The following translation is very literal, word for word, in order to better understand the comments that refer to the original text, analyzing each term. It should be noted especially throughout this passage that the word ‘adam refers to the living being that was modelled from the earth, which is ‘adamah in Hebrew. This will be very important for Christian commentators because, starting with St. Paul, there will be talk of earthly man, attracted by earthly realities, who will be called to seek heavenly realities, following Christ, whom St. Paul calls the last Adam: “The first man, Adam, became a living soul; the last Adam—Christ—a life-giving spirit “ (1 Corinthians 15:45). It is therefore a question of every human being being transformed into a new man, a new ‘adam who allows himself to be led by the Spirit of God towards the things above. ”But the spiritual was not first; rather the one with the soul and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, earthly; the second man, from heaven. As was the earthly one, so also are the earthly, and as is the heavenly one, so also are the heavenly. Just as we have borne the image of the earthly one, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly one.» (1 Corinthians 15:46-49).
We must not forget, therefore, that this is a prophetic text, which manifests the eternal word of God and that this text already contains the entire history of humanity that God contemplates simultaneously in his eternity.
This is why the Fathers of the Church already saw announced in this text the work of Christ, the last ‘Adam’, who gives birth to a new humanity: a human soul who allows himself to be guided by the Spirit of God in search of heavenly realities. Thus, Jesus on the cross addresses his mother, Mary, calling her “woman,” because, following Mary’s example of faith in God, a new humanity will be born by receiving life from the open side of Christ.
This is why it is important to preserve the particularity of this text in the translation of the original text, because the word “adam” is preceded by the article. Thus, when we read “the ‘adam,” we can think of the entire history of the human being who, starting from the earthly reality in which he was born, will be raised by Christ, the last ’adam,’ to contemplate the heavenly realities. Thus, when Jesus on the cross says, “Woman,” he is addressing the whole humanity, which is called to form a new family of brothers and sisters, because each and every one of us is born to a new life thanks to Christ, who led human beings, the ‘adam, to rediscover filial trust in God, following the example of Mary. The simple human being, as says the scripture is animated by the soul which guides all his instincts of survival, but if this soul follows the inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God, if the soul allows itself to be guided by the Spirit in trust, than the human being becomes a spiritual being which seeks the eternal realities of heaven, a celestial being as explains saint Paul.
Indeed, Jesus announces this new family in which we can be born again through faith, that is, by entering into a filial relationship with God. Thus Jesus says: “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers? Then, stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.’” (Matthew 12:48-50).
Thus, the open side of Jesus on the cross becomes the sign of his life offered so that human beings may regain confidence in God’s benevolence and forgiveness and call him Father. Having accomplished this, Jesus can now address humanity, he can call it “woman,” and signify thus that each and every one can thus become a brother or sister to one another.
These are the last words of Jesus on the cross, signifying that he has fulfilled God’s original plan to give life to one people of brothers and sisters, to one family: “Jesus, seeing his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing near her, said to his mother, ‘Woman, here is your son.’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’”
Jesus uses the word woman as in the book of Genesis to refer to the one who will be the mother of all the living, that is, of those who live the fullness of life as children of God, in complete trust in the Father. We can therefore see in the woman the fulfillment of the work entrusted to her by the Creator, which is to give birth to faith, that is, to bring forth believers through the example of her own faith and her own trust in God. Thus, St. Paul himself can say: “My children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you ” (Galatians 4:19).
This woman who gives birth in pain is therefore an image of the Church, that is, of the assembly of those who are called to live as brothers and sisters and who, with confidence in the eternal life offered by God, are ready to give their lives for those they love. In this way, they show that it is the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of God, who animates them, the Spirit of love who is victorious over death. And St. John recounts in the book of Revelation the vision he had of this eternal reality: “A great sign appeared in the sky: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth” (Revelation 12:1-2).
Offering one’s own life for love towards your neighbour, is compared to giving birth, because this gift of love received by someone will generate gratitude and love in the one who receives it and transform him. Humanity needs the proof of the total gratuity of love, in order to believe that this love is possible. Then, feeling beloved despite all of its imperfections, it will be filled with love in return, too.
Here, then, is what we can glimpse in the very literal translation “the ‘adam’, this human being who, with the help of the ”woman,” will be led from his earthly reality to contemplate the heavenly reality of God’s love. He will thus be begotten to a new life, he will be born again to the life of a child of God. And God will make himself ´adam, “son of man,” as he uses to say, in order to lead us, through him, by the gift of his life, to the Father.
In summary: the open side of ‘adam foreshadows the open, pierced side of Christ on the cross. It signifies the gift of divine life to humanity, to woman. This divine life is that of the Spirit of love: there is no greater love than to give one’s life for those one loves. The one who allows himself to be guided by this Spirit becomes a spiritual being following Christ, a new human being, a new ‘adam. In this new heavenly life, we are all brothers and sisters because a single spirit of love gives life to everyone.
וַיִּקַּ֛ח יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהִ֖ים אֶת־הָֽאָדָ֑ם וַיַּנִּחֵ֣הוּ בְגַן־עֵ֔דֶן לְעָבְדָ֖הּ וּלְשָׁמְרָֽהּ׃
15 And the Lord God took the man [‘adam] and let him in the garden of Eden to work it and to keep it.
וַיְצַו֙ יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהִ֔ים עַל־הָֽאָדָ֖ם לֵאמֹ֑ר מִכֹּ֥ל עֵֽץ־הַגָּ֖ן אָכֹ֥ל תֹּאכֵֽל׃
16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden eat you will eat
וּמֵעֵ֗ץ הַדַּ֙עַת֙ טֹ֣וב וָרָ֔ע לֹ֥א תֹאכַ֖ל מִמֶּ֑נּוּ כִּ֗י בְּיֹ֛ום אֲכָלְךָ֥ מִמֶּ֖נּוּ מֹ֥ות תָּמֽוּת׃
17 And from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you will not eat from it: for in the day of your eating from it die you will die.”
וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהִ֔ים לֹא־טֹ֛וב הֱיֹ֥ות הָֽאָדָ֖ם לְבַדֹּ֑ו אֶֽעֱשֶׂהּ־לֹּ֥ו עֵ֖זֶר כְּנֶגְדֹּֽו׃
18 And the Lord God said, “It is not good for Adam to be alone. I will make him a helper as in front of him.”
וַיִּצֶר֩ יְהוָ֨ה אֱלֹהִ֜ים מִן־הָֽאֲדָמָ֗ה כָּל־חַיַּ֤ת הַשָּׂדֶה֙ וְאֵת֙ כָּל־עֹ֣וף הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וַיָּבֵא֙ אֶל־הָ֣אָדָ֔ם לִרְאֹ֖ות מַה־יִּקְרָא־לֹ֑ו וְכֹל֩ אֲשֶׁ֨ר יִקְרָא־לֹ֧ו הָֽאָדָ֛ם נֶ֥פֶשׁ חַיָּ֖ה ה֥וּא שְׁמֹֽו׃
19 And the Lord God modeled out of the ground [‘adamah] every living of the field and every bird of the skies, and he led them to Adam to see what he would call them; and whatever Adam called living soul (nephesh hayyah) that was its name.
soul (nephesh): naphash is the root that refers to the breath that animates every living being. Some Jewish exegetes say that God brought the animals to Adam to see if he would give them the right names, according to the language He had taught him. Others draw attention to the nature of the name and the fact that each name is a breath of life, a living soul, since it is through the word that God creates the world.
וַיִּקְרָ֨א הָֽאָדָ֜ם שֵׁמֹ֗ות לְכָל־הַבְּהֵמָה֙ וּלְעֹ֣וף הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וּלְכֹ֖ל חַיַּ֣ת הַשָּׂדֶ֑ה וּלְאָדָ֕ם לֹֽא־מָצָ֥א עֵ֖זֶר כְּנֶגְדֹּֽו׃
20 And Adam gave names to all the beasts and to the birds of the skies and to every living of the field, but for Adam he found no helper as in front of him [kenegdo].
The word neged in Hebrew means in front of, before, opposite, and also against. So, Adam finds no helper who can stand in front of him, facing him, but this presence that he can confront can also be contrary to him.
וַיַּפֵּל֩ יְהוָ֨ה אֱלֹהִ֧ים ׀ תַּרְדֵּמָ֛ה עַל־הָאָדָ֖ם וַיִּישָׁ֑ן וַיִּקַּ֗ח אַחַת֙ מִצַּלְעֹתָ֔יו וַיִּסְגֹּ֥ר בָּשָׂ֖ר תַּחְתֶּֽנָּה׃
21 And the Lord God caused a deep sleep [tardemah] to fall upon Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh underneath it.
וַיִּבֶן֩ יְהוָ֨ה אֱלֹהִ֧ים ׀ אֶֽת־הַצֵּלָ֛ע אֲשֶׁר־לָקַ֥ח מִן־הָֽאָדָ֖ם לְאִשָּׁ֑ה וַיְבִאֶ֖הָ אֶל־הָֽאָדָֽם׃
22 And the Lord God built the rib, which he had taken from Adam, into a woman [‘isha], and led her to Adam.
וַיֹּאמֶר֮ הָֽאָדָם֒ זֹ֣את הַפַּ֗עַם עֶ֚צֶם מֵֽעֲצָמַ֔י וּבָשָׂ֖ר מִבְּשָׂרִ֑י לְזֹאת֙ יִקָּרֵ֣א אִשָּׁ֔ה כִּ֥י מֵאִ֖ישׁ לֻֽקֳחָה־זֹּֽאת׃
23 And Adam said, “This time, it is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh, therefore she shall be called ‘woman’ [‘isha], for she was taken out of man [‘ish].”
עַל־כֵּן֙ יַֽעֲזָב־אִ֔ישׁ אֶת־אָבִ֖יו וְאֶת־אִמֹּ֑ו וְדָבַ֣ק בְּאִשְׁתֹּ֔ו וְהָי֖וּ לְבָשָׂ֥ר אֶחָֽד׃
24 Therefore shall a man [‘ish] leave his father and his mother, and cleave unto his wife [be’ishto], and they shall be one flesh.
וַיִּֽהְיוּ שְׁנֵיהֶם עֲרוּמִּים הָֽאָדָם וְאִשְׁתֹּ֑ו וְלֹ֖א יִתְבֹּשָֽׁשׁוּ׃
25 And the two, Adam and his woman, were naked, and they were not ashamed.
Saint Augustine, On the Gospel of Saint John, Treatise 9, 10
Dormit Adam ut fiat Eva: moritur Christus ut fiat Ecclesia. Dormienti Adae fit Eva de latere: mortuo Christo lancea percutitur latus, ut profluant sacramenta, quibus formetur Ecclesia. Cui non appareat quia in illis tunc factis futura figurata sunt, quandoquidem dicit Apostolus ipsum Adam formam futuri esse? Qui est, inquit, forma futuri.
Adam sleeps so that Eve may be made, Christ dies so that the Church may be made. Eve was made from the side of the sleeping Adam, Christ died, his side was pierced with a lance, so that the sacraments, by which the Church is formed, might flow forth. To whom does it not appear why these things of the past are a figure of things to come, when the Apostle says that this same Adam is the form of the future? (St. Paul, Epistle to the Romans 5:14).
Augustine, On the Gospel of Saint John, Treatise 15, 8
8. Sub hac rerum imagine Adam qui erat forma futuri, praebuit nobis magnum indicium sacramenti; imo Deus in illo praebuit. Nam et dormiens meruit accipere uxorem, et de costa eius facta est ei uxor: quoniam de Christo in cruce dormiente futura erat Ecclesia de latere eius, de latere scilicet dormientis; quia et de latere in cruce pendentis lancea percusso sacramenta Ecclesiae profluxerunt. Sed quare hoc dicere volui, fratres? Quia infirmitas Christi nos facit fortes.
Under the image of these things, Adam, who was a form of the future, presents us with a great clue to the sacrament, or rather, it is God who has presented it to us in him. For it was while he slept that he merited to receive a spouse, and it was from his side that a spouse was made for him. Since it was from the side of Christ sleeping on the cross that the Church would come forth, that is, from the side of the one who sleeps. Since it was from the side of the one who was hanging on a cross, pierced by a spear, that the sacraments of the Church flowed forth. But why, brothers, did I want to tell you this? Because the weakness of Christ makes us strong (Romans 5:14).
Ambrose, Treatise on the Gospel of Luke 2, pp. 86-89 on Luke 3:21-24, the baptism of Christ.
Docuit etiam quia et mulierem fecit Deus: Immisit enim Deus soporem in Adam, et dormivit, et sumpsit unam costam de latere eius, et replevit carnem eius: et aedificavit Dominus Deus costam quam sumpsit ab Adam, in mulierem (Gen. 2, 21 et 22). Non frustra, ut dixi, corporalibus quibusdam manibus circa Adam et Evam Moyses Deum inducit operantem. Mundum Deus fieri iussit, et factus est, et uno verbo opus mundi Scriptura indicat absolutum: ad hominem venitur, et manus ipsas quodammodo studuit tibi Propheta Dei laborantis ostendere [Psal. 140, 5].
[Moses] also taught that God made the woman as well: he caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he fell asleep and he took one of his ribs from his side and filled it with flesh; and the Lord God built the rib that he had taken from Adam into a woman (Genesis 2:21-22). As I have said, it is not in vain that Moses suggests a God who acts upon Adam and Eve with almost corporeal hands. God commanded that the world be made, and the world was made, and it is with a single word that Scripture indicates that the work of the world was accomplished: we come to man, and the prophet endeavors to show us, in a certain way, the very hands of God at work (Psalm 140:5).
Plus nescio quid in his intelligere, quam lego, opera Dei elaborata me cogunt. Subvenit Apostolus aestuanti, et quod ego non intelligebam quid esset: Os de ossibus meis, et caro de carne mea: et, Haec vocabitur mulier; quoniam de viro suo assumpta est (Ibid., 23) divino mihi spiritu revelavit dicens: Sacramentum hoc magnum est [Ephes. 5, 32]. Quod sacramentum? Quia duo erunt in carne una; et, Quia relinquet homo patrem et matrem, et adhaerebit uxori suae (Ibid., 31): et, Quoniam membra sumus corporis eius, de carne eius, et de ossibus eius (Ibid., 30). Quis est iste vir propter quem mulier parentes relinquat? Relinquit parentes Ecclesia, quae de gentilibus populis congregata est, cui prophetice dicitur: Obliviscere populum tuum, et domum patris tui [Psal. 44, 11]. Propter quem virum, nisi forte illum de quo dicit Ioannes: Post me venit vir qui ante me factus est [Ioan. 1, 27]? De cuius latere dormientis costam Deus sumpsit; ipse enim est qui dormivit, et quievit et resurrexit; quoniam Dominus suscepit eum. Quae est huius costa nisi virtus? Quia tunc quando miles latus eius aperuerit, continuo aqua et sanguis exivit, qui effusus est pro saeculi vita [Ioan. 19, 34]. Haec saeculi vita, costa Christi est: haec costa secundi est Adam. Primus enim Adam in animam viventem, novissimus Adam in spiritum vivificantem: novissimus Adam Christus est, costa Christi vita Ecclesiae est. Nos ergo membra sumus corporis eius, de carne eius, et de ossibus eius. Et fortasse haec est costa de qua dixit: Sentio de me virtutem exisse [Luc. 8, 46]. Haec est costa quae de Christo exivit, nec corpus eius imminuit; non enim corporalis, sed spiritalis est costa; spiritus autem non dividitur ipse, sed dividit singulis prout vult. Haec est Eva mater omnium viventium. Si enim intelligas viventem cum mortuis quaeri, intelligis eos mortuos esse, qui sine Christo sunt, qui participes vitae non sunt; hoc est enim Christi non esse participes, quia Christus est vita. Mater ergo viventium Ecclesia est, quam aedificavit Deus in ipso summo angulari lapide Christo Iesu, in quo omnis structura compaginata crescit in templum Dei.
These works, which have been carefully crafted by God, compel me to understand something more in them than what I read. It is the Apostle who comes to the aid of those who are troubled, and what I did not understand was what this meant: “bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh” and also “he called her woman because she was taken out of man,” he revealed to me through the divine spirit, saying, “this is a great sacrament (sacramentum magnum)” (Ephesians 5:32). What is sacred? “That they shall be two in one flesh” and “That a man shall leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife” (Ephesians 5:31) and “Because we are members of his body, of his flesh and of his bones” (Ephesians 5:30). Who is this man for whom a woman would abandon her parents? It is the Church, gathered from pagan peoples, to whom it is prophetically said: “Forget your people and your father’s house” (Psalm 44:11). For what man, if not perhaps the one of whom John says: “After me comes a man who was made before me” (John 1:27)? From whose side, while asleep, God took a rib; for it is the same who slept, rested, and rose again; since the Lord received him (Psalm 3:6). What is his side, if not his strength? For when the soldier pierced his side, there came forth a stream of water and blood, which was poured out for the life of the world (John 19:34). The life of this world is the side of Christ: this is the side of the second Adam. For the first Adam is the one who lives in the soul, the last Adam is the one who gives life in the spirit (1 Corinthians 15:45): the last Adam , is Christ, and the side of Christ is the life of the Church. We are, therefore, members of his body, of his flesh and of his bones. And perhaps this is the rib of which he said: “I feel that a force has gone out of me” (Luke 8:46). This is the rib that came out of Christ, and his body was not diminished: for this rib is not bodily, but spiritual. And the spirit is not diminished when it shares itself with others, but he gives himself to everyone at will (1 Corinthians 12:12).
And here is [the explanation of] “Eve, the mother of all living”: if you understand [the phrase in the Gospel that says], “Why seek among the dead the one who is alive?”, then you will understand that the dead are those who are without Christ, for they do not share in life. This is what it means not to share in Christ, for Christ is life. Therefore, “the mother of the living” (Genesis 3:20) is the Church that God built, having at its summit the cornerstone that is Christ Jesus, in whom the whole structure is held together and rises [to form] the temple of God (Ephesians 2:20).
Veniat ergo Deus, aedificet mulierem, illam quidem adiutricem Adae, hanc vero Christi. Non quia Christus adiumentum requirit, sed quia nos quaerimus et desideramus ad Christi gratiam per Ecclesiam pervenire. Et nunc aedificatur, et nunc formatur, et nunc mulier figuratur, et nunc creatur. Et ideo novo verbo usa est Scriptura; quia superaedificamur super fundamentum apostolorum et prophetarum [Ephes. 2, 20]. Et nunc domus spiritalis surgit in sacerdotium sanctum. Veni, Domine Deus, aedifica mulierem istam, aedifica civitatem; veniat et puer tuus: tibi enim credo dicenti: Ipse aedificabit civitatem mihi [Esai. 45, 13].
Let God come, then, and build the woman: one as Adam’s helper, the other, truly, as Christ’s helper. Not that Christ needs a helper, but so that we may seek and desire to attain Christ’s grace through the Church. And now she is being built, now she is being formed, now she is being fashioned, now she is being created. And for this reason Scripture has used a new verb, since we are “built above” the foundation of the apostles and prophets (Ephesians 2:20). And now a spiritual house is rising up in the holy priesthood (1 Peter 2:5). Come, Lord God, build this woman, build the city. Let your child also come, for I believe in you who say, “He will build my city” (Isaiah 45:13).
Ecce mulier omnium mater, ecce domus spiritalis, ecce civitas quae vivet in aeternum; quia mori nescit. Ipsa enim est civitas Hierusalem, quae nunc videtur in terris, sed rapietur supra Eliam; Elias enim unus fuit. Transferetur super Enoch, cuius mors non invenitur. Ille enim raptus est, ne malitia mutaretur cor eius: haec autem diligitur a Christo quasi sponsa gloriosa, sancta, immaculata, sine ruga. Et quanto melius totum corpus assumitur, quam unus assumptus est? Haec enim est spes Ecclesiae. Rapietur profecto, assumetur, transferetur ad coelum. Ecce curru igneo raptus est Elias: rapietur et Ecclesia. Non mihi credis? Crede vel Paulo, in quo Christus locutus est: Rapiemur, inquit, in nubibus obviam Christo in aera, et ita semper cum Domino erimus (I Thes. IV, 16).
Here is the woman who is the mother of all, here is the spiritual home, here is the city that lives forever, for it does not know death. This is indeed the city of Jerusalem, which now appears on earth, but is taken up above Elijah. Elijah was unique: he was taken up above Enoch, whose death is not recorded, for he was taken up [to heaven] so that wickedness might not touch his heart (Wisdom 4:11). She [the Church, the heavenly Jerusalem] is loved by Christ as a glorious bride, holy, immaculate, without wrinkle (Ephesians 5:27). How much better for the whole body to be taken [to heaven] than for one person to be taken? This is the hope of the Church: that she will be taken up, certainly, taken and transferred to heaven. Behold, Elijah was taken up [to heaven] in a chariot of fire, and so will the Church be taken up. You do not believe me? Believe, then, [the apostle] Paul, in whom it is Christ who speaks (1 Thessalonians 4:16): “We shall be caught up in the clouds to meet Christ in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.”
Ad hanc igitur aedificandam mittuntur quidem plures, mittuntur patriarchae, mittuntur prophetae, mittitur Gabriel archangelus, innumeri angeli diriguntur, et multitudo coelestis exercitus Deum laudat; quia civitatis huius aedificatio propinquat. Mittuntur plures ad eam, sed Christus eam solus aedificat, verum non est solus; quia Pater praesens est. Et si solus aedificat; gratiam tamen tantae aedificationis non solus usurpat. Scriptum est de templo, quod aedificavit Salomon, in quo typus Ecclesiae fuit, [Vet. edit. ac mss. septem: quia tria millia sexcenti erant qui portabant in humeris: et septuaginta millia lapidum caesores, vel lapidis, vel etiam, lapidicaesores: et octoginta millia tollentes onera. Veniant, etc. Alii cum edit. Rom. ut nos in corpore, nisi quod in plerisque desiderantur haec verba: Et tria millia sexcenti operum praepositi. Alii denique ordine paululum inverso eumdem ac in textu sensum retinent.] quia septuaginta millia erant qui in humeris portarent, et octoginta millia lapidum caesores, et tria millia sexcenti operum praepositi [II Par. 2, 2]. Veniant angeli illi, veniant lapidem caesores, caedantur superflua lapidum nostrorum, aspera levigentur. Veniant et qui in humeris portant; scriptum est enim: Super humeros tollentur [Esai, 49, 22].
In truth, to build this [the Church], many are sent, the patriarchs are sent, the prophets are sent, the archangel Gabriel is sent, countless angels are directed [to this task], and the multitude of the heavenly army praises God because the building of this city is approaching. Many are sent to her, but Christ alone builds her, but in truth he is not alone, for the Father is present. And if he alone builds, he is not alone in claiming the merit of such a construction. It is written about the temple that Solomon built, which was a symbol of the Church [typus Ecclesiae], that those who carried it on their shoulders were seventy thousand and eighty thousand those who cut the stones and the chief builders were three thousand six hundred. Let the angels come, let the stone cutters come, let them cut away the excess from our stones, let them polish the rough edges. Let those who carry on their shoulders come, for it is written: “They shall be carried on shoulders” (Isaiah 49:23).
Rabbi Shlomo ben Itzhak HaTzarfati, acronym Rashi (Troyes circa 1040–1105) on Genesis 2:18: if Adam deserves it, Eve will help him; if not, she will fight him.
עזר כנגדו. זָכָה – עֵזֶר; לֹא זָכָה – כְּנֶגְדּוֹ לְהִלָּחֵם:
A helper as in front him. If [Adam] is pure, then [Eve] will be a helper for him; if he is not pure, she will be against him to wage war against him.
This explanation is based on the sense of the hebrew word “neged“, being in front of. This can be interpreted as a confrontation which implies hostility or as a friendly presence in front of someone, the intention is not determined by the word neged, it can be both.
Kli Yakar, work by Solomon Ephraim of Luntschitz (1550 Łęczyca, Poland – 1619 Prague) on Genesis 2:18: to be in front of someone for unity, love, not in opposition
לא טוב היות האדם לבדו. לפי שבכל מקום שיש שינוי ומחלוקת אין הטובה מצוי שם שהרי מטעם זה לא נאמר כי טוב בשני לפי שבו נברא המחלוקת כי כל מספר שנים יש בו חלוקה ופירוד ואם כן אם היה האדם נוצר כל אחד מהם מחומר בפני עצמו אם כן יהיו שנים גופים מוחלקים ולא יהיה הטוב דבק בהם יען כי יהיו נעדרים מן האהבה והאחדות ויהיו קרובים לבא לידי פירוד ומריבה וליתן ריוח בין הדבקים והאדם מדיני בטבע צריך יותר אל האהבה והאחדות מכל שאר בעלי חיים לפיכך אמר שלא טוב היה אם יהיה האדם נוצר מן חומר אחד והאשה מן חומר אחר לפיכך אעשה לו עזר כשיהיו מן חומר אחד אז יהיה כל אחד לעזר ולהועיל אל השני ויהיו זה כנגד זו פונים פניהם זה לזה כי זה מורה על האהבה כמ״ש (תהלים טז ח) שויתי ה’ לנגדי תמיד. שאין פירושו של התנגדות של מריבה אלא התנגדות של אהבה כמים הפנים, לאפוקי בזמן שהמריבה מצוייה כל אחד פונה לחבירו עורף ולא פנים, לכך נאמר אעשה לו עזר כנגדו.
וי״א לא טוב, שאין האדם נקרא עושה טוב במצות השם יתברך כשהוא לבדו ואין לו מתנגד המטהו לדרך רע לפיכך אעשה לו עזר כנגדו, כי במה שתהיה אשתו כנגדו להסיתו לדרך רע והוא לא ישמע לה וינצחה אז הוא נקרא עושה טוב כי אדם אין צדיק בארץ כשיעשה טוב מצד ההכרח ולא יוכל לחטוא, כי אם מצד היות לו אפשרות על החטא וינצל.
It is not good for Adam to be alone. Where there is disagreement and division, there is no good, and that is why it is not said that it was good on the second day [of creation], because on that day division [between the upper and lower waters] was created, for every number two has division and separation within it. In this case, if each of the two human beings [Adam and Eve] is formed from clay independently of the other [literally: for himself], then they would be two divided bodies and goodness could not adhere to them since they would lack love and unity and they would fall into the hands of separation and strife and would tend to put distance between those who adhere [to one another]. And human beings, by the laws of nature, need love and unity more than all other living beings. That is why the Lord said that it was not good for Adam to be formed from one clay and the woman from another clay; that is why: ” I will make him a helper” so that they may be of one clay, then each will be a helper and will be useful to the other and will be one in front the other, facing each other, since this is what shows love, as it is written in Psalm 16:8: “I have set the Lord always in front of me (lenegdi).” Here, the interpretation of the word neged in lenegdi (before me) does not have the meaning of opposition [one against the other], of a dispute, but rather of a loving face-to-face, like water [reflecting] the face, excluding moments of dispute when each person presents the back of their neck to the other and not their face. That is why it is said: “I will make him a helper as in front of him (kenegdo).
There are those who say, ‘It is not good,’ because man is not called to do good according to the commandment of the Lord, blessed be He, since when he is alone and has no one against him to push him into the path of evil, as it is said, ‘I will make him a helper in front him,’ because his wife is against him to lead him to the path of evil and he does not listen to her, he will overcome her, then he will be called doing good, because man on earth is not righteous when he does good being obliged, without being able to sin, but he is called righteous if he has the possibility of sinning and is preserved from it.
Rabbi Shlomo ben Itzhak HaTzarfati, acronym Rashi (Troyes circa 1040–1105) on Genesis 2:19: this shall be his name.
וכל אשר יקרא לו האדם נפש חיה וגו’. סָרְסֵהוּ וּפָרְשֵׁהוּ, כֹּל נֶפֶשׁ חַיָּה אֲשֶׁר יִקְרָא לוֹ הָאָדָם שֵׁם, הוּא שְׁמוֹ לְעוֹלָם:
And everything that Adam called a living soul, etc. Reverse the order of these words and interpret it thus: every living soul to which Adam gives a name, that shall be his name forever.
Moses Nahmanides, acronym Ramban (Gerona, 1194 – Acre, 1270) on Genesis 2:20: help is for procreation
ולאדם לא מצא עזר כנגדו לשון רש »י כשהביאן הביאן לפניו זכר ונקבה אמר לכל יש בן זוג ולי אין בן זוג מיד ויפל ה’ אלהים עליו תרדמה ויפה פירש כי כאשר הכניס פסוקי קריאת השמות בתוך דבר העזר יכריח זה
And for the man, he found no helper like himself. Rashi’s explanation: when he brought the animals before him, male and female, [Adam] said, “Everyone has someone with whom they are paired, and I have no one with whom to be paired.” And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon him. [Rashi] interpreted this correctly, because when the verses about the naming of the animals are inserted in the middle of the question of help, it forces us to understand it this way.
…
ולפי דעתי שקריאת השם הוא העזר והענין כי הקב »ה הביא כל חית השדה וכל עוף השמים לפני אדם והוא הכיר טבעם וקרא להם שמות כלומר השם הראוי להם כפי טבעיהם ובשמות נתבאר הראוי להיות עזר לחבירו כלומר הראוים להוליד זה מזה ואפילו אם נאמין בשמות שהם בהסכמה לא טבעיות (מו »נ ב ל) נאמר שקריאת השמות היא הבדלת המינים כי עברו לפניו זכר ונקבה והתבונן בטבעם איזה מהם עזר לחבירו כלומר המוליד ממנו והודיע זה בשמות כי הבהמה הדקה קרא בשם אחר שכולן עזר זה לזה בתולדה שיולידו זה מזה והגסה בשם אחר והחיה בשם אחר שלא יולידו מין זה מזה וכן כולן ולא מצא בכולן שתהיה בטבעה עזר לו ותקרא בשמו כי קריאת השמות היא הבדלת המינים והפרד כחותם זה מזה כאשר פירשתי למעלה
and, according to my knowledge, the fact of calling by name this is the help and the fact that the Holy One, blessed be He, brought every animal of the field and every bird of the heavens before Adam, and he understood their nature and called them by names. That is, by the name suited to them corresponding to their natures, and by the names it becomes clear what is the help suited to his companion, that is, suited to be able to bear offspring from one another. And even if we believe about names that they [are given] by convention, not according to the natures [of the different animals], it is said that the act of calling them by names distinguishes the species that passed before him, male and female, and that he considered in their nature which of them was a help to the other, that is, which could conceive from the other. He made this known through names, since he called the flocks of small livestock by one name, so that each of them could be a helper in procreation for the other, so that they could conceive from one another, and he called the flocks of large livestock by another name and the [wild] animals by another name, so that one species would not beget another, and so on for all of them. And [Adam] found no one among them all who was in his nature a helper for him whom he could call by his own name, for the act of giving names is the division of species.
« ולאדם לא מצא עזר כנגדו « כלומר ולשם האדם לא מצא עזר שיהיה ראוי כנגדו ותקרא בשמו שיוליד ממנו
and for Adam he found no helper as in front of him “as if to say: and for the name of man he found no helper who was suitable for him and who would be called by his name in order to give birth from him.”
Ovadia Sforno (Cesena 1470- Bologna 1550) on Genesis 2:19: the name as the form of beings
לראות מה יקרא לו כדי שיראה ויתבונן איזה שם ראוי לכל א’ מהם כפי הפעולה המיוחדת לצורתו: נפש חיה הוא שמו הנה שמו הורה על צורת הבעלי חיים הנקרא בשם ההוא שהיא נפשו אשר בה הוא נמצא בפעל
To see what he would call it. So that he might see and consider what would be the appropriate name for each of them, according to the particular action [corresponding] to its form.
Living soul was its name. This is the name that informs us about the form of living beings, which is thus called by this name, because this form is the soul through which it is found in act.
Kli Yakar, work by Salomon Ephraim de Luntschitz (1550 Łęczyca, Poland – 1619 Prague) on Genesis 2:21: God built the rib
ומ״ש ויבן ה’ את הצלע. הזכיר לשון בנין להורות שאין צריך בזיווג זה כי אם לכדי שיהיה העולם בנוי ולא חרב כמ״ש (שם ל ג) ואבנה גם אנכי ממנה. שע״י הבנים נקרא האדם בנוי וכן בן נגזר מלשון בנין כמו שפירש״י לקמן ע״פ ויולד בן (שם ה כח)
Regarding “And the Lord built the rib” [the root banah means to build]. It is necessary to recall the meaning of that which is built (binyan, the building) to show that there is no other necessity for a couple, except so that the world may be built and not ruined, as it is written (Genesis 30:3): “And I too will be built (hibbane I will be built, I will have a ben, a son) from her.” Because it is through sons [in Hebrew, the word son is ben, which also comes from the root banah, to build] that man is called built [banui], for the word «son» (ben) is derived from the term that designates that which is built, the building (binyan), as Rashi explains in relation to the verse in Genesis 5: 28: «And he begot a son (ben).»