Genesis 2:18-25
18 And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” 19 Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him.
21 And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. 22 Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man.
23 And Adam said:
“This is now bone of my bones
And flesh of my flesh;
She shall be called Woman,
Because she was taken out of Man.”
24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
21 And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. 22 Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man.
23 And Adam said:
“This is now bone of my bones
And flesh of my flesh;
She shall be called Woman,
Because she was taken out of Man.”
24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
God made man and knew being alone was not His plan, so He made helpers fit for the image bearer of God Himself. This is not as if He just figured it out and scrambled to find a fix, nor that it took a while to make the right one fitting for man, but is written for our benefit to see why He made all the animals before the woman. Just as man, the animals were all made out of the dust (Ecclesiastes 3:19-20), the elements of the world, and then given life. Adam then was tasked with naming each of them to value the creation God gave for his benefit. God then let Adam see his need for one like him, fitting as a helper in God’s image, which the animals were not. Though the animals were also made of the same dust, they were not of the same spirit nor the same design as a bearer of God’s very image, which sets man apart from animals. Many would like to bring man down to an animal or raise animals to eternal soul status of man, but they sadly miss the lessons God shows here. God’s next step of His plan was to create woman out of Adam himself, not directly from the dust (the only living being so made), and present her to Adam as he most precious gift and equal helper for the task of filling the earth and caring for it (Genesis 1:27-28). Adam was ecstatic! His joy and thanksgiving to God and for Eve are seen in his song of response, knowing she was part of him, ishah from ish, woman (אִשָּׁה) taken from out of the very being and body of God-created man (אִישׁ). This was truly cause for such rejoicing after finding no animal could be equal or helpful in carrying out God’s plan and task. The lesson is summed up as a command as well, that the children of our initial ancestors, our progenitors, will each cling to each other in marriage by separating from their parents to join as one. The last word here shows their innocence apart from knowing good and evil yet; they were naked and unashamed, for they knew nothing of inordinate desire yet, only God-given desires.
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