That idea about Adam naming the animals as an extension of the idea of god creating all things through his word (speaking them into existence) is very interesting. The Jewish writers seemed to ignore or be unable to relate to allegory. They seemed to reduce all the data they had to literary truths. In Genesis 2:20, they seem to be saying that while god did the creating, Adam did the naming. So he was able to speak and choose words that he felt were appropriate labels for the animals. Some people say that in those days, words captured the essence of a thing. That brings me back to thinking about god creating the essence of things through words.