And 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.”
Parallel translations
- WEB The man said, “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh. She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken out of Man.”
- KJV 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.
- NKJV 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.”
- NASB Then the man said, “At last this is bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called ‘woman,’ Because she was taken out of man.”
- NLT “At last!” the man exclaimed. “This one is bone from my bone, and flesh from my flesh! She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken from ‘man.’”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The man joyfully recognizes the woman as bone of his bones and flesh of his flesh. He welcomes her as his fitting and equal partner.
Overview
The man bursts into the first recorded human words, celebrating the woman as 'bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh,' and names her 'woman' because she was taken out of man. His poetic response expresses delight, kinship, and the deep correspondence between them. This recognition of shared nature affirms the equal dignity of man and woman as bearers of God's image.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Eph 5:28–30In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
- 1 Cor 11:8–9For man did not come from woman, but woman from man.
- 2 Sam 5:1Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, “Here we are, your own flesh and blood.
- Gen 29:14Then Laban declared, “You are indeed my own flesh and blood.” After Jacob had stayed with him a month,
- Judg 9:2“Please ask all the leaders of Shechem, ‘Is it better for you that seventy men, all the sons of Jerubbaal, rule over you, or just one man?’ Remember that I am your own flesh and blood.”
- 2 Sam 19:13And say to Amasa, ‘Aren’t you my flesh and blood? May God punish me, and ever so severely, if from this time you are not the commander of my army in place of Joab!’”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Lay
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Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 2:23 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.