Verse

Genesis 2:3

ESV So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.
NIV Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
NASB Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because on it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.
CSB God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, for on it he rested from all his work of creation.
NLT And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation.
KJV And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
NKJV Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.

What does Genesis 2:3 mean?

The previous verse described God accomplishing His work of creation in six days. After this, on the seventh day, God rested from work. Here, in verse 3, God does two things: He blesses the seventh day, and He makes it holy.

What does it mean to bless a day? In chapter 1, God's blessing was tied to the fertility of His creation, to reproduction and populating the earth. This blessing of the seventh day is less clear. In the future, under the Law, God would bless Israel for observing the seventh day rest. He would demonstrate His ability to provide for His people even when they sat out a day of work each week.

God also makes the seventh day holy or "set apart" from the other six days. Even before sin entered into the world, God intended from the very beginning for the seventh day to be a special day dedicated to rest. It's the pattern He set for the world beginning in this verse.
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