These are the first words spoken by a human in the Bible

Adam is the first human to speak in the Bible and he doesn't speak until the second chapter of Genesis.

Help Aleteia continue its mission by making a tax-deductible donation. In this way, Aleteia's future will be yours as well.

Donate with just 3 clicks

*Your donation is tax deductible!

Have you ever thought about the first words spoken by a human in the Bible? God is the first being to speak in the entire Bible, saying with authority and power, “Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3).

However, humans don’t come on the scene until the sixth day of creation. Adam is the first human to be created, but his first words aren’t recorded until Eve is created.

Then when Adam sees Eve, he speaks the first words of a human recorded in the Bible.

This at last is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called Woman,
because she was taken out of Man.
Genesis 2:23

St. John Paul II reflects on these words in a general audience in 1979, seeing in them Adam’s first expression of joy.

In this way the man manifests for the first time joy and even exaltation, for which he had no reason before, owing to the lack of a being like himself. Joy in the other human being, in the second “self,” dominates the words spoken by the man on seeing the woman. All this helps to establish the full meaning of original unity. The words here are few, but each one is of great weight.

Prior to the creation of Eve, Adam was “alone” among the animals, not finding a “helper” fit for him.

Now he sees that God has created for him Eve, and his joy overflows into words, rejoicing at the sight of woman.