Gen. 1:1 In the beginning. The opening verse of the Genesis creation account can be taken as either (1) a summary of the entire process of creation or (2) a description of the first event in creation. This event would have occurred sometime before the first day (vv. 3–5), and would have included the creation of matter, space, and time. This second view emphasizes the fact that God created the universe from nothing (compare Heb. 11:3). God created. The Hebrew word for God, ’Elohim, is plural, possibly to express God’s majesty, but the verb “created” is singular, indicating that God is one being. In contrast to other ancient Near Eastern accounts of creation, Genesis always emphasizes that there is only one God. Whenever the Hebrew verb for “create” occurs in the OT, God is the subject. Heavens and the earth here means “everything.” Thus, “in the beginning” refers to the beginning of everything. The text indicates that God created everything in the universe, which means that he created it out of nothing.

Gen. 1:2 Before the first actual day of creation (vv. 3–5), the earth was without form and void (compare Jer. 4:23), implying that it lacked order and content. The reference to darkness . . . over the face of the deep points to the absence of light. The Spirit of God was hovering suggests that something was about to happen. There is no reason to think that a long time elapsed between Gen. 1:1 and 1:2.

Gen. 1:3–5 And God said. God’s absolute power is seen in that he merely speaks and things are created. Each new section of ch. 1 is introduced by God’s speaking. Everything that God speaks into being is good (vv. 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31). These verses show how God has arranged time in a weekly cycle (Day . . . Night). God is pictured as working for six days and resting on the seventh, which is a model for human activity. Day 4 will develop this idea further: the lights are placed in the heavens for signs and seasons, for marking days and years and the times of the festivals, such as Passover. This sense of time having a structure is further emphasized as each stage of God’s creative work is separated into specific days. there was evening and there was morning, the first day. After each workday there is an evening and then a morning, implying that there is a nighttime (the worker’s daily time of rest) in between. Similar phrases divide ch. 1 into six distinctive workdays, with 2:1–3 being a seventh day, God’s Sabbath. On the first three days God creates the environment that the creatures of days 4–6 will inhabit. For example, the sea and sky (day 2) are occupied by the fish and birds (day 5). These days can be understood as days in the life of God, but how his days relate to human days is more difficult to determine (see 2 Pet. 3:8).

Gen. 1:6–8 As light was separated from darkness, so the waters are separated to form an expanse, which God calls Heaven. It is difficult to find a single English word that accurately translates the precise meaning of this Hebrew term (see ESV footnote). In this context, it refers to what humans see above them, that is, the region that contains both heavenly lights (vv. 14–17) and birds (v. 20).

Gen. 1:9–13 God organizes two further regions: the dry land, forming Earth; and the waters, forming Seas (vv. 9–10). God then instructs the earth to bring forth vegetation (vv. 11–12). The creation of distinctive locations in days 1–3, along with vegetation, prepares for the filling of these locations in days 4–6.

Gen. 1:16 and the stars. The immense universe that God created (see note on Isa. 40:25–26) is mentioned here only briefly, almost as an afterthought. The focus of Genesis 1 is on the earth.

Gen. 1:14–19 These verses, describing the fourth day, correspond with the separating of light and darkness on the first day (vv. 3–5). Here is the creation of lights that will govern time, as well as provide light upon the earth (v. 15). By referring to them as the greater light and lesser light (v. 16), the author of Genesis avoids using terms that were also proper names for pagan gods linked to the sun and the moon. The term made may simply mean that God “fashioned” or “worked on” these greater and lesser lights. It does not necessarily mean that they did not exist in any form before this. On this day God made it possible that the sun and moon would define the passing of time. The references to seasons (v. 14) or “appointed times” (ESV footnote) and to days and years probably refer to appointed times for religious observances in the Hebrew calendar (see Ex. 13:10).

Gen. 1:21 The Hebrew term for great sea creatures can mean large serpents, dragons, or crocodiles, as well as whales or sharks. Some have suggested that this could also refer to extinct creatures such as dinosaurs.

Gen. 1:20–23 This section, on day 5, describes how the waters and the expanse of the heavens are filled with various kinds of creatures.

Gen. 1:24–25 livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth. These terms group the land-dwelling animals into three broad categories, probably reflecting the way nomadic shepherds would experience them. This list is not intended to be exhaustive, and it is hard to know in which category to put some animals.

Gen. 1:26 Let us make man in our image. Some have suggested that God may be addressing the members of his heavenly court, whom the OT elsewhere calls “sons of God” (e.g., Job 1:6) and the NT calls “angels.” But man is not made in the image of angels (see Gen. 1:27), and the Bible never teaches that angels participated in the creation of human beings. Since God alone creates man (v. 27), many Christians believe that “let us” means God is speaking to himself. If so, this would be the first biblical mention of the “Trinity” (see note on John 1:1).

Gen. 1:27 The term image of God can be seen as describing the ways in which man is different from all other created beings. It describes how humans resemble God in their ability to think, to communicate, to understand right and wrong, to be creative, and to experience relationships with God and with one another. This allows men and women to represent God as they exercise authority over the rest of creation (see v. 26; and note on v. 28). The Hebrew word for man (’adam), is often a generic term for both male and female, though sometimes it refers to man in distinction from woman (e.g., 2:22, 23; 3:8). It can also be the proper name “Adam” (2:20; 3:17; 4:1; 5:1).

Gen. 1:28 Be fruitful and multiply. From the time of creation, God’s plan has been that the whole earth should be populated by those who know him and who serve wisely as his representatives. To subdue the earth and to have dominion over it probably means that humans are permitted to make the earth beneficial for themselves. They are to investigate and develop its resources. This command provides a basis for wise scientific and technological development. It does not mean that humans may exploit the earth and its creatures simply to satisfy their own greed.

Gen. 1:28–30 Although the word “covenant” does not occur in the Bible until 6:18, many consider 1:28–30 along with 2:16–17 to be God’s covenant with Adam. See Hos. 6:7 and note. Adam receives this covenant on behalf of the rest of mankind. Thus, in the NT, Paul views Adam as a representative head of the human race (1 Cor. 15:22).

Gen. 1:31 One final occurrence of behold, it was very good invites the reader to imagine seeing creation through God’s eyes. Despite the invasion of sin (ch. 3), the material creation retains its basic goodness (see 1 Tim. 4:4).

1:1–2:3 God’s Creation and Ordering of Heaven and Earth. The book of Genesis opens with a majestic description of how God created the heavens and earth and then put everything in order so that it might become his dwelling place. God assigns humanity to govern the other creatures on his behalf, so that the whole earth should become the temple of God, the place of his presence, displaying his glory.

Gen. 2:1–3 God has now completed the process of putting his creation in order (see note on 1:1–2:3). That God rested does not imply he was weary from labor. Rather, God’s resting hints at the purpose of creation. God’s purpose for the earth is that it should become his dwelling place, not simply a place for his creatures. God blessed the seventh day and made it holy (2:3). These words provide the basis for God’s instructing the Israelites to rest from their normal labor on the Sabbath day (see Ex. 20:8–11).

Gen. 2:4 These are the generations of. This is the first of 11 such headings in Genesis (5:1; 6:9; 10:1; 11:10; 11:27; 25:12; 25:19; 36:1; 36:9; 37:2). LORD God. Throughout 1:1–2:3 the generic word “God” was used for the Creator. The reader is now introduced to God’s personal name, “Yahweh,” which is rendered in most English Bible translations as “LORD,” using small capital letters. This practice comes from the ancient Jewish tradition of substituting for “Yahweh” the Hebrew term for “Lord” when reading the biblical text. The Septuagint (an ancient Greek translation of the OT) used the Greek word for “Lord” (Kyrios) to refer to God. That translation was then quoted many times by the NT authors, who also used Kyrios rather than Yahweh for God’s name. See notes on Ex. 3:14; 3:15.

Gen. 2:7 then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground. The verb “formed” describes a potter fashioning clay into a particular shape. The close relationship between the man and the ground is reflected in the Hebrew words ’adam for man and ’adamah for the ground. living creature. The same Hebrew term is used in 1:20, 24 for sea and land creatures. (See Paul’s quotation of this passage in 1 Cor. 15:45.)

Gen. 2:8–9 God provides a suitable environment for the man by planting a garden in Eden, in the east. The name “Eden” suggests luxury and pleasure. It probably refers to a region much greater than the garden itself. God formed the man in the “land” (see vv. 5–7), and then put him in the garden (compare v. 15). The earliest translation into Greek (the Septuagint) used the word paradeisos, from which comes the English term “paradise” (compare Luke 23:43), to translate the Hebrew term for “garden.” The abundance of the garden is suggested by the fact that it contained every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food (Gen. 2:9). This very abundance will later become a source of temptation (3:6). On the tree of life, see note on 3:22–24. On the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, see note on 2:17.

Gen. 2:10–14 The description of the river that flowed out of Eden dividing into four rivers implies that Eden occupied a central location in the ancient world. In spite of the very specific details provided, however, Eden’s location remains a mystery. While the names Tigris and Euphrates are associated with the two rivers that surround Mesopotamia, the rivers Pishon and Gihon, as well as the regions of Havilah and Cush, have not been satisfactorily identified. The reference to gold and onyx points to the land’s rich resources.

Gen. 2:15–16 The overall picture of Eden suggests that the park-like garden is part of a divine sanctuary. The man is put in the garden to work it and keep it. Since God commanded Adam to work before Adam had committed any sin, work did not come as a result of sin. Productive work is part of God’s good purpose for humans. The fact that God commanded the man implies that God gave the man a leadership role, including the responsibility to guard and care for all of creation (v. 15). This leadership role is related to Adam’s relationship with Eve as his wife, who was given as “a helper fit for him” (v. 18). (On the NT understanding of the relationship between husband and wife, see Eph. 5:22–33.)

Gen. 2:17 The fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil has been variously understood as giving (1) sexual awareness, (2) moral discrimination, (3) moral responsibility, and (4) moral experience. Of these possibilities, the last is the most likely. If Adam disobeys God and eats the fruit of this tree, he will come to know evil by experience. you shall surely die. What kind of death does this threaten: physical, spiritual, or some combination of the two? The Hebrew word can be used for any of these ideas, and the only way to discover what “surely die” means in this case is to see what happens as the story unfolds (see note on 3:4–5). In the day that you eat of it does not mean that death will come on that very day. It means that once the forbidden fruit is eaten, death will become a certainty.

Gen. 2:18 Not good is a jarring contrast to 1:31. Helper is one who supplies strength in an area that is lacking in the one who is helped. Fit for him or “matching him” (see ESV footnote) is not the same as “like him.” A wife is not to be just like her husband but is to complement him. I will make him can also be translated “I will make for him,” which explains Paul’s statement in 1 Cor. 11:9.

Gen. 2:20 The man gave names. By naming the animals, the man demonstrates his authority over all the other creatures. Adam. See note on 5:1–2.

Gen. 2:23–24 This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. Compare 29:14. Marriage creates the closest of all human relationships. Heterosexual monogamy is the divine pattern for marriage that God established at creation. Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife. Marriage creates obligations that are more important than one’s duty to one’s parents. In ancient Israel, sons did not move away from home when they married. They lived near their parents and inherited their father’s land. But they “left” their parents in the sense of putting their wife’s welfare before that of their parents. The term “hold fast” is used elsewhere for practicing covenant faithfulness (e.g., Deut. 10:20). Thus, other Bible texts call marriage a “covenant” (e.g., Prov. 2:17; Mal. 2:14). Paul’s teaching on marriage in Eph. 5:25–32 is founded on this text. When a man leaves his parents and takes a wife, they shall become one flesh. That is, they become one unit, a union of man and woman. This oneness is consummated in sexual intercourse. Jesus appeals to this verse and to Gen. 1:27 when teaching about marriage (Matt. 19:4–5).

Gen. 2:25 naked and . . . not ashamed. The man and woman are living in a state of innocent delight.

Gen. 3:2–3 The woman’s response echoes the divine instruction given in 2:16–17 (see note on 2:17), although she fails to identify the tree clearly, and she adds, “neither shall you touch it.”

Gen. 3:4–5 The serpent directly contradicts what God has said. He pre­sents the fruit of the tree as something worth having. By eating it, he says, Adam and Eve will be like God, knowing good and evil. The irony of the serpent’s remarks is that Adam and Eve, unlike the serpent, were already made in the image of God (1:26–27). They are already “like God.” This means they are expected to exercise authority over all the beasts of the field—including the serpent! By obeying the serpent, however, they betray the trust that God has placed in them. You will not surely die. It is sometimes claimed that the serpent is correct when he says this, for they do not immediately “die.” Further, their eyes are in fact opened (3:7), and God acknowledges that “the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil” (v. 22). Yet the serpent speaks only half-truths. What Adam and Eve will experience outside of Eden is not life as God intended. It is spiritual death.

Gen. 3:6 when the woman saw that the tree was good. Somehow the serpent has made the woman discontented with the permitted trees (2:16), and she desires instead the forbidden one. Apparently she is attracted to the tree’s ability to make one wise (see note on 2:17). she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. As Adam ate what God had forbidden, he was deliberately rebelling against God. The fact that he was “with” Eve at the time meant that he had failed to carry out his God-given responsibility to guard and “keep” both the garden and his wife (see 2:15). The disastrous consequences of Adam’s sin include the fall of mankind, the beginning of every kind of sin, suffering, and pain, along with spiritual and physical death for the entire human race.

Gen. 3:9 the LORD God called to the man . . . , “Where are you?” Both “man” and “you” are singular in Hebrew. God thus confronts Adam first, holding him primarily responsible for the sin committed by both Adam and Eve. Adam is thus treated as the representative or “head” of the husband-and-wife relationship, established before the fall (see note on Eph. 5:23–24).

Gen. 3:14–15 The serpent is punished for tempting the woman. It will live in ongoing hostility with the woman, which will be carried on by their respective offspring.

Gen. 3:15 This verse is usually understood as pointing forward to the defeat of the serpent by the offspring (that is, a descendant) of the woman. For this reason, it has been labeled the “Protoevangelium,” that is, the first announcement of the gospel. While Genesis does not explicitly identify the serpent with Satan, that is clearly what the apostle John understood (see Rev. 12:9; 20:2). The idea of the woman’s “offspring” is seen again in Gen. 4:25 in the birth of Seth. The rest of Genesis traces a single line of Seth’s descendants (see diagram), which will eventually produce a king through whom all the nations of the earth will be blessed. he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel. The use of the singular “he” and “his” suggests that one particular person (“offspring”) is in view. The promise of this person comes to fulfillment in Jesus Christ, who is clearly presented in the NT as overcoming Satan (Heb. 2:14; 1 John 3:8; compare John 12:31). At the same time, he is “bruised” by Satan at the cross.

Gen. 3:16 Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you. God originally intended that there would be a complementary relationship between husband and wife, with the husband in a leadership role (see note on 2:15–16). But that plan has now been distorted and damaged by sin. This takes the form of “desire” on the part of the wife and heavy-handed “rule” on the part of the husband. The Hebrew term here for “desire” appears again in 4:7, where the Lord says to Cain that sin’s “desire is contrary to you.” Eve will have the sinful “desire” to oppose Adam and to assert leadership over him. But Adam will also abandon his God-given role of leading, guarding, and caring for Eve. Instead, he will have a sinful, distorted desire to “rule” over her. Thus one of the most tragic results of Adam and Eve’s rebellion against God is ongoing conflict between husbands and wives, as they both rebel against their God-given roles and responsibilities in marriage. (See notes on Eph. 5:21–32 for the NT ideal for marriage.)

Gen. 3:17–19 Because he has eaten what was prohibited (v. 6), Adam will have to struggle to eat in the future. He will no longer enjoy the garden’s abundance but will have to work the ground from which he was taken (v. 23; see note on 2:8–9). The punishment is not the work itself (see note on 2:15–16) but rather the hardship and frustration that it will involve. To say that the ground is cursed and will produce thorns and thistles means that it will no longer be as productive as it was in Eden.

Gen. 3:19 Because of his sin, the man’s body will return to the ground, that is, he will die. Death was not a part of the original creation (see Rom. 5:12). The Bible looks forward to a time when nature will be set free from death and the other consequences of human sin (Rom. 8:19–22).

Gen. 3:20–21 God’s words of judgment are immediately followed by two actions that offer hope. First, the man names his wife Eve, which means “life-giver” (see ESV footnote). Second, God makes clothing for Adam and Eve, which suggests that he still cares for them. Because the clothing requires the death of an animal, this can be seen as an anticipation of (1) the system of animal sacrifices that God would later institute to atone for sin, and (2) the death of Christ as the final atonement for sin.

Gen. 3:1–24 The sudden arrival of a speaking serpent presents a challenge to the human couple. Their choice to disregard God’s instructions is an act of willful rebellion that has terrible consequences for all of creation. Nothing is said about where the serpent came from. The text does not indicate when or how the serpent became evil. It is clear, however, that evil entered the created world at some time after God’s “very good” work of creation was completed (1:31). Unlike the teachings of some other religions, the Bible never teaches that evil has always existed. See notes on Isa. 14:12–15; Ezek. 28:11–19.

Gen. 3:22–24 God begins a sentence in v. 22 and breaks off without finishing it. For the man to eat of the tree of life and thus live forever in his sinful condition is an unbearable thought, and God must waste no time in preventing it. therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden. (On the “tree of life,” see Rev. 2:7; 22:2, 14, 19.) Outside the garden the man will have to work the ground, but the task of keeping or guarding the garden is now given to the cherubim (Gen. 3:24).

Gen. 4:2–5 The fact that God had regard for Abel and his offering, but not for Cain, does not mean that shepherds are better than farmers or that animal offerings are better than plant offerings. Both kinds of offerings will be part of the later Levitical system (for offerings of the fruit of the ground, see Deut. 26:2). This passage and others suggest that God’s acceptance of Abel and rejection of Cain had to do with the attitudes of their hearts. Cain’s fundamentally bad heart can be seen in his resentment toward his brother and in his unloving attitude in the rest of the passage (see also 1 John 3:12). As compared to Cain’s offering, Abel’s offering (from the firstborn of his flock) is more costly, perhaps expressing greater devotion (see also Heb. 11:4).

Gen. 4:6–7 The Lord’s words challenge Cain to do better. He still has the possibility of pleasing God. To do so, however, he must overcome the power of sin, which is like a wild beast seeking to devour him.

Gen. 4:9 am I my brother’s keeper? Cain denies any knowledge about his brother and shows no sign of remorse.

Gen. 4:10–12 Because his brother’s blood cries out to God from the ground, Cain will no longer be able to cultivate the soil. As seen throughout Scripture, human sin has an impact on the fertility of the earth (compare 3:17–18).

Gen. 4:13–16 Cain will be alienated from both the ground and God. He will become a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth. He fears that others will have such a dread of him that anyone who sees him will kill him. The precise nature of the mark on Cain is not known, except that it must have been something visible.

Gen. 4:17 Cain knew his wife. Presumably, Cain married his sister, since the whole human race descends from Adam and Eve (see 5:4). The later laws forbidding this practice, such as Lev. 18:9, would not have been relevant yet.

Gen. 4:18–22 Lamech’s immediate descendants are associated with animal breeding, music, and metalwork. Whereas Abel is linked to sheep (v. 2), Jabal raised livestock, which probably included cattle and donkeys, and possibly camels.

Gen. 4:23–24 Lamech killed a man merely for wounding or striking him. His response is out of proportion to the injury. sevenfold . . . seventy-sevenfold. Lamech says that his vengeful response makes him safer than Cain, who had only God’s protection (v. 15).

Gen. 2:4–4:26 Earth’s First People. Centered initially on the garden of Eden, the episodes in this part of Genesis recount how God’s ordered creation is thrown into chaos by the human couple’s disobedience. The subsequent story of Cain and Abel and then Lamech (ch. 4) shows human society spiraling downward into violence. These events are essential for understanding not only the rest of Genesis but the rest of the Bible as well.

Gen. 4:25–26 another offspring. Compare “her offspring” (3:15). At that time people began to call upon the name of the LORD. This suggests that the birth of Seth marks a new beginning for humanity. It probably refers to public worship, initially within Adam’s own family circle.

Gen. 5:1–2 the book of the generations. This heading differs from the 10 others that provide the outline for Genesis (see note on 2:4) in that it refers to a “book.” This was probably something like a clay tablet. The book is named after Adam. The same Hebrew word is also translated in 5:1 by man and in 5:2 by Man. The word may function as a proper name, a common noun referring to a male individual, or a generic noun meaning both males and females. the likeness of God. See note on 1:27.

Gen. 5:3–5 The genealogy of Adam’s family through Seth contrasts with the seven generations linked to Cain (4:17–18). Instead of saying that Adam “fathered Seth,” which would be the normal wording for such a genealogy, the text says that Adam fathered a son in his own likeness, after his image. This language echoes 1:26–27.

Gen. 5:22–24 Enoch walked with God . . . and he was not, for God took him. The Hebrew verb for “walked” conveys a close relationship with God (compare 3:8; 6:9; 17:1; 24:40). Remarkably, because of this special relationship, Enoch does not die (compare 2 Kings 2:1–12).

Gen. 5:28–31 Lamech expects that Noah, whose name means “rest,” will bring both rest and comfort from the painful toil of working the soil (see 3:17–19).

Gen. 5:1–32 Most people living after the flood (that is, after chs. 6–9) did not live nearly as long as the people of chs. 1–5 (see chart). This could have been due to some change in the structure of the earth or in the bodies of humans (or both) following the flood. Psalm 90:10 describes a normal life span as 70 or 80 years, which has more or less been the case throughout subsequent history.