Translation
And the adam said,
“This
Go to footnote numberfootstep
Go to footnote numberis a bone from my bones, and a piece of flesh from my collective flesh.
Go to footnote numberThis one shall be called
‘manness’
Go to footnote numberbecause this one was taken out of man.”
Go to footnote numberParaphrase
Then the man exclaimed, “In contrast to everything I have seen so far, at last this one is especially suited to be a companion for me because she was taken out of me. This one is unique and will be given a name based on history not on physical
characteristics; she will be called “from man” because her history is that, unlike the animals, this one was taken out of the man.
Footnotes
1
The word “this” or “this one” is used three times in Adam’s exclamation. It serves to indicate how unique Eve was. Adam had just finished naming the animals which had been brought to him by God presumably in pairs. This made Adam feel more acutely than ever his condition of being alone, with no companion that was similar to him. Each time he used the word “this one” he was expressing the idea of contrast, “unlike the animals, this one . . .”
2
The word used here literally means “a foot beat, a foot step, a stroke, an occurrence, a happening.” Its close association to the feet gives all of its uses a rhythmic quality. As God brought the animals to Adam a pattern and a rhythm had developed, but this beat, this rhythm was different. When God brought her close to him, he felt something different than he had felt about any animal.
3: “from my collective flesh”
This was a poetic way of saying, “she is perfectly suited to be my companion.” How could he tell just by looking at her that she was well-suited as his companion? While she was different from him in some obvious ways, she was similar to him in several ways that the animals were not. She had warm, smooth skin that was not covered with fur, feathers, or scales. Her face was structured like him, as were her limbs, and she stood upright like he did. Her voice was similar to his, and different from the calls or grunts of animals. Feel free go beyond this and find other similarities as well. The point is that he immediately noticed an entire set of important similarities which confirmed that she was designed as a good companion for him, while her differences also indicated she would be a good counterpart to him.
The fact that he mentioned flesh, not just bone, seems to confirm the idea that God took out of Adam, not just the bone we call a rib, but the accompanying flesh as well.
4
This is the same word used in the previous verse for “woman.” Yes, the word for woman means “manness” or “like a man.” It was used earlier in the text because it was the common word for “woman,” and would have been known as such by all Hebrew readers. Why did Adam use this word to describe her? The word seems to have been invented by Adam when he saw Eve. It means “having man-like qualities, or to be like the man.” God intended for a special bond to exist between a man and a woman (husband and wife) that is unlike any relationship he has with an animal. When Adam saw her, he realized that she was the one to pair with him, just as he had noticed that all the animals came in pairs, but he had no one that he could pair with. She looked enough like Adam for him to know she was his partner, his other half (or better half), but she was also different from him in ways I do not need to explain.
5
This is NOT the word “adam,” rather it is the other common word for man, the one from which the word for woman is derived.