Genesis 2 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.
Time Period
~1400-1200 BC (traditional dating of composition); narrative describes creation events
Location
Likely written during Israel's wilderness period; narrative set in Eden, associated with Mesopotamian region
Audience
Ancient Israelites, recently freed from Egyptian slavery, preparing to enter the Promised Land
Situation
This second creation account provides a focused narrative on humanity's creation and placement in Eden, complementing the broader creation overview of Genesis 1. It establishes the foundations of human identity, work, relationships, and divine expectations.
Key Background
Ancient Near Eastern cultures had various creation myths, but Genesis 2 distinctly presents one God creating humans in His image for relationship and stewardship. The account establishes key theological concepts: the sanctity of the seventh day, human dignity and purpose, the institution of marriage, and humanity's original harmony with God and creation. This would have shaped Israel's understanding of themselves as God's people, distinct from surrounding nations.
So the and the and everything in them were
By the God had finished the work he had been doing, so on the he from all his work.
Then God the seventh day as something special and declared it because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
This is the of the skies and the land when they were created. On the day that made land and sky —
no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the land, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, because Yahweh God had not sent rain on the land and there was no being to work the
But came up from the land and watered the whole surface of the ground.
Then Yahweh God the from the of the ground and breathed the of into his nostrils, and the became a being.
Now Yahweh God planted a in the east, in and there he placed the human he had formed.
Yahweh God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground — trees that were beautiful to look at and for food. In the middle of the garden were the of and the of the of and
A flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it divided into four branches.
The name of the first is the — it winds through the entire land of where there is gold.
The gold of that land is pure; and are also found there.
The name of the second river is the — it winds through the entire land of
The name of the third river is the — it runs along the east side of Assyria. And the fourth river is the
Yahweh God took the human and settled him in the garden of Eden to it and of it.
And Yahweh God the human, "You are to from any tree in the garden,"
"but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, because the day you eat from it, you will
Then Yahweh God said, "It is not for the human to be alone. I will make a who is
Now Yahweh God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the human to see what he would them, and whatever the human called each living creature, that became its
So the human gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky, and all the wild animals. But for the human, no who was was
So Yahweh God caused the human to fall into a and while he was sleeping, he took one of his and closed up the flesh in its place.
Then Yahweh God the side he had taken from the human into a and brought her to the human.
The human said, "Finally! This one — bone from my and from my She will be called because she was taken from man."
That is why a man his father and mother and is to his wife, and they become
The man and his wife were both and they felt no