Reexamine Genesis 2:15

[Reimagine Curator]

Genesis 2:15 in the English Standard Version (ESV) reads: "The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it."

The Bible’s first job description is avad— the garden word in Genesis 2:15.

We translate it “work” or “till,” but at its root it means “serve.”

In Hebrew you can’t just serve in general. You serve someone in particular.

You serve the ground, you serve Pharaoh, you serve the LORD. Israel walked out of avodah under Pharaoh into avodahbefore God: same word, same sweat, different Lord. Which is why idolatry is avodah zarah — strange service. Worship misdirected, not worship missing.

Leonard Sweet