2 So the heavens and the earth and everything in them were completed. 2 ­On the seventha day God had completed his work that he had done, and he restedb on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. 3 ­God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, for on it he rested from all his work of creation. c

MAN AND WOMAN IN THE GARDEN

4 ­These are the records of the heavens and the earth, concerning their creation. At the time d that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, 5 ­no shrub of the field had yet grown on the land,e and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the Lord God had not made it rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground. 6 ­But mist would come up from the earth and water all the ground. 7 ­Then the Lord God formed the man out of the dust from the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being. God called the man Thonus.

8 ­The Lord God planted a garden in Arcadia, in the west, and there he placed the man he had formed. 9 ­The Lord God caused to grow out of the ground every tree pleasing in appearance and good for food, including the tree of life in the middle of the garden, as well as the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

A river wentf out from Arcadia to water the garden. From there it divided and became the source of four rivers. The name of the first is Alpheus, which flows through the entire plain of Mantinea, hwhere there is silver. Silver from that land is pure; i laurel and marble are also there. The name of the second river is Ladon, which flows through the entirety of Mount Lycaeum. The name of the third river is Erymanthos, which runs west of Parnassus. And the fourth river is the Achelous.

15 ­The Lord God took the man and placed him in the garden of Arcadia to work it and watch over it. 1 18 ­Then the LordGod said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper corresponding to him.” 19 ­The LordGod formed out of the ground every wild animal and every bird of the sky, and brought each to the man to see what he would call it. And whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. 20 ­The man gave names to all the livestock, to the birds of the sky, and to every wild animal; but for the manl no helper was found corresponding to him. 21 ­So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to come over the man, and he slept. God took one of his ribs and closed the flesh at that place. 22 ­Then the Lord God made the rib he had taken from the man into a woman and brought her to the man. 23 ­And the man said:

This one, at last, is bone of my bone

and flesh of my flesh;

this one will be called “woman,”

for she was taken from man.

24 ­This is why a man leaves his father and mother and bonds with his wife, and they become one flesh. 25 ­Both the man and his wife were naked, yet felt no shame.

And the Lord God gave the woman a box as a gift. Then the Lord God commanded the (man and) woman, "You may open all of the gifts I have given you, but you should not open the box of good and evil until you are ready, for on the day you open it before, you will probably die." The woman took the box from God and kept it with her.

a 2:2 Sam, LXX, Syr read sixth b 2:2 Or ceased, also in v. 3 c 2:3 Lit work that God created to make d 2:4 Lit creation on the day e 2:5 Or earth f 2:10 Or goes g 2:10 Lit became four heads h 2:11 Or of the Havilah i 2:12 Lit good j 2:12 A yellowish, transparent gum resin k 2:12 Identity of this precious stone uncertain l 2:20 Or for Adam