what does genesis 2:18 mean?

I’m not a scholar and I’ve never been to bible college or had any amount of training in understanding Hebrew. I encourage anyone reading this to do their own research, take this to God, and come to their own conclusions. We’re going to have a look at another passage in Genesis (I am on a Genesis ROLL). In Genesis 2:18, the Lord God decides to create WAHINE.

NLT: Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.”

NIV: The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

NKJV: And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.”

KJV: And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

The translation of the phrase ‘עֵזֶר כְּנֶגְדּוֹ’ or ‘ezer kenegdo’ is literally ‘help meet.’ The Hebrew term ‘ezer’ is used twenty-one times in the old testament, twice in regard to the first woman, three times in regard to military support in life threatening situations, and SIXTEEN times in regard to God. What I’ve found is that throughout the old testament, ‘ezer’ means to surround with protection, to aid, to save, and to be a strong military presence. For example:

Exodus 18:4. ‘His second son was named Eliezer, for Moses had said, “The God of my ancestors was my helper; he rescued me from the sword of Pharaoh.” (The name ‘Eliezer’ means ‘God is my helper,’ from ‘eli’ which means ‘my God’ and ‘ezer,’ being ‘helper.’)

Deuteronomy 33:29. “How blessed you are, O Israel! Who else is like you, a people saved by the Lord? He is your protecting shield and your triumphant sword! Your enemies will cringe before you, and you will stomp on their backs!”

Deuteronomy 33:26. “There is no one like the God of Israel. He rides across the heavens to help you, across the skies in majestic splendour.”

Ezekiel 12:14. ‘I will scatter his servants and warriors (other translations say ‘helpers’) to the four winds and send the sword after them.’

Psalm 30:10. “Hear me, Lord, and have mercy on me. Help me, O Lord.”

Psalm 70:5. “But as for me, I am poor and needy; please hurry to my aid, O God. You are my helper and my saviour. O Lord, do not delay.”

This word, ‘ezer,’ is the word used throughout the old testament to describe God as our helper, protector, shield, and strength. It is also the word used by God to describe the first woman. Women are created in God’s image and represent characteristics of Him. Genesis 2:18 has been used to justify the idea that women were created to be assistants to men. I believe that a warped interpretation of this phrase has led to a warped perspective on Christian gender roles.

The first (and less confusing) part of Genesis 2:18 is God saying that it is not good for the man to be alone. Adam was not LONELY in the garden. He was ALONE. Revelation 4:11 says, “You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honour and power. For you created all things, and they exist because you created what you pleased.” God did not create woman to please man, to satisfy his loneliness, or to be his subordinate assistant. God created wahine because he created what he pleased.

I’m not trying to be controversial by saying this. It genuinely seems pretty straightforward to me. I believe in a God of absolute truth. However, many passages in the Bible leave a lot of room for interpretation and wriggle room (anyone who teaches that there’s no such thing as perspective is lying to you). The reality is that we all bring our pre-conceived ideas and biases to scripture as we read it, and so I might understand one passage in a completely different way to you. The point I’m trying to get at is that we are only human; PEOPLE are not absolute.

Anyway, short and sharp post this week, just a bit of food for thought. It’s been really fun looking up some of the original Hebrew and going really in-depth with Genesis. I’d love to hear anyone’s thoughts on ‘ezer kenegdo,’ especially if you are someone who has some knowledge of biblical Hebrew!