it is the one which goes toward the east of² Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates.

15 Then the Lord God took¹ the man and put him in the garden of Eden to² tend and keep it.

16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat;

17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil ^ayou shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it ^byou shall surely ^cdie.”

18 And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; ^aI will make him a helper comparable to him.”

19 ^aOut of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and ^bbrought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name.

Commentaries:

Forerunner Commentary
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What Does Genesis 2:8 Mean?

The LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden, a place of delight and enjoyment that symbolizes great fertility where things grow in beauty and usefulness. Its environment supports both vegetation and a relationship of fellowship between God and Adam and Eve, who represent mankind. Eden stands as a rich and fertile site of unbroken fellowship. God confers governing powers on mankind to maintain and preserve creation from decay, tending it by edifying and cultivating growth toward perfection of beauty, all for the good of the creation God reformed and shaped.

Genesis 2:8

The word Eden in Hebrew means "delight" or "enjoyment"—it was a garden of delight or enjoyment. When the Septuagint Version was produced, its translators used the Greek word for "parkland" for Eden, from which came the word "paradise." In the Old Testament, Eden is often a symbol of great fertility, a place where things wold grow. In other words, its environment was not only beautiful but also useful for producing things. In this case, God had in mind not merely an environment for vegetation, but for a relationship through fellowship—between God and Adam and Eve, who represented all of mankind. Spiritually, Eden symbolizes a rich and fertile place of unbroken fellowship.

John W. Ritenbaugh
The Holy Spirit and the Trinity (Part Six)

Other Forerunner Commentary entries containing Genesis 2:8:

Luke 23:43

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Life in God’s Garden

What Does Genesis 2:8 Mean?

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