Study #1 – Adam’s Exclamation
By AMANDA READ
“The man 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.” ~Genesis 2:23, when Adam first met Eve.
Dr. Hugh Ross once pointed out that in the literal Hebrew translation, the first recorded words of the first man on Earth were, “At long last! Bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh,” as if he had been waiting forever, weary from sorting through and naming a host of animals, when he laid eyes on the first woman.
I took a look at the Hebrew words used in Genesis 2 in an interlinear Bible, where the literal translation is said to be “This now at last,” and the depth of the words used here is apparent. פּעם, Pa’am (#6470 in Strong’s Concordance, in the aforementioned passage it has ה at its beginning) has to do with a “beat” or “tap,” indicating time and movement, and the word pa’amah (#6471) which is also rooted in it means “‘now’ (this) or ‘time'”. Another word sharing this root is pa’amon (#6472), which means “a bell (as struck),” perhaps indicating an alarm.
Ultimately, it’s rather fascinating that a man who was essentially perfect and living in a perfect world with a perfect relationship with God still felt lonely until he was given a bride, isn’t it?
This origin of and reason behind the institution of marriage has symbolic implications for the relationship between Christ and the Church. While the enemy succeeded in separating mankind from the LORD through the Fall, he ironically provided a way for Christ and humanity to become even closer than they were before. Jesus Christ sought out His bride by becoming incarnate, both fully God and fully Man at the same time. Because of this, God and the Church are united as one, never to be separated:
“So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the Church, because we are members of His body. FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND SHALL BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH. This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.” ~Ephesians 5:28-32.
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I heard Mr. Ross mention this and found it fascinating as he was explaining how the passage of time could be understood based on the layers within the hebrew word for ‘day’; and how Adam’s exclamation (finally/At last/now) can indicate the passage of much time as well. I looked at many translations of this verse (thanks to the bible app on my phone and found most left out this exclamation and just used ‘now.’ it’s disheartening to see how our English translations fail to convey the depth of so much of the original meanings. Thank you for highlighting this.