English translations of the Bible miss a lot of the intended meaning.

The original Hebrew and Greek are more descriptive than English, and we often miss important nuances in our translations. The Adam and Eve creation story is packed with more meaning than translated.

I want to focus on two words. But first, the verse:

And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help meet for him. -Genesis 2:18 KJV

Other translations say something to the effect of, “I will make a helper suitable for him.”

Help Meet = ezer

The word “help meet” is the Hebrew word ezer (pronounced ay’zer). This means “helper” or “an aid.”

Pretty straight forward.

However, what gets lost is that this same word is used 16 times in reference to God being our helper.

The word “help” is in the Old Testament over 100 times, yet this specific word for “help” is used only in reference to God and Eve.

Eve isn’t a helper to Adam like a servant. She is a helper to him in the way that God is a helper.

For Him = neged

The words “for him” is neged (pronounced neh’-ghed) in Hebrew.

A more accurate translation would be “corresponding to him.”

The picture painted with neged is those that are opposite each other (like face-to-face), which answer to each other, but which are alike. 

When God made Eve “for” Adam, he didn’t set it up where Adam would rule and Eve would serve. His original intent was that they were opposite, but equal, and answered to one another.

They were equal partners on earth. Eve was created to help Adam in the same way God helped him and partnered with him.

Let’s rewrite Genesis 2:18,

And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; let us create for Adam someone that corresponds to him, is equal but opposite, and will help him the same way I do.

This is just a glimmer of the original design for marriage.

Spouses equal to each other. Equal for each other.