Free Bible Commentary
“Genesis 2:18-25”
Categories: Genesis“Then the Lord God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.’ Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. The Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. he man 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.’ For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.”
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“It is not good for the man to be alone.” Human beings are by nature social beings. God made us with the innate inner desire to associate, communicate, integrate with other people. Animals (also made “out of the ground”) were brought to Adam to give names to in order to demonstrate his sovereignty over all the creatures of the earth (Genesis 1:28), but also to show him that he did lack one thing that was necessary for his fitting fulfillment—a suitable companion. A dog may be called “man’s best friend”, but no animal was “found” to be a “helper suitable for him.” With all the living beings surrounding him, Adam was still alone. Of all the things that God described as “good” in chapter one, He declared being alone to be just the opposite.
“The Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man” (verse 21). Anyone who has undergone a serious operation can appreciate this! The Lord was about to perform major surgery and extract a rib! The Lord God “fashioned” or literally “built” the woman from the rib of the man. The man was “formed” from “dust” but the woman was “fashioned” from a segment near unto the heart of man. The woman was not taken from man’s feet to walk over her, but from his torso, to forever be by his side, in an earthly union that is more intimate than any other should be. She was taken from his body and given for his body. The Lord “brought her to the man” (verse 22). God presented Adam his bride, his greatest gift, his helpmate, his companion, his completion.
James Burton Coffman quotes Doctor Elton Stubblefield in an interesting “side” note: “The rib is the only portion of the human body that carries within it every type (of which there are several) of cell to be found in a human body, and that theoretically, it is absolutely possible to clone an entire human being from a single rib!” Of course God could have formed woman from whatever substance or whatever part He wished. But this is a very intriguing observation.
The first recorded human utterance conveys words of pure delight and utter jubilation! “This is now” (verse 23)! This exclamation is lost in most English translations. Adam is literally saying “At last!” “Finally!” This statement always reminds me of the opening lyric to the old Etta James classic: “At last, my love has come along. My lonely days are over”! No animal companionship, no perverted masculine "relationship", no material or monetary possess can offer man the earthly fulfillment that woman can (and vice versa). She is the only suitable “helper” for him. This is not an expression of condescension because the same Hebrew term is used in the Bible to describe God as our Helper (Psalm 54:4).
Nahum Sarna observed about Adam calling his mate “woman”: “Insofar as the power of naming implies authority, the text voices the social reality of the ancient Near East. Yet the terminology used here differs from that employed in verse 20 for naming the animals. Here the man gives her a generic, not a personal, name, and that designation is understood to be derived from his own, which means he acknowledges woman to be his equal. Moreover, in naming her ‘ishah, he simultaneously names himself. Hitherto he is consistently called ‘adam; he now calls himself ‘ish for the first time. Thus he discovers his own manhood and fulfillment only when he faces the woman, the human being who is to be his partner for life.”
“For this reason” (verse 24). Because God originated the institution and covenant of marriage from the creation of woman from man’s rib, “a man shall leave his father and mother, and be joined to his wife.” This is the divinely ordained natural order of things. The marital relationship naturally, and by the will of the Lord God Almighty, takes precedence over a man and woman’s ties to their parents. This is why the two “leave and cleave” to become “one flesh”. The closest of all physical and emotional bonds. God intended marriage to be one man and one woman until death separates them from each other, and Jesus confirmed this truth in Matthew 19:1-9. “Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”
“And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed” (verse 25). "Adam and Eve were as innocent as children who are not aware of their nudity and therefore not embarrassed by it. One might even say they were similar to animals in this way—they, too, have no shame regarding their lack of clothing.” (Dennis Prager).
James Burton Coffman opined about the spiritual implications of this passage: “The mystery hidden before all times is inherently a part of God's revelation here. The sleep coming upon Adam was a prophecy of the death of Christ, the God-Man, on Calvary; and just as the wife of Adam I was taken from his side during that sleep, so that Church of Jesus Christ, the Bride of Adam II was, in a figure, taken from the side of Jesus Christ...” Jesus is called the “last Adam” in 1 Corinthians 15:45 and the church is referred to as the bride of Christ (Revelation 19:7, 21:2, 9), and since Jesus is at the heart of all biblical revelation, this is a compelling observation.
Please read Genesis 3:1-7 for tomorrow.
Have a great day!
- Louie Taylor
