Genesis 2:4–7
God forms the man from the dust of the ground and breathes into him the breath of life
Study it word by word4These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that YHWH Elohim made earth and heavens.
5Now no shrub of the field was yet on the earth and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for YHWH Elohim had not sent rain on the earth, and there was no human being to work the ground;
6but a mist would go up from the earth and water the whole surface of the ground.
7And YHWH Elohim formed the man from dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being.
In its context
2And on the seventh day Elohim finished his work that he had done, and on the seventh day he ceased from all his work that he had done.
3And Elohim blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he ceased from all his work that Elohim had created to make.
…
8And YHWH Elohim planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed.
9And YHWH Elohim made every tree sprout from the ground that is pleasing to the sight and good for food, and the tree of life in the middle of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Its words in the original
- תוֹלְדוֹתtoldot· generations
What comes from someone: his descendants and their history. "These are the generations of..." is the phrase with which Genesis opens each of its sections.
- שָּׁמַיִםshamayim· heavens, sky
The heavens: what is above, where the clouds, the sun and the stars are seen; also the dwelling of God. In Hebrew it is always plural. With birds, "the sky".
- אָרֶץarets· earth, land
The earth, in two senses: the whole world in contrast with the heavens, or a particular country or region ("the land of Egypt").
- הִבָּרְאָhibara· create
Create: make something new exist. In its basic form this verb is used in the Hebrew Bible only when God is the one acting. In other forms it means "clear, cut down" (a forest) or "fatten".
- יוֹםyom· day
Day: the hours of light, or a whole day from one evening to the next. Also an indefinite time or age ("in the day that...", "in those days").
- עֲשׂוֹתasot· do, make
Do, make, in the widest sense: build, produce, carry out, keep (a command), prepare.
- יְהוָהyehva· YHWH
The personal name of the God of Israel, written in Hebrew with four letters, Y-H-W-H, without vowels. Out of reverence Jews stopped pronouncing it and read "Adonai" (Lord), so many Bibles put "the LORD" or "Jehovah". This translation keeps the four letters. The name is related to the verb "to be" (Exodus 3:14-15). He is not a god other than Elohim: "YHWH Elohim" is the same Creator God, called by his name.
- אֱלֹהִיםelohim· Elohim, God, gods
The Hebrew word usually translated "God". This translation keeps "Elohim" when it speaks of the one true God, the Creator, the God of Israel. The word ends like a plural, but it does not mean several: for him the verb is singular ("Elohim created"); the plural form expresses greatness. The same word as a common noun names the "gods" of other peoples, and there it is a true plural, translated "gods". It is also used of mighty ones or judges.
- שִׂיחַsiach· bush, shrub
Bush, wild plant.
- שָּׂדֶהsade· field
Field: open country, cultivated or not.
- טֶרֶםterem· not yet, before
Not yet; before.
- יִהְיֶהyihye· be, become, happen
Be, exist; also "become" or "happen". It is the verb of "there was", "it was" and "it came to pass".
- עֵשֶׂבesev· plants, vegetation
Small plants, herbs and crops that serve as food for people and animals.
- יִצְמָחyitsmach· sprout
Sprout, spring up; begin to grow.
- הִמְטִירhimtir· rain
Send rain, make it rain.
- אָדָםadam· human being, man, Adam
The Hebrew word "adam". It has three uses: (1) humanity in general, men and women alike: "human beings" (Genesis 1:27); (2) a particular man; in Genesis 2-4, the first man, "the man"; (3) the personal name of that first man, "Adam". In Hebrew "adam" sounds like "adamah", the ground he was formed from (Genesis 2:7).
- עֲבֹדavod· work, serve
Work; serve. Till the ground, serve a person, or serve God (worship him). In the causative form, make someone serve, enslave.
- אֲדָמָהadama· ground, land
The ground, the soil that is tilled; also the territory where people live. In Hebrew "adamah" sounds like "adam", the human being formed from it.
- אֵדed· mist
Vapor or mist rising from the ground. The word is rare; it occurs only in Genesis 2:6 and Job 36:27.
- יַעֲלֶהyaale· go up, offer up
Go up, ascend, climb. It is also used for "offering" a sacrifice (making it go up), and for coming up from Egypt.
- הִשְׁקָהhishka· give drink, water
Give drink to; water (land or animals).
- פְּנֵיpene· face, presence
Face. From there "surface" (the face of something) and "presence" (being before someone's face); with a preposition it means "before" or "in front of".
- יִּיצֶרyitser· form
Form, shape, like a potter who molds clay; figuratively, plan, purpose. As a noun, "potter".
- עָפָרafar· dust
Dust, loose dry earth; also the plaster that covers walls. It recalls what the human being is made of: "you are dust, and to dust you will return" (Genesis 3:19).
- יִּפַּחyipach· blow, breathe
Blow, breathe into; also blow on a fire.
- אַפָּיapay· anger, nose
Nose, nostrils. Since breathing grows hard in anger, the same word also means "anger"; sometimes "face".
- נִשְׁמַתnishmat· breath
Breath, blowing: the air that is breathed and gives life; "everything that has breath" is every living being.
- חַיִּיםchayim· living, animal, life
Living, alive; also fresh (of water). As a noun, "living thing" or "animal" (above all wild animals); in the plural, "life".
- נֶפֶשׁnefesh· soul, living being, life
A breathing being, a living being. It is translated "living being" (people and animals), "life" (when living or dying is at stake), "person" (in counts and laws), "soul" (the person at the innermost: desires, joy, anguish) or "myself". In the Old Testament it names the whole living being, not only a part of it.