Ishshah (אִשָּׁה) is the primary Hebrew word for woman and wife. Its etymology is famously articulated in Genesis 2:23, where Adam coins the name by derivation from ish (man): "This one shall be called Woman (ishshah), because she was taken out of Man (ish)." The word encompasses a woman in general, a married woman, or a female creature.
The creation of ishshah is the climactic act of creation — the first human speech, poetry, and covenant. God declares that it is "not good" for man to be alone, and the ishshah is the divine solution. Paul uses the Adam-Eve relationship as the foundational image for Christ and the Church (Ephesians 5:25-32), making ishshah one of Scripture's great types of the redeemed community.