Genesis 2:23

Genesis 2:23, in plain English

When Adam sees her, he cries out with joy and recognition: 'This is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. She will be called woman because she comes from man.' His response shows wonder and belonging.

Why it's here

Adam's words overflow with recognition and delight. He sees her and knows—she's my kind, she's my completion. The Hebrew words here are 'ish' (man) and 'ishshah' (woman), showing they share identity and nature. His joy isn't possessive; it's celebratory.

Who's speaking

Adam, responding to the gift of woman

Where it sits in the story

This is humanity's first love song. Not mushy or sentimental, but real—a recognition of deep connection, equality, and belonging. This is what God created humans for: to see each other and say, 'You are mine, and I am yours.'

The scholarly reading

The human responds to the presentation of the woman with recognition and joyful exclamation, establishing her as his own kind—bone of his bones, flesh of his flesh.

Language and setting

The Hebrew phrase עֶצֶם מֵעֲצָמַי וּבָשָׂר מִבְּשָׂרִי (literally 'bone from my bones and flesh from my flesh') uses a particularizing construction that emphasizes specific, unique connection rather than generic similarity. The Aramaic Targum Onkelos adds the phrase 'This is now at the present time'—marking this moment as a distinct turning point. The human's response constitutes a recognition and acceptance; he names the newly-created creature 'woman' (אִשָּׁה—isha), deriving it from the masculine form אִישׁ (ish—'man'), establishing linguistic connection and distinction simultaneously.

Voice

The human (Adam), speaking with joy and recognition

Significance

This is humanity's first spoken response recorded in Scripture—and it is joy at encountering another like himself. The naming of the woman by the man parallels his naming of animals, but with crucial difference: this naming acknowledges kinship rather than dominion. This moment inaugurates human relationality.

21So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep, and while he slept, He took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the area with flesh.

22And from the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man, He made a woman and brought her to him.

23And the man said: “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for out of man she was taken.”

24For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.

25And the man and his wife were both naked, and they were not ashamed.

Read all of Genesis 2 — A river, two trees, and the first breath of life. Humanity's story begins not in a city but in a garden.