Genesis 2:23

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 his ribs, as some think, one on each side, and therefore expressed in the plural

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. This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh. [ hapa`am (H6471)], this time, is emphatic (cf.

And Adam said. Quest. How knew he this? Answ. Either, 1. By his own observation; for though it be said that he was asleep till the rib was taken out and restored, yet he might awake as soon as ever that was done, the reason of his sleep ceasing, and so might see the making of the woman. Or, 2. By the revelation of God, who put these words into Adam’ s mouth, to whom therefore these words of Adam are ascribed, . This is now; or, for this time the woman is made of my bones, &c.; but for the time to come the woman as well as the man shall be produced another way, to wit, by generation. Made of my rib and flesh; i.e. God hath provided me a meet help and wife, not out of the brute creatures, but nearer hand, a part of my own body, and of the same nature with myself.

Genesis 2:23 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.Ver. 23. This is now bone of my bone.] This sentence, saith Tertullian, and, after him, Beda, is the first prophecy that was ever uttered in the world. And it is uttered in a way of admiration, which they that are taken with, do commonly use a concise kind of speech; especially if overjoyed, as Adam here was upon the first sight of the woman; whom he no sooner saw but knew, and thereupon cried out as wondering at God’ s goodness to himself, "This now is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh." Luther, the night before he died, was reasonably well, and sat with his friends at table. The matter of their discourse was, whether they should know one another in heaven, or not. Luther held it affirmatively, and this was one reason he gave: Adam as soon as he saw Eve, knew what she was, not by discourse, but by divine revelation; so shall we in the life to come. All the saints shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, having communion with them, not only as godly men, but as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And if with them, why not with others? Chrysostom saith, we shall point them out, and say, Lo, yonder is Peter, and that’ s Paul, and there are the prophets, apostles, &c. She shall be called woman.] Or maness, of man; as Ishah of Ish. He gave her her name from his own, by taking away one numeral letter that stands for ten, and adding another that stands for five; to note her infirmity, and duty of submitting to her husband, whose very naming of her notes her subjection. Melch. Adam. Iδου, ο Pετρος, καιο Pαυλος

(23) This is now.—Literally, this stroke, or beat of the foot in keeping time. It means, therefore, this time, or colloquially, at last. Adam had long studied the natural world, and while, with their confidence as yet unmarred by human cruelty, they came to his call, grew tame, and joined his company, he found none that answered to his wants, and replied to him with articulate speech. At last, on waking from his trance, he found one standing by him in whom he recognised a second self, and he welcomed her joyfully, and exclaimed, “This at last is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh:” that is, she is man’s counterpart, not merely in feeling and sense—his flesh—but in his solid qualities. In several of the Semitic dialects bone is used for self. Thus, in the Jerusalem Lectionary (ed. Miniscalchi, Verona, 1861) we read: “I will manifest my bone unto him” (John 14:21), that is, myself; and again, “I have power to lay it down of my bone” (John 10:18), that is, of myself. So, too, in Hebrew, “In the selfsame day” is “in the bone of this day” (Genesis 7:13). Thus bone of my bones means “my very own self,” while flesh of my flesh adds the more tender and gentle qualities. She shall be called Woman (Ishah), because she was taken out of Man (Ish).—Adam, who knew that he was an Ish (see Excursus at end of this book), called the woman a “female Ish.” The words of our Version, man and woman (perhaps womb-man), represent with sufficient accuracy the relation of the words in the original.

Verse 23. Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, c.] There is a very delicate and expressive meaning in the original which does not appear in our version. When the different genera of creatures were brought to Adam, that he might assign them their proper names, it is probable that they passed in pairs before him, and as they passed received their names. To this circumstance the words in this place seem to refer. Instead of this now is זאת הפאם zoth happaam, we should render more literally this turn, this creature, which now passes or appears before me, is flesh of my flesh, c. The creatures that had passed already before him were not suitable to him, and therefore it was said, For Adam there was not a help meet found, Genesis 2:20 but when the woman came, formed out of himself, he felt all that attraction which consanguinity could produce, and at the same time saw that she was in her person and in her mind every way suitable to be his companion. See Parkhurst, sub voce. She shall be called Woman] A literal version of the Hebrew would appear strange, and yet a literal version is the only proper one. איש ish signifies man, and the word used to express what we term woman is the same with a feminine termination, אשה ishshah, and literally means she-man. Most of the ancient versions have felt the force of the term, and have endeavoured to express it as literally as possible. The intelligent reader will not regret to see some of them here. The Vulgate Latin renders the Hebrew virago, which is a feminine form of vir, a man. Symmachus uses ανδρις, andris, a female form of ανηρ, aner, a man. Our own term is equally proper when understood. Woman has been defined by many as compounded of wo and man, as if called man's wo because she tempted him to eat the forbidden fruit but this is no meaning of the original word, nor could it be intended, as the transgression was not then committed. The truth is, our term is a proper and literal translation of the original, and we may thank the discernment of our Anglo-Saxon ancestors for giving it. [A.S.], of which woman is a contraction, means the man with the womb. A very appropriate version of the Hebrew אשה ishshah, rendered by terms which signify she-man, in the versions already specified. Hence we see the propriety of Adam's observation: This creature is flesh of my flesh, and bone of my bones; therefore shall she be called WOMB-MAN, or female man, because she was taken out of man. See Verstegan. Others derive it from [A.S.] or [A.S.], man's wife or she-man. Either may be proper, the first seems the most likely.

23. This is now, &c.] The exclamation of joy and wonder is expressed in the rhythmical language of poetry. It is as if the man, after passing in review the animals, recognizes instantaneously in woman the fulfilment of his hope. “This is now” is equivalent to “here at last”; the German “Diese endlich.” bone of my bones] A strong metaphorical phrase to denote that the woman is different from all the animals, and is absolutely one with the man. For similar expressions used of near relationship, compare Genesis 29:14, Genesis 37:27; Judges 9:2; 2 Samuel 5:1; 2 Samuel 19:12-13; 1 Chronicles 11:1. This proverbial expression may have furnished the symbolism of the story. she shall be called, &c.] The marg. by pointing out that the Hebrew for “woman” is Isshah, and for “man” Ish, shews the resemblance in the sound of the two words. This is fairly reproduced in the English words “Woman” and “Man”; and in Luther’s rendering “Männin” and “Mann.” The LXX is unable to reproduce it. The Latin attempts it with questionable success, haec vocabitur virago, quoniam de viro sumpta est. Instead of “from man.” mê-ish. LXX and Targ. read “from her husband” = mê-ishâh, which adds to the resemblance in sound. As a matter of philology the derivation is inaccurate. Probably Isshah is derived from a different root, anash. But nearly all these popular derivations of words prove to be inaccurate when judged by scientific etymology. They are based upon the assonance, or obvious resemblance in sound; and this, while it cannot fail to catch the ear and cling to the recollection of the people, is notoriously to be distrusted for supplying the real derivation.

Whether the primeval man was conscious of the change in himself, and of the work of the Supreme Being while it was going on, or received supernatural information of the event when he awoke, does not appear.

23. This is now bone — Hebrews, This — the time — bone of my bones, etc. äôòí, the time, is here equivalent to the adverb now. Comp. Genesis 30:20.