Introduction

Moses now dives deeper into the creation story, focusing on God’s personal and intimate relationship with Adam. Unlike the broad overview of Genesis 1, here we get a close-up of God’s creative work, specifically with Adam and Eve. We see Adam, formed from the dust, placed in the garden to care for it, yet something important is missing: his woman. God knows this need and introduces the concept of companionship by creating Eve. Marriage, the joining of man and woman, is established as part of God’s divine order—a reflection of His design for humanity.

This chapter sets the stage for understanding God’s intentions for male and female, the importance of relationships, and the foundational role of marriage. As we follow Adam’s journey—his sense of completeness in God and his realization of needing a partner—we see God’s design for humanity is one of enormous goodness.

About Chapter Breaks

Allow me to share something you’re not used to thinking about. While Scripture is sacred, the chapter breaks and verse numbering system are not. Stephen Langton, (13th century Catholic Cardinal and Archbishop of Canterbury), is most credited with dividing Scripture into chapters. Rabbis had similar systems, but Langton’s divisions were quickly adopted across Jewish and Christian communities. In the 16th century a printer by the name of Robert Estienne, known as Stephanus, organized the chapters into verses. Jews and Christians quickly adopted Stephanus’ system due to its ease of use.

To this day we day we have no idea why two highly intelligent men divided Genesis chapter 1 the way they did. When Moses laid out his work and it logically ended in what we now call Genesis 2:3. The next verse, Genesis 2:4, clearly marks the start of Moses’ next chapter. We know this because Genesis 2:4 has begins with a toledot – that is Hebrew for these are the generations – a writing style that Moses maintains throughout the book of Genesis. I explain what a toledot is in greater detail below. As Hughes aptly puts it, “They flat out blew it.”

Chapter 2

v1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.

v2 And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.

v3 So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.

Day 7

God rested and blessed this day.. God created a world where the cycle of rest is given as a blessing, yet many struggle to embrace it. On a global scale, few people truly enjoy and practice the Sabbath. Rest, especially with sacred intent, is “holy.” Rest is not laziness, it’s a blessed good.

Sabbath In Context

1. Moses penned these words in the wilderness, the Sabbath command came before the law.
2. The Sabbath is a Creation Commandment, meaning God established certain rhythms at creation which can’t be broken, and disobeying them brings hardship.
3. The Sabbath Keeping Command is found on nearly every page of Scripture, in every sub section of the biblical text, and outside of salvation, is one of the most dominant themes in the book.
4. The Sabbath Keeping instructions are surprisingly simple and vague.
5. The Sabbath Keeping Command is in both Old and New Covenants, altering course a bit as it does so.
6. God rested to celebrate. He was not exhausted, he was modeling our need to rest and celebrate.
7. The first thing God wanted to enjoy on the Sabbath was Adam and Eve.
8. There is no phrase morning and evening, God’s Sabbath rest has no end.
9. The phrase seventh day is repeated three times.
10. The day is now holy, and is deeply sacred.
11. The Sabbath has past, present, and future implications.

Moses’ Sabbath In The Old Testament

Scripture records Moses twice engaging the Israelites in the seriousness of Sabbath keeping. The first time is well known. After crossing the Red Sea and landing at Mt. Sinai, Moses comes before a mountain of fire as the Lord descends upon it. There, God will with his own finger write and carve the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20).

At the end of the wilderness journey, Moses arrives at the Jordan River. A new generation is at hand, and Joshua not Moses will lead the Israelites across the Jordan. Moses  preaches a few sermons that are recorded in the book of Deuteronomy. If I correctly understand where Moses was at during these sermons, he could faintly see the Jordan River as he preached. Pressed in that way, Moses sternly commands the New Israelite Nation to obey the Sabbath.

The different versions of the Sabbath beautifully reflect God’s nature and plan.

Here is the first, found in Exodus 20:8-11

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

The emphasis here is to celebrate God as creator, and to adore his good works.

At the end of Moses’ ministry, he repeats these lines but gives them a different emphasis. In Deuteronomy 5:15 Moses preaches about redemption.

You shall remember that you were a slaves in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.

According to Moses, on the Sabbath, the Lord is worshipped and adored, salvation and deliverance are celebrated, and rest is encouraged and enjoyed.

Jesus’ Sabbath In The New Testament

Jesus obeyed the Sabbath in a biblical way, but he actively disobeyed what men had made of it. This tension plays on nearly every page in the gospels.

Jesus is eternally God, keeping this in mind is helpful in understanding his teaching and behavior about the Sabbath. For brevity, I’ll only cite three incidents below.

Jesus Sabbath Fight #1 – Matthew Chapter 12:1-8

In the first 8 verses, Jesus allows his disciples on the Sabbath to pluck grain because they are hungry. Many falsely thought this was a breaking of the Sabbath Law, but that’s not true. This is before MacDonald’s, Starbucks, and my beloved In N Out. Jesus is powerfully demonstrating that acts of mercy are not only allowed but are essential, especially on the Sabbath. So for example, if someone finds themselves starving on the Sabbath, it’s okay for them to go and find food.

The Pharisee’s are not having it, and accuse Jesus of breaking Moses’ Sabbath law.

Here is how Jesus shows the Pharisee’s they’re wrong.

1. King David, when hungry, ate the bread of the Presence, which was typically reserved for the priests (1 Samuel 21:6). Why wasn’t David guilty in God’s eyes? Answer: Because God was more concerned with David’s legitimate need for food.
2. The Priests break the Sabbath, and why is God okay with that? Answer: Because God is more concerned with the people’s legitimate need for worship.”
3. God desires mercy for His people, not bondage (1 Samuel 15:21, Hosea 6:6). Why? Because Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath and now clarifies that the Sabbath is meant as a blessing for all to enjoy. Furthermore, Jesus emphasizes that mercy is a cornerstone of the Sabbath—something the Pharisees missed.
4. Now for the truth: In referencing the Son of Man, Jesus clearly communicates, ‘I am God, and I reveal how things truly are, not the other way around.’ The people understood His message and sought to kill Him for it.

In verse 6, Jesus declares, ‘Something greater than the Temple is here.’ His next statement is a profound example of His divinity: ‘For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.’ God created the Sabbath, making Him the only Lord over it—a claim to divinity as strong as any found in Scripture, where the only Lord is God Himself. Jesus’ actions illustrate how far they have strayed from His intended design for the Sabbath.

Jesus Sabbath Fight #2 – Mark 2:27-28

Jesus makes a significant statement in Mark that isn’t found in Matthew: ‘The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.’ This is God’s grace gift designed to provide us with mercy in our health, friendships, and worship.

In Mark 2:27, ‘man’ is translated from anthropos, a term for humanity. The phrase ‘was made’ (from ginomai) refers back to creation, when God established the Sabbath (Frame, DCL, 557). Jesus illustrates the original purpose of the Sabbath, recalling when Adam was the first to enjoy its blessings.

Jesus Sabbath Fight #3 – John 5:1-17

In this passage, Jesus heals a man on the Sabbath and tells him to take his things and go for a walk. The Jews argue this violates the Sabbath, prompting Jesus to assert His divinity: ‘Where my Father is working, I am working.’ Jesus claims the authority to act as God does, a privilege unique to Him. My aim here is to illustrate that Jesus demonstrates the Sabbath as a blessing, emphasizing that our actions toward one another should be loving and merciful, bringing joy rather than burden to God’s people.

The Lord’s Day and Practical Matters

Strictly speaking, the Sabbath is not necessarily Saturday, any seventh day works. Historically it’s been understood and practiced on Friday/Saturday sequence, but that is not what the Genesis text teaches.

1. The New Covenant: After the resurrection, Sunday became known as the Lord’s Day, representing a New Covenant application of the Sabbath. During the first few centuries, Christians faced persecution, making it rare for the New Testament church to observe a full day of rest. However, when possible, they did so. In the agricultural context of the ancient world, taking an entire day off was challenging, as minimal chores were necessary to keep animals alive, and maintain other vital responsibilities
2. God Modeled It: God, who never fatigues, modeled the Sabbath for our blessing, which is why Jesus taught that the Sabbath is made for man, not the other way around. The term ‘Sabbath’ means to pause and is akin to an intermission in a Broadway show, allowing actors to rest and the stage to be reset. Similarly, God provides a Sabbath as a day of rest and reset, offering an intermission from stress, anxiety, and life’s grind. Sabbath-keeping often involves community, as it can be challenging to practice alone.”
3. How To Enjoy It: If possible, dedicate 24 hours to the Lord, focusing on three things: resting, worshipping God, and engaging in life-giving, refreshing activities. If a full 24 hours isn’t feasible—especially for parents of young children—intentionally set aside a few hours for Sabbath and build from there.”

John Frame provides a helpful summary of Sabbath duties based on three principles: the need to find rest, the need to worship God, and the need to give and receive mercy (DCL, Frame 574).

Inside Eden

Genesis 2:4-3:24

First Things First 

v. 4 These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens.

v. 5 When no bush of the field  yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up—for the LORD God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground,

v.6 and a mist was going up for the land and was watering the whole face of the ground —

v.7 then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.

Verse 4 Parallelism

Both Hughes and Matthews note verse 4 in the Hebrew text is independent, and contains a Hebrew parallelism:

A – the heaven and the earth

B- when they were created

B’ – when the Lord God made

A- the earth and the heavens

Hughes, Genesis, 50 – Matthews, Genesis, 191

What is a Toledot?

The Hebrew word for toledot is often translated as “These are the generations.” Throughout Genesis, this phrase acts as a narrative marker, signaling the beginning of a new section. It helps the reader track the flow and structure of the text.

Each time you encounter the phrase “These are the generations,” it may point to ancient scrolls that originally made up the text of Genesis. Some scholars propose an intriguing theory: these scrolls might have been preserved on Noah’s Ark and later found their way into the hands of Moses by divine providence. While this theory is unverified, it offers an interesting perspctive on how the text may have been transmitted.

Beyond any academic theory, toledot serves an important function in the book of Genesis. it introduces key moments in the unfolding story of creation and humanity. With each new toledot , something new is created, a threat arises, and God intervenes to bring resolution (Matthews, NAC, 29).

For example, the toledot in Genesis 2 introduces several pivotal events: the Garden of Eden, the creation of Adam and Eve, the fall of humanity in Genesis 3, and the story of Cain and Abel in Genesis 4. Each of these moments is essential to understanding God’s unfolding plan for salvation.

Understanding Yahweh-Elohim

In Genesis 1, God is known as Elohim—the great Creator God. However, in Genesis 2:4, Moses introduces us to God’s eternal name, something he will not fully clarify until Exodus 3. Yahweh-Elohim is translated as “Lord God,” and many translations use all capital letters for LORD to indicate this reference. Yahweh-Elohim is God’s eternal, covenant-keeping name (Genesis 15:7, Exodus 3:14-15).

Thoughts on Yahweh-Elohim:

1. Yahweh, the Lord, is God’s declaration of Himself as the one true God. He alone is worthy of our absolute love and allegiance.
2. Yahweh is the name of a person, revealing God as a deeply personal being. All scientific principles–whether of matter, time, or energy–ultimately point to Yahweh, the personal, covenant-keeping God fo scripture. Science exists because God personally upholds it with his power.
3. Yahweh–the Holy One. Yahweh is profoundly holy, and His presence manifests holiness. For instance, when Moses encounters the burning bush, God tells him that he is standing on holy ground. The ground itself was not holy, it became holy because God’s presence was there, manifesting His glory.

(References: Frame, Doctrine of God, 21-31. Some portions are direct quotes from Frame.)

No Bush No Plant

This most likely is a reference to Genesis 1:1, as a reference toward the actual beginning, when the earth contained nothing.

About The Mist

The Lord God had not yet brought rain on the earth. Notice the repeated use of the word “no” in this passage: no bush, no plant, no rain, and no man to work the ground (Hughes, Genesis, 51). The English Standard Version (ESV) offers an alternative reading in the margin with the word “spring.” If the mist mentioned in the text is understood as water coming up from the ground, this suggests the presence of large subterranean oceans or rivers. These would spring up from beneath the surface, forming a thick mist. “Spring” seems to be a stronger and more fitting word in this context.

David Guzik offers additional insight, explaining that when God first created vegetation on the third day (Genesis 1:11-13), man had not yet been created to care for it, and there was no rain. The water vapor canopy created on the second day (Genesis 1:6-8) eliminated the need for a traditional rain cycle. Instead, a rich system of evaporation and condensation produced a heavy dew or ground fog that sustained the earth (Guzik, Enduring Word, Genesis 2).

This passage reveals God’s intentionality in creating man. Adam wasn’t just an afterthought; his presence was necessary. In the order of creation, man was essential for cultivating the earth, bringing glory to God as he carried out the work God had prepared for him.

How God Made Adam

v.7 then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.

Creation of Adam and His Role 

God formed Adam from the dust, breathing life into him and establishing humanity’s unique relationship with the Creator. Adam was not merely a physical being; he was designed with a God-made purpose to steward creation. This moment marks the beginning of humanity’s special calling, where man and woman stand as the crown jewel of God’s creation. The ground Adam came from shows our earthly connection, but the breath of God speaks to the spiritual life within us. Adam’s creation foreshadows the partnership between man and God, where humanity abides under divine guidance.

Adam and Jesus: A Divine Comparison

The Apostle Paul, in 1 Corinthians 15:47, draws a profound comparison: “The first man (Adam( was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man (Jesus) is from heaven.” This highlights a core reality— man’s physical form must be compatible with the earth. God created Adam from the dust of the ground, giving him authority and connection to the very world he was meant to rule. Without this bond to the earth, man would live as a outsider, not as a king.

Formed from Creation

God took the dust of the earth–the raw material of creation–and formed man from the ground. There’s a poetic wordplay here: the Lord God formed the man (ha adama) from the dust of the ground (ha adama) (Hughes, Gensis, 52).

This imagery evokes the relationship between a potter and clay, a theme echoed by Isaiah, Jeremiah and the Apostle Paul. For example, Isaiah 64:8 reads, “But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.” Similarly, in Jeremiah 18:6, God declares, “Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand.” Paul brings the same doctrinal understanding into the New Testament in Romans 9;21, by asking a rhetorical question, ” Does the potter not have the right over the clay?”

This act of creation was physical and foundational. It established humanity’s unique and privileged place within God’s created order, shaping not only our form but also our purpose.

The Breath of God

The moment God breathes into Adam, something extraordinary happens. That lifeless form of dust becomes a living being. This isn’t just a casual breath; it’s the breath of life itself. God didn’t just create Adam; He shared His essence with him. Think about that for a moment—God’s breath, His Spirit, is what makes us alive.  That same breath, the breath that filled Adam, is the source of all life today, a great reminder that our lives are not our own. We depend on God for every breath we take.

Further, God does something remarkable—the Creator of the universe, who spoke galaxies into existence, now bends down to the earth and breathes life into a simple pile of dirt. God kneels down over Adam, bringing His face closer and closer, a moment full of deep tender intimacy.

In Genesis 1:1, the Hebrew word paneem describes God’s face hovering over the waters during creation. His presence is personal, even in the grand act of shaping the world. But with Adam, it’s more than just personal, it’s intimate.

With the care of a loving Father over a newborn, God leans in, breathes into Adam’s lifeless form. Adam—crafted from mere dust—becomes nephesh hayya, a living soul. In that instant, Adam isn’t just alive, he’s a one and only. He can hear God’s voice, understand His word, and rule as God’s agent on Earth. Out of ordinary dirt, God shapes the extraordinary. And in one powerful breath, Adam transforms from a lifeless figure—maybe like a rag doll—into a being with the breath of God within him.

Our Black Father

When God created Adam, He made him as a man of color–likely a black man, or at least some form of a black man. The Hebrew word for “Adam” refers to a reddish-black hue, which makes sense, as Adam was formed from the dust of the earth. All humanity traces its lineage back to him, sharing his bloodline and DNA.

From a biological standpoint, it’s well-known that a white man cannot produce a dare skinned child, but a black man can father a child of any skin tone, including white. This supports the idea that the human race began with a man of color–biology tends to move from darker to lighter shades, not the other way around.

Adam, with his rich red-black complexion, stands as the father of the human race.

Eve was created from Adam’s flesh, shaped by the hands of God himself. When Adam first laid eyes on her, he was filled with satisfaction and joy. No longer alone, he now had a companion–his “help meet”–to share in the dominion over the earth. Together, they formed a sacred union, becoming one flesh in their marriage. This perfect, unashamed couple lived in innocence, “naked and unashamed,” until their story took a dramatic turn.

My Father’s World

v. 8 And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed.

v. 9 And out of the ground the LORD God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

v. 10 A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers.

v. 11 The name of the first is Pishon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold.

v. 12  And the gold of that land is good, bdellium and onyx stone are there.

v. 13  The name of the second river is Gihon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Cush.

v. 14 And the name of the third river is the Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth is the Euphrates.

v. 15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.

Farmer Adam

Adam wasn’t an urbanite, nor did he tend a tiny balcony garden. Eden was  vast—likely encompassing much of what we know as the Middle East. Moses refers to it being in the east because he’s writing from the west, near modern-day Jordan, just east of the Jordan River, before Joshua brings down Jericho. The Garden of Eden itself was situated around the present – day  Iran/Iraq eastern border, and was a luscious, abundant homestead farm.

Here, Adam walked freely, naked, and in constant communion with God. His daily life was one of pure joy and overflowing abundance.

Four Rivers

It’s widely accepted that Earth’s landscape has changed dramatically over the millennia. Today, the Tigris and Euphrates rivers originate in modern-day Turkey, flowing east through Syria and Iraq, eventually reaching the Persian Gulf.

The locations of the other two rivers, Gihon and Pishon, remain unknown and largely unexplored. While the Arabian Peninsula is now a desert, it wasn’t always that way, as the Genesis account suggests. As modern Israel has shown, the region’s sand isn’t lifeless but simply lacks water. Gihon and Pishon could be ancient riverbeds, now dry and waiting to be discovered.

Between Two Trees

v. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden,

v.17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

God Says Yes and No

The Hebrew word for “commanded” is sava, and it implies that Adam was expected to obey immediately and wholeheartedly. God commanded Adam to remain perfectly connected to Him. Being created in God’s image and likeness meant Adam would face the temptation to live independently of God—a struggle he would soon lose. Unlike an orca whale or a black bear, which instinctively follow the order of creation, only humans are designed with the capacity to process and internalize Scripture.

At this point, Adam was not physically an eternal being. That’s clear, because God spoke to him about the possibility of death. In Revelation (2:7, 22:2, 14,19), believers have free and immediate access to the tree of life—something Adam lost after the fall (Genesis 3:22).

Adam was created with a perfect nature and placed in a flawless environment (Geisler, Systematic Theology, Vol. 3, p.19). Sin had no place in Eden, a paradise of God’s goodness. Everything God made was not just good, but very good. There was no moral or spiritual imperfection in Eden, it was perfect in every way. Adam had no inclination toward sin—God did not create him that way. There was no evil in the world, except for the moment when the evil one entered it. Creation, at this time, was snot yet subject to corruption ( Romans 8:22).

Life for Adam: Perfect and Flawless

Life for Adam was perfectly good.

Adam and Eve were made flawless, with no imperfections. Norman Geisler explains it logically:

1. God is an absolutely perfect being.
2. An absolutely perfect being cannot create something imperfect.
3. Therefore, the original creation was perfect.

(Geisler, Systematic Theology, Vol. 3, p. 20)

Freedom and Limits

God granted to Adam both freedom and boundaries, because without limits, freedom is not possible. In God’s design, freedom does not mean acting independently of Him. True freedom is living within God’s will—stepping outside of that leads only to sin and death.

Consequences

The consequences God outlined were severe—death, something Adam had never experienced. The word “commanded” is a verb, implying action. Adam had to actively follow through, there was no other choice. This marked the beginning of Adam’s personal accountability and moral responsibility (Geisler, Vol. 3, p. 20). He was to remain fully connected to God, without hesitation or distraction, following God’s word literally and precisely.

Verse 16 sets the stage for the drama that unfolds in chapter 3. The devil will challenge Eve by questioning what God actually said, even going so far as to call God a liar. Although Eve wasn’t present when God gave Adam the command—she hadn’t yet been created—it’s clear she became aware of it, either directly from God or through her husband.

God will bring up this word commanded in chapter 3 by saying, ” Have you eaten of the tree that I commanded you not to eat?” It was a rhetorical question, God already knew.

Why Did God Place Restrictions on Man?

In chapter 3, God returns to the word “commanded” when He asks Adam, “have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat?” God already knew the answer—His question was meant to expose Adam’s disobedience.

But why did God place such a restriction on Adam in the first place? Here are a few insights:

1. The knowledge of Good and Evil Requires God’s  Authority, Control, and Presence:

Adam cannot comprehend good and evil without God. If Adam gains this knowledge independently, it will lead him into rebellion.

1. Accepting Reality as God Defines It:

To understand good and  evil, Adam needed to accept God’s definition of reality. Without God, this understanding will become the seedbed of deception.

4. An Established Order is Required:

The knowledge of good and evil only makes sense within the order God established. Without this order, chaos flourishes.

5. Truth and Goodness Stem from God:

The knowledge of good and evil teaches that truth is real and good—and both come only from God.

6. Truth is Not a Lie:

Ultimately, the knowledge of good and evil reinforces that truth cannot coexist with falsehood.

Woman Glorious

v. 18 Then the LORD God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone, I will make him a helper fit for him.”

v.19 Now out of the ground the LORD God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to a the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. 

v. 20 The man gave names to all the livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him.

v. 21 So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. 

v. 22 And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. 

v. 23  Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. 

v. 24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 

v. 25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed. 

Alone

Up to this point, everything in Genesis is either good or very good. But Adam being alone? That wasn’t acceptable—God had more in mind.

Adam likely didn’t realize he was alone, because he wasn’t lonely. There’s a stark difference between being alone and feeling lonely. Loneliness stems from a deep, fractured soul—something that only appeared after the fall. It’s a condition born out of brokenness. Being alone, however, is merely a physical circumstance. Loneliness, on the other hand, is about emotional isolation and the inability to connect. Adam didn’t suffer from that. His perfect connection with God filled every need, and the beauty of his surroundings satisfied him completely.

Yet, Adam was missing something: a life partner, a counterpart, though he was unaware of it. God, however, knew his need. In His wisdom, He chose a process—a divine tutorial—to help Adam realize it.

The Name Game

The text doesn’t tell us the specific names Adam gave the animals. That wasn’t the point. God wasn’t asking Adam to classify creatures for all time. Instead, this was about something deeper—God was gently revealing to Adam something he hadn’t yet realized. God had extraordinary plans for him, and those plans included a partner.

There’s a sense of playfulness in the narrative. Adam eagerly named the animals as they paraded before him, and in watching him, God delighted. It was a joyful task, one that was deeply spiritual, as Adam pondered the divine purpose within each creature.

Yet, even in this joy, Adam was unknowingly on a journey of discovery. He wasn’t lonely—his perfect connection with God filled him—but there was still more ahead. Naming the animals was part of God’s way of leading Adam to see that something was missing. With every creature he encountered, Adam’s awareness deepened. None were like him.

Finally, when he saw her, the realization came: a human soul like his own flesh and bone. His excitement was immediate.

Interestingly, Eve wasn’t originally called Eve. Adam first called her woman, a name he chose, recognizing her as part of himself. The name Eve came later, after the fall, when Adam sought to bless her with a redemptive name.

The Bachelor Needs A Helper

What Adam truly lacked was community—something the animal kingdom and the biosphere of Eden couldn’t provide. Woman wasn’t an afterthought. She was always part of God’s design. From the beginning, God intended to create them male and female, but the sequence was intentional. Adam came first so their lives could unite, forming a whole. In this, she holds the same value as Adam. Both were created equally in the image of God, as His glorious plan unfolded.

The word often translated as suitable for a helper is key here. The ESV uses fit instead, a stronger translation that better captures the Hebrew word neged, meaning something perfectly aligned.

Our modern understanding of helper is shallow compared to the biblical sense. The word here implies a completer, a help-meet. This points to a healthy, interdependent relationship, reflecting the dependence humanity has on God. The Hebrew word ezer, used to describe the woman, appears elsewhere in Scripture to describe God Himself. For instance, Psalm 121:1-2 says, “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help (ezer) come? My help (ezer) comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” Here, ezer is a powerful source of support, not subordination.

In Hosea 13:9, the same word is used as a lament: “He destroys you, O Israel, for you are against me, against your helper (ezer).” Clearly, the role of the ezer is not inferior. The woman was created as an indispensable partner, integral to the survival and flourishing of humanity. As one scholar put it, “What man lacks, the woman accomplishes” (Matthews, TNAC, Vol. 1, p. 214).

Eve was the first person created from a living being (Hughes, Genesis, p. 60), and she was Adam’s equal in every sense. She was always part of God’s eternal plan.

None of the animals in creation could meet Adam’s need for a helper. God Himself had to craft what was necessary. As the Apostle Paul summarizes, “Man was not made for woman, but woman for man” (1 Corinthians 11:9).

Sleep and Rib

There are mysteries in God we are not allowed to see, and God’s personal craftsmanship of woman is one of them. First God puts Adam in a comatose, trance like state. Second, a rib is taken from Adam’s side, his perfect body is now pierced, and he is now without part of his flesh. Third, pulsating in God’s hand is freshly alive bone and marrow. Fourth, God’s unfathomable beauty creates Eve, bestowing upon her brilliance, form, and purpose.

Silly comments arise at this point regarding Adam’s rib and his children, so here it is—Adam had surgery, his children did not. Adam was minus a rib, but his children had all their body parts.

God placed Abraham into a deep sleep when he was ordaining a covenant through him (Genesis 15).

Satisfaction/Here Comes The Bride

Verse 23-24 is a poetic response. Adam’s enthusiasm is real. The poetic expression is more like a shout or a cry out loud than anything else. He is not passive, he loves what God has done.

God himself presents Eve to Adam, and he gets it—they perfectly fit together. He is without sin, and she is without sin. He was personally made by God, and she the same.

The woman was stunning…fresh from the well of creation. Every aspect of her was perfect. She was perfect in body and perfect in soul. She was perfectly sinless (Hughes, Genesis, p.60).

Eve was gorgeous and was his perfect match in every way. She was him, the female compliment to his manliness. He names her, not God.

Here Comes The Bride

Marriage is ordained of God. Adam and Eve are the template. Their marriage lasts even through the darkest hours of sin.

The command is to leave, but not in the way modern  marriage is understood. Leave never meant physically. Leave meant financially and in terms of priority. A couple is a family their family focus takes priority over the needs of their parents. Until recently, married couples followed the man who built onto his parents house a place where his bride could now live. This arrangement is seen in biblical times and on every continent until now.

Cleave sets a new loyalty standard for couples. They are called to be producers and not consumers, reproducers and givers not takers.

The End of LGBTQ

Genesis 2 emphasizes God’s intentional creation of man and woman, defining marriage as a covenant between them. God didn’t create multiple paths for relational unions; He designed one—between Adam and Eve, male and female. This foundational design stands as a model for all humanity, showcasing not only the physical but also the spiritual unity between the two sexes.

In the modern world, same-sex relationships have gained acceptance, but Scripture consistently upholds a different standard. When God ordained marriage, He never intended for it to evolve into relationships outside the male-female covenant. Jesus, affirming Genesis, said in Matthew 19:4-6:

“Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”

By referring directly to Genesis, Jesus confirmed the divine blueprint for marriage—between a man and a woman. He didn’t introduce exceptions or alternate interpretations, even though homosexual relationships were prevalent in Greco-Roman culture. This silence speaks volumes, highlighting the timeless and unchanging nature of God’s plan.

Paul echoes this in Ephesians 5:32, where marriage is shown to be more than a social construct—it symbolizes Christ’s relationship with the Church. The union of a man and woman is a living reflection of the gospel, representing sacrificial love, unity, and covenantal faithfulness. Stepping outside of this design, as seen in same-sex relationships, breaks from God’s order and leads away from the purpose He intended in marriage.

Click Here For Genesis Chapter 3