Previously we discussed Egalitarian beliefs surrounding the word “Ezer”. This word is used in the Hebrew language that the Old Testament was originally written in. Most English translations of the Bible translate the Hebrew word Ezer as “helper” or “help”.
Ezer occurs 21 times throughout various Old Testament books. In most of these instances, Ezer is referring to God as man’s “help” or “helper”. Here are a few examples:
“But I am poor and needy: make haste unto me, O God: thou art my help [EZER] and my deliverer ; O LORD, make no tarrying .”
Psalm 70:5(KJV)
“My help[EZER] cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.”
Psalm 121:2(KJV)
In both of the above passages, as well as most of the other passages where Ezer is used, we can see that Ezer seems to be referring to help coming from God. However there some passages where Ezer does not refer to God’s help, but to man’s help.
Isaiah 30 is a prophesy talking about Israel looking to Egypt for help, but this would be a futile attempt according to the prophet:
“They were all ashamed of a people that could not profit them, nor be an help[EZER] nor profit , but a shame, and also a reproach.”
In this case, EZER is referring the fact that the Egyptians would not a “help”, or EZER, to the Israelites.
So while most instances of EZER refer to God’s help, it sometimes also refers to men helping other men. But for the Egalitarian, the most important use of EZER in the Bible comes at the very beginning, in the creation account when God created woman:
“20 And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help [EZER] meet [k’enegdo] for him… And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
21 And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
22 And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
23 And Adam 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.”
Genesis 2:20-23(KJV)
The Egalitarian interpretation of Ezer from Genesis chapter 2
Below are some typical Egalitarian interpretations of Hebrew word Ezer:
“Ezer is used 20 times in the Old Testament: seventeen times to describe God and three times to describe a military ally or aide. “Help” or “helper” is an adequate translation, but English has different nuances than the Hebrew does. In English “helper” implies someone who is learning, or under a person in authority. In the Hebrew “help” comes from one who has the power to give help—it refers to someone in a superior position. That is why God can help Israel: he has the power to do so. God helps Israel because they do not have the power to help themselves.”
Source: http://www.cbeinternational.org/blogs/does-it-really-mean-helpmate
“Adam was regarded by his Creator as incomplete and deficient as he lived at first without the benefit of a proper counterpart. He was without community. God said: “It is not good for the man to be alone” (Gen 2:18). So, as Ecclesiastes 4:9-11 expressed it, “Two are better than one….” Accordingly, in order to end man’s loneliness, God formed “for Adam [a] suitable helper” (Gen 2:18)-or at least that is the way most have rendered the Hebrew word ‘ēzer.
Now, there is nothing pejorative about the translation “helper”, for the same word is used for God, but it is also variously translated as “strength”, as in “He is your shield and helper [=strength] (‘ēzer)” in Deuteronomy 33:29; 33:26.
But R. David Freedman has argued quite convincingly that our Hebrew Word ‘ēzer is a combination of two older Hebrew/Canaanite roots, one ‘-z-r, meaning “to rescue, to save,” and the other, ģ-z-r, meaning “to be strong,” to use their verbal forms for the moment.”
Source: http://walterckaiserjr.com/women.html
A Complementarian response to the word “Ezer” in Genesis chapter 2
The Bible tells us that woman was created as an EZER KENEGDO, or a “help meet” for man. Modern translations often translate this as “helper suitable” for man. For Egalitarians this phrase is one of the cornerstones of how they interpret the entire Bible as it relates to God’s intention for men and women.
Let’s first address the “Ezer” in the room. I agree that “help” or “helper” does not always mean the person doing the helping is a subordinate. For instance, maybe someone is new cashier at a store and they need their manager to come over and “help” them with something that does not make the manager any less their authority because he is helping them.
So when God called Eve Adam’s helper, that in and of itself did not mean she was his subordinate. Ezer does not refer to position, it refers to function. The person helping someone may be an authority, an equal or subordinate.
But what is the full context surrounding the “help meet” of Genesis chapter 2? Context and Scripture interpreting Scripture are critical. While “Ezer” does not tell us Eves position (as an authority, an equal or a subordinate) to Adam, the surrounding context DOES tell us her position.
In Genesis 2 Adam names the animals, an act of authority given him by God. Then he names his wife “Eve”, another act of authority. In the Scriptures while mothers sometimes named their children as Leah did with Issachar(Genesis 30:18) we see that fathers always had the final say in naming and sometimes overrode the names their wives gave to their children as in this case:
“And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin.”
Genesis 35:18 (KJV)
So when we look at mothers naming their children – the naming of their child was in essence a suggestion which had to be validated and finalized by the father. The father always had the final say in the naming of a child because of his authority over both his wife and his children.
Furthermore, in Genesis 3:16 God said:
“Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.”
Egalitarians are quick to say that Genesis 3:16 proves that Adam and Eve were meant to be equal originally, and that him ruling over her was only because of sin in the garden and was temporary until Christ came, this where they try and use Galatians 3:28 to say Christ “restored” what they believe was the original equality between men and women:
“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.”
Galatians 3:28(KJV)
The problem with the Egalitarian interpretation of Galatians 3:28 is that it written by the same Apostle Paul who wrote these words:
“But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God. “
I Corinthians 11:3(KJV)
“22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. 24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.”
Ephesians 5:22-24(KJV)
And one of Paul’s fellow Apostles (Peter) wrote:
“Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands… Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement.”
I Peter 3:1 & 6(KJV)
So in one passage Paul says there is no male or female in Christ, yet in all these other passages he says men are the head over women, and wives are to be in subjection to their husbands. Some Egalitarians have actually said Paul was simply being inconsistent with his own teachings – a direct attack on Biblical inerrancy. Others explain away the phrasing in these passages, write parts of them off as scribal additions that were added many years after the Apostles died.
So going back to Genesis 3:16 where God said Adam would rule over Eve, he also mentioned Eve conceiving children in pain. It is clear from the context that “the pain” was the curse, not Eve’s ability to bear children. So it is an incorrect interpretation of Genesis 3:16 to say everything in it, including man ruling over woman is all part of the curse.
In fact Ephesians 5:22-24 shows that man’s ruling over woman is meant as a beautiful picture of Christ ruling over his Church, not as part of the curse of sin.
So if Galatians 3:28 does not get rid of God’s distinct roles for men and women, what is it referring to?
When we look at Galatians 3:28 in it’s larger context, we can see what is really is talking about:
“7 Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. 8 Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.”[ 9 So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith…
26 So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.“
Galatians 3:7-9 & 26-29(NIV)
Rather than obliterating God’s gender roles as Egalitarians suggest Galatians 3:28 does, it is a statement referring to the oneness of all those of faith from Abraham to Christ. We are all the children of faith, if we believe as Abraham did. God fulfilled his promise to Abraham that all nations would be blessed by his seed(Christ).
So spiritually speaking, there is no difference between a man and woman, a Jew and a Gentile, a slave or a free man, we are all brothers and sisters in Christ. However physically speaking, while we live in this world these differences still exist. You have to write off a lot of Scripture to say this passage gets rid of God’s divinely created gender roles.
What does KENEGDO mean in Genesis 2?
But what does KENEGDO really mean? This word when transliterated is “Neged” and generally means “in front of, or opposite to”. We can see other usages of this word these passages:
“Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing opposite [Neged] him with his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us or for our adversaries?”
Joshua 5:13(NASB)
“I will set no worthless thing before [Neged] my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; It shall not fasten its grip on me.”
Psalm 101:3(NASB)
“There is no wisdom and no understanding And no counsel against [Neged] the LORD.”
Psalm 54:3(NASB)
Nothing in KENEGDO translates to a “helper equal to man” as Egalitarians often preach. Nothing in KENEGDO means equality.
I believe the best interpretation of EZER KENEGDO is “a helper who is man’s opposite”. That translation makes a lot of sense when you really think about how God made man and woman as I have mentioned many of these differences on this site many times.
Look at all these opposite attributes of men and women:
| Men have external sex organs | Women have internal sex organs |
| Men’s bodies are built for strength and endurance(they have more muscle mass, tougher skin, more red blood cells and experience less pain because have fewer pain receptors in their skin) | Women’s bodies are built for beauty, comfort and caregiving and they are more sensitive to pain than men are. |
| Men are systemizers | Women empathizers |
| Men have tougher skin | Women have softer skin |
| Men see less colors | Women see a broader range of colors |
| Men have faster reflexes and can track moving objects better | Women are better at multitasking |
| Men are competitive | Women are cooperative |
| Men are task oriented | Women are relationally oriented |
| Men are risk takers | Women are more cautious |
I could go on with the many ways that men and women are indeed opposites, but you get the point.
But then you have to ask the question, why did God make woman so opposite of man? Was it just to give some variety to the world? In my next in this series on Christian Egalitarianism post we will discuss some reasons why God made woman so opposite of man.
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Why did God make woman so opposite of man?
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Biblical Gender Roles 
I have a slightly different take on “knegdo”. Adam was created alone, whereas all the animals had been created with everything they needed to reproduce. That is, they all had their counterparts. The egalitarians and feminist-minded have made such a big deal out of this that it is easy to overlook the direct, uncomplicated nature of it. By calling the woman his “counterpart helper” God has emphasized the fact that Eve was “custom made”. Adam couldn’t find anything close to a helper that could be his counterpart among all the animals. Eve was /his/ counterpart. Translating the word knegdo as “his opposite” is valid, but it often has a connotation similar to when we refer to an “opposable” thumb. And, given the context, specifically the juxtaposition to all the animals with their counterparts, I think “opposite” just has connotations that distract from the actual intention of the passage. Focusing on a single word (or a single grammatical aspect of a word) is a fun way for a person to sound like they are smart and accurate, while they are really abusing the overall message. I read an egalitarian page where a big deal was made of the passive voice and the verb”submit”. She didn’t even understand the tools she was using. Anyone who understands laguage would scratch their head, but otherwise you could be taken in by the pseudo-academic language — scary.
Of course, none of my remarks invalidate the observation of the significant differences between man and woman at all.
Side note: While the hebrew word “Adam” can be translated as both the name and as “man”, the more common word for man is “ish”. The woman, then, is “ishah”, or from-man. Eve’s name is separate.. Chavvah.
I appreciate this examination of the world helpmeet and its implications, especially the emphasis on the pre-Fall and post-Fall status of the genders. I hadn’t seen such a helpful list of differences between the genders– thank you for that.
One small thing to consider– women did indeed sometimes name their children in the Old Testament. Rachael named Benjamin Ben-Oni (and her husband changed it after her death), but apparently Leah named her sons, and the names stayed in place (Genesis 29).
Good article, and thank you!
Latayne C Scott
Latayne@Latayne.com
Latayne,
Thank you for you comments and I agree with you that mothers sometimes did name their children. I have edited the article to reflect that with this new comment:
“In Genesis 2 Adam names the animals, an act of authority given him by God. Then he names his wife “Eve”, another act of authority. In the Scriptures while mothers sometimes named their children as Leah did with Issachar(Genesis 30:18) we see that fathers always had the final say in naming and sometimes overrode the names their wives gave to their children as in this case:
“And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin.”
Genesis 35:18 (KJV)
So when we look at mothers naming their children – the naming of their child was in essence a suggestion which had to validated and finalized by the father. The father always had the final say in the naming of a child because of his authority over both his wife and his children.”
So I agree that Mothers sometimes named their children – but it was truly the fathers authority which validated or invalidated that name.
Thank you so much for considering my suggestion, and I appreciate it! Good article that I will pass along to others, especially the leadership in our church.
The problem is that there aren’t really any good women to meet for many of us good single men still looking since the women of today are very much quite different from the past which God should’ve really made women today just like the past.