Genesis 2
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Summary
God completes creation and rests on the seventh day. Before God created the earth, heavens, and all living things physically, He created them spiritually. God forms man from the dust of the earth, and gives him the breath of life. God plants a garden eastward in Eden. God places Adam in the Garden of Eden and commands him to care for it. God forbids partaking of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The Lord has Adam search for a suitable companion by naming all the creatures. When no suitable companion is found, God creates Woman, and commands Adam and the Woman to cleave to each other.
Commentary
Bible Central Commentary
These free resources were developed for use in the free ScripturePlus app. Many of the contributors are professors of religion and ancient scripture at Brigham Young University.
Jeffrey M. Bradshaw, “Moses 3,” in Genesis, Old Testament Minute Commentary Series, ed. Taylor Halverson (Springville, UT: Book of Mormon Central, 2021).
Stephen O. Smoot, "The Book of Moses," in The Pearl of Great Price: A Study Edition for Latter-day Saints (Springville, UT: Book of Mormon Central, 2022), 17–20.
Stephen O. Smoot, “The Book of Abraham,” in The Pearl of Great Price: A Study Edition for Latter-day Saints (Springville, UT: Book of Mormon Central, 2022), 76–78.
Avram Shannon, “Tree of Life,” in Old Testament Cultural Insights (Springville, UT: Book of Mormon Central, 2022).
Avram Shannon, "Names of God," in Old Testament Cultural Insights (Springville, UT: Book of Mormon Central, 2022).
Avram Shannon, “Soul,” in Old Testament Cultural Insights, ed. Taylor Halverson (Springville, UT: Book of Mormon Central, 2022).
Historical Commentaries
Many of the commentaries below are in the public domain and were authored over 100 years ago. In many cases, they do not reflect the findings of modern scholarship, but they may be helpful for understanding the history of biblical scholarship.
Videos
Watch selected videos on this chapter of the Bible to enhance your study. Note: Not all videos included come from a Latter-day Saint perspective. Inclusion on this list should not imply endorsement for all content.
Historical Settings
Time
*All Dates Are Approximate, according to the narrative of the Bible. These dates may reflect literary significance as opposed to the precise dates of history.
See Biblical Chronology- Before 4000 BC
Further Reading
LeGrand L. Baker, “The Cosmic Mountain Represents the Garden of Eden,” in The Book of Mormon as an Ancient Israelite Temple: Nineteen Classic Temple Characteristics of the Book of Mormon (Salt Lake City: Eborn Books, 2012), 32-35.
RoseAnn Benson, “The Marriage of Adam and Eve: Ritual and Literary Elements,” in By Our Rites of Worship: Latter-day Saint Views on Ritual in Scripture, History, and Practice, ed. Daniel L. Belnap (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2013), 107–131.
Jeffrey M. Bradshaw, “The Tree of Knowledge as the Veil of the Sanctuary,” in Ascending the Mountain of the Lord: Temple, Praise, and Worship in the Old Testament (2013 Sperry Symposium), ed. Jeffrey R. Chadwick, Matthew J. Grey, and David Rolph Seely (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2013), 49–65.
Book of Mormon Central, “Why Do We Have Three Different Accounts of the Creation? (2 Nephi 2:22),” KnoWhy 400 (January 18, 2018).
David M. Calabro, “Lehi’s Dream and the Garden of Eden,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 26 (2017): 269–296.
Alex Douglas, “The Garden of Eden, the Ancient Temple, and Receiving a New Name,” in Ascending the Mountain of the Lord: Temple, Praise, and Worship in the Old Testament (2013 Sperry Symposium), ed. Jeffrey R. Chadwick, Matthew J. Grey, and David Rolph Seely (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2013), 36–48.
Michael A. Goodman, “Eternal Marriage and Family in the Old Testament,” in The Gospel of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament, The 38th Annual BYU Sidney B. Sperry Symposium (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2009), 17–31.
Douglas S. Ladle, “Teaching the Fall of Adam and Eve,” Religious Educator 5, no. 1 (2004): 41–55.
Donald W. Parry, “Garden of Eden: Prototype Sanctuary,” in Temples of the Ancient World: Ritual and Symbolism, ed. Donald W. Parry (Salt Lake City, UT: Deseret Book; Provo, UT: FARMS, 1994), 126–151.
Brian K. Ray, “Understanding the House of the Lord: A Study of Holy Places in Scripture,” Religious Educator 18, no. 3 (2018): 83–93.
Noel B. Reynolds, “The Status of Women in Old Testament Marriage,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 28 (2018): 233–236.
Stephen D. Ricks, “Adam’s Fall in the Book of Mormon, Second Temple Judaism, and Early Christianity,” in The Disciple as Scholar: Essays on Scripture and the Ancient World in Honor of Richard Lloyd Anderson, eds. Stephen D. Ricks, Donald W. Parry and Andrew H. Hedges (Provo, UT: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 2000), 595-606.
Andrew C. Skinner, “Savior, Satan, and Serpent: The Duality of a Symbol in the Scriptures,” in The Disciple as Scholar: Essays on Scripture and the Ancient World in Honor of Richard Lloyd Anderson, eds. by Stephen D. Ricks, Donald W. Parry and Andrew H. Hedges (Provo, UT: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 2000), 359-384.
Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible
Matthew Henry (1706)
Commentary on the Bible
Adam Clarke (1831)
Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable
Thomas Constable
Rashi’s Commentary
Rashi (Shlomo Yitzchaki)
Notes on the Bible
Albert Barnes (1834)
Exposition of the Entire Bible
John Gill (1746–63)
Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament
Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch (1857–78)
Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible
John Wesley (1754–65)