Genesis 2:7

‘God made a man out of dust.’ So he made man’s body out of things that he had already made. ‘He blew the breath of life into him.’ This means that he made man alive. If an animal has breath, it is alive.

But the *Hebrew word that means ‘breath’ also means ‘spirit’. So this verse also means that God put man’s spirit into man’s body. Man is different from animals because he has a spirit. That is why man is like God. (See Genesis 1:26.)

v8 The *Lord God planted a garden in Eden. It was in the east. God put into the garden the man whom he had made. v9 God made trees to grow out of the ground. These trees were pleasant to look at and their fruit was good to eat. The tree of life was in the middle of the garden. There was also the tree that makes one able to distinguish good things and evil things.

v10 A river flowed out of Eden and it watered the garden. The river divided there into 4 rivers. v11 The first river is called Pishon. It flows through the region that is called Havilah. There is gold there v12 and that gold is good. There are also spice and onyx. v13 The second river is called Gihon. It flows through all the region that is called Cush. v14 The third river is called Tigris, which flows to the east of Assyria. The fourth river is called Euphrates.

v15 The *Lord God took the man and he put him in the garden in Eden. He told him to farm the garden and to look after it. v16 The *Lord God *commanded the man. He said, ‘Eat freely the fruit of all the other trees that are in the garden. v17 But do not eat the fruit of the tree that makes you able to distinguish good things and evil things. If you eat that fruit, you will certainly die.’