478. The reason he is called Adam is that the Hebrew word Adam means man. But the fact that Adam was never used as a proper name, only Man, is quite clear from the consideration that both here and earlier he is spoken of in the plural and not in the singular, and that the term refers to both man and woman. The two together are called Man. Anyone may see from these words that both are included, for it is said, 'He called their name Man on the day in which they were created', and similarly in 1:26, 28, 'Let Us make man in Our image, and they will have dominion over the fish of the sea. This shows also that the subject is not about someone who, when created, was the first human being of all, but about the Most Ancient Church.

7269. 'And Aaron your brother will be your prophet' means doctrinal teachings derived from it. This is clear from the meaning of 'prophet' as the truth contained in doctrinal teachings, thus teachings derived from the Word, dealt with in 2534. For more about the representation of 'Aaron' as the teachings of the Church or teachings derived from the Word which present what is good and true, see 6998, 7009, 7089. Since 'prophet' means doctrinal teachings, its meaning in a more precise and limited sense is, in accordance with what has been stated immediately above at the end of 7268, a teacher.