Genesis 2:18

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

16The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; 17but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.” Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.” 19Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. 20The man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him.

Genesis 2:18 word by word

וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהִ֔ים לֹא־ט֛וֹב הֱי֥וֹת הָֽאָדָ֖ם לְבַדּ֑וֹ אֶֽעֱשֶׂהּ־לּ֥וֹ עֵ֖זֶר כְּנֶגְדּֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear

• Then the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• It is not goodטוֹבţôb · pleasantH2896
• for the manאָדָם'âdâm · the man (Adam)H120
• to be aloneבַּדbad · aloneH905
• I will makeעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to makeH6213
• him a helperעֵ֫זֶר‛êzer · helperH5828
• suitableנֶ֫גֶדneged · beforeH5048

Cross-references for Genesis 2:18

• Genesis 1:31God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
• Genesis 3:12The man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate.”
• Ruth 3:1Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, shall I not seek security for you, that it may be well with you?
• Proverbs 18:22He who finds a wife finds a good thing And obtains favor from the Lord.
• Ecclesiastes 4:9Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor.
• 1 Corinthians 7:36But if any man thinks that he is acting unbecomingly toward his virgin daughter, if she is past her youth, and if it must be so, let him do what he wishes, he does not sin; let her marry.
• 1 Corinthians 11:7For a man ought not to have his head covered, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man.
• 1 Timothy 2:11A woman must quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness.
• 1 Peter 3:7You husbands in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with someone weaker, since she is a woman; and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be 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

• Adam
• God
• Wife
• Women

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Adam
• Alone
• Bdellium
• Bless
• Breathe
• Cleave
• Close
• Deep

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