Genesis 2:20
in Genesis 2The man gave names to all the livestock, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the man gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of the heavens, and to every beast of the field; but for man there was not found a help meet for him.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Genesis 2
Commentary
14 notes on this verseAnd 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, 1. Adam gave names; but how? From an intimate knowledge of the nature and properties of each creature.
This site's exposition
formed every beast of the field
on Genesis 2:19-20
To name a thing was an act of authority, and Adam does it over every creature brought to him. It also shows him something: among the beasts and the birds no suitable helper was found. He names the woman four verses on. He receives her already knowing what she is.
This site's exposition
no suitable helper was found
Here the Berean first gives the man's name, Adam, and the Hebrew adam is also the common word for man. Adam Clarke saw two purposes in the naming: to show the powers of mind God gave him, and to show that no creature yet formed could be his companion. The lack comes to light before God supplies it.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
The beasts of the field and the birds of the air which were brought to Adam are our irrational senses, because beasts and animals represent the diverse passions of the body, whether of the more violent kind or even of the more temperate.… God granted to you the power of being able to discern by the application of sober logic the species of each and every object in order that you may be induced to form a judgment on all of them. God called them all to your attention so that you might realize that your mind is superior to all of them.
Moses said, "God brought them to Adam." This happened in order that God might make known the wisdom of Adam and the harmony that existed between the animals and Adam before he transgressed the commandment. The animals came to Adam as to a loving shepherd.
Those names that [Adam] imposed on them remain up to the present time. In this way God determined that we might retain a constant reminder of the esteem which the human being from the outset received from the Lord of all and might attribute responsibility for its removal to a person who by sin put an abrupt end to his authority.
A commentator
John ChrysostomCommentary (church-history corpus) · Written in the 5th century.
proposed
I AM VERY GRATIFIED by you for the fact that yesterday you received with great enthusiasm the exhortation we gave and, far from being upset at the length of the discourse, you followed it to the very end in such a way that your desire for listening reached great heights and continued at that level. Hence the sound hopes communicated to us that you would translate our advice into practice. I mean, the person who listens with such relish would clearly be prepared for practice of good works; and in a particular way your attendance today would provide a proof of your health of soul. You see, just as hunger is a sign of bodily well-being, so love for divine sayings proves to be the surest sign of the soul's health. So, when the fruit of your zeal shows the outcome of your attention, well then, let us in turn pay to you, dear people, the reward we promised yesterday, I mean the reward of this spiritual teaching, which has the capacity both to increase my own resources while I am paying it and to render you its recipients wealthy. All spiritual goods are like this, after all something that can't be said for material things. In the latter case, in other words, the one who pays reduces his own substance and makes the recipient better off, whereas in the former case, on the contrary, things are different: the one who pays increases his own wealth by so doing and the resources of the recipients become greater. So, since we are well disposed for kindness and you are ready to receive this spiritual wealth, keep the recesses of your mind in a state of readiness. Come now, let us fulfill our promise; let us take up again the thread of the reading from blessed Moses, and discharge our debt to you at this point.
While Adam had been given the whole earth, he had been given paradise for his home. He could leave and go out of paradise, but there was not a habitable place for humans beyond its borders—only for senseless animals, four-footed animals, wild monsters and crawling …
6 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church2 voices
He who speaks contemptuously against the humble man and does not consider him an animate creature is like one who has opened his mouth against God. And though the humble man is contemptible in his eyes, his honor is esteemed by all creation.
But for Adam there was not found a helper like him. Therefore, the Lord God cast a deep sleep upon Adam; and while he was sleeping, he took one of his ribs and filled up flesh for it.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
(2.) The commencement of the kingdom of grace, in the sanctification of the sabbath day, ver. 3. He rested on that day, and took a complacency in his creatures, and then sanctified it, and appointed us on that day to rest and take a complacency in the Creator; and his rest is in the fourth commandment made a reason for ours after six days labour.
quarantine:anchor (2026-07-29) — cites-ver-3-anchored-18-25
And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowls of the air, and to every beast of the field,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
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.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
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. On the other hand, God was the source of his being and the object of his reverence, but not on a par with himself in needs and resources. It was therefore apparent that man in respect of an equal was alone, and yet needed an associate. Thus, in this passage the existence of the desire is made out and asserted; in keeping with the mode of composition uniformly pursued by the sacred writer Gen 1:2; Gen 2:5.
The words behind it
15 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּקְרָ֨א | vaiyikra' | and he called | H7121 → | 733 times |
| הָֽאָדָ֜ם | haadam | the man | H120 → | 551 times |
| שֵׁמ֗וֹת | shemot | names | H8034 → | 864 times |
| לְכָל־ | lekhol | to all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַבְּהֵמָה֙ | habehemah | the livestock | H929 → | 190 times |
| וּלְע֣וֹף | uleof | and to [the] bird[s] of | H5775 → | 71 times |
| הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם | hashamayim | the heavens | H8064 → | 421 times |
| וּלְכֹ֖ל | ulekhol | and to every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| חַיַּ֣ת | chaiyat | <the> animal of | H2416 → | 498 times |
| הַשָּׂדֶ֑ה | hasadeh | the field | H7704 → | 334 times |
| וּלְאָדָ֕ם | uleadam | and for Adam | H121 → | 12 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| מָצָ֥א | matza' | he found | H4672 → | 455 times |
| עֵ֖זֶר | ʾezer | a helper | H5828 → | |
| כְּנֶגְדּֽוֹ׃ | kenegdo | like before him | H5048 → | 151 times |
וַיִּקְרָ֨אand he called
vaiyikra'H7121 →733 times
הָֽאָדָ֜םthe man
haadamH120 →551 times
שֵׁמ֗וֹתnames
shemotH8034 →864 times
לְכָל־to all
lekholH3605 →5413 times
הַבְּהֵמָה֙the livestock
habehemahH929 →190 times
וּלְע֣וֹףand to [the] bird[s] of
uleofH5775 →71 times
הַשָּׁמַ֔יִםthe heavens
hashamayimH8064 →421 times
וּלְכֹ֖לand to every
ulekholH3605 →5413 times
חַיַּ֣ת<the> animal of
chaiyatH2416 →498 times
הַשָּׂדֶ֑הthe field
hasadehH7704 →334 times
וּלְאָדָ֕םand for Adam
uleadamH121 →12 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
מָצָ֥אhe found
matza'H4672 →455 times
עֵ֖זֶרa helper
ʾezerH5828 →
כְּנֶגְדּֽוֹ׃like before him
kenegdoH5048 →151 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Genesis 2:18The LORD God also said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make for him a suitable helper.”
it leads to
- Ecclesiastes 4:9–12
Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor.
- Proverbs 18:22
He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the LORD.
- 1 Corinthians 11:7–12
A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man.
- 1 Peter 3:7
Husbands, in the same way, treat your wives with consideration as a delicate vessel, and with honor as fellow heirs of the gracious gift of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.
- Ruth 3:1
One day Ruth’s mother-in-law Naomi said to her, “My daughter, should I not seek a resting place for you, that it may be well with you?
- Ecclesiastes 4:9–12
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies16
On this chapter
About Genesis
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 14 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrose of Milan, On Paradise; Bede, Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron); Ephrem the Syrian, COMMENTARY ON GENESIS 2.9.3; Isaac of Nineveh, ASCETICAL HOMILIES 77; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on Genesis; John Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON GENESIS 14:20; John Chrysostom, Commentary (church-history corpus); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Severian of Gabala, ON THE CREATION OF THE WORLD 6:1.