Post #2 of my
critique of the Women's Ordination video listed below: POINT 1B Adam’s authority over the garden is
emphasized by the naming of the animals.
I would agree Adam was showing dominion over the animals,
when he named them, but in many ways I would say that is just a side point to this
story. Look at the way God sets up the
narrative. God warns Adam not to eat of the
tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, and then for the first time, declares
something to be, “NOT GOOD.” "18
And the Lord God said, IT IS NOT GOOD THAT MAN SHOULD BE ALONE; I will make him
a help meet (Ezer Kenegdo) for him. 19 And out of the ground the Lord God
formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them
unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every
living creature, that was the name thereof. 20 And Adam gave names to all
cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for ADAM THERE WAS NOT FOUND A HELP
MEET FOR HIM.
God starts the account by warning Adam about the tree, then
asserts that he needs a help meet. Why all of a sudden does the story jump to
the naming of the animals? What does
this have to do with the help meet and the tree. I think our clue is the last line of the
quoted text. Adam looked at all the
animals and realized none of them were his mate, his equal, his Ezer Kenegdo as
the Hebrew puts it. Although I understand others will see this story
differently, it seems to me that this is the point of the story.
Also less you should see the help meet as someone who is a
servant type relationship, ezer kenegdo means “helper who is opposite”, the
word Ezer H5828 is only used 21 times in the Old Testament, at least according
to e-sword’s search. This word is often used to describe how God helps us. While not definitive since it is also used
for human help, it could point to Eve not being just an ordinary helper.
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