Charles Ellicott Commentary Genesis 2:5

"And no plant of the field was yet in the earth, and no herb of the field had yet sprung up; for Jehovah God had not caused it to rain upon the earth: and there was not a man to till the ground;" — Genesis 2:5 (ASV)

And every plant ... — The Authorized Version follows the Septuagint in translating this to mean simply that God created vegetation. The more correct rendering is, “There was no shrub of the field (no wild shrub) yet on the earth, and no herb of the field had yet sprung up.” The purpose of the writer is to prepare for the planting of the paradise, though geology teaches us the literal truth of his words.

When the earth was so hot that water existed only in the form of vapor, there could be no vegetation. Rain began on the second day; on the third, the vapors were so largely condensed that the waters formed seas, and on the same day, vegetation began to clothe the cool, dry surface of the ground. To understand these opening words, we must bear in mind that the object of the narrative at this point is not the formation of the world, but man’s relation to Jehovah, and thus the long stages of creation appear as merely one day’s work.