The Seventh Day: God Rests

(Exodus 16:22-36; Hebrews 4:1-11)

1So the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the furniture of them. 2And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made: and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done. 3And he blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

The Creation of Man

4These are the generations of the heaven and the earth, when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the heaven and the earth: 5And every plant of the field before it spring up in the earth, and every herb of the ground before it grew: for the Lord God had not rained upon the earth; and there was not a man to till the earth. 6But a spring rose out the earth, watering all the surface of the earth. 7And the Lord God formed man of the slime of the earth: and breathed into his face the breath of life, and man became a living soul.

The Planting of the Garden

8And the Lord God had planted a paradise of pleasure from the beginning: wherein he placed man whom he had formed. 9And the Lord God brought forth of the ground all manner of trees, fair to behold, and pleasant to eat of: the tree of life also in the midst of paradise: and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

10And a river went out the place of pleasure to water paradise, which from thence is divided into four heads. 11The name of the one is Phison: that is it which compasseth all the land of Hevilath, where gold groweth. 12And the gold of that land is very good: there is found bdellium, and the onyx stone. 13And the name of the second river is Gehon: the same is it that compasseth all the land of Ethiopia 14And the name of the third river is Tigris: the same passeth along by the Assyrians. And the fourth river is Euphrates.

The Forbidden Fruit

15And the Lord God took man, and put him into the paradise for pleasure, to dress it, and keep it. 16And he commanded him, saying: Of every tree of paradise thou shalt eat: 17But of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat. for in what day soever thou shalt eat of it, thou shalt die the death.

Adam Names the Animals

18And the Lord God said: It is not good for man to be alone: let us make him a help like unto himself. 19And the Lord God having formed out of the ground all the beasts of the earth, and all the fowls of the air, brought them to Adam to see what he would call them: for whatsoever Adam called any living creature the same is its name. 20And Adam called all the beasts by their names, and all the fowls of the air, and all the cattle of the field: but for Adam there was not found a helper like himself.

The Creation of Woman

21Then the Lord God cast a deep sleep upon Adam: and when he was fast asleep, he took one of his ribs, and filled up flesh for it. 22And the Lord God built the rib which he took from Adam into a woman: and brought her to Adam.

23And Adam said: This now is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man.

24Wherefore a man shall leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they shall be two in one flesh. 25And they were both naked: to wit, Adam and his wife: and were not ashamed.