http://books.google.com/books?id=ElSNcpqGOw0C&pg=PA31&lpg=PA31&dq=%22When+God+creates+Eve,+he+calls+her+an+ezer+kenegdo%22&source=bl&ots=CGGBRrJsz8&sig=k-2dJs7yue9TKNJ6h-FqVro-9IA&hl=en&ei=cVKPSomcKI2KMvr89K8K&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5#v=onepage&q=%22When%20God%20creates%20Eve%2C%20he%20calls%20her%20an%20ezer%20kenegdo%22&f=false
When God creates Eve, he calls her an ezer kenegdo. âIt is not good for the man to be alone, I shall make him [an ezer kenegdo]â (Gen. 2:18 Alter). Hebrew scholar Robert Alter, who has spent years translating the book of Genesis, says that this phrase is ânotoriously difficult to translate.â The various attempts we have in English are âhelperâ or âcompanionâ or the notorious âhelp meet.â Why are these translations so incredibly wimpy, boring, flatâ¦disappointing? What is a help meet, anyway? What little girl dances through the house singing âOne day I shall be a help meet?â Companion? A dog can be a companion. Helper? Sounds like Hamburger Helper. Alter is getting close when he translates it âsustainer beside him.â
The word ezer is used only twenty other places in the entire Old Testament. And in every other instance the person being described is God himself, when you need him to come through for you desperately.
There is no one like the God of Jeshurun, who rides on the heavens to help you..
Blessed are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord? He is your shield and helper and your glorious sword. (Deut. 33: 26, 29)
I lift up my eyes to the hills â where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. (Ps. 121:1-2, emphasis added)
May the LORD answer you when you are in distress; may the name of the God of Jacob protect you. May he send you help. (Ps. 20:1-2)
We wait in hope for the LORD, he is our help and our shield. (Ps. 33:20
O house of Israel, trust in the LORD â he is their help and shield.
O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD â he is their help and shield.
You who fear him, trust in the LORD- he is their help and shield.
(Ps. 115:9-11)
Most of the contexts are life and death, by the way, and God is your only hope. Your ezer. If he is not there beside youâ¦.you are dead. A better translate therefore of ezer would be âlifesaver.âKenegdo means alongside, or opposite to, a counterpart.
[...] The longing in the heart of a woman to share life together as a great adventure â that comes straight from the heart of God, who also longs for this. He does not want to be an option in our lives. He does not want to be an appendage, a tagalong. Neither does any woman. God is essential. He wants us to need him â desperately. Eve is essential. She has an irreplaceable role to play. And so youâll see that women are endowed with a fierce devotion, an ability to suffer great hardships, a vision to make the world a better place.
The only exception that I see in the Old Testament (for that is what was written mostly in Hebrew) is Isaiah 30:5. That is telling Israel of their shame for trusting in Egypt which could not be a help to them. Also, Mrs. Eldredge probably should have put the other instance of “help” from Psalm 121:1 in italics as well. It is the same Hebrew word.
This seemed like a good point to pass along.
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