Warrior of Eden: How Curiosity and Questions Lead to Understanding God's Call for WomenNäide

Suitable Helper

Genesis 2:18 is a pivotal verse to understand how God made women. The verse says, “It’s not good for man to be alone, so God created a helper (ezer) suitable (kenegdo) for him.”

English Bibles typically translate ezer as “helper” and kenegdo as “suitable” or, in older translations, “meet,” which is how we get helpmeet or, eventually, helpmate.

Unfortunately, over time, the term helpmate led to interpretations of the woman’s responsibility to assist the man in whatever he undertook—to “help” him on his mission in life. It facilitated a belief that women were second-class citizens in the home and church.

But English doesn’t do justice to the idea of ezer kenegdo. Kenegdo is best understood as “an opposite,” “counterpart,” or “alongside.” It implies that on their own, both men and women were lacking, but together they perfectly complemented each other. And ezer is a term of strength that actually means “warrior”! In fact, kenegdo indicates the ezer is the man’s match—literally “as in front of him, or corresponding to him.” Men and women are matched, corresponding, and need one another to paint a more complete picture of the mysterious and glorious creation of humanity.

When explaining this concept, rabbis talk about two planks. Picture two planks propped up against each other, forming a triangle. If one moves, the other plank falls over because the first plank is holding it up. This is the word picture ezer kenegdo suggests. It reflects an intelligent design, with us each bearing a semblance of our Creator.

The first time my heart wrapped itself around this truth, I felt a profound sense of relief. Not because I was in a male-dominated marriage, or church, or social setting; it actually had nothing to do with the men in my life and how they had or hadn’t treated me. I was relieved because I wanted to believe God liked women as much as He did men and that we had an important, corresponding role to play in this earthly existence.

God made women with high purpose, to accomplish great things. Our very sense of being comes from the word He uses to describe us: ezer. We are warriors!

What does that look like in our everyday lives? We’ll explore that in the devotionals ahead.

As separate ideas, what do the words “suitable” and “helper” mean to you? How about them together?