What may be eaten, what may not — eating you shall eat · dying you shall die
Three verses, 34 words. The first command God speaks directly to man — permission and prohibition built from the same verb, one small word apart.
Verse by verse: which patterns build each sentence, and why — so that you can read it without a translation.
1-1Meeting “you” and the infinitive
Until now nearly every verb in Genesis has been “he, it, they” (3rd person), and the imperatives of 1:22 and 28 were plural, “you all.” In 2:16, as God speaks directly to Adam alone, the first “you” (2nd masculine singular) imperfects appear — תֹּאכֵל, תֹאכַל, תָּמוּת.
The ת (tav) in front of an imperfect can mean either “she” or “you (m.)” (see the person table of Day One). The context decides — here it is God speaking to Adam, so it is “you.”
This page also shows the infinitive in four guises: לְ + infinitive (לְעָבְדָהּ), לֵאמֹר opening speech, בְּיוֹם + infinitive (אֲכָלְךָ), and the infinitive absolute (אָכֹל, מוֹת). An infinitive has no person marker for “who” — so a suffix at its end tells “what” (־ָהּ “it”) or “who” (־ךָ “you”).
1-2What each verse does — Genesis 2:15–17
Before the text, see for each verse of 2:15–17: (1) what it does in the story, (2) what it says, (3) the verbs and sentence structure it uses. Tap a row to go to that verse.
Tap a word to open its notes below. Pronunciation is by a modern Israeli Hebrew voice.
YLVAnd YHWH God took Adam and put him in the garden of Eden to work (avad) it and to keep it.
How this sentence is built — and why
- How many clauses?Three: [took — YHWH God — Adam] [put him — in the garden of Eden] [to work it · to keep it].
- What comes first?The first and second clauses open with wayyiqtols (וַיִּקַּח, וַיַּנִּחֵהוּ) → pattern 1. The third is not a finite verb but לְ + infinitive.
- So what fills the verb slot?The two events are wayyiqtols (י = he, YHWH God). The purpose uses the person-less infinitive constructs עֲבֹד, שְׁמֹר with לְ: “to …” (pattern 13).
- What the suffixes do־הוּ in וַיַּנִּחֵהוּ = “him” (Adam); ־ָהּ in לְעָבְדָהּ וּלְשָׁמְרָהּ = “it” (3fs) — objects attached to the end of the word without אֶת (pattern 18).
- Why is it written this way?The narrative chain tells two events (taking → placing), and infinitives, which do not extend the chain, add their purpose. Why the man was placed in the garden is told before the command (vv. 16–17).
- The accents matchAtnach (◌֑) on הָאָדָם — [took | put · purpose]; zaqef (◌֔) on עֵדֶן — [put | purpose].
Clause by clause
YLVAnd YHWH God took Adam
Why?The wayyiqtol וַיִּקַּח comes first → subject “YHWH God” → object אֶת־הָאָדָם. After 2:8 the chain of the story moves on again.
YLVand put him in the garden of Eden
Why?Again a wayyiqtol, וַיַּנִּחֵהוּ — the subject is the same as before and is not repeated, and the object is attached as the suffix ־הוּ (“him”) without אֶת (pattern 18). Then the place, “in the garden of Eden.” The order of events: taking → placing.
YLVto work (avad) it and to keep it.
Why?Not a new event but the purpose of the placing: לְ + two infinitive constructs (לְעָבְדָהּ, וּלְשָׁמְרָהּ) — “to …” (pattern 13). The infinitive has no person, so the context (Adam) supplies “who,” and the same suffix ־ָהּ (3fs, “it”) is the object of both (pattern 18). For what “it” refers to, see “Going deeper.”
Verbs — who did it?
How the accents divide it
The bigger the box, the bigger the pause. Read from right to left.
The atnach (◌֑) on הָאָדָם divides the verse: [took | put · to work and keep]. The second half divides again at the zaqef (◌֔) on עֵדֶן: [put him in the garden of Eden | to work it and keep it]. The tevir (◌֛) on the first word is a smaller break within the first half.
Word by word
וַיִּקַּ֛חva-yiqqachand he took
Wayyiqtol of laqach “to take.” וַ + יּ with dagesh; the י in front = “he,” and the “he” is the next words, YHWH God. In the imperfect the root’s first letter ל behaves like נ and is absorbed into the next letter, leaving only the dagesh (doubling) in קּ — not יִלְקַח but יִקַּח. The patach under קּ is followed by the vowelless final ח: “-kach.” Tevir (◌֛) on the first word.
יְהוָ֥הYHWHYHWH
The name of God, four letters י-ה-ו-ה. The vowels the Masoretes placed on this name do not record how it is pronounced. Together with the following אֱלֹהִים it forms one subject, “YHWH God.”
אֱלֹהִ֖יםElohimGod
The second word of “YHWH God.” Plural in form (־ִים), yet the verb וַיִּקַּח is singular, “he” — one. A tipcha (◌֖) makes a small break: “YHWH God | Adam.”
- Parsing
- noun · masculine · plural
- Grammar
- gender and numberaccents
- Form
- אֱלוֹהַּ (“god”) with the plural ending ־ִים
- Accent
- Tipcha a pause within a half-verse
- Lexicon
- H430
אֶתet(object marker)
The object marker, pointing to the definite object “the adam”: Adam is the one taken. Joined by maqaf, it has no stress and the short vowel אֶת.
- Parsing
- object marker
- Grammar
- object marker אֵתmaqqefaccents
- Form
- אֵת → before maqaf אֶת־
- Accent
- Maqaf joined to the next word by maqaf (־)
- Lexicon
- H853
הָֽאָדָ֑םha-adamthe adam (man)
אָדָם is “man, human” and also the first man’s name, “Adam.” Here it has the article, “the adam.” א cannot take a dagesh, so the article lengthens to הָ instead of הַ (the same rule as הָאָרֶץ). The stroke in הָֽ is a meteg (lengthening). The atnach (◌֑) falls here — verse 15 divides into “took | put.”
- Parsing
- article “the” + noun · masculine · singular
- Grammar
- definite articlegender and numberaccents
- Form
- אָדָם (“man, Adam”) + article הָ
- Accent
- Atnach the main pause in mid-verse — divides the verse in two
- Lexicon
- H120
וַיַּנִּחֵ֣הוּva-yannichehuand he put him
Hiphil wayyiqtol of nuach “to rest” (“cause to rest, set down”). The י in front = “he”; no subject is written — it is YHWH God from the previous clause. The patach prefix vowel (יַ) marks the Hiphil, and the form with dagesh in נּ (יַנִּיחַ) is the one used for “put, place (somewhere).” The ending ־ֵהוּ (-ehu) is an object suffix on the verb, 3rd masculine singular, “him” — the “him” is Adam from the previous clause. The object is attached to the verb without אֶת.
- Parsing
- conjunction “and” + verb · Hiphil · wayyiqtol (narrative sequence) · 3rd masculine singular + pronominal suffix · 3rd masculine singular
- Grammar
- conjunction wawHiphil stemwayyiqtolobject suffix on a verbaccents
- Form
- root נ-ו-ח → Hiphil imperfect יַנִּיחַ → וַ + יַּנִּחֵ + suffix הוּ (“him”)
- Accent
- Munach conjunctive — joins to the next word
- Lexicon
- H3240
בְגַןve-ganin the garden of
בְּ (“in”) + גַּן (“garden”). Read on from a word ending in a vowel, ב loses its dagesh (soft v), and ג has none after the shewa. גַּן is a construct here, bound by maqaf to “Eden”: “the garden of Eden.” OSHB marks the gender of גַּן as “both.”
- Parsing
- preposition + noun · masculine or feminine · singular · construct
- Grammar
- prepositiongender and numberconstruct statemaqqefaccents
- Form
- בְּ + גַּן (“garden,” construct) → dagesh drops: בְגַן
- Accent
- Maqaf joined to the next word by maqaf (־)
- Lexicon
- H1588
עֵ֔דֶןEdenEden
לְעָבְדָ֖הּle-ovdahto work it
לְ (“to, in order to”) + the infinitive construct עֲבֹד of avad “to work, to serve” + the suffix ־ָהּ. An infinitive has no person marker for “who” — the context supplies it, here Adam, who has just been placed in the garden. The dot (mappiq) in the final הּ shows that ה is a sounded consonant, not a vowel letter: the 3rd feminine singular suffix, “her = it.” With the suffix the “o” of עֲבֹד becomes a short “o” (qamets chatuf, עָבְ): “ov-dah.” The same root appears in 2:5, “to work (avad) the ground (adamah)” (לַעֲבֹד אֶת־הָאֲדָמָה).
- Parsing
- preposition + verb · Qal · infinitive construct + pronominal suffix · 3rd feminine singular
- Grammar
- prepositionQal steminfinitive constructobject suffix on a verbaccents
- Form
- root ע-ב-ד → infinitive construct עֲבֹד → לְ + עָבְד + ָהּ (“it,” 3fs)
- Accent
- Tipcha a pause within a half-verse
- Lexicon
- H5647
וּלְשָׁמְרָֽהּu-le-shomrahand to keep it
The same build as the previous word: לְ + the infinitive construct שְׁמֹר of shamar “to keep, to guard” + the 3fs suffix ־ָהּ (הּ with mappiq). “And” is וּ (u) because the next letter, לְ, has a shewa — וְ becomes וּ before a shewa and before the lip letters (ב, מ, פ). The two infinitives form a pair with the same suffix. The same verb shamar is used in 3:24, where the cherubim are stationed “to keep the way of the tree of life (chai)” (לִשְׁמֹר). Silluq at the verse end.
- Parsing
- conjunction “and” + preposition + verb · Qal · infinitive construct + pronominal suffix · 3rd feminine singular
- Grammar
- conjunction wawprepositionQal steminfinitive constructobject suffix on a verbaccents
- Form
- root שׁ-מ-ר → שְׁמֹר → וּ + לְ + שָׁמְר + ָהּ (“it”)
- Accent
- Silluq the final pause of the verse
- Lexicon
- H8104
YLVAnd YHWH God commanded (tzivvah) Adam, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you shall surely eat,
How this sentence is built — and why
- How many clauses?Three: [commanded — YHWH God — Adam] [saying] [of every tree of the garden — eating you shall eat].
- What comes first?The first clause opens with the wayyiqtol וַיְצַו → pattern 1. The second, לֵאמֹר, is the infinitive that opens speech (pattern 16) — here the story enters the words spoken.
- The sentence inside the speechThe third clause is what God said. “Of every tree of the garden” (מִכֹּל עֵץ־הַגָּן) is placed first, and the verb is the 2nd-person imperfect תֹּאכֵל (ת = you, Adam). An imperfect in speech can express permission or command.
- Which pattern, which combination?Before the imperfect stands the infinitive absolute of the same root, אָכֹל — pattern 28 (emphasis). Not merely “you may eat” but “eating you shall eat,” a full and clear permission.
- Why is it written this way?It begins with “every tree” in front and an emphatic permission, so that the single prohibition of verse 17 stands on that abundance. This is the combination for reporting speech (wayyiqtol “said” + imperfect inside the speech).
- The accents matchAtnach (◌֑) on לֵאמֹר — [the commanding | the words of the command].
Clause by clause
YLVAnd YHWH God commanded (tzivvah) Adam,
Why?Wayyiqtol וַיְצַו → subject “YHWH God” → the one commanded, עַל־הָאָדָם. “He commanded” is the next event in the chain.
YLVsaying,
Why?לֵאמֹר is a clause of one word. An infinitive without person, “saying” — here the narrative stops and we enter the speech (pattern 16). From now on the rules of speech (imperfect, command) apply.
YLV"Of every tree of the garden you shall surely eat,
Why?The first clause of the speech. “Of every tree of the garden” is placed before the verb, putting first what is allowed. In the verb slot: the infinitive absolute אָכֹל + the imperfect of the same root תֹּאכֵל (ת = you) — “eating you shall eat,” a generous permission given force (pattern 28).
Verbs — who did it?
How the accents divide it
The bigger the box, the bigger the pause. Read from right to left.
The atnach (◌֑) on לֵאמֹר divides the verse exactly: [the commanding | the words of the command]. The first half divides at the zaqef (◌֔) on אֱלֹהִים [who commanded | to whom, how]; the second at the tipcha (◌֖) on הַגָּן [of which trees | eating you shall eat]. The merkha (◌֥) on אָכֹל is a joining accent — אָכֹל תֹּאכֵל is read as one unit.
Word by word
וַיְצַו֙va-yetsavand he commanded
Piel wayyiqtol of tsivvah “to command.” The י in front = “he” — YHWH God, who follows. A shewa as the prefix vowel (יְ) marks the Piel. It is the short form of the Piel imperfect יְצַוֶּה with the final ה dropped (the same rule as וַיַּרְא), and the ו, now word-final, has lost its doubling dot. With a shewa under י, the dagesh after וַ also drops (as in וַיְהִי). This is the first time “command” appears in Genesis. The pashta (◌֙) sits on the last letter of the word.
יְהוָ֣הYHWHYHWH
The same name as in verse 15. “YHWH God” appears again as subject — the one who commanded. The vowels the Masoretes placed on it do not record its pronunciation.
אֱלֹהִ֔יםElohimGod
The second word of “YHWH God” — the one who commanded. The verb וַיְצַו is singular, “he.” The zaqef (◌֔) divides the first half: “who commanded | to whom, and how.”
- Parsing
- noun · masculine · plural
- Grammar
- gender and numberaccents
- Form
- אֱלוֹהַּ (“god”) with the plural ending ־ִים
- Accent
- Zaqef qatan a major pause within a half-verse
- Lexicon
- H430
עַלalupon (to)
A preposition meaning “upon”; here it introduces the one who receives the command — “commanded upon Adam” = “commanded Adam.” Joined to the next word by maqaf, it carries no accent.
- Parsing
- preposition
- Grammar
- prepositionmaqqefaccents
- Form
- unchanging · joined by maqaf
- Accent
- Maqaf joined to the next word by maqaf (־)
- Lexicon
- H5921a
הָֽאָדָ֖םha-adamthe adam (man)
“The adam” of verse 15 — now the one who receives the command. הָ (the article, lengthened before א) + אָדָם; the stroke in הָֽ is a meteg. Tipcha (◌֖).
- Parsing
- article “the” + noun · masculine · singular
- Grammar
- definite articlegender and numberaccents
- Form
- אָדָם (“man, Adam”) + article הָ
- Accent
- Tipcha a pause within a half-verse
- Lexicon
- H120
לֵאמֹ֑רlemorsaying
לְ + the infinitive construct אֱמֹר of amar “to say.” The א falls silent and the vowel of לְ lengthens to לֵ (le-). An infinitive with no person marker, after the verb “commanded,” it opens the words spoken, “saying” — doing the work of quotation marks. The atnach (◌֑) falls here — verse 16 divides into the commanding | the words of the command.
- Parsing
- preposition + verb · Qal · infinitive construct
- Grammar
- prepositionQal steminfinitive constructaccents
- Form
- root א-מ-ר → infinitive אֱמֹר → לְ + אמֹר → לֵאמֹר (א silent)
- Accent
- Atnach the main pause in mid-verse — divides the verse in two
- Lexicon
- H559
מִכֹּ֥לmi-kolof every
מִן (“from, of”) + כֹּל (“all, every”). The נ of מִן is absorbed into the next letter, leaving מִ, with the dot in כּ filling its place. כֹּל is a construct bound to what follows: “all of.” “From” here means eating from among every tree — the source or portion eaten. This phrase is placed before the verb.
- Parsing
- preposition + noun · masculine · singular · construct
- Grammar
- prepositiongender and numberconstruct stateaccents
- Form
- מִן + כֹּל → נ absorbed: מִכֹּל
- Accent
- Merkha conjunctive
- Lexicon
- H3605
עֵֽץetstree of
עֵץ (“tree”), a construct joined by maqaf: “tree of the garden.” Singular, but with כֹּל before it: “every tree.” The stroke under עֵֽ is a meteg.
- Parsing
- noun · masculine · singular · construct
- Grammar
- gender and numberconstruct statemaqqefaccents
- Form
- עֵץ (“tree”) — the construct has the same form · final צ in its final form ץ
- Accent
- Maqaf joined to the next word by maqaf (־)
- Lexicon
- H6086
הַגָּ֖ןha-ganthe garden
The article הַ with a dagesh in גּ. The article on the last word of the construct chain “every · tree · the garden” makes the whole chain definite. Tipcha (◌֖): “of every tree of the garden | eat, eat.”
- Parsing
- article “the” + noun · masculine or feminine · singular
- Grammar
- definite articlegender and numberaccents
- Form
- גַּן (“garden”) + article הַ → הַגָּן
- Accent
- Tipcha a pause within a half-verse
- Lexicon
- H1588
אָכֹ֥לakholeating
The infinitive absolute of akhal “to eat.” The Qal infinitive absolute has the vowels “a – o” (קָטֹל): אָכֹל. It is the action “eat” itself, with no person and no time. Standing before the imperfect of the same root, תֹּאכֵל, it adds force: “eating you shall eat” = “you shall surely, freely eat” (pattern 28). Compare אֲכָלְךָ in verse 17 (the infinitive construct with a suffix).
- Parsing
- verb · Qal · infinitive absolute
- Grammar
- Qal steminfinitive absoluteaccents
- Form
- root א-כ-ל → Qal infinitive absolute אָכֹל (a-khol)
- Accent
- Merkha conjunctive
- Lexicon
- H398
תֹּאכֵֽלtokhelyou shall eat
Qal imperfect of akhal. The ת (tav) in front can mean “she” or “you (m.)”; nothing is added at the end, and this is God speaking to Adam, so it is 2nd masculine singular, “you” (Adam). The root’s first letter א is silent and the prefix vowel becomes “o” (תֹּ). Because the previous word ends in the consonant ל, תּ keeps its dagesh. An imperfect in speech can mean “you will eat, you may eat, eat!”; here it is a generous permission. It is the pausal form at the verse end: the patach of the ordinary form תֹאכַל (verse 17) becomes tsere (ֵ) at the pause.
YLVbut of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it, for in the day you eat of it you shall surely die."
How this sentence is built — and why
- How many clauses?Three: [but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil — you shall not eat — of it] [for in the day you eat of it] [dying you shall die].
- What comes first?The first clause again puts “of the tree” (וּמֵעֵץ) before the verb — paired against “of every tree” in verse 16. The second opens with כִּי (reason, pattern 20) + a time (בְּיוֹם).
- So what fills the verb slot?Clause one: לֹא + the imperfect תֹאכַל — a prohibition (pattern 29). Clause two: the infinitive construct אֲכָלְךָ (suffix ךָ = you) — “when …” (pattern 22). Clause three: infinitive absolute + imperfect, מוֹת תָּמוּת (pattern 28).
- Permission and prohibition as a pairVerse 16 מִכֹּל … אָכֹל תֹּאכֵל / verse 17 וּמֵעֵץ … לֹא תֹאכַל. The same preposition מִן, the same verb, person and imperfect — the differences are “every” versus “one tree,” and לֹא.
- Why is it written this way?After the prohibition, כִּי adds the reason, and the reason closes with the same emphatic pattern as the permission (מוֹת תָּמוּת). The two verses answer each other: “eating you shall eat” and “dying you shall die.”
- The accents matchAtnach (◌֑) on the first מִמֶּנּוּ — [prohibition | reason]. The last two words are joined by merkha (◌֥) + silluq, like the end of verse 16.
Clause by clause
YLVbut of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it,
Why?“But of the tree of …” (וּמֵעֵץ …) is again placed before the verb, set against “of every tree” in verse 16. The verb slot holds לֹא + the imperfect תֹאכַל — a prohibition (pattern 29). The tree placed first is picked up again at the end with מִמֶּנּוּ (“of it”).
YLVfor in the day you eat of it
Why?כִּי (“for”) opens the reason for the prohibition (pattern 20). Inside it the time comes first: בְּיוֹם + the infinitive construct אֲכָלְךָ — “in the day you eat” (pattern 22). The suffix ־ךָ on the infinitive is “you.”
YLVyou shall surely die."
Why?The main sentence of the reason: the infinitive absolute מוֹת + the imperfect of the same root תָּמוּת (ת = you) — “dying you shall die,” “you shall surely die” (pattern 28). The warning answers the permission אָכֹל תֹּאכֵל of verse 16 with the same pattern.
Verbs — who did it?
How the accents divide it
The bigger the box, the bigger the pause. Read from right to left.
The atnach (◌֑) on the first מִמֶּנּוּ divides the verse: [the prohibition | the reason]. The first half divides at the zaqef (◌֔) on וָרָע [of which tree | you shall not eat of it]; the second at the tipcha (◌֖) on the second מִמֶּנּוּ [in the day you eat of it | dying you shall die]. Like אָכֹל תֹּאכֵל at the end of verse 16, מוֹת תָּמוּת at the end of verse 17 is joined by a merkha (◌֥) — the two verses close with the same sound.
Word by word
וּמֵעֵ֗ץu-me-etsbut of the tree of
וּ (“and, but”) + מִן (“from”) + עֵץ (“tree,” construct). The נ of מִן should be absorbed, but ע cannot take a dagesh, so instead מִ lengthens to מֵ (me-). “And” is וּ because the lip letter מ follows. Set against “of every tree” in verse 16 — “but of this tree” — this phrase too stands before the verb. Revia (◌֗).
- Parsing
- conjunction “and” + preposition + noun · masculine · singular · construct
- Grammar
- conjunction wawprepositiongender and numberconstruct stateaccents
- Form
- וּ + מִן + עֵץ → before ע: מֵ
- Accent
- Revia a smaller pause
- Lexicon
- H6086
הַדַּ֨עַת֙ha-daatthe knowledge
דַּעַת (“knowing, knowledge”), a feminine noun from yada “to know” — the root’s first letter י drops and the feminine ת is added. Article הַ with dagesh in דּ. This is the name first given in 2:9, “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” Like a verb, דַּעַת takes directly what is known (good and evil). It carries two accents (qadma + pashta).
- Parsing
- article “the” + noun · feminine · singular
- Grammar
- definite articlegender and numberaccents
- Form
- root י-ד-ע → דַּעַת (“knowledge,” fem.) + article הַ
- Accent
- Pashta a smaller pause
- Lexicon
- H1847
ט֣וֹבtovgood
וָרָ֔עva-raand evil
וָ + רַע (“bad, evil”). As in “tohu va-vohu,” “and” is read וָ (va) between a pair of words. At the zaqef (◌֔) pause the vowel of רַע lengthens to רָע. “Good and evil” — two opposites joined to name the whole of what is known.
- Parsing
- conjunction “and” + adjective · masculine · singular
- Grammar
- conjunction wawadjectiveaccents
- Form
- רַע (“evil”) + וָ → at the pause וָרָע
- Accent
- Zaqef qatan a major pause within a half-verse
- Lexicon
- H7451b
לֹ֥אlonot
The negative לֹא (“not”). Placed right before the 2nd-person imperfect תֹאכַל, it makes a prohibition: “you shall not eat” (pattern 29). Hebrew does not negate the imperative, so “do not …” is said this way, לֹא + imperfect (or אַל + jussive). The final א is silent.
תֹאכַ֖לtokhalyou shall eat
The same verb and person as תֹּאכֵל in verse 16 (the ת in front = “you,” 2ms — Adam), and this is the ordinary (non-pausal) form with patach (ַ). Because לֹא before it ends in a vowel and is read on, ת has no dagesh. The permission (v. 16) and the prohibition (v. 17) use the same imperfect; the only difference is the לֹא in front. Tipcha (◌֖).
מִמֶּ֑נּוּmimmennuof it
The lengthened form מִמֶּ, used when מִן (“from”) takes a pronoun suffix, with ־נּוּ attached. These letters, מִמֶּנּוּ, serve identically for “from it (him)” (3ms) and “from us” (1cp). The parsing line for this verse shows OSHB’s tag as it is (1st plural), while OSHB tags the same word מִמֶּנּוּ in 3:5 as 3ms. Here the speaker points back to “the tree” (עֵץ, masculine) already placed first: “of it.” The sentence first sets “of the tree of …” in front and then picks it up again with “of it.” The atnach (◌֑) falls here — verse 17 divides into the prohibition | the reason.
- Parsing
- preposition + pronominal suffix · 1st common plural
- Grammar
- prepositionpronominal suffixaccents
- Form
- מִן + suffix → מִמֶּ + נּוּ = מִמֶּנּוּ (“from it” and “from us” are spelled alike)
- Accent
- Atnach the main pause in mid-verse — divides the verse in two
- Lexicon
- H4480a
כִּ֗יkifor
The כִּי of Day One, verse 4. There it meant “that”; here, after the prohibition, it adds the reason: “for” (pattern 20). It stands on its own with a revia (◌֗), not joined by maqaf.
- Parsing
- conjunction
- Grammar
- conjunction wawaccents
- Form
- כִּי — unchanging
- Accent
- Revia a smaller pause
- Lexicon
- H3588a
בְּי֛וֹםbe-yomin the day of
בְּ (“in”) + יוֹם (“day”). The form does not change, but here it is a construct bound to the infinitive אֲכָלְךָ (“your eating”): “in the day of your eating” = “in the day you eat.” “בְּ + infinitive construct” is the pattern for “when …” (pattern 22); here יוֹם (“day”) stands between them. It is the same build as 2:4, “in the day that … made” (בְּיוֹם עֲשׂוֹת). Tevir (◌֛).
- Parsing
- preposition + noun · masculine · singular · construct
- Grammar
- prepositiongender and numberconstruct stateaccents
- Form
- בְּ + יוֹם (“day,” construct has the same form)
- Accent
- Tevir a smaller pause
- Lexicon
- H3117
אֲכָלְךָ֥akhol-khayour eating
The infinitive construct אֱכֹל of akhal with the 2ms suffix ־ְךָ (-kha). An infinitive has no person marker, but the suffix at its end tells “who”: “your eating” = “you eat” (Adam). Where the suffix on a finite verb meant “him” (וַיַּנִּחֵהוּ), a suffix on an infinitive can be its subject, as here. With the suffix the “o” becomes a short “o” (qamets chatuf, כָלְ): “akhol-kha.” Its vowels differ from the infinitive absolute אָכֹל (a-khol) of verse 16.
- Parsing
- verb · Qal · infinitive construct + pronominal suffix · 2nd masculine singular
- Grammar
- Qal steminfinitive constructobject suffix on a verbaccents
- Form
- root א-כ-ל → infinitive construct אֱכֹל → אֲכָלְ + ךָ (“your” = “you”)
- Accent
- Merkha conjunctive
- Lexicon
- H398
מִמֶּ֖נּוּmimmennuof it
The same word as מִמֶּנּוּ in the first half, with the same meaning, “of it” (the tree). The 1st plural in the parsing line is OSHB’s tag; the letters are the same as the 3ms. Tipcha (◌֖): “in the day you eat of it | dying you shall die.”
- Parsing
- preposition + pronominal suffix · 1st common plural
- Grammar
- prepositionpronominal suffixaccents
- Form
- מִן + suffix → מִמֶּ + נּוּ = מִמֶּנּוּ (“from it” and “from us” are spelled alike)
- Accent
- Tipcha a pause within a half-verse
- Lexicon
- H4480a
מ֥וֹתmotdying
The infinitive absolute of mut “to die.” Because the middle letter of the root (מ-ו-ת) is ו, the infinitive absolute is the single syllable מוֹת (mot). It is the event “die” itself, with no person or time; standing before the imperfect of the same root, תָּמוּת, it adds force: “dying you shall die” = “you shall surely die” — exactly the same pattern (28) as אָכֹל תֹּאכֵל in verse 16.
- Parsing
- verb · Qal · infinitive absolute
- Grammar
- Qal steminfinitive absoluteaccents
- Form
- root מ-ו-ת → infinitive absolute מוֹת
- Accent
- Merkha conjunctive
- Lexicon
- H4191
תָּמֽוּתtamutyou shall die
Qal imperfect of mut. The ת in front = “you” (2ms — Adam). In roots with ו in the middle, the imperfect has the prefix vowel “a” (תָּ), and the ו remains as the vowel “u” (וּ): תָּמוּת. Because מוֹת ends in a consonant, תּ keeps its dagesh. Silluq at the verse end: the whole command closes with “in the day you eat … you shall die.”
All the sentence patterns of this page in one table, and the places where views differ.
2-1Sentence patterns on this page
Which patterns build the clauses of this page, in one table.
| Pattern | On this page |
|---|---|
| 1. The wayyiqtol narrative sentence | 2:15 And YHWH God took Adam2:15 and put him in the garden of Eden2:16 And YHWH God commanded (tzivvah) Adam, |
| 13. לְ + infinitive construct, “to …” | 2:15 to work (avad) it and to keep it. |
| 16. לֵאמֹר “saying” — the infinitive that opens speech | 2:16 saying, |
| 18. Pronoun suffixes on verbs, prepositions and אֵת | 2:15 and put him in the garden of Eden2:15 to work (avad) it and to keep it. |
| 20. The causal כִּי clause, “because …” | 2:17 for in the day you eat of it |
| 22. בְּ + infinitive construct: “when …” | 2:17 for in the day you eat of it |
| 28. Infinitive absolute + imperfect — emphasis | 2:16 "Of every tree of the garden you shall surely eat,2:17 you shall surely die." |
| 29. לֹא + imperfect — prohibition | 2:17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it, |
2-2Going deeper
2:17 “In the day you eat … dying you shall die” — what death, which day?
What the text makes clear — 2:17 uses בְּיוֹם + an infinitive construct with the 2nd-person suffix (אֲכָלְךָ, “in the day you eat”), followed by the infinitive absolute + imperfect מוֹת תָּמוּת (“you shall surely die”). The same build, “on the day you … you shall surely die,” appears in Solomon’s words to Shimei in 1 Kgs 2:37, 42 (בְּיוֹם צֵאתְךָ … מוֹת תָּמוּת). 3:19 says “you return to the ground (adamah),” and 5:5 says Adam lived “nine hundred years and thirty years, and he died.”
① He died spiritually that day — cut off from God
- Evidence
- After eating, the man hid himself “from the presence of YHWH God” (3:8), and he was driven from the garden, the way to the tree of life barred (3:23–24). So this view keeps “that day” literally and takes the death of that day as the cutting off of life with God. Augustine (City of God, book 13) described God’s forsaking of the soul as the death of the soul, with bodily death following after.
- Problems
- In Genesis 1–5, outside this warning (2:17, 3:3–4), מוּת occurs only in chapter 5, and there it is bodily death (5:5 “and he died,” eight times in chapter 5). The sentence God gives in 3:19 is a return to the ground. The reading is said to add to מוּת a sense the chapter itself does not use.
- Sources
- Augustine, City of God, book 13 · many Protestant commentaries
② That day death was fixed — he became mortal / the sentence was passed
- Evidence
- In 1 Kgs 2:37 Shimei is told, “on the day you go out and cross over the brook Kidron, know for certain that you shall surely die”; he goes out, returns, and is executed only after the king summons him (2:39–46) — the same wording serves as a legal sentence: on that day the guilt is fixed and death is decreed. In 3:22 the way to the tree of life is barred “lest he … eat, and live forever.” Jerome (Hebrew Questions on Genesis) reports that the ancient Greek translator Symmachus rendered 2:17 “you shall be mortal.”
- Problems
- Grammatically, infinitive absolute + imperfect (מוֹת תָּמוּת) is emphasis meaning “certainly,” not “begin to die” — reading a “process” into it as “dying, you shall die (gradually)” does not come from the grammar. Nor does the text say directly whether the man was immortal before he ate.
- Sources
- 1 Kgs 2:37–46 · Symmachus (reported in Jerome, Hebrew Questions on Genesis) · many modern commentaries
③ “Day” means “when” — בְּיוֹם + infinitive = “when …”
- Evidence
- 2:4, “in the day that YHWH God made earth and heavens” (בְּיוֹם עֲשׂוֹת), is cited as a “day” wider than a single daytime (the work that took several days in chapter 1). Exod 10:28, “in the day you see my face you shall die” (בְּיוֹם רְאֹתְךָ), and 1 Kgs 2:37 have the same build. So בְּיוֹם + infinitive is taken as a fixed idiom, “when / if you …,” and 2:17 states condition and consequence: “if you eat, you shall surely die.”
- Problems
- Even read as “when,” the time is tied to the eating, and the phrase alone does not explain how it fits Adam’s 930 years. So this reading is usually combined with ① or ②. The serpent’s use of the same words in 3:5, “in the day you eat of it” (בְּיוֹם אֲכָלְכֶם), must also be weighed.
- Sources
- Grammars (בְּיוֹם + infinitive construct) · some modern translations (“when you eat”)
④ “A thousand years as a day” — Adam died within that “day”
- Evidence
- Drawing on Ps 90:4, “For a thousand years in your eyes are as yesterday,” it takes the “day” of 2:17 as a thousand years: Adam died at 930 (5:5), short of 1000, and so died within “that day,” as was said. Jubilees (4:30), Justin Martyr (Dialogue with Trypho 81) and Irenaeus (Against Heresies 5.23) read it this way.
- Problems
- Ps 90:4 is a poem comparing how time is before God, not a definition of a day’s length — the same verse also compares it to “a watch in the night” (a few hours). 2:17 is God speaking to Adam, and the serpent uses the same “day” in 3:5, so the thousand-year count is said to be brought in from outside the text.
- Sources
- Jubilees 4:30 · Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho 81 · Irenaeus, Against Heresies 5.23
What the grammar states clearly is “in the day you eat (בְּיוֹם אֲכָלְךָ) — you shall certainly die (מוֹת תָּמוּת).” That the same wording serves as a legal sentence in 1 Kgs 2:37, and that 3:19 and 5:5 tell of Adam’s death, are the places within Scripture to read alongside it.
2:15 לְעָבְדָהּ וּלְשָׁמְרָהּ — to work and keep the garden, or to serve and to guard?
What the text makes clear — both words are לְ + infinitive construct, and both end in הּ with mappiq — the 3rd feminine singular object suffix, “it.” עָבַד means “work, serve”; שָׁמַר, “keep, guard.” The nearest word the suffix could point to is גַּן, the “garden” of Eden, whose gender OSHB marks as “both” (in Song 4:12 גַּן נָעוּל, “A garden locked,” a masculine participle follows).
① “To work and keep the garden” — tending the ground
- Evidence
- The same verb עָבַד is used of working the ground just before, in 2:5, “there was no man (adam) to work (avad) the ground (adamah)” (לַעֲבֹד אֶת־הָאֲדָמָה), and in 3:23, “to work (avad) the ground (adamah) from which he was taken.” A suffix on a verb is that verb’s object, so “to work it and to keep it” is the straightforward grammatical reading. שָׁמַר is used in 3:24, where the cherubim are stationed “to keep the way of the tree of life (chai)”: “keep, guard.”
- Problems
- The suffix is feminine, while גַּן is used elsewhere as masculine. So this reading must take גַּן as feminine here, or explain the suffix as pointing to the garden’s ground (אֲדָמָה, feminine — 2:5, 3:23). The text also does not say from what it is to be “kept.”
- Sources
- Most ancient and modern translations · many commentaries
② “To serve and to guard” — the language of the sanctuary
- Evidence
- The same two verbs are paired for the Levites’ work at the tabernacle: Num 3:7, “they shall keep his charge (mishmeret) … to serve (avad) the service (avodah) of the tabernacle (mishkan)” — וְשָׁמְרוּ … לַעֲבֹד (likewise 3:8). The cherubim guarding on the east (3:24) are linked with the cherubim of the later tabernacle and temple. So Eden is read as a sanctuary where God is present, and the man’s work as service. Gordon Wenham’s “Sanctuary Symbolism in the Garden of Eden Story” (1986) made this widely known.
- Problems
- In Numbers the objects of keeping and serving are written out — “charge, vessels, the service of the tabernacle” — but in 2:15 the object is only the suffix “it.” The same verb works the ground in 2:5 and 3:23, and the pairing of the two verbs alone does not establish a sense of worship. The text does not call the garden a sanctuary.
- Sources
- Gordon Wenham, “Sanctuary Symbolism in the Garden of Eden Story” (1986) · several modern commentaries
③ “To worship and to keep (the commandments)” — the suffix is not the garden
- Evidence
- Starting from the point that a feminine suffix does not fit גַּן, which can be masculine, it reads the two words as “serving (worship) and keeping (obedience).” It cites the fact that the very next verse (2:16) begins “and he commanded.” The Aramaic Targums (Neofiti, Pseudo-Jonathan) paraphrase the verse “to toil in the Torah and to keep its commandments,” and Genesis Rabbah (16:5) also links the two words with serving and keeping elsewhere in Scripture. In modern times John Sailhamer (The Pentateuch as Narrative, 1992) argued for this reading.
- Problems
- The mappiq in הּ makes it unmistakably the pronoun suffix “it” — reading it as abstract nouns like “worship, obedience” requires taking the form differently. And “to serve it” would make the garden the object of worship, which does not fit a text in which God alone is served. The Targums and the Midrash are interpretive paraphrases, not evidence for the meaning of the words.
- Sources
- Targum Neofiti · Targum Pseudo-Jonathan · Genesis Rabbah 16:5 · John Sailhamer (1992)
What the grammar states clearly is “לְ + two infinitives + a 3fs object suffix = to work it and to keep it.” How the gender of that “it” fits גַּן remains a fact of the form, to be read together with 2:5, 3:23 and 3:24, where the same verbs are used.