American Standard Version
Genesis 2:18
18And Jehovah God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help meet for him.
Genesis 2:18 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.
- New International Version (NIV)The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)Then the Lord God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him."
- New King James Version (NKJV)And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.”
Context of Genesis 2:18
16And Jehovah God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. And Jehovah God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help meet for him. 19And out of the ground Jehovah God formed every beast of the field, and every bird of the heavens; and brought them unto the man to see what he would call them: and whatsoever the man called every living creature, that was the name thereof. 20And 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.
Read all of Genesis 2Genesis 2:18 word by word
וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהִ֔ים לֹא־ט֛וֹב הֱי֥וֹת הָֽאָדָ֖ם לְבַדּ֑וֹ אֶֽעֱשֶׂהּ־לּ֥וֹ עֵ֖זֶר כְּנֶגְדּֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear
Cross-references for Genesis 2:18
- Genesis 1:31And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
- Genesis 3:12And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
- Ruth 3:1And Naomi her mother-in-law said unto her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee?
- Proverbs 18:22Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, And obtaineth favor of Jehovah.
- Ecclesiastes 4:9Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor.
- 1 Corinthians 7:36But if any man thinketh that he behaveth himself unseemly toward his virgin daughter, if she be past the flower of her age, and if need so requireth, let him do what he will; he sinneth not; let them marry.
- 1 Corinthians 11:7For a man indeed ought not to have his head veiled, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man.
- 1 Timothy 2:11Let a woman learn in quietness with all subjection.
- 1 Peter 3:7Ye husbands, in like manner, dwell withyour wivesaccording to knowledge, giving honor unto the woman, as unto the weaker vessel, as being also joint-heirs of the grace of life; to the end that your prayers be not hindered.
Commentaries on Genesis 2:18
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18It is not good that the man should be alone - לבדו lebaddo ; only himself. I will make him a help meet for him; כנגדו עזר ezer kenegdo, a help, a counterpart of himself, one formed from him, and a perfect resemblance of his person. If the word be rendered scrupulously literally, it signifies one like, or as himself, standing opposite to or before him. And this implies that the woman was to be a perfect resemblance of the man, possessing neither…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 18- XIII. The Naming of the Animals Here man‘s intellectual faculties proceed from the passive and receptive to the active and communicative stage. This advance is made in the review and designation of the various species of animals that frequent the land and skies. A new and final need of man is stated in Genesis 2:18. The Creator himself, in whose image he was made, had revealed himself to him in language. This, among many other effects, awakened the…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 18-25Verses 18-25 Power over the creatures was given to man, and as a proof of this he named them all. It also shows his insight into the works of God. But though he was lord of the creatures, yet nothing in this world was a help meet for man. From God are all our helpers. If we rest in God, he will work all for good. God caused deep sleep to fall on Adam; while he knows no sin, God will take care that he shall feel no pain. God, as her Father, brought the…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 18It is not good: This is God's first negative comment about an otherwise good creation (1:31). The Lord God is like a father finding a bride for his son (compare chapter 24). The solution for the man's need is a helper who is perfect for him. She is his ideal partner. God made her in the same image of God (1:26–27), gave her the same mission (1:28; 2:15), and gave her the same rule (2:17). The man cannot achieve his purpose alone.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 18-2518. it is not good for the man to be alone--In the midst of plenty and delights, he was conscious of feelings he could not gratify. To make him sensible of his wants,Read the comment
Topics related to Genesis 2:18
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Genesis 2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
American Standard Version — 1901 — Public Domain
Commentaries