'Helper'

A few weeks ago we discussed the creation of the female from Genesis 2. No matter who's talking about the passage, the issue of Eve being Adam's 'helper' always comes up.

In the Hebrew, the word 'helper' is ézre (רזצ), meaning, essentially, helper. But it's interesting to note where else ézre is used in the Old Testament: it's most commonly found in the Psalms, referring to God as Israel's helper.

In Hebrew, ézre by no means refers to a servant or slave. It means a helpmeet, someone who is necessary for the completion of a task. A proper Hebrew reading of Genesis 2 comes up with that Adam needs Eve, though the reciprical is not necessarily there.

Another thing I discovered while studying this passage was that many scholars (enough that the New Jerusalem Bible of 1973 listed this as the predominate view) believe the greation of Eve was inserted into the J account of creation. Even historical cirticism is unsure of itself (in the next post I plan on looking more at the historical critical study of scripture).