Genesis 2:5

Now no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth, nor had any plant of the field sprouted, for the LORD God had not yet sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The narrator describes the earth’s condition before human existence, positioned between the creation account in Genesis 2:4 and the emergence of water in Genesis 2:6. This moment establishes a temporal gap before the formation of Adam and the planting of Eden.

The words — The Hebrew שִׂיחַ (siach) translates literally to "shrub of the field," while עֵשֶׂב ('esev) means "vegetation" or grass. Both terms emphasize that no field plants existed prior to divine rain and human cultivation.

The thread — The link between rain, soil, and human labor appears in Genesis 3:23, where the ground is worked after expulsion, and Job 5:10, which credits God with sending rain upon the fields. Hebrews 6:7 later uses this agricultural sequence to illustrate divine blessing on tended land.

Why it lands — The text requires the reader to recognize that plant growth depends on both God’s provision of water and human stewardship. It frames cultivation as an inherent part of the created order rather than a consequence of later judgment.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

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.

Cross-references

Genesis 3:23 Therefore the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken.
Job 5:10 He gives rain to the earth and sends water upon the fields.
Hebrews 6:7 For land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is tended receives the blessing of God.
Genesis 1:11 Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth vegetation: seed-bearing plants and fruit trees, each bearing fruit with seed according to its kind.” And it was so.
Genesis 4:2 Later she gave birth to Cain’s brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, while Cain was a tiller of the soil.
Genesis 4:12 When you till the ground, it will no longer yield its produce to you. You will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.”
Job 38:26 to bring rain on a barren land, on a desert where no man lives,
Psalms 104:14 He makes the grass grow for the livestock and provides crops for man to cultivate, bringing forth food from the earth:
Psalms 135:7 He causes the clouds to rise from the ends of the earth. He generates the lightning with the rain and brings forth the wind from His storehouses.
Jeremiah 14:22 Can the worthless idols of the nations bring rain? Do the skies alone send showers? Is this not by You, O LORD our God? So we put our hope in You, for You have done all these things.