exegetical · Gen 2:4–7 · ✓ Approved

The account of the heavens and the earth, and the man formed (Genesis 2:4–7)

Says Genesis 2:4 opens אֵלֶּה תוֹלְדוֹת, “these are the generations of the heavens and the earth.” The BSB’s “This is the account” is one English choice. The formula heads later sections (5:1; 6:9 and others). The verse is a chiasm, and בְּיוֹם עֲשׂוֹת spans the whole making. See the note on Genesis 1 and 2:4. From 2:4b God is named יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים, “the Lord God,” not “God” alone as in 1:1–2:3. The narrative tells of the man’s formation (2:7) before the animals (2:19) and the woman (2:21–22). In 2:5 the “not yet” clauses concern plants “of the field.” The BSB’s pluperfects there are its English tenses.

Uncertain Where 2:4a belongs is treated in the Hebrew note. No lean is taken here.

Uncertain How 2:4b–25 relates to Genesis 1 is treated in the Hebrew note on 2:4–6 and in the historical note. No lean is taken here. The note on the creation days already cites 2:5 among the grounds of one view; the five views are not reopened here.

Claims

SaysGenesis 2:4 opens אֵלֶּה תוֹלְדוֹת, “these are the generations of the heavens and the earth”; the BSB’s “This is the account” is one English choice. From 2:4b God is named יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים, not “God” alone as in 1:1–2:3. The narrative tells of the man’s formation (2:7) before the animals (2:19) and the woman (2:21–22). In 2:5 the “not yet” clauses concern plants of the field; the BSB’s pluperfects there are its English tenses.
UncertainWhere 2:4a belongs is treated in the Hebrew note. No lean is taken here.
UncertainHow 2:4b–25 relates to Genesis 1 is treated in the Hebrew note on 2:4–6 and in the historical note. No lean is taken here. The note on the creation days already cites 2:5 among the grounds of one view; the five views are not reopened here.

Citations

BSB public domain Gen 2:1–25
OSHB CC BY 4.0 Gen 2:1–25 (WLC/OSHB), cantillation removed
LXX (Swete) CC BY-SA 4.0 Gen 2:1–24 and Swete 3:1 (ENG 2:25), vol. 1, pp. 3–4 (oldtestamentingr01swetuoft, viewer leaves n34–n35); read on the page images

Sources Bible Scholarship & Tool CC BY 4.0 BSB public domain OSHB CC BY 4.0 LXX (Swete) CC BY-SA 4.0

Quotations from LXX (Swete) are used under CC BY-SA 4.0 · Credits

2026-11-10

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