“And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.”
My Notes
What Does Genesis 2:23 Mean?
"And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man." Adam speaks his FIRST recorded words — and they're about EVE. The first human speech is a POEM about RELATIONSHIP. Adam doesn't name the animals first (he already did that, verse 19-20). His first recorded words celebrate the COMPANION God created: bone of MY bones. Flesh of MY flesh. The possessive pronouns are the passion. The recognition is the romance. The naming is the claiming.
The phrase "this is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh" (zot happa'am etzem me'atzamai uvasar mibbesari — this one, this time, bone from my bones and flesh from my flesh) is an EXCLAMATION of recognition: the 'this time' (happa'am) carries the weight of FINALLY — after naming every animal and finding no companion (verse 20), HERE AT LAST is the match. The 'bone of my bones' and 'flesh of my flesh' claim IDENTITY — she is MADE FROM me. She is MY substance. The recognition is both BIOLOGICAL (she comes from his body) and RELATIONAL (she belongs with him).
The "she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man" (le'ishah yiqqare ki me'ish luqqachah zot — Woman she shall be called because from Man she was taken) contains the Hebrew wordplay: ISHA (woman) from ISH (man). The name carries the ORIGIN. The title declares the SOURCE. The woman's name tells the story of where she came from. The naming is the HONORING — she is named for her origin in the man, just as the man was named for his origin in the earth (adam from adamah).
Reflection Questions
- 1.What has God brought you — after long searching — that produced the 'finally' recognition?
- 2.What does Adam's first recorded words being about RELATIONSHIP teach about human priority?
- 3.How does 'bone of my bones, flesh of my flesh' describe the deepest possible identity-claim?
- 4.What does the woman's NAME carrying the man's name (isha from ish) teach about origin embedded in identity?
Devotional
THIS ONE. FINALLY. Bone of MY bones. Flesh of MY flesh. Adam's first recorded words are a LOVE POEM — the recognition of the companion he'd been waiting for. After naming every animal and finding NO match, HERE SHE IS. The naming is the claiming. The recognition is the romance. The first human speech is about RELATIONSHIP.
The 'this is now' (zot happa'am — this one, THIS TIME) carries the weight of FINALLY: Adam named every animal (verse 19-20). None was a suitable helper. The search produced zero matches. And NOW — happa'am, THIS TIME — the match arrives. The 'this time' says: every previous candidate failed. THIS one succeeds. The exclamation is relief, recognition, and celebration all at once.
The 'bone of my bones, flesh of my flesh' is the deepest IDENTITY-CLAIM possible: not just 'she's like me.' She IS me. Bone FROM my bones. Flesh FROM my flesh. The woman is made from the man's OWN SUBSTANCE. The recognition isn't observation ('she looks similar'). It's IDENTIFICATION ('she IS my material'). The claim is as physical as it is relational. The biology carries the theology.
The ISHA/ISH wordplay (Woman/Man) embeds the ORIGIN in the NAME: the woman is called 'isha' BECAUSE she came from 'ish.' The name tells the story. The title declares the source. Every time the word 'woman' is spoken in Hebrew, the word 'man' is INSIDE it. The linguistic relationship mirrors the biological one. The name carries the connection.
What has God brought to you — after long searching — that produced the 'THIS ONE, FINALLY' recognition?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
And Adam said, this is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh,.... Of "his bones", because made out of a pair of…
Whether the primeval man was conscious of the change in himself, and of the work of the Supreme Being while it was going…
Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, etc. - There is a very delicate and expressive meaning in the original which…
Here we have, I. The making of the woman, to be a help-meet for Adam. This was done upon the sixth day, as was also the…
This is now, &c. The exclamation of joy and wonder is expressed in the rhythmical language of poetry. It is as if the…
Cross References
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