Genesis 2:5-7

When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up— for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground— then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. ESV

It is often assumed that these verses teach that God watered the plants of Earth from creation to the flood through springs rather than rain. That is an incorrect interpretation.

(1) The phrase “whole face of the ground” likely refers to the area in which God planted the Garden of Eden and placed man, not the entire Earth. Genesis 2 is a detailed record of day six of creation in the area where God planted the Garden of Eden. The narrative opens with a description of conditions in that area prior to this event.

The fact that plants had not yet sprouted suggests that this refers to a local area, because God had already created mature vegetation of all kinds on day three (Gen. 1:11-12). After God created trees and plants, they reproduced naturally by their seeds. The seeds had not yet produced new growth in the area under consideration, so God made the garden in a special action. Similarly, the land and ground in the latter part of verse five referred to this same local area. The same is also true of the animals God created for man to name in verse 19.

(2) These verses describe only the conditions up to the creation of man on day six. The phrases “God had not caused it to rain” and “there was no man” refer to the same period of time. These descriptions do not apply to the time after God made man and the garden.

(3) It is often stated that humans had never seen rain until the flood of Noah’s time, perhaps based on the “things not seen” in Hebrews 11:7. But this refers to the cataclysmic flood God told Noah would come (Gen. 6:17). It does not refer to ordinary rainfall. Also, the fact that rain is not mentioned in the Genesis record until Noah in no way suggests its absence. Some 1500 years are covered in the span of a few chapters, with only the most important events described. Rain is absent in much longer, more detailed narratives, but of course this does not suggest that it never rained during those times.

(4) When God said, “I set my bow in the cloud” in Genesis 9:13, this did not necessarily mean that rainbows had never appeared before. After the flood, the rainbow took on a special significance.

The global flood certainly changed the Earth. It’s impossible to know the exact conditions of Earth, the atmosphere, and the water cycle before that. But the idea that Scripture teaches no rain occurred before the flood is based on a misinterpretation of Genesis 2.

A summary of the text: The area in which God made Eden did not have plants and rain until God created man and made a garden specially suited for him.

~ SR

Related words: paradise

Citation
Ruhmann, Scott. “Quick Notes: Genesis 2:5-7.” 27th Street Church of Christ. Access date: . http://www.churchofbend.com/qn/gene2-5.htm