Genesis 2:20

18 And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; ^aI will make him a helper comparable to him.”

19 ^aOut of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and ^bbrought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name.

20 So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him.

21 And the Lord God caused a ^adeep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place.

22 Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He¹ made into a woman, ^aand He ^bbrought her to the man.

23 And Adam said:
“This is now ^abone of my bones
And flesh of my flesh;
She shall be called¹ Woman,
Because she was ^btaken out of Man.”

24 ^aTherefore a man shall leave his father and mother and ^bbe joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

25 ^aAnd they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ^bashamed.

Commentaries:

Forerunner Commentary
What is the Forerunner Commentary?

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What Does Genesis 2:20 Mean?

Genesis 2:18-20

Within the covenant, the blessing of the establishment of marriage is preceded by God preparing Adam's mind for his need for a companion suitable to him. This was no casual activity. It involved a display of the intellectual powers that God gave to Adam. God undoubtedly caused animals or groups of animals to gather for Adam to observe, study, and classify, to see what he would call them.

In giving each animal group its name, Adam demonstrated his right as God's human regent. He was given dominion over the animals, and he used that authority. Furthermore, it appears that the names Adam gave them “stuck.” They did so because he demonstrated good insight into their characteristics, and his descendants later used the names he initially gave the animals.

This exercise demonstrated to Adam that there was no one like him in the animal world. No animal was created in the image of God. If he had chosen one of them, communication and all it entails would necessarily have had to remain at the animal's level. He was now better prepared for God's gift of Eve.

John W. Ritenbaugh
Leadership and Covenants (Part Five)

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What Does Genesis 2:20 Mean?

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