The Tree-covered Plain in Eden (Genesis 2:4-24).
‘In the day that the Lord God made earth and heavens, when no plant (siach) of the field was yet in the earth, and no herb (‘eseb) of the field had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no man to serve the ground, there used to come up a mist from the earth which watered the whole face of the ground, and the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being.'
Note carefully that this is not another account of creation, rather it proceeds on the basis that creation has already taken place. What is now lacking is cultivated plants, (because there is no one to cultivate them), and rain. Thses are missing together with the creation of the one who is to be the cultivator and general controller of His creation. So God now acts to create a cultivator, Man, and set him over all His creation.
The word ‘yom' translated ‘day' can also mean an appointed time or a period of time. This activity is not therefore restricted to a day. The plants and herbs ‘of the field' refer to ‘cultivated plants' (see Genesis 3:18 where fallen man will eat ‘the herb (‘eseb) of the field' grown amidst thorns and thistles, thus defining in context the meaning of the phrase), and the point is that at this stage there were no such cultivated plants, ‘cultivated' here meaning simply that man's labour contributed something towards their growth.
“Earth and heavens.” Note the order here, which contrasts with Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 2:4 a, and connects with what immediately follows - ‘no plant -- in the earth' and ‘not caused it to rain' (from the heavens).
There is probably intended to be little difference between the two descriptions ‘plant' and ‘herb', which are really mainly interchangeable, and the meaning here may well be ‘cultivated plants of different types'.
Others, however, see it as referring to ‘weeds and cultivated plants', both of which are largely dependent on rain (the word siach is rare occurring elsewhere in Genesis 21:15; Job 30:4; Job 30:7 where it means desert scrub). In that case we have a situation where there were neither weeds nor cultivated plants. This then has in mind the fact that the account will end with both present as a result of man's fall. This introductory statement is then preparing for all that is to follow.
The twofold description of plant and herb is intended to parallel the twofold answer of rain and man for rhythmic reasons. The reasons that there are no cultivated plants are stated to be, firstly because there was no rain, and secondly because there was no man to ‘work' or ‘cultivate' the ground. This may be a glance forward to after the fall, for the main meaning of the verb is to ‘serve', and it is only when man has fallen that he has to ‘serve' the ground. The idea here may alternatively be that man serves the ground by irrigating it.
It should be noted that this is not a creation story. There is no mention of the creation of the heavens, of the heavenly bodies, of fish or of general vegetation. It is concerned rather with God's specific provision for the first man. Man is central to the account.
The first sentence refers back to Genesis 1:1 to Genesis 2:4 a and may be a connecting link at the top of the tablet, but in the narrative as a whole it is an integral part of the phrase ‘these are the histories of the heavens and the earth in the day that Yahweh Elohim created the earth and the heavens' (compare the similarity with Genesis 5:1) making the two accounts one whole.
The passage goes on to point out that there is a lack of cultivated plants (not a lack of vegetation), having very much in mind what is to happen. This agrees with the former passage where all vegetation was previously self producing. The lack of cultivated plants is mentioned here because the writer is introducing a situation which is looking ahead to the later covenant, which is the main reason for the account in the first place. Then man will have to work the ground and produce ‘the herb of the field', plants he has to labour over, because he has been sentenced by God. The writer is at this stage very much aware of the consequences of the fall.
This lack of rain would then naturally raise the question as to how, if there was no rain, any vegetation at all was able to grow. His reply is that it was because a ‘mist' or ‘ground water' or ‘rising river' or some other water source arises constantly from the earth and waters the ground. The meaning of the word ‘ed' is uncertain and LXX translates ‘fountain', for it is clearly some water source. The Akkadian edu means a flood or the overflow of a river. Sumerian ‘id' means a subterranean, fresh-water river. It occurs in Job 36:27 where it probably means cloud, vapour or mist (‘He draws up the drops of water which distil in rain from his ed').
Thus, contrary to some, the earth was not a dry and barren waste at this stage. The coming of rain would, in fact, be a mixed blessing. Man would then be dependent on the vagaries of the weather rather than on a constant supply. Note that the idea of rain watering the ground looks beyond Eden. In Eden there is plentiful water from the great River.
The writer now immediately moves on to the focus of his whole account, which is the creation of man, and God's provision for him. Thus he will go on to depict God's provision for him of fruitful trees in a chosen place, of abounding water, of animals to provide companionship of a kind, and, finally, of the one who was to be his suitable companion, and the precursor of the fall. Each is introduced as it becomes necessary for his story, but the ideas are not chronological. See as evidence of this Genesis 2:8-9 where God ‘plants a garden', ‘puts man in it', then ‘causes to grow' the abundant trees, then Genesis 2:15 where it is again stated that He puts man in it (Genesis 2:15). This kind of repetition is found continually in Genesis. It was intended to reinforce the basic ideas to the listener. Clearly the ‘causing to grow' parallels ‘planted', and the writer hardly conceives of the man as having to wait for the trees to grow. The trees were ‘caused to grow' before the man was placed there.
Note that there is no mention of God producing general vegetation, or indeed as producing plants of the field. The concern is not with the creation of the world, but with the place and provision provided for the man.