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Genesis 2:23

EOB (Eastern / Greek Orthodox Bible):

The man said, “This one is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.”

EOB Footnote:

The MT includes the phrase “this time” (Hebrew: zot happa’am) at the beginning of Adam’s speech, emphasizing that this creation—unlike the animals—is finally a suitable companion. The LXX omits this phrase. The MT reads “this one shall be called Woman” (Hebrew: ishah) with an explicit explanation “because from Man (ish) she was taken,” preserving a wordplay between “man” and “woman” that the Greek (gyne from andros) only partially conveys. DSS: 4Q7 (4QGen-g) preserves a fragmentary witness to this verse but shows no significant variation from the MT.

Other Translations:

KJV (King James Version):

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.

WEB (World English Bible):

“This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh. She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken out of Man.”

Benton LXX (Vaticanus):

And Adam said, This now is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, because she was taken out of her husband.

Douai-Rheims (Vulgate):

“This now is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man.”

Apostoliki Diakonia (LXX):

The man said, “This one at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.”

YLT (Young Literal Translation )(MT):

And the man said, “This now is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; for this she is called Woman, because this has been taken out of Man.”

BBE (Bible in Basic English):

“This is now bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh: let her name be Woman because she was taken out of Man.”

EOB COMMENTARY:

EOB Commentary:

Genesis 2:23 Commentary

The Naming and Recognition of Eve

This verse marks the first recorded human speech in Scripture, and significantly, it takes the form of poetry—Adam’s joyful exclamation upon beholding the woman formed from his own flesh. The Hebrew wordplay between ish (man) and ishah (woman) establishes not merely linguistic connection but ontological unity. Adam recognizes in Eve not a stranger or subordinate creature, but one who shares his very nature, bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh.

Christological and Ecclesiological Significance

The Fathers consistently read this passage as a type of Christ and the Church. Just as Eve was formed from Adam’s side while he slept, so the Church was born from the side of Christ as He slept the sleep of death upon the Cross. Saint John Chrysostom teaches that the blood and water flowing from Christ’s pierced side represent Baptism and the Eucharist, the very means by which the Church is constituted and nourished. Saint Augustine similarly notes that Adam’s sleep prefigures Christ’s death, and the bride taken from his side prefigures the Church, the Bride of Christ.

This typology appears in the Orthodox wedding service, where the union of man and woman is explicitly connected to the mystery of Christ and the Church, echoing Saint Paul’s teaching in Ephesians 5:31-32. The crowning of the bride and groom recalls the original glory of Adam and Eve in Paradise, while pointing forward to the eschatological wedding feast of the Lamb.

Anthropological Dimensions

Adam’s recognition that Eve is flesh of his flesh establishes the fundamental equality and complementarity of man and woman in Orthodox anthropology. Both share fully in the image of God; neither is complete without the other. Saint Gregory of Nyssa emphasizes that humanity as male and female together constitutes the fullness of human nature created in God’s image.

Liturgical Resonance

The Vespers of Holy Friday include hymnography reflecting on Christ’s side being pierced, drawing explicit connection to Adam’s side from which Eve was taken. The Church sings of the New Adam whose wounded side brings forth the New Eve, the community of the redeemed. This liturgical theology demonstrates how the Orthodox tradition reads Genesis 2:23 not merely as historical narrative but as prophetic revelation of salvation accomplished in Christ and continually actualized in the sacramental life of the Church.

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