Genesis 2:19

And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
ground	הָֽאֲדָמָ֗ה ha.'a.da.Mah	H127	soil (from its general redness) · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
LORD	יְהוָ֨ה Yah.weh	H3068	Jehovah · proper noun, a title
God	אֱלֹהִ֜ים 'E.lo.Him	H430	gods in the ordinary sense · noun, common masculine plural absolute
formed	וַיִּצֶר֩ vai.yi.Tzer	H3335	to mould into a form · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
beast	חַיַּ֤ת chai.Yat	H2416	alive · noun, common feminine singular construct
field	הַשָּׂדֶה֙ ha.sa.Deh	H7704	a field (as flat) · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
fowl	ע֣וֹף of	H5775	a bird (as covered with feathers · noun, common masculine singular construct
air	הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם ha.sha.Ma.yim	H8064	the sky (as aloft · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
brought	וַיָּבֵא֙ vai.ya.Ve'	H935	to go or come (in a wide variety of applications) · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Adam	הָ֣אָדָ֔ם ha.'a.Dam	H120	ruddy i.e. a human being (an individual or the species · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
see	לִרְא֖וֹת lir.'ot	H7200	to see · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
call	יִּקְרָא yik.ra'-	H7121	to call out to (i.e. properly · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Adam	הָֽאָדָ֛ם ha.'a.Dam	H120	ruddy i.e. a human being (an individual or the species · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
called	יִקְרָא yik.ra'-	H7121	to call out to (i.e. properly · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
living	חַיָּ֖ה chai.Yah	H2416	alive · adjective, feminine singular absolute
creature	נֶ֥פֶשׁ Ne.fesh	H5315	properly · noun, common feminine singular absolute
that	ה֥וּא hu'	H1931	he (she or it) · personal pronoun, 3rd person masculine singular
thereof	שְׁמֽוֹ she.Mo	H8034	an appellation · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Psalms 8:4-8 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
Genesis 1:28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the…
Genesis 1:20-26 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open fi…
Genesis 9:2 And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon t…
Genesis 2:22-23 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
Genesis 6:20 Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 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, Gen 2:17), 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 angels and a lower world of brutes, and he between them, yet there being none of the same nature and rank of beings with himself, none that he could converse familiarly with, he might be truly said…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 2:19

God brought unto Adam--not all the animals in existence, but those chiefly in his immediate neighborhood to be subservient to his use. whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof--His powers of perception and intelligence were supernaturally enlarged to know the characters, habits, and uses of each species that was brought to him.

Adam Clarke on Genesis 2:19

Out of the ground, etc. - Concerning the formation of the different kinds of animals, see the preceding chapter, Genesis 1 (note).

John Gill on Genesis 2:19

And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air,.... Or "had formed them" (e) on the fifth and sixth days; and these were formed two and two, male and female, in order to continue their species; whereas man was made single, and had no companion of the same nature with him: and while in these circumstances, God brought them unto Adam; or "to the man" (f); either by the ministry of angels, or by a kind of instinct or impulse, which brought them to him of their own accord, as to the lord and proprietor of them, who, as soon as he was made, had the dominion of all the creatures given him; just as the creatures at the flood went in unto Noah in the a…

The Church Fathers

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.
— John Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON GENESIS 14:20

Having spoken of Adam's entry into Paradise and of the law that was laid down for him, Scripture turns to describe the names which he gave to the animals, as follows: "The Lord fashioned out of the earth all the wild animals and the birds of the sky; and He brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. " [ Gen. 2:19 ]
— Ephrem the Syrian,

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. Without fear they passed before him in orderly fashion, by kinds and by species. They were neither afraid of him nor were they afraid of each other. A species of predatory animals would pass by with a species of animal that is preyed upon following safely right behind.
— Ephrem the Syrian, COMMENTARY ON GENESIS 2.9.3

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Fall of man — An expression probably borrowed from the Apocryphal Book of Wisdom, to express the fact of the revolt of our first parents from God, and the consequent sin and misery in which they and all their…
Heaven — (1.) Definitions. The phrase “heaven and earth” is used to indicate the whole universe (Gen. 1:1; Jer. 23:24; Acts 17:24). According to the Jewish notion there were three heavens, (a) The firmament,…
Help-meet — (Heb. ‘ezer ke-negdo; i.e., “a help as his counterpart” = a help suitable to him), a wife (Gen. 2:18-20).
Marriage — Was instituted in Paradise when man was in innocence (Gen. 2:18-24). Here we have its original charter, which was confirmed by our Lord, as the basis on which all regulations are to be framed (Matt.…
Media — Heb. Madai, which is rendered in the Authorized Version (1) “Madai,” Gen. 10:2; (2) “Medes,” 2 Kings 17:6; 18:11; (3) “Media,” Esther 1:3; 10:2; Isa. 21:2; Dan. 8:20; (4) “Mede,” only in Dan. 11:1.…
Tree of the knowledge of good and evil — Stood in the midst of the garden of Eden, beside the tree of life (Gen. 2, 3). Adam and Eve were forbidden to take of the fruit which grew upon it. But they disobeyed the divine injunction, and so…
Adam · .History of, before he sinned — .History of, before he sinned
Animals · Creations of — Creations of
Anthropomorphisms · MISCELLANEOUS FIGURES — MISCELLANEOUS FIGURES
B · Created by God — Created by God
Birds · Created by God — Created by God
Ground

Genesis 2:19

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 2:18-20

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 2:19

Adam Clarke on Genesis 2:19

John Gill on Genesis 2:19

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Genesis 2:19

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 2:18-20

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 2:19

Adam Clarke on Genesis 2:19

John Gill on Genesis 2:19

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Genesis 2:19-20

Keil & Delitzsch on Genesis 2:18-22

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Genesis 2:19-20

Rashi on Genesis 2:19