![]() An ‘ezer is not a lesser “assistant” or “helper” as much as it is someone who plays a mutual role of “the indispensable other,” a strong and wise guide, without whom the intended good cannot happen. Then God calls this woman an “ ‘ezer kenegdo.” The Hebrew word ‘ezer might be translated as “help,” but it does not mean what we often assume. Adam's goodness and life depends on Eve, and hers depends on his. We get a portrait of two humans, each one half of a united whole, deeply dependent on the other. So God’s creation of Eve is a process of dividing Adam in half and then building Eve from one side of him. The biblical authors use tsela to refer to the two halves of the ark of the covenant, the two halves of the temple, and the two halves of the new Jerusalem. Outside of Genesis 2, the word is mainly used to describe the architecture of the tabernacle or temple (e.g., Exod. We often talk about this as though God took a rib from Adam and created Eve with it, but the Hebrew word tsela (often translated as “rib”) is never used as an anatomical term in any other passage in Scripture. God solves the problem by first dividing Adam in half (Gen. Now the authors introduce a problem-an intentional literary design move-as they show God saying it is “not good” for the human to be alone (Gen. Over and over, the authors show God declaring his creation “good” (Hebrew: tov), that is, until he sees the human (Hebrew: adam) alone. We are then transported to a garden filled with trees, rivers, and animals (Gen. In Genesis 1, God speaks creation into existence.
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