Why Was Eve Called a "Helpmate"?
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Etymologically, “helpmate” or companion is said to be derived from “help-meet, a ghost word from the 1611 ‘King James’ translation of the Bible, in which it was at first a two-word noun-adjective phrase” from the Latin, as in “‘an help meet for him,’ and meaning literally ‘a helper “like himself.’ Another translation is “sustainer beside him.”
The New King James Version changes this to “a helper comparable to him.” One can imagine a congregation hearing the term spoken aloud, turning it into “helpmate” because this sounds more logical and pleasing. Modern translations use the word “helper,” yet we still think of Eve as a “helpmate,” a term that is becoming increasingly controversial.
Why has this descriptive noun stuck and why is it beautiful in spite of our modern perspective on gender equality?
A Helper in What?
According to the biblical text, God said “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him” (Genesis 2:18). Scholars explain that the term helpmate “is often associated with the biblical concept of a companion or partner, particularly in the context of marriage.” A suitable partner for man “complements and supports him. The Hebrew word used here is ‘ezer,’ [which] conveys the idea of assistance and support.”
A helper in what? Adam’s job was to look after the plants and trees in Eden (Genesis 2:15), to name the creatures (2:20), and to “be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it” (Genesis 1:28). In fact, Genesis 1:27 says that the Lord created men and women for this work together, while Genesis 2 fleshes out the creation of woman as a separate act, telling us why a woman was needed in the Garden.
Moreover, God planned to see his world filled with people, which required two people. They were made to create, because they were made in God’s Image. Amanda denBok comments: “In Genesis 1:28, God invites parents into what Dr. Peysar calls a ‘deep, mystical creative endeavor.’ God says, ‘be fruitful and multiply,’ and immediately we see that we are teammates with God in one of the most beautiful and miraculous gifts – the gift of life.” Human beings are not simple organisms, splitting off from themselves to create more humans.
Like and Not Like
Although they had the same work to do, Adam and Eve were not the same. They had to be different in order to procreate. Reproduction had to be sexual rather than asexual. Humans are too complex to reproduce by splitting in the way ferns do.
Dr Kyle Muller explains: “The genetic information of the new organisms generated by asexual reproduction is identical to that of his parent” so the only way for there to be difference between the parent and its offspring is by way of adaptation over time. Anemones reproduce more of themselves, whereas sexual reproduction involves the combination of two sets of genetic information to create a unique individual. Each person on earth is different from every other who is or ever was, yet they are made in the same image by the same Creator and known from the beginning of time (Psalm 139). Although he was made in God’s image, Adam could not yet fully step into his role because he could not create life without Eve.
Adam could not create people with only another person like himself. Both Adam and Eve needed each other in order to fulfill their God-given role to “be fruitful and multiply.” Darrel Johnson says Eve “is both like him and yet different from him,” but still made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). Eve finds “someone who is both like her and yet different from her” (The Story of All Stories, p.42).
Johnson asserts that Adam was also lonely, and that God saw his need for a partner both in work and in life. He explains that “if the helper is only like Adam, loneliness will not be alleviated, because Adam would only see himself” (p.42). And Eve could not be complete without Adam either, for the same reasons. The Lord made them perfectly to become “one flesh” (Genesis 2:24) for each other’s sakes and in order to fulfill his commands. As one theologian reminds us, “The concept of ‘one flesh’ signifies unity and mutual support, reflecting the divine intention for marriage.”
No Lowly Assistant
Johnson explains that when we see the word “ezer,” Hebrew for “one who comes to the aid of someone in need,” Eve is not being introduced as second fiddle. Johnson explains that ezer is “used mainly of God; God is the great helper” (p.42). He is not saying that Eve is a god, but that her role is critical. Quoting Kenneth Bailey, Johnson supplies this explanation: women “are placed by God in the human scene as the strong who come to help/save the needy (the men)” (p.43). She was always viewed with dignity and love by her Creator.
Individuals such as Rahab, Jael, and Esther were employed by God to rescue his people. They were wise, courageous, and decisive, sometimes accomplishing what men could not. They risked their lives to save the people they loved.
There was also a woman in God’s story who helped him fulfill his purposes and was freed from her foolish spouse. Abigail’s husband Nabal had offended King David. In response, the King was going to wipe out Nabal’s household, but she acted quickly. “When Abigail saw David, she ... fell at his feet and said, ‘On me alone, my lord, be the guilt. Please let your servant speak in your ears, and hear the words of your servant. Let not my lord regard this worthless fellow, Nabal, [...] Nabal is his name, and folly is with him’” (1 Samuel 25:23-25).
Abigail came to the aid of not only one man but, in spite of her spouse, she acted to save many men of her household. She also saved David from the temptation to submit to his fierce pride and murderous anger: “Blessed be your discretion, and blessed be you, who have kept me this day from bloodguilt and from working salvation with my own hand!” (1 Sam. 25:33).
His words form a bridge to the New Testament, where a wise and obedient woman would become the mother of our Savior, the one who would save all believers from their own bloodguilt. Abigail saved a household; the result of Mary’s obedience was exponentially greater. Women have often been critical helpers in the biblical narrative.
Controversy Over the Role of Helper
God made man before he made woman: does this mean women are second-place, second-class? The question takes us back to Paul’s instructions about marriage in his letter to the Ephesians: “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:22).
We live in a time when women insist they can do everything men can do, where gender roles are considered fluid, and relationships – even between parents – are viewed as temporary. Marriage is unnecessary. Modern women are offended by Paul’s instruction. He seems to be saying that men can tell women what to do and, like slaves, they should do it or be guilty of disobeying God himself.
And yet, Abigail went behind her husband’s back, and the Lord favored her: Abigail was gifted with wisdom and courage, and her actions served God’s purposes. Men are not the ultimate leaders of women – that role always belongs to the Lord, and his plan is always better than any man (or woman’s) plan.
Adrien Segal writes “When God created male and female, he did not mean to glorify men and demean women, as if helper somehow meant lesser.” As she asserts, God has no intention of demeaning his own creation, which would be to demean his image bearers. “He created them with distinct and complementary attributes, inclinations, and gifts that make them indispensable to one another and to his plan for filling the earth with his glory.” When they operate together with the shared view that Jesus is King and Savior, this unifies and strengthens their relationship.
As Segal points out, “the twisted lie that Adam is more important, that Adam’s call means power and privilege, and Eve’s subjugation, springs out of the pride that human hearts have harbored since the fall. Men too often have been puffed up to lead with domineering power, and women too often have been puffed up with righteous indignation, asserting that they have just as much of a right to power and privilege as men do.” Their pride leaves God out of the picture entirely.
If our hearts are right with the Lord, we see that being a helpmate is not the issue; both the man’s and the woman’s perspective has been problematic. Sin has crept into the relationship and into the ways we view God’s perfect design for relationships. As another writer has explained, “the creation of Eve as a helpmate for Adam underscores the complementary nature of the marital relationship. The term ‘helpmate’ does not imply inferiority or subservience but rather a partnership where both individuals contribute uniquely to the relationship.” This can be applied to friendships and in the workplace also.
Remove the Pride, Remove the Problem
Both men and women can enjoy the beauty and dignity of marriage or friendship if they set aside their pride and consider God’s intention. When Paul described marriage, he instructed: “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” (Ephesians 5:25).
If women find the role of “helpmate” offensive, they must remember that they are helping men to sacrifice themselves. If men feel puffed up because they are the protectors, they must recall that the Lord made women as helpers because they cannot fulfill that role without the support of women. Neither one can live fully into his or her God-given calling without the support of the other.
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Stefa Nikolic
