“The Lord God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone, I will make a helper suitable for him.’” Genesis 2:18. The Hebrew word translated helper is “Ezer”. It has two meanings in Hebrew: to rescue/to save and to be strong. It is used 21x in the Old Testament:
1. Ezer used for the woman. Gen 2:18, 20
2. Ezer used for nations to whom Israel appealed for military aid. Isa 30:5, Ezekiel 12:14, Daniel 11:34
3. Ezer used for God as Israel’s helper. 16x in the OT
What these Bible verses have in common is that Ezer is used consistently in military context. Ezer is a warrior. A woman is no better or less than man. Man and woman are equally and uniquely created, a perfect fit. What God intended was to make a "power" or "strength" for the man who would in every way "correspond to him" or "be his equal."
The word ezer has more to do with what helping looks like, because it doesn’t seem to suggest anything about hierarchy. Ezer is a help that comes from one who has the power and strength to provide it. A more accurate translation of ezer and ezrah is “succor,” which means “assistance or support in times of hardship and distress” and “help given to people who are suffering or in difficulties.” ezer and ezrah have everything to do with protection and deliverance in a life and death situation.
From the beginning, the man needed a strong, necessary “help,” a “powerful ally.” So God made the woman. She is the man’s appropriate earthly co-leader, his appropriate life partner, and the one to whom, as far as other humans go, he can turn to in his most desperate times of need.
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