Tuesday, October 12, 2021

Was Eve Adam's helpmate?

PROF. GARY RENDSBURG: Woman: Helpmate No Longer (TheTorah.com).
Eve was created as Adam’s עֵזֶר כְּנֶגְדֹּו ʿezer ke-negdo (Genesis 2:18). What is the meaning of this enigmatic phrase?
The suggestion in this essay is possible, of course, but I am not convinced. The Hebrew meaning "helper" makes sense in the context. The word is not attested elsewherein Hebrew with the meaning "woman." Anytime you have to move to an Arabic cognate to explain a Hebrew word, you are conjecturing. And I don't see the gain in doing so here.

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