Genesis 2:15-25

Man was given a task, and clear instructions, this included one limit on what he could not do, he was not allowed to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Ever since man has been trying to work out good and evil for himself, instead of relying on God's knowledge. People always complain that God wants to restrict man's freedom, but the truth is that God gives man great freedom. Adam was free to eat from any tree, except one. As an aside, the nature of the writing here seems to be more consistent with an allegorical tale.

We now come to the creation of woman. Interestingly, this is the only account of the creating of woman in ancient Near Eastern literature. God's intention was to give man a suitable helper. God brought all the animals to Adam to name, implying that he was to have authority over them. So Adam named all the animals and birds.

None of these proved to be a suitable helper for Adam. So God created woman. She was made out of the same "stuff" as Adam, so is equal, but different. Adam found a true soul mate. Men and women are meant to live together in harmony. They are meant to form a new "unit" independent from their parents. Moreover, they were naked but not ashamed, ie they were completely comfortable in each other's presence. The fall has led to the potential loss of all these things.