Male and female he created them: for comments on Male and female, see 1.27. As in 1.27, translators in languages that have commonly-used dual pronouns distinct from plural pronouns will have to decide whether to make them a reference to the first man and the first woman or to the whole human race in general. Two Pacific languages, for instance, have “God created them-two, [one] a man and [the other] a woman.”

For blessed them see comments on 1.28.

And named them Man is literally “and called them ʾadam,” where ʾadam refers to “mankind” or “human beings.”

When they were created is again “on the day” as in Gen 5.1. This clause is not repeated in Good News Translation, since it is still in effect from Gen 5.1.

Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch restructures verses 1 and 2 by reversing their order, and some translators may be able to do the same:

• God made human beings in his own likeness. He created them man and woman; he blessed them and gave them the name “human beings.” Here is a list of the descendants of the first human beings.

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .