“And the man was intimate [vehaadam yada]” – Rabbi Huna and Rabbi Yaakov bar Avin said in the name of Rabbi Abba bar Kahana: No creature engaged in cohabitation before Adam the first man – vayeda is not written here, but rather, “vehaadam yada Eve his wife”2Adam is mentioned before the verb, indicating that Adam was the first to engage in intercourse. – he taught the means of cohabitation to all. Another matter, “[He banished the man…] and the man was intimate [yada] [with Eve [ḥava]]” (Genesis 3:23–4:1) – he realized [yada] from what tranquility he had been displaced, and he realized [yada] what Eve had done to him.
Rav Aḥa said [of Eve]: The serpent was your serpent and you were Adam’s serpent [ḥivia].3That is, the serpent was the cause of your downfall, and you, in turn, were the cause of Adam’s downfall. “She conceived and gave birth to Cain” – Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya said: Three miracles occurred on that day. On that day they were created, on that day they cohabited, and on that day they produced offspring Rabbi Yehoshua ben Korḥa said: Two people went up into the bed and seven descended: Cain and his twin sister and Abel and his two twin sisters.
“And said: I have acquired a man with [et] the Lord” – when a woman bears children, she says: I have now acquired my husband4Ish (translated in the verse as “man”) can also mean husband. into my possession. Rabbi Yishmael asked Rabbi Akiva, saying to him: Because you studied under Naḥum of Gam Zo for twenty-two years, [who taught:] The words akh and rak are restrictive expressions, et and gam are inclusive expressions, [I ask you:] What is the meaning of the et that is written here?
He said: Had it been written: Kaniti ish Hashem it would have been difficult,5Omitting et, It would have implied that she had acquired the Holy One blessed be He. so instead, it stated “with God” [et Hashem].6Thus, et is not superfluous here, and no teaching should be derived from its use. He said to him: “For it is not an empty matter for you [mikem]” (Deuteronomy 32:47) – if it is empty, it is because of you [mikem],7If you find something in the Torah that appears devoid of significance, it is because of your own ignorance. because you do not know how to expound.
Rather, et Hashem – previously, Adam was created from earth and Eve was created from Adam. But from now on, [Eve said,] offspring will come about in our image and in our likeness – a man will not [produce offspring] without woman, nor will a woman without a man, nor both of them without the Divine Presence.8Kaniti ish et Hashem means: I have acquired this child through a man and through God.