Both the Holy Spirit and Eve are described as helpers in the Bible. But I do not believe the role of Holy Spirit as helper, given in John’s Gospel, informs our understanding of Eve’s help (Genesis 2), and vice versa. Here’s why I think this.
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The stance of the Roman Catholic Church in regards to mutual submission in marriage is much more egalitarian than the stance of many evangelicals. Here are some interesting excerpts from the Vatican document on the “Dignity of Women” (Mulieris Dignitatem).
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Does helping someone require that you subordinate yourself to that person? A few men whose essays I’ve read recently answer this question with a “yes”.
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What did Eve do to help Adam? Here are two very different views from three top scholars about Eve’s role as helper in Genesis 2.
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Here’s a paper I presented back in September 2015. The paper was published in a book, The Gender Conversation, in 2016. Just recently, the book has been made available as an affordable e-book.
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Does “a suitable helper for him” in Genesis 2:18 & 20 speak about a defining gender role for women? Does the Bible teach that all women are the auxiliaries, or helpers, of men?
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This brief post looks at the telling way the Hebrew word kenegdo—used in the context of the creation of Eve in Genesis 2:18 & 20—is translated in a respected Afrikaans version of the Bible.
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What does the Hebrew word “kenegdo” mean in Genesis 2:18 & 20? Was the first woman made to be subordinate or suitable or similar to the first man?
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How does the Septuagint translate “a suitable helper for him” in Genesis 2:18 and 2:20? In particular, what is the Greek word translated as “helper” here?
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In the past, many people have had a narrow and lowly view of the meaning of “helper” (ezer) used for Eve in Genesis 2:18 & 20. How is ezer used elsewhere in the Hebrew Old Testament?
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