IN LIGHT OF CURRENT EVENTS IN THE WORLD TODAY AND ESPECIALLY LAST FRIDAY IN GENESIS 2:18 THE TWO WORDS "HELP MEET" CAUGHT MY ATTENTION.
I ALWAYS READ THIS AS HELP MATE, SO I DID A LITTLE WORD STUDY AND FOUND OUT THAT HELP MEET IS COMPOSED OF TWO HEBREW WORDS “EZER” AND “K'ENEGDO”
EZER IS TRANSLATED AS – “TO SAVE”, “TO RESCUE”, “TO BE STRONG”, AND “SAVIOR”.
THE WORD K'ENEGDO APPEARS ONLY ONCE IN THE BIBLE AND THAT IS IN GENESIS 2:18. TANSLATED IT MEANS “MEET FOR”, “FIT FOR”, “AGAINST”, AND “IN FRONT OF”, OR “OPPOSITE”.
ONE WRITER PUT IT THIS WAY THAT “HELP MEET” MEANS, “THAT EVE WAS NOT DESIGNED TO BE EXACTLY LIKE ADAM BUT TO BE HIS MIRROR OPPOSITE. POSSESSING THE OTHER HALF OFTHE QUALITIES, RESPONSIBILITIES, AND ATTRIBUTES WHICH ADAM LACKED.”
THIS STUDY COULD GO ON AND WOULD SURLY BE AN INTERESTING SUBJECT IN A BIBLE STUDY CLASS. A STUDY OF THE HEBREW WORDS FOR GOD ESPECIALLY “El Shaddai” WOULD SURLY COME IN PLAY IN THIS STUDY.
MY CONCLUSION AS FAR AS IT WENT IS THAT GOD INTENED FOR IT TO BE A MAN AND A WOMAN TO FORM A UNION TWO MIRROR OPPOSITES NO OTHER UNION CAN PRODUCE “LIFE”.
The Real Meaning of the Term "Help Meet"
“According to biblical scholar David Freedman, the Hebrew word translated thee into English as “help” is ezer. This word is a combination of two roots, one meaning “to rescue”, “to save,” and the other meaning “to be strong.” Just as the roots merged into one word, so did their meanings. At first ezer meant either “to save” or “to be strong,” but in time, said Freedman, ezer “ was always interpreted as ‘to help’ a mixture of both nuances.”
"The noun ezer occurs 21 times in the Hebrew Bible. In eight of these instances the word means “savior”. These examples are easy to identify because they are associated with other expressions of deliverance or saving. Elsewhere in the Bible, the root ezer means “strength.... the word is most frequently used to describe how God is an ezer to man. "
"Neged, a related word which means “against”, was one of the first words I learned in Hebrew. I thought it was very strange that God would create a companion for Adam that was “against” him! Later, I learned that kenegdo could also mean “in front of” or “opposite.” This still didn’t help much. Finally I heard it explained as being “exactly corresponding to,” like when you look at yourself in a mirror."
I've pondered a lot about this clarification of Eve's role and how it is that she has been given a saving power equal but opposite to Adam's saving power. As I've thought about it I realized that while women do much to help and assist men in their stewardship they have been given a stewardship that is uniquely theirs and which is every bit as important as men's stewardship.
Women are "saviors" to men by the fact that they give them life and nurture them towards the light of Christ. By conceiving, creating and bearing mortal bodies women make it possible for God's children to start on their mortal journey and have the opportunity to become perfected. Without women there would be no gateway into this world and no opportunity for progress or exaltation. In addition, by being willing to sacrifice ( their very lives if necessary) to bring children into this world women demonstrate the true meaning of charity. From the very first breath a child takes he or she has been the recipient of charity and unconditional love. This is a powerful gift that a mother gives her child and it will be her love which will first reminded the child of God and points him or her towards Christ. Each woman, regardless of her ability to give birth, is a savior to mankind when she loves men and nurtures a child closer to Christ. (I've mentioned more about this concept in my post The Importance of Birth and Infertility and the Scriptural Promise).
"Thus, it seems that through imprecise translation, our understanding of the powerful words used originally to describe Eve’s role have been diminished. As a result, our understanding or Mother Eve has also been diminished. Suppose we had all, male and female alike, been taught to understand Genesis 2:18 as something like the following, “It is not good that man should be alone. I will make him a companion of strength and power who has a saving power and is equal with him.”"
How different our world would be if men and women really understood that!
