Genesis 2:22

_AND THE RIB, WHICH THE LORD GOD HAD TAKEN FROM MAN, MADE HE A WOMAN, AND BROUGHT HER UNTO THE MAN._ And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman. The Hebrew word rendered "made" is 'built' - i:e., implying extraordinary skill, care, and taste in the plan and proportions of the structure; and the preposition signifies to change one thing into another: so that the literal translation of the passage is, 'the rib which the Lord God took from the man he formed into a woman.' An absurd opinion has been supported by many, that Adam was created an androgynous or compound creature comprehending in his own person both sexes. He was created physically as well as intellectually a perfect man; but woman, his counterpart, was a subsequent formation....

22._And brought her, etc _Moses now relates that marriage was divinely instituted, which is especially useful to be known; for since Adam did not take a wife to himself at his own will, but received her as offered and appropriated to him by God, the sanctity of marriage hence more clearly appears, because we recognize God as its Author. The more Satan has endeavored to dishonor marriage, the more should we vindicate it from all reproach and abuse, that it may receive its due reverence. Thence it will follow that the children of God may embrace a conjugal life with a good and tranquil conscience, and husbands and wives may live together in chastity and honor. The artifice of Satan in attempting the defamation of marriage was twofold: first, that by means of the odium attached to it he might introduce the pestilential law of celibacy; and, secondly, that married persons might indulge thems...

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,...

- 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 RIB, WHICH THE LORD GOD HAD TAKEN FROM MAN, MADE HE WOMAN,.... It is commonly observed, and pertinently enough, that the woman was not made from the superior part of man, that she might not be thought to be above him, and have power over him; nor from any inferior part, as being below him, and to be trampled on by him; but out of his side, and from one of his ribs, that she might appear to be equal to him; and from a part near his heart, and under his arms, to show that she should be affectionately loved by him, and be always under his care and protection: and she was not "created" as things were, out of nothing, nor "formed" as Adam was, out of the dust of the earth, being in the same form as man; but "made" out of refined and quickened dust, or the flesh and bones of man, and so in her make and constitution fine and lovely; or "built" n, as the word signifies, which is used, be...

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...

WOMAN. Heb _'ishah,_ fem, of _'ish_ (App-14). female....

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...