Genesis 2:9

And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
out	מִן min-	H4480	properly · preposition
ground	הָ֣אֲדָמָ֔ה ha.'a.da.Mah	H127	soil (from its general redness) · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
made	וַיַּצְמַ֞ח vai.yatz.Mach	H6779	to sprout (transitive or intransitive · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
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
grow	צָמַח tsâmach	H6779	to sprout (transitive or intransitive
tree	עֵ֛ץ 'etz	H6086	a tree (from its firmness) · noun, common masculine singular absolute
pleasant	נֶחְמָ֥ד nech.Mad	H2530	to delight in · verb, niphal active participle, masculine singular absolute
sight	לְמַרְאֶ֖ה le.mar.'Eh	H4758	a view (the act of seeing) · preposition + noun, common masculine singular absolute
good	וְט֣וֹב ve.Tov	H2896	good (as an adjective) in the widest sense · conjunction + adjective, masculine singular absolute
food	לְמַאֲכָ֑ל le.ma.'a.Khal	H3978	an eatable (includ. provender · preposition + noun, common masculine singular absolute
tree	וְעֵ֤ץ ve.'Etz	H6086	a tree (from its firmness) · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular construct
life	הַֽחַיִּים֙ ha.chai.Yim	H2416	alive · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
midst	בְּת֣וֹךְ be.Tokh	H8432	a bisection · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
garden	הַגָּ֔ן ha.Gan	H1588	a garden (as fenced) · definite article + noun, common both genders singular absolute
tree	וְעֵ֕ץ ve.'Etz	H6086	a tree (from its firmness) · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular construct
knowledge	הַדַּ֖עַת ha.Da.'at	H1847	knowledge · definite article + noun, common feminine singular construct
good	ט֥וֹב Tov	H2896	good (as an adjective) in the widest sense · adjective, masculine singular absolute
evil	וָרָֽע va.Ra'	H7451	bad or (as noun) evil (natural or moral) · conjunction + adjective, masculine 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 3:22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of…
Revelation 2:7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, wh…
Revelation 22:14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
Revelation 22:2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yield…
Proverbs 11:30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.
Ezekiel 47:12 And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither sha…
Proverbs 3:18 She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.
Genesis 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

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

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 2:8-15

Man consisting of body and soul, a body made out of the earth and a rational immortal soul the breath of heaven, we have, in these verses, the provision that was made for the happiness of both; he that made him took care to make him happy, if he could but have kept himself so and known when he was well off. That part of man by which he is allied to the world of sense was made happy; for he was put in the paradise of God: that part by which he is allied to the world of spirits was well provided for; for he was taken into covenant with God. Lord, what is man that he should be thus dignified - man that is a worm! Here we have, I. A description of the garden of Eden, which was intended for the m…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 2:9

tree of life--so called from its symbolic character as a sign and seal of immortal life. Its prominent position where it must have been an object of daily observation and interest, was admirably fitted to keep man habitually in mind of God and futurity. tree of the knowledge of good and evil--so called because it was a test of obedience by which our first parents were to be tried, whether they would be good or bad, obey God or break His commands.

Adam Clarke on Genesis 2:9

Every tree that is pleasant to the sight, etc. - If we take up these expressions literally, they may bear the following interpretation: the tree pleasant to the sight may mean every beautiful tree or plant which for shape, color, or fragrance, delights the senses, such as flowering shrubs, etc. And good for food - All fruit-bearing trees, whether of the pulpy fruits, as apples, etc., or of the kernel or nut kind, such as dates, and nuts of different sorts, together with all esculent vegetables. The tree of life - חיים chaiyim; of lives, or life-giving tree, every medicinal tree, herb, and plant, whose healing virtues are of great consequence to man in his present state, when through sin dise…

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John Gill

The Church Fathers

He is bruised and wounded, but He healeth every disease and every infirmity. He is lifted up and nailed to the Tree, but by the Tree of Life He restoreth us; yea, He saveth even the Robber crucified with Him; yea, He wrapped the visible world in darkness.
— Gregory of Nazianzus, THEOLOGICAL ORATIONS 29.20

Thirdly, through the two trees which grew in the midst of Paradise, scripture shows that there are two states, one mortal and mutable, and one immortal and immutable. For the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is a type of this world as a school of discipline—and the tree of life is a type of the future state, in which neither death nor change has any power.
— Cosmas Indicopleustes, The Christian Topography, Book 6

Now Eden is the land of Paradise. By "of old" Scripture means that He planted it on the third day; it explains this with the words "the Lord caused to sprout from the earth every kind of tree that is beautiful to look upon and good to eat" [ Gen2:9 ] ; and to show that this refers to Paradise, it says, "and the Tree of Life was in the midst of Paradise, and the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil." [ Gen2:9 ]
— Ephrem the Syrian,

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

Eden — Delight. (1.) The garden in which our first parents dewlt (Gen. 2:8-17). No geographical question has been so much discussed as that bearing on its site. It has been placed in Armenia, in the region…
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…
Gardens — Mentioned in Scripture, of Eden (Gen. 2:8, 9); Ahab’s garden of herbs (1 Kings 21:2); the royal garden (2 Kings 21:18); the royal garden at Susa (Esther 1:5); the garden of Joseph of Arimathea (John…
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 life — Stood also in the midst of the garden of Eden (Gen. 2:9; 3:22). Some writers have advanced the opinion that this tree had some secret virtue, which was fitted to preserve life. Probably the lesson…
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…
Eden · 1. The gar — 1. The gar
Gardens · Of eden: Had every tree good for food — Of eden: Had every tree good for food
Ground · Vegetables come from — Vegetables come from
Knowledge · Of good and evil — Of good and evil
Life · .Tree of — .Tree of

Genesis 2:9

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 2:8-15

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 2:9

Adam Clarke on Genesis 2:9

John Gill

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Genesis 2:9

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 2:8-15

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 2:9

Adam Clarke on Genesis 2:9

John Gill

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Genesis 2:9

Keil & Delitzsch on Genesis 2:8-9

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Genesis 2:9

Rashi on Genesis 2:9