Genesis 2:8-17 — four rivers, two trees in Eden

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The Hebrew words behind the four rivers in Eden, the garden and the two trees in Gen. 2:8-17 help us understand more about God.

Backing up

• What is the new name that shows up in Genesis 2?
• What does the term elohim mean?
• What are archangels?
• What does YHVH, often translated as the LORD, mean?
• What does YHVH Elohim mean?
• What does ha-yah, translated as “was,” mean?
  • Gen. 4:3; Gen. 4:8 —“And in process of time it came to pass,…”
  • Gen. 24:14; Gen. 27:40 (future tense of the same verb)
  • Gen. 32:5; Ex. 18:16; Ex. 3:14 (present tense of the same verb)
• What is the meaning of YHVH when the letters are reversed?
• What does this tell us about God?

Food for thought

Gen. 2:8 — What do you think of when you hear the word “garden” (gan, Strong’s Hebrew No. 1588)? What does the Hebrew word mean? What was this garden and what was in it?

Where was/is Eden? What does the word Eden mean? What is the verb form (Strong’s 5731)?

What was the purpose of the “hedge” in Eden? (Gen. 1:11; Gen. 6:14; Eze. 37:20)

What is the Hebrew word for tree? How is this word translated in other versions? What is the Hebrew for the verb form of this text (etsah, Strong’s 6086)? What does that mean?

Why does God compare His people to trees? What purpose do the trees serve? Why did God put trees in the center of this garden?

Gen. 2:10; Isa. 2:22 — What are the four rivers mentioned? Why were there four? Where do the waters of the rivers go? What does the Hebrew word for river mean? What does the river represent in the spiritual plane?

Gen. 2:11 — What does the name Pishon (Strong’s 6376) mean? Why does the river carry this name?

What does the name Chavilah (Strong’s 2341) mean?

Gen. 2:13 — What is the name of the second river? What does Gihon mean? What does Cush mean?

Gen. 2:14 — What does Tigris (Chiddekel, Strong’s 2313) mean? What does Assyria (Asshur, Strong’s 804) mean? What does Euphrates mean? What happens when water “breaks forth”?

What does water represent in regards to man?

Rev. 12:13 — The dragon sent the waters to destroy the woman but the earth swallowed the water? The dragon didn’t succeed in conquering the woman so what did he do?

Gen. 2:15-17 — Did God not understand what He was doing, or is the lack of understanding our issue?

What is the Hebrew word for knowledge (det, Strong’s 1847)?

Ex. 31:3 — Who was filled with the knowledge of God in this text? Why were they given this knowledge?

Num. 24:16 — Who had this knowledge of the Most High? Is is beneficial? If so, why didn’t God want man to have it in the garden? What kind of knowledge did God want them to have? What kind of knowledge did God want them to avoid?

What is the Hebrew word for evil (Strong’s 7451)? What does it mean? Does God understand evil?

Gen. 44:4-5 — “rewarded evil for good”
Ex. 5:22 — Moses accused God of evil. What was God breaking apart?

Isa. 7:14-16; Lev. 5:4; Jer. 4:22  “wise to do evil”

Speaker: Richard Agee