Texts in Conversation
Genesis 2 has God say "I will make" a companion for the man. The Greek Septuagint changes this to "let us make," matching the plural of Genesis 1:26 and implying the creation of woman involved the same divine deliberation.
Share:
2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Genesis 2:18
Hebrew Bible
18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a companion for him who corresponds to him.” 19 The Lord God formed out of the ground every living animal of the field and every bird of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them, and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man named all the animals, the birds of the air, and the living creatures of the field, but for Adam no companion who corresponded to him was found.
Date: 750–400 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
LXX Genesis 2:18
Septuagint
18 And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone, let us make for him a help suitable to him. 19 And God formed yet farther out of the earth all the wild beasts of the field, and all the birds of the sky, and he brought them to Adam, to see what he would call them, and whatever Adam called any living creature, that was the name of it. 20 And Adam gave names to all the cattle and to all the birds of the sky, and to all the wild beasts of the field, but for Adam there was not found a help like to himself.
Date: 300–201 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
Search:
Notes and References
"... The Septuagint Genesis 1:26 follows the Bible closely with respect to Adam's creation: "Let us make man according to our image and likeness" but it changes the Hebrew singular of Genesis 2:18 into the plural "...let us make for him a help suitable to him," thus harmonizing the creation of the woman with that of the man. The implied resemblance drew the Church Fathers' attention and incited them to endow the episode with Christological meaning." ..."
Katrin Kogman-Appel and Mati Meyer, eds., Between Judaism and Christianity: Art Historical Essays in Honor of Elisheva (Elisabeth) Revel-Neher (Leiden: Brill, 2008), 258.
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
Your Feedback:
Leave a Comment
Anonymous comments are welcome. All comments are subject to moderation.
User Comments
,