From Adam to Noah
Male and female He created them, and He blessed them. And in the day they were created, He called them “man.” Genesis 5:2 · Berean Standard Bible
You're seeing the deliberate equality of male and female in God's design, and His blessing over both—they share the same divine image and receive the same name 'man' (or 'humanity').
In ancient Near Eastern cultures, women often weren't valued equally, but Genesis insists from the beginning that both sexes bear God's likeness equally and are blessed by Him. This was countercultural then and matters now.
Moses, reflecting on the creation account from Genesis 1
This reinforces the dignity of humanity as God intended it—a foundation that will matter throughout Scripture as God works through men and women alike.
God created humanity as both male and female, blessed them equally, and gave them the singular name 'man'—emphasizing their shared humanity and shared dignity.
This verse deliberately echoes Genesis 1:27 and 1:28, the Priestly creation account, reinforcing the theological claim that sexual differentiation does not diminish the fundamental sameness of human nature or their mutual status as image-bearers. The singular designation 'man' (ha-adam in Hebrew) for both genders reflects the Hebrew understanding of collective humanity, though medieval Jewish commentators like Ibn Ezra wrestled with the apparent tension between plurality and singular naming.
The Priestly source (P), reflecting on the creation account's implications
This theological statement establishes the baseline from which all subsequent human genealogy proceeds: both genders participate equally in the imago Dei, a principle that undergirds the genealogies themselves, where women bear and produce the next generation while men's names structure the formal registry.
1This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, He made him in His own likeness.
2Male and female He created them, and He blessed them. And in the day they were created, He called them “man.”
3When Adam was 130 years old, he had a son in his own likeness, after his own image; and he named him Seth.
4And after he had become the father of Seth, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters.
Read all of Genesis 5 — A list of names that spans centuries. Between the lines: lifetimes of faith, loss, and waiting.
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