Woman, Man's Ezer. What Does That Mean?

I shared in yesterday's post that in Genesis 2:18 God says in the original Hebrew text that He says He will create an Ezer Kenegdo for Adam. Help meet was translated from these words. We discussed the definitions of the two words. To do a short recap Ezer means to save, to be strong & powerful. Kenegdo means equal to, alsongside, counterpart to make it short. Please read yesterdays post for more intensive definition discussion. I also shared that the word Ezer is in the Old Testament 21 times. One time it is God referencing the creation of woman & the other 20 times it is reference to God himself being an Ezer to mankind. Eight of the twenty times God is the lifesaver to man who is calling upon God in a life & death circumstance & God is their only lifesaving hope. The other twelve times God is mankind's strength & sustainer. I wanted to share some of the verses I was able to gather on God being man's Ezer. So here is what I have gathered. I hope you will join me this week studying who woman is & what we were created to be.

Deut 33:26
“There is none like God, O Jeshurun,
the Rider of the Sky in your strength (be ‘ezreka)
in the heavens in your majesty (ga’avah

a few verses down from this scripture is this

“Happy are you, Israel Who is like you,
A people delivered by the Lord,
the shield of your strength (‘ezreka)
and the sword of your majesty (ga’avah).

Psalms 68:34 Ascribe ye strength unto God: his excellency is over Israel, and his strength is in the clouds. (strength is ezer in the Hebrew text used to translate)

Psalms 93:1 Psalm 93
The LORD reigneth, he is clothed with majesty; the LORD is clothed with strength, wherewith he hath girded himself: the world also is established, that it cannot be moved.

'I lift up my eyes to the hills-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, emphasis added)

'We wait in hope for the LORD, he is our help and our shield.' (Ps. 33:20, emphasis added)

'O house of Israel, trust in the LORD-he is their help and shield. (He is their Ezer)
O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD-he is their help and shield.
You who fear him, trust in the LORD-he is their help and shield.'
(Ps. 115:9-11, emphasis added)

Can you see by reading these how God when He is being our Ezer is helping us? Thus the translation of "Help" from the help meet translation. Meet comes from mate, they mean the same thing. Help meet, help mate same thing. However Kenegdo does not mean mate. I can however see how someone could come up with the term mate since Eve was Adam's wife. They just forgot about the whole equal to, counterpart thing. If something your counter part it is:


Main Entry: coun·ter·part
Pronunciation: \-ˌpärt\
Function: noun
Date: 15th century
1 : one of two corresponding copies of a legal instrument : duplicate
2 a : a thing that fits another perfectly b : something that completes : complement
3 a : one remarkably similar to another b : one having the same function or characteristics as another

Somehow mate/meet was translated because Eve was a wife/a mate but all the true definitions of a Kenegdo were ignored. The fact that she was Adam's wife was obvious, of course she was his mate but why in translation did that have to be all she was? Why couldn't she be a mate that was equal to, a corresponding copy, that fit Adam (man) perfectly, completing creation that had the same function & characteristics as her husband? Hmmmm???

Perhaps the translation was more influenced by at that time modern societal influences than the true definition? I am thinking aloud here. Clearly mate/meet is not what Kenegdo means and yet God says he is creating an Ezer Kenegdo for Adam because it is not good that he is alone.

The fact that women are defined as help meets has kept them from "doing" many things in this world because we are thought of less than. Imagine for a moment that men were defined as woman's help meet. Just chew on that for a sec. What would we think about men if they were our help meet? Would we secretly think that we were better than them? After all, they are to "help" us? Again, just thinking out loud. God is our helper, our Ezer, & in that capacity as Ezer relates to woman being an Ezer He is our strength & our sustainer. I like how a strength & a sustainer ties in to Psalms 144:12 that our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; that our daughters may be as cornerstones, polished after the similitude of a palace:

a cornerstone, the basis, the foundation of her home. She is the strength of her home, carved to adorn her palace.

So what does all this mean for women? Honestly, I am trying to still just study and put it all together. I do know that I feel confirmed inside about what I have always felt inside. That we are truly capable beings equal to man but different. God created man and woman in his image. Men reflect God in different ways than women do.

For instance, women love romance. Speaking in general of course, women love to be told "I love you" daily/often. We say it often to those we love & we like to hear it back. We feel incredibly loved when our partner takes time out just to spend with us. A date perhaps? Just time alone with our man, we love that. Doesn't God want those same things with us? Doesn't God want us to come to Him daily & tell him I love you, thank you for all you do for me. Doesn't God want us to set aside some special time alone with just Him? Yes, God is the ultimate romantic! That is just part of His image reflected in us. I could go on, but maybe we shall save this image discussion for tomorrow shall we? Men and women reflect God in different ways but together, we are the most wonderful reflection of God and we are meant to come together as one, functioning as one and caring for each other as it was our own body.

Truly I would love to hear if any of the posts on women are blessing you like they are me?

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