2:18 Adam's creation was not complete because he lacked a "helper"who corresponded to him. This deficiency led God to pronounce Adam's condition "not good."151God not only evaluated Adam's condition, He also rectified it.152
"In Judaism, from the very moment of origins of the Jewish people, marriage was considered to be the ideal state."153
God's provision of a wife for Adam is a concrete example of God's knowing what is good for man.154Companionship replaced isolation. For companionship to be satisfying, however, there must be oneness in the marriage (cf. 1:26-27). Self-centered living destroys oneness and companionship.
The term "helper"does not mean a servant. Jesus Christ used the same word (the Greek equivalent) to describe the Holy Spirit who would help believers following the Lord's ascension (John 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7). It means one who supports us in our task of doing the will of God (cf. Deut. 33:7; Ps. 33:20; 115:9-11; 146:5; Hos. 13:9). It is not a demeaning term since Scripture often uses it to describe God Himself (e.g., Ps. 33:20; 70:5; 115:9). "Suitable to him"or "corresponding to him"means that what was true of Adam (cf. v. 7) was also true of Eve. They both had the same nature.
"Since Adam and Eve were a spiritual unity, living in integrity without sin, there was no need for instruction here on headship."155
2:19-20 The text does not mean that Adam named every individual animal. He apparently gave names to the different kinds God brought before him. This exercise demonstrated Adam's authority over the animals and the dissimilarity between humans and animals. He became aware of his own need for a companion as he named the animals.
"Adam"comes from the Hebrew word for "earth"(adamah). "Adam"means "one that is red"like the earth.156Likewise the names of the animals probably expressed the nature of each animal. Names of humans in Old Testament times usually reflected the nature of the persons who bore them. This indicates that Adam must have had great intelligence and wisdom to be able to identify and label the various types of animals according to their natures.
Man is not like the other animals. Adam could find no suitable partner among them. God graciously provided for his need by creating Eve.
2:21-22 More than once when God initiated a new relationship for someone He first put that person to sleep (cf. 15:12; 28:11). He evidently did so to assure the recipient that his own works had no part in his receiving it.157It was totally a gift of God's grace.
God took Eve from Adam's side (Heb. sela') to be his companion, not from his head so she would dominate him or from his foot so Adam could tread on her. He fashioned her to be a suitable companion for Adam. Then He presented her to him as a gift.
"That woman was taken from man no more implies the inferiority of woman to man than the taking of man from the ground (adamfrom adamah) implies the inferiority of man to the ground."158
". . . the whole account of woman's creation has a poetic flavor: it is certainly mistaken to read it as an account of a clinical operation or as an attempt to explain some feature of man's anatomy . . . Rather, it brilliantly depicts the relation of man and wife. . . . Here the ideal of marriage as it was understood in ancient Israel is being portrayed, a relationship characterized by harmony and intimacy between the partners."159
2:23 The word "woman"(Heb. ishah) sounds similar to the Hebrew word translated "man"(ish). This similarity reflects the close union between the two.160
"Gen. 2 is unique among the creation myths of the whole of the Ancient Near East in its appreciation of the meaning of woman, i.e., that human existence is a partnership of man and woman."161
"Though they are equal in nature, that man names woman (cf. 3:20) indicates that she is expected to be subordinate to him, an important presupposition of the ensuing narrative (3:17)."162
When Adam discovered that God had provided him with a partner like himself, not like one of the other animals, he rejoiced greatly. He received his mate as God's good gift to him because he trusted in God's wisdom, goodness, and integrity. Likewise it is essential for every husband and wife to thankfully receive the mate God has given us as His best provision for us. To do so we must know and trust God's goodness. Our mate's differences are good things God brings to us that He will use as tools to shape us into the people He wants us to be. Failure to accept one's mate as a good gift from a loving God leads to many problems in marriage and frustrates God's purpose and plan for marriage. It expresses rejection of God and His provision for one's life. It also demonstrates unbelief, disobedience, and displeasure with God's character. Your mate needs your unconditional acceptance. Adam was now beside himself! (Pardon the pun.)
2:24 This verse clarifies God's purpose in marriage. It involves leaving parents and cleaving to one's spouse.163
". . . Israelite marriage was usually patrilocal, that is, the man continued to live in or near his parents' home. It was the wife who left home to join her husband."164
This probably means both psychological and physical separation and union under normal conditions. A newly married couple is wise to establish relative independence from both sets of parents emotionally, physically, financially, and in other ways. The couple also needs to establish commitment to one another. Cleaving resembles weaving two threads into one new piece of cloth. The word suggests the ideas of passion and permanence. In marriage a man's priorities change. Before they were primarily to his parents, but now they are primarily to his wife. Marriage also involves physical consummation that unites two individuals as "one flesh.""One flesh"is not the same as marriage (1 Cor. 6:16). For there to be a marriage there must also be a commitment to "leave"parents and "cleave"to one's spouse from then on (cf. Matt. 19:5; et al.).
2:25 The naked condition of Adam and Eve does not just describe their unclothed physical appearance. It also refers to the physical and psychological oneness and transparency that existed in their relationship. Physically they were naked; they shared their bodies with each other openly. Psychologically they were not ashamed; they hid nothing from each other. They were at ease with one another without any fear of exploitation for evil. Transparency should increase with trust, commitment, and friendship. It involves communicating what we know, think, feel, and are with the person or persons we choose. We should not be transparent with everyone, however, only with people who commit themselves to us. A transparent person is an open and vulnerable person.
This is a hinge verse. It looks backward into chapter 2 and forward into chapter 3. The similarity of the Hebrew words for naked (arom) and "crafty"(3:1, arum) points to a word play. This word for nakedness means unclothed whereas the one in 3:7 (erom) and elsewhere describes those under God's judgment (cf. Deut. 28:48; Ezek. 16:39; 23:29).165
Verses 18-25 teach us much about marriage.
1. God instituted it.
2. God intended it to be monogamous (not monotonous). One woman completed Adam (cf. Matt. 19:8).
3. God intended it to be heterosexual.
4. It involves both a physical and a spiritual union (2:24; cf. Matt. 9:4-5).
5. The husband was to be the head of the wife. God created Adam before Eve, and He created Eve for Adam (cf. 1 Cor. 11:8-9; 1 Tim. 2:13).
6. A woman can be a complete person without bearing children. Her basic function in marriage is to complement her husband, not to bear children.
7. Normally, a couple, following the lead of their representatives, Adam and Eve, should "be fruitful and multiply"(1:28). God did not specify how early in the marriage and to what extent. He left this up to the couple. Couples may choose when and how many children they plan to have, though God may sovereignly overrule their plans.
The Family Ministry organization has summarized these purposes as five. Marriage should mirror God's image, multiply a godly heritage, manage God's realm, mutually complete one another, and model Christ's relationship to the church.166
The Bible writers made use of the creation account in many different ways, and we too can use it in these ways for our own personal profit. These purposes include glorifying the God of creation, stimulating praise and worship, and fortifying faith in God's promises. They also include learning about God's attributes, expressing wonder at man's position in God's universe, dispelling fear, and exalting the Lord Jesus.167
However a main point of this unit (2:4-25) seems clearly to be that God made human beings male and female with a spiritual capacity and mutually dependent. He did so that they might serve and obey Him and so enjoy His creation. As Adam and Eve, God later placed Israel in a place of blessing. The nation could enjoy His blessing by being obedient and trusting with the assistance He had provided for them in marriage. Even today serving and obeying God is man's greatest privilege, and we find help to do this in the marriage relationship.
"Two primary themes dominate the Creation account [1:1-2:25]: the land and the blessing."168
The theme of descendants (seed) is also present, though perhaps not as prominent (1:28).
