Gen 2:8-9 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Gen 2:8-14: 2:8-14 Analogous to the sacred time marked out on the seventh day of creation (2:2-3 ), the sacred space of the garden in Eden was separate from the surrounding world. It functioned as a garden-temple or sanctuary because the Lord manifested his presence there in a special way. 2:8 Eden was the general location in which the garden was placed, not the garden itself. The term could mean “plain,” “delight,” or “fertility.” The description that follows favors the idea of fertility. • in the east: The exact location of Eden is left to speculation, but it was east of Canaan, Israel’s later home. • God placed the man in the garden for divine fellowship and physical blessing (see also 2:15 and study note there).

Summary for Gen 2:8-14: 2:8-14 ^a Analogous to the sacred time marked out on the seventh day of creation (2:2-3 ^b), the sacred space of the garden in Eden was separate from the surrounding world. It functioned as a garden-temple or sanctuary because the Lord manifested his presence there in a special way. 2:8 ^c Eden was the general location in which the garden was placed, not the garden itself. The term could mean “plain,” “delight,” or “fertility.” The description that follows favors the idea of fertility.

• in the east: The exact location of Eden is left to speculation, but it was east of Canaan, Israel’s later home.

• God placed the man in the garden for divine fellowship and physical blessing (see also 2:15 ^d and study note there).
2:9 ^e Beauty and bounty characterized humanity’s original environment (cp. 13:10 ^f).

• The tree of life represented God’s presence and provision. The one who ate of it would have everlasting life (3:22 ^g), which made it a rich image for later Israelite and Christian reflection (Prov 3:18 ^h; 11:30 ⁱ; 13:12 ^j; Rev 2:7 ^k; 22:2 ^l, 14 ^m, 19 ⁿ). The candlestick in Israel’s Tabernacle may have been a stylized representation of it (Exod 25:31-35 ^o).

• Eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil enabled humanity’s capacity for wisdom (Gen 3:6 ^p) and moral discernment (3:5 ^q, 22 ^r; cp. Deut 1:39 ^s, “innocent”). Eating from it represented a human grasp for autonomy and wisdom that were God’s alone (cp. Prov 30:1-4 ^t). Humans sidestepped God’s revelation as the means of moral discernment, flaunting their independence rather than submitting to God’s will (cp. Prov 1:7 ^u). Choosing human wisdom over God’s instruction brings death and destruction (see Ps 19:7-9 ^v; Ezek 28:6 ^w, 15-17 ^x).