God Makes the First Man and Woman

Genesis 2:7-23

     When God first decided to make people, God took some dust from the ground and made a man from it. He breathed into the man's nose the breath of life, and that man became alive.

     God made a beautiful garden called Eden and all kinds of good trees to grow there. One of the trees was the tree of life. Another tree was called the tree of knowing good and bad.

     God put the first man in the garden to take care of it. "You may eat any of the fruits or vegetables in this garden except for the fruit from the tree of knowing good and bad," God told the man. "If you eat any of that fruit, you will not live forever."

     Then God said, "It is not good for the man to live all alone." So God showed the man all the animals, and the man gave these animals names. But there was no animal that could be the right kind of partner for the man.

     Then God made the man fall asleep. While he was sleeping, God took one of the man's ribs from his chest.

     God took the rib and made it into a woman. When the man woke up, God showed him the woman. 

     "At last!" said the man. "Here is someone like me. She is made from my own muscles and bones."