Genesis 2:21

_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;_ And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, [Hebrew, _ TARDEEMAAH_ (H8639), a state of sleep more profound than usual, amounting, as is probable, to an almost entire suspension of the functions proper to the nervous system]. How long Adam was left to brood over disappointed hopes we are not informed. But it must have been a short time only, since himself was created, and the whole work of creation finished, before the close of the sixth day. It was probably while his mind was still lingering on the memory of the foregoing scene that he fell into a profound slumber; and since dreams for the most part pursue the course of the thoughts in our waking hours, is it surprising if the first man, whose mental constitution was the same as ours,...

21._And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall, etc. _Although to profane persons this method of forming woman may seem ridiculous, and some of these may say that Moses is dealing in fables, yet to us the wonderful providence of God here shines forth; for, to the end that the conjunction of the human race might be the more sacred he purposed that both males and females should spring from one and the same origin. Therefore he created human nature in the person of Adam, and thence formed Eve, that the woman should be only a portion of the whole human race. This is the import of the words of Moses which we have had before, (Genesis 1:28,) “God created man... he made them male and female.” In this manner Adam was taught to recognize himself in his wife, as in a mirror; and Eve, in her turn, to submit herself willingly to her husband, as being taken out of him. But if the two sexes had p

18-25 Power over the creatures was given to man, and as a proof of this he named them all. It also shows his insight into the works of God. But though he was lord of the creatures, yet nothing in this world was a help meet for man. From God are all our helpers. If we rest in God, he will work all for good. God caused deep sleep to fall on Adam; while he knows no sin, God will take care that he shall feel no pain. God, as her Father, brought the woman to the man, as his second self, and a help meet for him. That wife, who is of God's making by special grace, and of God's bringing by special providence, is likely to prove a help meet for a man. See what need there is, both of prudence and prayer in the choice of this relation, which is so near and so lasting. That had need to be well done, which is to be done for life. Our first parents needed no clothes for covering against cold or heat,...

Verse Genesis 2:21. _THE LORD GOD CAUSED A DEEP SLEEP TO FALL UPON ADAM,_ _c._] This was neither swoon nor ecstasy, but what our translation very properly terms a _deep sleep_. _AND HE TOOK ONE OF HIS RIBS_] It is immaterial whether we render צלע _tsela_ a rib, or a part of his _side_, for it may mean _either:_ some part of man was to be used on the occasion, whether _bone_ or _flesh_ it matters not though it is likely, from verse Genesis 2:23, that a part of _both_ was taken; for Adam, knowing how the woman was formed, said, This is _flesh_ of my _flesh_, and _bone_ of my _bone_. God could have formed the woman out of the dust of the earth, as he had formed the man; but had he done so, she must have appeared in his

- XIV. The Woman 21. תרדמה _tardēmâh_, “deep sleep,” ἔκστασις _ekstasis_, Septuagint. צלע _tsēlā‛_, “rib, side, wing of a building.” 23. פעם _pa‛am_, “beat, stroke, tread, anvil.” אישׁ _'ı̂ysh_, “man,” vir. אשׁה _'āshah_, “be firm, as a foundation;” ישׁה _yāshah_, “be firm as a substance;” אנש _'ānash_, “be strong;” אושׁ _'ûsh_, “to give help: hence, the strong, the brave, the defender, the nourisher.”

EXPOSITION GENESIS 2:18 In anticipation of the ensuing narrative of the temptation and the fall, the historian, having depicted man's settlement in Eden, advances to complete his _dramatis personae _by the introduction upon the scene of the animals and woman. In the preliminary creation record (Genesis 1:7-1) it is simply stated that God created man, male and female; there is a complete absence of details as to the Divine _modus operandi _in the execution of these, his last and greatest works. It is one object, among others, of the second portion of the history to supply those details. With regard to man (Adam), an account of his formation, at once minute and exhaustive, has been given in the preceding verses ...

AND THE LORD GOD CAUSED A DEEP SLEEP TO FALL UPON ADAM, AND HE SLEPT,.... This was not a common and natural sleep that Adam fell into, occasioned by any weariness of the animal spirits, in viewing the creatures as they passed by him, and in examining them, and giving them suitable and proper names; but it was supernatural, and from the Lord, his power and providence, who caused it to fall upon him: it was not a drowsiness, nor a slumber, but a sound sleep: his senses were so locked up by it, that he perceived not anything that was done to him; and it seems to have been on purpose, that he might feel no pain, while the operation was made upon him, as well as that it might appear that he had no hand in the formation of the woman; and that he might be the more surprised at the sight of her, just awaking out of sleep, to see so lovely an object, so much like himself, and made out of himself,...

II. THE GENERATIONS OF THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH Man in Innocency before the Fall Genesis 2:4-45 _ 1. The earth his abode (Genesis 2:4)_ 2. The creation of man (Genesis 2:7) 3. The garden of Eden (Genesis 2:8) 4. Man in the garden. His commission (Genesis 2:15) a. To keep the garden b. The commandment 5. No helpmeet for Adam found (Genesis 2:18) 6. The formation of the woman (Genesis 2:21) 7. The un

J'S STORY OF CREATION AND PARADISE LOST. This story does not belong to P, for it is free from its characteristics in style, vocabulary, and point of view. It is distinguished from P's creation story by differences in form and in matter. The regular and precise arrangement, the oft-repeated formulæ, the prosaic style are here absent. We have, instead, a bright and vivid style, a story rather than a chronicle. The frank anthropomorphism would have been repugnant to the priestly writer, and a marked difference is to be observed between the two accounts. P starts from a watery chaos, this narrative from a dry waste. P represents the development of life as moving in a climax up to the creation of man and woman, while here man seems to be created first, then plants and animals, and woman last of all. The use of Yahweh, the anthropomorphism, and several characteristic expressions combine to sho...

The Creation of Animals and of Woman 18. _It is not good_, &c. Man is created a social animal. His full powers cannot be developed by physical and mental work alone; nor his moral being by self-discipline in solitude. His faculties and his character require to be expanded and beautified by the duties of domestic and social life, as a member of a family, as a friend, as a fellow-worker, as a citizen. To be alone is not "good"; it does not promote his fullest life, or his best service. _an help meet for him_ "meet": or _answering to_. The word "meet" means "suitable," or "adapted to." The Lord God will make for man a "help" corresponding to his moral and intellectual nature, supplying what he needs, the counterpart of his being. "Help meet," which has become a recognized English word, fails to give the full sense of this passage from which it is derived. Man will find help from that whic...