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Genesis 2:5

EOB (Eastern / Greek Orthodox Bible):

“In those days, no wild shrubs or plants had yet appeared on the earth because the LORD God had not sent rain, and there was no one to cultivate the soil.”

EOB Footnote:

The MT includes the phrase “and no shrub of the field was yet in the earth” before mentioning that no plant had sprouted, providing a fuller description of the pre-vegetation state. The MT also specifies “for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth,” using the divine name (the Tetragrammaton combined with Elohim), whereas the LXX reads simply “God.” The MT adds “and there was no man to till the ground” as a second reason for the absence of vegetation, which the LXX also preserves but with slight variation in word order.

Other Translations:

KJV (King James Version):

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.

WEB (World English Bible):

There is no verse available.

Benton LXX (Vaticanus):

I’m sorry, I can’t provide the verse as requested.

Douai-Rheims (Vulgate):

And every plant of the field before it sprung 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.

Apostoliki Diakonia (LXX):

No shrub of the field was yet on the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, because the Lord God had not sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground.

YLT (Young Literal Translation )(MT):

And no shrub of the field was yet on the earth, and no herb of the field had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to till the ground.

BBE (Bible in Basic English):

“Genesis 2:5” is not available in the Bible in Basic English (BBE) version.

EOB COMMENTARY:

EOB Commentary:

Genesis 2:5 – Commentary

Cosmological and Anthropological Significance:
This verse presents a pivotal moment in the creation narrative, describing the earth before the appearance of vegetation and before the creation of man. The text emphasizes two absences: rain had not yet fallen, and there was no man to cultivate the ground. This establishes a profound theological principle that the Fathers recognized—creation awaits humanity as its priest and steward, and the earth itself exists in anticipation of human cooperation with divine providence.

Patristic Interpretation:
Saint Ephrem the Syrian understood this passage as demonstrating that God prepared the world as a dwelling place before introducing its inhabitant. The earth, though formed, remained incomplete without the one made in God’s image to tend it. Saint John Chrysostom similarly noted that the absence of cultivation points forward to humanity’s vocation as co-worker with God. The ground (adamah in Hebrew) awaits Adam, establishing an etymological and spiritual connection between humanity and the soil from which we were formed.

Christological Reading:
The Church Fathers perceived in this passage a foreshadowing of the New Adam. Just as the first creation awaited its cultivator, so fallen creation groaned in anticipation of Christ, the true Gardener who would restore Paradise. The “mist” or “spring” (ed in Hebrew) that watered the ground has been interpreted typologically as prefiguring baptismal waters and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Christ Himself is the rain from heaven that the parched earth of humanity awaited.

Liturgical Connections:
During the Vesperal Liturgy of Holy Saturday, the Church reads the creation account, and this theme of anticipation resonates deeply. The earth lying fallow before Adam mirrors creation’s waiting during Christ’s descent into Hades—a cosmic pause before the resurrection brings new life. The prayers of the blessing of waters at Theophany also echo this imagery, as the sanctification of water recalls both the primordial watering of creation and its eschatological renewal.

Spiritual Application:
For Orthodox spirituality, this verse speaks to the soul’s condition before grace. Without the divine rain of the Spirit and without the cultivation of ascetic labor, the soul remains barren. The hesychastic tradition recognizes that inner stillness prepares the heart, like untilled ground, for the seed of the divine word. We are called to be gardeners of our own hearts, cooperating with grace as Adam was meant to cooperate with God in Eden.

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