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Bible Question: Where
did Eve come from?
Bible Answer: Eve
is mentioned only four times in the Bible. She appears in Genesis
3:20 and 4:1, 2 Corinthians 11:3, and then in 1 Timothy 2:13.
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Now
the man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was
the mother of all the living. (NASB) Genesis 3:20 |
The
first passage tells us that God created her.
Her
Creation. Adam
had already been created from the dust of the ground in Genesis 2:7.
We are told that God helped Adam to understand that he was alone
in this new world and that he needed a companion. The animals could
not meet his need. So God caused him to go into a deep sleep.
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So
the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and
he slept; then He took one of his ribs, and closed up the
flesh at that place. And the LORD God fashioned into a woman
the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her
to the man. (NASB) Genesis 2:21-22 |
The
Hebrew form of the English phrase "deep sleep" is TARDEMAH.
It refers to an unusually deep sleep. Today we say that Adam had
been put to sleep with anesthesia.
Then God performed a miracle operation. He took
part of Adam's side and made Eve. The Hebrew word which is translated as "ribs" by
the KJV, NKJV, NASB, and NIV actually refers to his "side." The same
word is used in Exodus 25:12 and other places to refer to the side of something.
This implies that women have an equal standing with men. It does not mean that
men and women are equally capable in everything, but neither are they inferior
or superior. God did not take her from his head or his feet.
Then God "fashioned" her. The Hebrew
word is BANA. It literally means "built." God built or made her, and
then brought her to him. I wonder what Adam thought of her? She came from him
and not from the dirt. She was designed to help him. Genesis 2:20 says that she
was to be a helper. The Hebrew word AZAR means "assistance, support, or
help." God's design for a wife is to help her husband. They are to work
together and not as individuals. Husbands and wives are to be a team.
Her
Name. God
let Adam name her and he did.
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And
the man said, “This is now bone of my bones, And flesh
of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken
out of Man.” For this cause a man shall leave his father
and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and they shall
become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked
and were not ashamed. (NASB) Genesis 2:23-25 |
Adam
named her ISHAH in the Hebrew, or 'woman, wife" in the English.
Then Adam refers to himself as "man or husband." The Hebrew
word is ISH. Therefore, a man and a women are to leave father and
mother and "cleave" to one another. The Hebrew word DVK
for "cleave" has the sense of "glued together." it
is also important to notice that there is nothing wrong for a husband
and wife to be naked with each other. But this passage implies that
males and females are not to be naked otherwise. Public nudity is
shameful (Isaiah 20:4). Today many have lost their sense of shame.
Open or public nudity is not God's divine pattern.
Conclusion: This
is a wonderful reminder that God's design for marriage is a partnership.
A previous question and answer has
discussed the role of husbands and wives in marriage. Together both
of these give us God's wonderful pattern for an awesome marriage. |
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