THE LORD GOD PLANTED A GARDEN
Key verse: 9
NIV
8 Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden;(A) and there he put the man he had formed. 9 The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees(B) that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life(C) and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.(D)
10 A river(E) watering the garden flowed from Eden;(F) from there it was separated into four headwaters. 11 The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah,(G) where there is gold. 12 (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin[a](H) and onyx are also there.) 13 The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush.[b] 14 The name of the third river is the Tigris;(I) it runs along the east side of Ashur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.(J)
Footnotes
- Genesis 2:12 Or good; pearls
- Genesis 2:13 Possibly southeast Mesopotamia
Cross references
- Genesis 2:8 : ver 10, 15; Ge 3:23, 24; 4:16; 13:10; Isa 51:3; Eze 28:13; 31:9, 16; 36:35; Joel 2:3
- Genesis 2:9 : Eze 31:8
- Genesis 2:9 : Ge 3:22, 24; Pr 3:18; 11:30; S Rev 2:7
- Genesis 2:9 : Eze 47:12
- Genesis 2:10 : Nu 24:6; Ps 46:4; Eze 47:5
- Genesis 2:10 : S ver 8
- Genesis 2:11 : Ge 10:7; 25:18
- Genesis 2:12 : Nu 11:7
- Genesis 2:14 : Ge 41:1; Da 10:4
- Genesis 2:14 : Ge 15:18; 31:21; Ex 23:31; Nu 22:5; Dt 1:7; 11:24; Jos 1:4; 2Sa 8:3; 1Ki 4:21; 2Ki 23:29; 24:7; 1Ch 5:9; 18:3; 2Ch 35:20; Jer 13:4; 46:2; 51:63; S Rev 9:14
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway
ESV
8 And the Lord God planted a (A)garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. 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. (B)The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, (C)and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
10 A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers. 11 The name of the first is the Pishon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of (D)Havilah, where there is gold. 12 And the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there. 13 The name of the second river is the Gihon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Cush. 14 And the name of the third river is the (E)Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.
Read full chapterThe Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway
1. The LORD God (8)
'LORD' was the name God taught Moses when he sent him to redeem his people from slavery in Egypt. It is a name that reflects God's love (Ex 3:14;6:3). He loves his people and wants to be with them to bless them. He wants man whom he created to be happy, so, as an expression of his love, he planted a beautiful garden for him. He provided everything necessary for man's happiness.
2. The trees and rivers of the garden (9-14)
The garden must have been full of flowers and singing birds and delicious vegetables, but here the beauty of the garden is represented by trees. They stand tall, representing all the things man needs for life and happiness. They were good for food; they were beautiful. Man who bears God's image could appreciate and enjoy them. There were two special trees put there to provide for man's spiritual need. God would say more about these later. The rivers suggest that the blessed life of the garden would follow the rivers and gradually spread to all the earth.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for your love, and for your gracious provision for my needs.
One Word: God wants mankind to be happy
