H120 'adam (ah-DAHM) — a human being, humankind. In Genesis 1 it names male and female together.
Word: אָדָם · noun · Strong's H120
In brief
'Adam is the Hebrew word for a human being, or for humankind as a whole. In Genesis 1, God makes 'adam in God's image, "male and female." In Genesis 2, the story calls the first person ha-'adam, "the human," formed from ha-'adamah, "the ground." Only later does 'adam become the personal name Adam. English Bibles decide where that switch happens, and when they switch early, a word about humanity starts to read like a word about one man.
Where it appears
- Genesis 1:26–27 — "Let us make 'adam in our image… male and female he created them." The word includes both.
- Genesis 2:7 — God forms ha-'adam from the dust of ha-'adamah. The article "the" shows this is a description, "the human," not yet a name.
- Genesis 2:18–23 — the words ish (man) and ishah (woman) appear only in 2:23, after the woman is made. Before that, the text says "the human."
- Genesis 5:1–2 — "Male and female he created them… and named them 'adam." God gives the name to both.
What the lexicons say
Lexicons give "human being, humankind, people" as the main sense, with "Adam" as a personal name in a few places in Genesis 2–5. Scholars disagree about the first place it must be a name; suggestions include 2:20, 3:17, 3:21, 4:25, and 5:1, because the Hebrew article comes and goes.
How translations render it
| Translation | Genesis 2:20 | Genesis 5:2 |
|---|---|---|
| KJV | "but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him" | "called their name Adam" |
| ESV | "But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him" | "named them Man" |
| NIV (2011) | "But for Adam no suitable helper was found" | "named them 'Mankind'" |
| NRSV | "but for the man there was not found a helper as his partner" | "named them 'Humankind'" |
| CEB | "But a helper perfect for him was nowhere to be found" | "called them humanity" |
When "Adam" appears early, the creation story reads as the story of a man who is later given a woman. When "the human" is kept longer, the story reads as the making of humanity, which becomes man and woman.
See for yourself
- Read Genesis 1:26–28. Who receives God's image and God's blessing to rule?
- Read Genesis 5:1–2. Whom does God name 'adam?
- In your Bible, find the first place "Adam" appears as a name. Check an interlinear: does the Hebrew have the article "the" there?
Related words
ish / ishah (H376 / H802, man / woman) · ezer kenegdo (H5828 / H5048) · anthrōpos (G444, person)