Genesis 2:20

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Genesis 2:18-20

Here we have, I. An instance of the Creator's care of man and his fatherly concern for his comfort, Gen. 2:18. Though God had let him know that he was a subject, by giving him a command, (Gen. 2:16, 17), yet here he lets him know also, for his encouragement in his obedience, that he was a friend, and a favourite, and one whose satisfaction he was tender of. Observe, 1. How God graciously pitied his solitude: It is not good that man, this man, should be alone. Though there was an upper world of... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 2:20

And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowls of the air, and to every beast of the field ,.... As they came before him, and passed by him, paying as it were their homage to him, their lord and owner: but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him ; and perhaps this might be one reason of their being brought unto him, that he might become sensible that there was none among all the creatures of his nature, and that was fit to be a companion of his; and to him must this be... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 2:20

And Adam gave names to all cattle - Two things God appears to have had in view by causing man to name all the cattle, etc. 1. To show him with what comprehensive powers of mind his Maker had endued him; and 2. To show him that no creature yet formed could make him a suitable companion. And that this twofold purpose was answered we shall shortly see; for, Adam gave names; but how? From an intimate knowledge of the nature and properties of each creature. Here we see the perfection of his... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 2:18-25

The true life of man. The commencement of human society. First we see man surrounded by cattle, fowl, and beast of the field, which were brought to him by God as to their lord and ruler, that he might name them as from himself. "What he called every living creature was the name thereof." Nothing could better represent the organization of the earthly life upon the basis of man's supremacy. But there is no helpmeet for man ("as before him ," the reflection of himself) in all the lower... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 2:20

And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field. The portrait here delineated of the first man is something widely different from that of an infantile savage slowly groping his way towards the possession of articulate speech and intelligible language by imitation of the sounds of animals. Speech and language both spring full-formed, though not completely matured, from the primus homo of the Bible. As to the names that Adam gave the animals,... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 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... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Genesis 2:4-25

2:4-4:26 EARLY HUMAN LIFELife in the Garden of Eden (2:4-25)From this point on, the story concentrates on the people God made, rather than on other features of the created universe. Again the Bible states that the world was not always as it is now, but was prepared stage by stage till it was suitable for human habitation. God created Adam (meaning ‘man’ or ‘mankind’) not out of nothing, but out of materials he had previously created. Like the other animals, Adam had his physical origins in the... read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Genesis 2:20

"And the man gave names to all cattle, and to every beast of the field; but for man, there was not found a help meet for him."The foolish and near blasphemous error supposing that the parade of lower creations in Genesis 2:19 was some kind of ploy to find a proper mate for Adam in those lower creations is so preposterous and ridiculous that it needs no refutation. It was not the ability of the birds and animals that shines in these words, but the ability, genius, and intelligence of Adam. This... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Genesis 2:20

20. but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him—The design of this singular scene was to show him that none of the living creatures he saw were on an equal footing with himself, and that while each class came with its mate of the same nature, form, and habits, he alone had no companion. Besides, in giving names to them he was led to exercise his powers of speech and to prepare for social intercourse with his partner, a creature yet to be formed. read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Genesis 2:4-24

1. The Garden of Eden 2:4-3:24This story has seven scenes that a change in actors, situations or activities identifies. [Note: For a different narrative analysis, see Waltke, Genesis, pp. 80-81.] Moses constructed this section of Genesis in a chiastic (palistrophic, crossing) structure to focus attention on the central scene: the Fall. The preceding scenes lead up to the Fall, and the following scenes describe its consequences. [Note: Wenham, p. 50.] A Scene 1 (narrative): God is the sole... read more

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