God teaches truth in the Bible three ways: 1) Direct statements, 2) approved examples and 3)inference/prudential reasoning. Direct statements, such as the Ten Commandments, are relatively straightforward as are the examples. Inference is the hardest because we are taking the principles and morals of the story and then applying them to ascertain what is being taught. These narratives teach their truths differently than direct statements (think Mark versus the Ten Commandments). In terms of frequency, N.T. Wright has said that 70% of the Bible is narrative.
The propositional truth of Genesis 2:7 is that it describes a duality – a body and soul combination. On the one hand, we are dust from the ground but we also have the Spirit of God breathed into us. The Greeks came to the same conclusion (an inner and an outward part) that the Hebrews did but with a slightly different slant. They viewed the body as the part that was dragging us down – a prison. As Christians, we discover body and soul gradually through a variety of experiences. Among other things, it can be in our relationship with God, our moral choices or our purpose in life but none of these characteristics describe the life of our dog or cat.
Genesis 2:8 And God planted a garden eastward in Edem, and placed there the man whom he had formed. 9 And God made to spring up also out of the earth every tree beautiful to the eye and good for food, and the tree of life in the midst of the garden, and the tree of learning the knowledge of good and evil. Brenton Septuagint
There is nothing random or haphazard about this as God deliberately makes man and places him in the Garden forming him like a potter with clay. The tree of life shows up again Genesis 3:22 where God is afraid that since they have eaten from the tree of good and evil that they will now eat of the tree of life and in their arrogance, seek eternity on their own. It will also show up in in Revelation 22 once salvation is complete.
Genesis 2:10 And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it separated and became the source of four rivers. 11 The name of the first is Pishon; this is the one which goes around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; 12 and the gold of that land is good. There is aromatic resin and the onyx stone. 13 And the name of the second river is Gihon; it goes around the whole land of Cush. 14 And the name of the third river is Hiddekel; this is the one which flows east of Ashur. And the fourth river is the Perath. NHEB
Two of the rivers are familiar to us (the Hiddekel is the Tigris and the Perath is the Euphrates) while the geographical references to the other two are less clear. Some scholars point to the Nile and others will look toward India. The better suggestion is that they are unidentifiable rivers because if we know all four then we have the necessary co-ordinates to find the Garden. The rivers of life metaphor also shows up in John 4 with the Samaritan woman and also in Ezekiel 47.
Genesis 2:15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and take care of it. 16 And God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it; for in the day that you eat of it you will surely die.” NHEB
At verse 15, we see a similarity with verse 8 along along with the added assignment to cultivate and take care of the garden. This is the first commandment that we see in the Bible (of 639, per our favorite rabbi). Adam is beginning to get a sense of how he is different as God has put Adam in charge of things (tying back to Genesis 1:26).
What does this tell Adam about himself? That unlike animals who react on instinct, he has the free will to make moral choices. Later when the serpent tempts, the question will be “did God really tell you that you would die”? Fast forward to Judges where the tagline is that every man did what was right in his own mind. The problem with this way of thinking is that once this becomes the standard practice, we will only chase what pleases us. (The knowledge here in Genesis isn’t knowing right versus wrong as God has already told them that).
A question that arises is whether we lose the capacity to choose “right” as result of the Fall or are we still able to make some choices? Cain appears capable of doing the right thing with potentially the same moral capacity that Adam and Eve had in the Garden. We see passages in Exodus, Deuteronomy and Joshua where God identifies them as His people yet they can still choose to do this or to do that. The problem is that having knowledge isn’t the same thing as being able to act properly on that knowledge. Simply stated, our problem is sin.
Genesis 4: 6 The LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why has the expression of your face fallen? 7 If you do well, will it not be lifted up? If you do not do well, sin lies in wait at the door. It desires to control you, but you must rule over it.” NHEB
We are also told in Genesis 2 that if we choose not to co-operate with God then we will surely die. Adam and Eve don’t immediately keel over and die physically as a result of the fruit but instead, die spiritually. It is the death of our connection to the God who created us. This is the first time that death is mentioned and from this point onward, there is a gradual shortening of life expectancy through the rest of Genesis.
Genesis 2:18 And God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.” 19 And out of the ground God formed every tame animal, and every wild animal, and every flying creature of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 And the man gave names to all the tame animals, and to all the flying creatures of the sky, and to every wild animal; but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him. 21 So God caused a deep sleep to fall on the man, and he slept; and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh at that place. 22 And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he fashioned into a woman and brought her to the man. NHEB
Adam has God and the animals but there is nothing around like Adam – he is alone in himself. He gives Adam the project of naming everything yet despite the fact that there are living creatures everywhere, none are a suitable helper. While Adam shares the dust of the earth with other animals he is different from them. The word translated here as “helper” (Strong’s 5828) is a term used for the actions of God. See Deuteronomy 33:29, Psalm 33:20 and Psalm 70:5.
Genesis 2: 23 And the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh. She will be called Woman, because this one was taken out of Man.” NHEB
Read verse 23 as a “whoo-hoo” or in Texas, a “yee-haw” as Adam is jubiliant because there is now someone around like him.