There is this weird scene in Genesis 2:19–20 where, after saying that it is not good for the man to be alone, God brings the animals he has created to the man. The man names the animals, but we are told that among the animals “there was not found a helper as his partner.” Typical modern interpretations of this passage suggest that the man, or Adam, is looking for a wife from among the animals. He is unable to find one, which is God’s way of illustrating to Adam that he needs something different. God then creates a woman, who becomes known as Eve, who is the perfect companion for Adam (cf. Gen 2:23–25). However, should we really expect Adam to believe he can find a wife among the animals? Is it logical to think that God would suggest this, even if he knows that Adam will not find one? Or is there something else going on here?

I believe something else, and much less strange, is going on in this story. To fully understand what is going on, we must begin by returning to the story’s start. Beginning in Genesis 2:4b, we get a second creation account that looks at the creation from a different angle than the account of Genesis 1:1–2:4a. While the first creation account focuses on God’s sovereignty and power to create by the words of his mouth, the second creation account focuses on God’s care and closeness to his creation. 

The second creation account opens with a problem, “there was no one to till the ground” (Gen 2:5). So, God creates a man and places him in a garden for the purpose of working the ground. Note the personal language used to describe God’s actions. He “formed man from the dust of the ground” (Gen 2:7a), getting his hands dirty as a potter does with clay. He “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life” (Gen 2:7b); he gets up close and personal. God then “planted a garden” for the man to live. The imagery of planting presents God as a worker in the field, digging, planting, watering, and fertilizing his garden. 

Notice also that the focus of the second creation account is the garden. The problem is that there is no one to work the garden. The man is formed from the dirt of the garden for the express purpose of working the garden. The Hebrew term for “man” (’ādām) is similar in form and sound to the word “earth” (’ādāmâ; that which the man is created from and for). God goes on to provide a river to nourish the garden (v. 10) and gives the man instructions for caring for the garden (vv. 15–17, 19–20). The emphasis can even be seen in the opening line of the second creation account, “In the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens” (v. 4b). While the first creation account begins with reference to the “heavens and the earth” (Gen 1:1), the second flips the order to emphasis the earth or garden. 

It is in this context that God says, “’It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner.’” (v. 18). The term “alone” does not denote loneliness but that the man is single-handed (cf. Exod 12:16; Deut 8:3). That is, the man is on his own to fulfill his royal vocation of caring for the garden, a task God does not believe can be fully accomplished alone. So, the man needs a “helper,” a word most often used to refer to God (e.g., Exod 18:4; Deut 33:7, 26, 29) who uses his strength and power to help Israel escape a mess. The man needs someone to help him correctly care for the garden. This person will be his “partner” (lit. “like opposite him”), someone who is like him in certain respects but distinctive in others. 

God then sends Adam the animals to look among for such a helper. This makes sense if the reason for Adam’s need for a helper is to work the garden. Animals in the ancient world of Israel and much of the world today play a vital role in cultivation. It would have been impossible for ancient Israel to fully work and cultivate the ground without the help of animals. Therefore, it makes sense for Adam to look first among the animals for help with the garden. However, while he might have found some help, he is unable to find the right partner. God then makes a woman from Adam’s rib who not only becomes his partner in caring for the garden but also his wife. 

So, the point of the story is not that Adam or God thought that Adam could find a wife from among the animals, but that Adam is searching for help in caring for the garden—a task that could conceivably be done with the help of animals, but ultimately a job that Adam needs a woman/wife to fully fulfill. 

By: Spencer Shaw

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