The text we are dealing with in this post contains the first instance in which God declares something ‘not good’. The text of Genesis 1 was punctuated with the repeated declaration that God saw what he had created and that it was good. It even ends with the declaration that God thought his entire creation was very good. Now we shall look at the reason behind God’s first announcement that something was ‘not good’.

Hebrew text:

18 וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהִ֔ים לֹא־ט֛וֹב הֱי֥וֹת הָֽאָדָ֖ם לְבַדּ֑וֹ אֶֽעֱשֶׂהּ־לּ֥וֹ עֵ֖זֶר כְּנֶגְדּֽוֹ׃

19 וַיִּצֶר֩ יְהוָ֨ה אֱלֹהִ֜ים מִן־הָֽאֲדָמָ֗ה כָּל־חַיַּ֤ת הַשָּׂדֶה֙ וְאֵת֙ כָּל־ע֣וֹף הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וַיָּבֵא֙ אֶל־הָ֣אָדָ֔ם לִרְא֖וֹת מַה־יִּקְרָא־ל֑וֹ וְכֹל֩ אֲשֶׁ֨ר יִקְרָא־ל֧וֹ הָֽאָדָ֛ם נֶ֥פֶשׁ חַיָּ֖ה ה֥וּא שְׁמֽוֹ׃

20 וַיִּקְרָ֨א הָֽאָדָ֜ם שֵׁמ֗וֹת לְכָל־הַבְּהֵמָה֙ וּלְע֣וֹף הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וּלְכֹ֖ל חַיַּ֣ת הַשָּׂדֶ֑ה וּלְאָדָ֕ם לֹֽא־מָצָ֥א עֵ֖זֶר כְּנֶגְדּֽוֹ׃

Transliteration:

18 way·yō·mer  Yah·weh ’ĕ·lō·hîm,  lō- ṭō·wḇ hĕ·yō·wṯ hā·’ā·ḏām  lə·ḇad·dōw; ’e·‘ĕ·śeh- lōw ‘ê·zer  kə·neḡ·dōw.

19 way·yi·ṣer  Yah·weh ’ĕ·lō·hîm  min- hā·’ă·ḏā·māh, kāl-  ḥay·yaṯ haś·śā·ḏeh wə·’êṯ  kāl- ‘ō·wp̄ haš·šā·ma·yim, way·yā·ḇê  ’el- hā·’ā·ḏām, lir·’ō·wṯ mah- yiq·rā-  lōw; wə·ḵōl ’ă·šer yiq·rā- lōw hā·’ā·ḏām  ne·p̄eš ḥay·yāh hū šə·mōw.

20 way·yiq·rā  hā·’ā·ḏām šê·mō·wṯ,  lə·ḵāl hab·bə·hê·māh ū·lə·‘ō·wp̄  haš·šā·ma·yim, ū·lə·ḵōl ḥay·yaṯ haś·śā·ḏeh;  ū·lə·’ā·ḏām lō- mā·ṣā ‘ê·zer kə·neḡ·dōw.

NIV:

18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

19 Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.

20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals. But for Adam no suitable helper was found.

Study:

The solitary nature of the man is what God declares as not good. Through this declaration, we can see that the second account of origins differs from the first in a crucial matter. In the first account, humans are created male and female, whereas in the second account, the man is created first and the woman second.

Why was it not good for the man to be alone? The text does not explain why a solitary human is not a good thing. However, since God has just given the man his vocation we can conclude that the fulfillment of this vocation requires cooperation. One solitary human is incapable of living up to the vocation God gave the first man.

The word נֶגֶד (neged) can mean ‘in front of’, ‘in the sight of’, and ‘opposite to’. Most of the English translations, including the NIV, use the phrase ‘suitable for’ or words to that effect. There is no reason, however, within the text, for this translation. Why נֶגֶד (neged) should mean ‘suitable for’ in this context is unclear. Moreover, it is unclear what ‘suitable’ even means. I would suggest, using the phrase ‘as a mirror for’. This takes into account the fact that נֶגֶד (neged) normally has a locative sense of something being ‘in front of’ or ‘in the sight of’ or ‘opposite to’ as mentioned before. Also, it takes into account the fact that it was not good for the man to be alone and transforms his solitary nature into solidarity with the helper. So the text would read, “I will make a helper as a mirror for him.”

The word עֵזֶר (ezer) appears in the Old Testament 19 times outside the three verses we are dealing with. In two of the verses (Isaiah 30.5 and Ezekiel 12.14) the word is used to indicate the kind of help that humans cannot provide. In one verse (Daniel 11.34) the subject is unidentified, but could be God. In every other instance, the subject is clearly and unambiguously God. In other words, the word עֵזֶר (ezer) does not indicate some menial assistant, but rather an ally or even a deliverer without whose help the person receiving that help would be rendered powerless. We need to keep this in mind when we interpret the passage.

The NIV once again betrays a reluctance to take the text at its face value in v. 21 when it begins the verse with the phrase ‘Now the Lord God had formed’. The phrase וַיִּיצֶר֩ (way·yi·tser), starting with the simple conjunction וַ (way) and with the Qal imperfect tense of יָצַר (yaw-tsar’) indicates that the verse should begin, “And the Lord God formed” indicating a successive action. The plain meaning of the text is that v. 19 should be seen as God’s response to his own declaration in v. 18 that he would make a helper as a mirror for the man. That is, God’s formation of the livestock, the wild animals, and the birds is to be seen as the action intended, at least in the narrative, to act on God’s resolution to make a helper as a mirror for the man.

Adam’s act of naming the animals is to be taken as one aspect of his vocation to care for the garden. Once we name something, we form a link between that thing and ourselves. And so when Adam names the animals, he forms a link that will allow him to care for them. We must also keep in mind that, very often, the bible will name a person with the idea of describing that person. For example, Peter is to be a rock, while Nabal is a fool. So the name of the animal would have encapsulated the identity and essence of that animal. So, by naming the animals, Adam gives himself a way of remembering what is essential to each animal, thereby enabling him to care for them.

Prayer:

Our gracious, loving Father. We are grateful that you told us that humans are not supposed to live in isolation, that we are created by you to be in relationship with each other. We are humbled at the fact that you have given us a vocation that can only be fulfilled in partnership with other humans. We ask that you would strengthen us to strengthen the bonds of cooperation and camaraderie with each other. We ask you to enable us to truly realize how we are supposed to relate with each other. In the name of Jesus. Amen.