And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.
What does Genesis 2:20 mean?
Power over the creatures was given to man, and as a proof of this he named them all. It also shows his insight into the works of God.
Key themes
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Keep this verse inside Genesis 2:18-20 and alongside a few nearby related passages.
Commentary on Genesis 2:20
We find, however, there was another end served by this review of the animals. "There was not found a helpmeet for the man" - an equal, a companion, a sharer of his thoughts, his observations, his joys, his purposes, his enterprises. It was now evident, from actual survey, that none of these animals, not even the serpent, was possessed of reason, of moral and intellectual ideas, of the faculties of abstracting and naming, of the capacities of rational fellowship or worship. They might be ministers to his purposes, but not helpers meet for him.
Key words
- names
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And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowls of the air, and to every beast of the field,.
- cattle
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And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowls of the air, and to every beast of the field,.
- every
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And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowls of the air, and to every beast of the field,.
Context in Genesis 2
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Genesis 2 belongs to the early movement of the book, especially the section often described as primeval history from creation to Babel. Genesis opens the whole Bible with creation, fall, flood, Babel, and the long patriarchal story that carries the reader from Eden to Egypt. Read this chapter with the wider themes of creation, fall, and covenant in view so the individual verses keep their proper weight.
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A collection of passages on hope under pressure, future inheritance, resurrection expectation, and confidence in God’s final faithfulness.