Genesis 2:15

Genesis 2:15 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
• New International Version (NIV)The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.
• English Standard Version (ESV)The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.

Context of Genesis 2:15

13The name of the second river is Gihon, which flows through the entire land of Cush. 14The name of the third river is Tigris, which runs east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. The Lord God took the man and placed him in the garden of Eden to work it and watch over it. 16And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree of the garden, 17but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die.”

Genesis 2:15 word by word

וַיִּקַּ֛ח יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהִ֖ים אֶת־הָֽאָדָ֑ם וַיַּנִּחֵ֣הוּ בְגַן־עֵ֔דֶן לְעָבְדָ֖הּ וּלְשָׁמְרָֽהּ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• tookלָקַחlâqach · to take: takeH3947
• the manאָדָם'âdâm · the man (Adam)H120
• and put himיָנַחyânach · to restH3240
• into the gardenגַּןgan · gardenH1588
• of Edenעֵ֫דֶן‛êden · EdenH5731
• to dressעָבַד‛âbad · to serve: labourH5647
• it and to keepשָׁמַרshâmar · to keep: guardH8104

Cross-references for Genesis 2:15

• Genesis 2:2On the seventh day God had completed his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.
• Job 31:33Have I covered my transgressions as others do by hiding my iniquity in my heart
• Genesis 2:8The Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he placed the man he had formed.
• Psalms 128:2You will surely eat what your hands have worked for. You will be happy, and it will go well for you.
• Ephesians 4:28Let the thief no longer steal. Instead, he is to do honest work with his own hands, so that he has something to share with anyone in need.

Commentaries on Genesis 2:15

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 15Put him into the garden - to dress it, and to keep it - Horticulture, or gardening, is the first kind of employment on record, and that in which man was engaged while in a state of perfection and innocence. Though the garden may be supposed to produce all things spontaneously, as the whole vegetable surface of the earth certainly did at the creation, yet dressing and tilling were afterwards necessary to maintain the different kinds of plants and…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 15-17Verses 15-17 - XII. The Command 15. 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 2:15 The 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…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 15Verse 15 After God had formed Adam, he put him in the garden. All boasting was thereby shut out. Only he that made us can make us happy; he that is the Former of our bodies, and the Father of our spirits, and none but he, can fully provide for the happiness of both. Even in paradise itself man had to work. None of us were sent into the world to be idle. He that made our souls and bodies, has given us something to work with; and he that gave us this earth…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 15to cultivate and keep it: The garden needed care and management. Caring for the garden was humanity's honorable work. The Scriptures later apply these roles in God's garden-sanctuary to his tabernacle (see Leviticus 8:35; Numbers 3:5–10; 4:46–49).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1515. put the man into the garden of Eden to dress it--not only to give him a pleasant employment, but to place him on his probation, and as the title of this garden, the garden of the Lord (Ge 13:10; Eze 28:13), indicates, it was in fact a temple in which he worshipped God, and was daily employed in offering the sacrifices of thanksgiving and praise.Read the comment

Topics related to Genesis 2:15

• Agriculture
• Eden
• God
• Industry
• Probation

In the dictionaries

• Eden
• God
• Eden, garden of Eden
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Adam
• Agriculture
• Alone
• Bdellium
• Bless
• Breathe

Commentaries on Genesis 2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings