-
†. Gen 2:18 . .Yhvh God said: It's not good for Adam to be solitary; I
will make a fitting helper for him.
"a fitting helper" is from two Hebrew words. "Fitting" is from neged (neh'
ghed) which means: a front, i.e. part opposite; specifically a counterpart, or
mate. The word for "helper" is from 'ezer (ay'-zer) which means: aid.
Note that aid isn't spelled with an "e" as in aide; so that Eve wasn't meant to
be either Adam's servant, nor his assistant; but rather, his assistance-- in
other words; his aid as in first aid. Note that assistance is not spelled the
same as assistant nor are the two words synonyms. An assistant does what
they're told, while assistance is supportive.
You know what that suggests to me? It suggests that Adam didn't really
have it all that easy in his world, and that Eve's companionship made his life
a lot more tolerable and worth the living. The helper that God made for
Adam would be both his counterpart, and his crutch. In other words: wives
are really at their best when they strengthen their men to go out that door
and face the big, bad, mean world.
In making a statement like Gen 2:18; God made it very clear right from the
beginning that human beings were not intended to live a celibate life. If male
human life was packaged in a box of software, one of its system
requirements would be Companion. Woman's potential for companionship is
the primary reason that God made her-- not for her sex appeal nor for her
reproductive value; no, for companionship.
Before God introduced the man to a woman, He first gave the man an
opportunity to seek appropriate companionship from among the creatures of
the animal kingdom. That route proved futile.
†. Gen 2:19-20a . . And the Lord God formed out of the earth all the
wild beasts and all the birds of the sky, and brought them to the man
to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called each
living creature, that would be its name. And the man gave names to
all the cattle and to the birds of the sky and to all the wild beasts;
Adam gave names to all the beasts of the field, to all the fowls of the air,
and to all the livestock. He wasn't tasked with naming aquatic life; only terra
life.
The point is, even limiting Adam's task to just beasts, fowls, and livestock
would have been an overwhelming task if as many varieties existed in his
day as ours; which I honestly don't think did because, for one thing, prior to
the existence of humans the earth underwent some mass extinction events.
It's believed by some that during the Permian period, 96 percent of all
marine species and more than 50 percent of all other species disappeared.
Later, at the end of the Cretaceous period, it's believed that another 1/3 of
plant and animal species, including the dinosaur guys, went extinct. So that
by the time we get to Adam, a pretty good percentage of the original flora
and fauna was gone; converted into fossil bones and fossil fuels.
I'm sure Adam loved animals; I mean look: he gave them all names; which
is something that people who make their living in animal husbandry try to
avoid because the practice can lead to attachments; thus making the
situation very difficult when it's time for sale and/or slaughter.
My wife's kindergarten class visits a working dairy farm every year where all
the cows and the calves have number tags stapled in their ears. On the
books, those numbers are the bovines' names; but in a matter of minutes,
my wife's kinders give the little calves real names because it's just in human
nature to do that. (I named one White Shoulder because it had an epaulette
of white hair on its right shoulder)
But as cute and cuddly as creatures are, they just don't have what it takes
to be the kind of companion that a human being really needs.
†. Gen 2:20b . . but for Adam no fitting helper was found.
That's telling me that people who seek companionship from a pet are out of
kilter because pets are unbefitting-- they're a lower form of life than people;
and God didn't create them to be people's companions, no, according to Gen
1:26-28 He created them to be people's servants.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
†. Gen 2:18 . .Yhvh God said: It's not good for Adam to be solitary; I
will make a fitting helper for him.
"a fitting helper" is from two Hebrew words. "Fitting" is from neged (neh'
ghed) which means: a front, i.e. part opposite; specifically a counterpart, or
mate. The word for "helper" is from 'ezer (ay'-zer) which means: aid.
Note that aid isn't spelled with an "e" as in aide; so that Eve wasn't meant to
be either Adam's servant, nor his assistant; but rather, his assistance-- in
other words; his aid as in first aid. Note that assistance is not spelled the
same as assistant nor are the two words synonyms. An assistant does what
they're told, while assistance is supportive.
You know what that suggests to me? It suggests that Adam didn't really
have it all that easy in his world, and that Eve's companionship made his life
a lot more tolerable and worth the living. The helper that God made for
Adam would be both his counterpart, and his crutch. In other words: wives
are really at their best when they strengthen their men to go out that door
and face the big, bad, mean world.
In making a statement like Gen 2:18; God made it very clear right from the
beginning that human beings were not intended to live a celibate life. If male
human life was packaged in a box of software, one of its system
requirements would be Companion. Woman's potential for companionship is
the primary reason that God made her-- not for her sex appeal nor for her
reproductive value; no, for companionship.
Before God introduced the man to a woman, He first gave the man an
opportunity to seek appropriate companionship from among the creatures of
the animal kingdom. That route proved futile.
†. Gen 2:19-20a . . And the Lord God formed out of the earth all the
wild beasts and all the birds of the sky, and brought them to the man
to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called each
living creature, that would be its name. And the man gave names to
all the cattle and to the birds of the sky and to all the wild beasts;
Adam gave names to all the beasts of the field, to all the fowls of the air,
and to all the livestock. He wasn't tasked with naming aquatic life; only terra
life.
The point is, even limiting Adam's task to just beasts, fowls, and livestock
would have been an overwhelming task if as many varieties existed in his
day as ours; which I honestly don't think did because, for one thing, prior to
the existence of humans the earth underwent some mass extinction events.
It's believed by some that during the Permian period, 96 percent of all
marine species and more than 50 percent of all other species disappeared.
Later, at the end of the Cretaceous period, it's believed that another 1/3 of
plant and animal species, including the dinosaur guys, went extinct. So that
by the time we get to Adam, a pretty good percentage of the original flora
and fauna was gone; converted into fossil bones and fossil fuels.
I'm sure Adam loved animals; I mean look: he gave them all names; which
is something that people who make their living in animal husbandry try to
avoid because the practice can lead to attachments; thus making the
situation very difficult when it's time for sale and/or slaughter.
My wife's kindergarten class visits a working dairy farm every year where all
the cows and the calves have number tags stapled in their ears. On the
books, those numbers are the bovines' names; but in a matter of minutes,
my wife's kinders give the little calves real names because it's just in human
nature to do that. (I named one White Shoulder because it had an epaulette
of white hair on its right shoulder)
But as cute and cuddly as creatures are, they just don't have what it takes
to be the kind of companion that a human being really needs.
†. Gen 2:20b . . but for Adam no fitting helper was found.
That's telling me that people who seek companionship from a pet are out of
kilter because pets are unbefitting-- they're a lower form of life than people;
and God didn't create them to be people's companions, no, according to Gen
1:26-28 He created them to be people's servants.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=