Genesis 2:6
ESV
and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground —
NIV
but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground.
NASB
But a mist used to rise from the earth and water the whole surface of the ground.
CSB
But mist would come up from the earth and water all the ground.
NLT
Instead, springs came up from the ground and watered all the land.
KJV
But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.
NKJV
but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground.
What does Genesis 2:6 mean?
The previous verse described the earth as lacking cultivated crops. At that point, there was no one to work the ground and no rain. This verse tells us how the garden got its water with no rain: mists or streams came up from the ground. The impression is of underground streams, the so-called "fresh water ocean," which would saturate the land, perhaps on a cyclical basis. This fits the description of upcoming verses of the rivers that water the Garden of Eden and the region around it. It also fits with the farming practices of the Mesopotamian region that relied on cyclical flooding to sustain crops.As we saw in chapter 1, God had prepared a world in which humans could grow and gather food before He even made man. Likewise, He had made a world in which humans were needed to care for all He had made and help to bring order to it.
