Genesis 2:16

16 And God commanded to him and said, Eat thou of each tree of paradise; (And God commanded to him and said, Thou can eat of every tree in the garden;)

Genesis 2:16 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 2:16

And the Lord God commanded the man
Over whom he had power and authority; and he had a right to command him what he pleased, being his Creator, benefactor, and preserver; and this is to be understood not of man only, but of the woman also, whose creation, though related afterwards, yet was before this grant to eat of all the trees of the garden but one, and the prohibition of the fruit of that; for that she was in being, and present at this time, seems manifest from ( Genesis 3:2 Genesis 3:3 ) saying, of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
a very generous, large, and liberal allowance this: or "in eating thou mayest eat" ^F25; which was giving full power, and leaving them without any doubt and uncertainty about their food; which they might freely take, and freely eat of, wherever they found it, or were inclined to, even of any, and every tree in the garden, excepting one, next forbidden.

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FOOTNOTES:

F25 (lkat lka) "comedendo comedas", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus, Drusius

Genesis 2:16 In-Context

14 forsooth the name of the third river is Tigris, that goeth against Assyrians (which floweth east of Assyria); soothly the fourth river is that Euphrates.

15 Therefore the Lord God took man, and set him in (the) paradise of liking, that he should work and keep it. (And so the Lord God took the man, and put him in the Garden of Eden, so that he would work it, and care for it.)

16 And God commanded to him and said, Eat thou of each tree of paradise; (And God commanded to him and said, Thou can eat of every tree in the garden;)

17 forsooth eat thou not of the tree of knowing of good and of evil; for in whatever day thou shalt eat thereof, thou shalt die by death. (but thou shalt not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; for on the day that thou shalt eat of it, thou shalt die.)

18 And the Lord God said, It is not good that a man be alone; make we to him an helper like to himself (let us make for him a helper like himself).