Genesis 5:2

Genesis 5:2 states: "He created them male and female, and He blessed them and named them Adam (humanity) in the day when they were created." Piper uses this verse to argue that God gave the man's name (Adam) to both, proving a "masculine feel" to Christianity. But the Hebrew 'adam' means "humanity" — God named them both "human," not "male." Piper's argument backfires: God did not privilege the male name; he called both by the species name. Furthermore, Piper's claim that God reveals himself "pervasively as King, not Queen, and as Father, not Mother" ignores: (1) God comparing himself to a mother in labor (Isa 42:14), a nursing mother (Isa 49:15), a mother hen (Matt 23:37), and a woman searching for a lost coin (Luke 15:8-10); (2) Wisdom personified as female throughout Proverbs; (3) The Spirit (ruach) is grammatically feminine in Hebrew. God transcends gender — masculine language reflects ancient cultural conventions, not ontological masculinity.

Hebrew Analysis — Genesis 5:2

Key Terms

• זָכָר וּנְקֵבָה (zakar unqebah) — "male and female." As in Genesis 1:27, the pairing emphasizes that both sexes together constitute humanity. They are not ranked or differentiated by role in this foundational statement.

• וַיִּקְרָא אֶת־שְׁמָם אָדָם (wayyiqra et-shemam adam) — "and he called their name Adam (humanity)." The critical point: God named both of them (shemam, 3rd person masculine plural suffix) with the name adam. The name adam — which becomes the man's proper name — was originally the name of both male and female together. God's naming act encompasses both persons under one designation.

Complementarians sometimes argue that the man's "naming" of the woman in Genesis 2:23 signals authority over her. But Genesis 5:2 shows that God named them both adam. If naming signals authority, then God's naming authority over both supersedes any derivative human naming. Furthermore, the shared name adam indicates shared identity and status, not hierarchy.

• בְּיוֹם הִבָּרְאָם (beyom hibbaram) — "on the day they were created." The infinitive construct with the temporal preposition be- ("on the day of") links this naming to the creation event itself. From the moment of creation, both male and female share one name and one identity before God.

WIM Significance

Genesis 5:2 undermines the complementarian "naming = authority" argument by showing that God named both the man and the woman adam. The shared name signals shared identity, shared dignity, and shared status before God. If anything, the naming hierarchy runs from God (who names both) downward — not from male (who allegedly names female) downward. The text presents male and female as a unified pair created in God's image with a shared identity, reinforcing the co-equal vision of Genesis 1:26-28.

For the full argument analysis, see the Argument Library entry.

Summary: Piper's "Masculine Christianity" arguments and refutations: (1) "God chose only male priests" — Aaronic priesthood was by genealogical lineage, excluding most men too. The NT priesthood of all believers includes women (1 Pet 2:9). (2) "Jesus chose 12 male apostles" — Jesus sent male witnesses to the unbelieving world where male testimony was legally required; he sent women as first witnesses to the church (Luke 24, John 20). (3) "Paul says overseers should be men (1 Tim 2:12)" — this is the very