Genesis 2:5

And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
plant	שִׂ֣יחַ Si.ach	H7880	a shoot (as if uttered or put forth) · noun, common masculine singular construct
field	הַשָּׂדֶ֗ה ha.sa.Deh	H7704	a field (as flat) · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
before	טֶ֚רֶם Te.rem	H2962	properly · cardinal number, both genders singular absolute
earth	בָאָ֔רֶץ va.'A.retz	H776	the earth (at large · preposition with the article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
herb	עֵ֥שֶׂב 'E.sev	H6212	grass (or any tender shoot) · noun, common masculine singular construct
field	הַשָּׂדֶ֖ה ha.sa.Deh	H7704	a field (as flat) · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
before	טֶ֣רֶם Te.rem	H2962	properly · cardinal number, both genders singular absolute
grew	יִצְמָ֑ח yitz.Mach	H6779	to sprout (transitive or intransitive · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
for	כִּי֩ ki	H3588	(by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunc… · particle
LORD	יְהוָ֤ה Yah.weh	H3068	Jehovah · proper noun, a title
God	אֱלֹהִים֙ 'E.lo.Him	H430	gods in the ordinary sense · noun, common masculine plural absolute
not	לֹ֨א lo'	H3808	not (the simple or abs. negation) · negative particle
rain	הִמְטִ֜יר him.Tir	H4305	to rain · verb, hiphil perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
earth	הָאָ֔רֶץ ha.'A.retz	H776	the earth (at large · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
not	אַ֔יִן 'A.yin	H369	a non-entity · noun, common masculine singular absolute
man	וְאָדָ֣ם ve.'a.Dam	H120	ruddy i.e. a human being (an individual or the species · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular absolute
till	לַֽעֲבֹ֖ד la.'a.Vod	H5647	to work (in any sense) · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
ground	הָֽאֲדָמָֽה Ha.'a.da.Mah	H127	soil (from its general redness) · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Genesis 3:23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
Job 5:10 Who giveth rain upon the earth, and sendeth waters upon the fields:
Hebrews 6:7 For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth bl…
Genesis 1:11-12 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in it…
Genesis 4:2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
Genesis 4:12 When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.
Job 38:26-28 To cause it to rain on the earth, where no man is; on the wilderness, wherein there is no man;
Psalms 104:14 He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth;

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 2:4-7

In these verses, I. Here is a name given to the Creator which we have not yet met with, and that is Jehovah - the LORD, in capital letters, which are constantly used in our English translation to intimate that in the original it is Jehovah. All along, in the first chapter, he was called Elohim - a God of power; but now Jehovah Elohim - a God of power and perfection, a finishing God. As we find him known by his name Jehovah when he appeared to perform what he had promised (Exo 6:3), so now we have him known by that name, when he had perfected what he had begun. Jehovah is that great and incommunicable name of God which denotes his having his being of himself, and his giving being to all thing…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 2:5

rain, mist--(See on Gen 1:11).

Adam Clarke on Genesis 2:5

Every plant of the field before it was in the earth - It appears that God created every thing, not only perfect as it respects its nature, but also in a state of maturity, so that every vegetable production appeared at once in full growth; and this was necessary that man, when he came into being, might find every thing ready for his use.

John Gill on Genesis 2:5

And every plant of the field, before it was in the earth,.... That is, God made it, even he who made the heavens and the earth; for these words depend upon the preceding, and are in close connection with them; signifying that the plants of the field, which were made out of the earth on the third day, were made before any were planted in it, or any seed was sown therein from whence they could proceed, and therefore must be the immediate production of divine power: and every herb of the field before it grew: those at once sprung up in perfection out of the earth, before there were any that budded forth, and grew up by degrees to perfection, as herbs do now: for the Lord God had not caused it…

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The Church Fathers

Now God also makes the vegetation of the field, but by raining upon the earth; that is, he makes souls become green again by his word. But he waters them from the clouds, that is, from the writings of the prophets and apostles.
— Augustine of Hippo, TWO BOOKS ON GENESIS AGAINST THE MANICHAEANS 2.4.5

The earth in compliance with the Lord's word and direction produced plants and was stirred into pangs of fertility without depending on the sun for assistance (how could it, after all, the sun not yet being created?), nor on the moisture from showers, nor on human labor (human beings, after all, not having been brought forth).
— John Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON GENESIS 12.5

Why after mentioning heaven and earth does this passage add "vegetation of the field and food" while remaining silent about so many other things that are in heaven and earth or even the sea, unless it wants "vegetation of the field" to be understood as an invisible created thing such as the soul? For "field" is often used figuratively in Scripture to represent the world.… Further on it adds "before they were upon the earth," which means "before the soul sinned." For once the soul was soiled with earthly desires, it was as if the soul was born on the earth, or its essence derived from the earth.
— Augustine of Hippo, TWO BOOKS ON GENESIS AGAINST THE MANICHAEANS 2.3.4-2.4.5

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Fall of man — An expression probably borrowed from the Apocryphal Book of Wisdom, to express the fact of the revolt of our first parents from God, and the consequent sin and misery in which they and all their…
Herb — (1.) Heb. ‘eseb, any green plant; herbage (Gen. 1:11, 12, 29, 30; 2:5; 3:18, etc.); comprehending vegetables and all green herbage (Amos 7:1, 2). (2.) Yarak, green; any green thing; foliage of trees…
Media — Heb. Madai, which is rendered in the Authorized Version (1) “Madai,” Gen. 10:2; (2) “Medes,” 2 Kings 17:6; 18:11; (3) “Media,” Esther 1:3; 10:2; Isa. 21:2; Dan. 8:20; (4) “Mede,” only in Dan. 11:1.…
Tree of the knowledge of good and evil — Stood in the midst of the garden of Eden, beside the tree of life (Gen. 2, 3). Adam and Eve were forbidden to take of the fruit which grew upon it. But they disobeyed the divine injunction, and so…
Creation · Effected: By God — Effected: By God
Herbs, & C · God: Created — God: Created
Man · God’s purpose in creation completed by making — God’s purpose in creation completed by making
Meteorology And Celestial Phenomena · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Rain · Not sent upon the earth immediately after creation — Not sent upon the earth immediately after creation
Vegetation · Created on the third day — Created on the third day
Water · Necessary to vegetation — Necessary to vegetation

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Genesis 2:5

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 2:4-7

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 2:5

Adam Clarke on Genesis 2:5

John Gill on Genesis 2:5

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Genesis 2:5

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 2:4-7

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 2:5

Adam Clarke on Genesis 2:5

John Gill on Genesis 2:5

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Genesis 2:5-6

Keil & Delitzsch on Genesis 2:5-6

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Genesis 2:5

Rashi on Genesis 2:5