God identified Himself as a “Helper” (Heb. ‘ezer) to Israel (Ex. 18:4, Deut. 33:7). The word does not imply inferiority. It describes function rather than worth.  No one loses value in humbly assuming the role of helper. As a “helper” to the man, the woman became his partner spiritually in the overwhelming task of obedience to God and dominion over the earth. She was also to be a vital part of extending the generations (Gen. 1:28). The woman, as ultimate friend to the man, would bring him comfort and fellowship (Gen. 2:23-24). No one else could encourage and inspire him as she was created to do. The phrase “comparable to him” (Heb. kenegdo, lit. “corresponding to what is in front of him”) occurs only in verses 18 and 20, emphasising the commonality of the man and the woman.  Designed as the perfect counterpart for the man, the woman was neither inferior nor superior, but she was alike and equal to the man in her personhood while different and unique in her function.

Man and woman were both created in God’s image. Just as man was formed from earth, woman was formed from man. She corresponds perfectly to the man, the same flesh and blood, and in the “image of God” just as the man equal to him in every way (Gen. 1:27). By the creative act itself, she is inseparably linked to the man.  The unity of the race is assured (Gen. 1:27-28): the woman’s dignity and worth is affirmed (Gen 2:22); the foundation for Christian marriage is set forth in a memorable way (Gen 2:24).

The woman was not an afterthought. The man was designed and created physically, emotionally, socially, and spiritually with her coming creation planned and assured.  In fact, God said that the man “alone” was not good; he needed the woman (Gen. 2:18). God made man from “the dust of the ground”, but he made woman from “the rib” (Heb. tsela’, lit. “side”) of the man.

God uses Adam to express the uniqueness of the woman in a unique play on words. Even the language itself reflects the unity God planned between the man (Heb. ‘ish) and woman (Heb. ‘ishshah). The expression “bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh” occurs elsewhere in the Old Testament as an expression of blood relationship.  Though Adam’s naming of the woman does not require his authority over her, the act of assigning a name in the Oriental culture – even to now – is significant and in most cases does imply both authority and responsibility. Note, for example, the naming of the animals (Gen 2:19-20), Pharoah’s renaming of Joseph (Gen 41:45), the renaming of Mattaniah by Nebuchadnezzar (2 Kin. 24:17) and the renaming of Daniel and his friends by Nebuchadnezzar’s eunuch (Dan 1:6-7). The woman’s name is a recognition of her origins, in the same way that Adam’s name acknowledges his creation from the earth (Gen. 2:19).