Making Sense of Genesis 2: The Vocation of Man; The Creation of Woman

The Formation of Man, and His Vocation as a Priest
With God’s royal Temple gardens described in Genesis 2:4-14 (see my previous post here), it is only fitting that we also get a description of the priest…and that’s what we find in Genesis 2:7-8, with the specific description of the creation of the man. We should see this man as the personification of humanity as a whole (the Adam from Genesis 1:26-27)—in other words, the individual man and woman we see in Genesis 2-3 represent humanity as a whole, but (obviously) in the story itself, they are two distinct people.

In any case, Genesis 2:7-8 tells us that God formed the man (literally, “the adam”) from the dust, and then placed him in the garden. There are two things to note. First, the fact that the man is formed out of the dust roots humanity in the world of nature. Yes, Genesis 1:26-27 say that humanity is made in God’s image, but Genesis 2:7-8 emphasizes another thing about humanity—human beings are thoroughly part of the natural, created order as well: the image-bearers of God are still nevertheless formed from the “stuff of nature,” just like everything else in nature, animals included.

It is for this reason that I simply do not understand the standard young earth creationist argument that if evolution was true, then that would mean that human beings are “just like animals.” Well, biologically-speaking, that sort of is true–we are made from the stuff of nature, just like all other creatures. Our biology is not what distinguishes us from the rest of the animal world; it is the fact that we are God’s image-bearers that distinguish us from the rest of the animal kingdom. And “image of God” is certainly not a biological characteristic.

The second thing to note is that those two descriptions of humanity (image of God in Genesis 1:26-27; and being formed from the dust in Genesis 2:7-8) crystalize the unique place human beings have in God’s created order: we are to be the mediators between God’s creation and God Himself—simply put, we are to be God’s priests of creation. This priestly mediatorial role of human beings is emphasized in the fact that we are told in Genesis 2:15 that God “placed” the man in the garden to “till it and take care of it,” (or more literally, “to serve it and keep watch over it”).

Those two phrases are rather interesting. First, the Hebrew word translated as “placed” in 2:15 is actually a verbal form of “Noah” that literally means to “give rest.” Secondly, the two verbs, “to serve and to keep” are used to describe the priestly service in the temple. Hence, the purpose God had for Adam (i.e. humanity) was to not only be His royal vice-regents to rule His creation (as seen in Genesis 1), but to also be His priestly mediators to serve in His creation (seen here in Genesis 2).

The Naming of the Animals
After the description of Eden, the creation of the man, and the placing him in the garden to act as God’s priest, we are told in Genesis 2:16-17 of the one commandment God gave to the man: he could eat of any tree in the garden, except for the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. God tells the man that on the day he eats from it, he will surely die. But then, the story immediately jumps to God’s decision to create the woman from the man’s side. Both the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and the Tree of Life don’t really come into focus until Genesis 3—and so, for that reason, we’re going to hold off on our discussion of them until the post.

For now, we will conclude Genesis 2 with looking at God’s creation of the woman in 2:18-25. Now, most of us know the general story, but it is worth noting how this section unfolds. In 2:18, the LORD God sees that it is not good for the man to be alone, and so He decides to make a helper for the man. But then, for the next two verses, instead of being told about the creation of the woman, we are told about God’s creation of the various animals, and about the man’s naming of them. Only then, at the end of verse 20, are we told that none of the animals are a suitable helper. And it is then in 2:21-22 that we are told about the creation of the woman.

So what is up with the naming of the animals? It’s basically pretty simple: the fact that the man names the animals is further indication that he is acting in his role as God’s chosen ruler of creation. In Genesis 1:28, God tells the man to have dominion over the creatures, and so the act of naming them is a way of exercising that dominion. We see this demonstrated throughout the Bible, in fact. For example, when Nebuchadnezzar first invades Judah in 597 BC, he takes Jehoiachin the king back to Babylon with him and installs Jehoiachin’s uncle Mattaniah as the new king of Judah–yet he renames him Zedekiah. And then in the book of Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar renames Daniel, Hannaniah, Mishael, and Azariah to be Belteshazzar, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. It was Nebuchadnezzar’s way of saying, “I can re-name you as I wish because I have authority over you. I rule you.”

The Creation of the Woman
As far as the creation of the woman is concerned, God puts the man into a deep sleep, and forms the woman from his side. When he wakes up, he names her “woman,” because she was taken “out of man.” The poet John Milton once said, “Loneliness was the first thing that God’s eye named ‘not good.’” And indeed, that is a very insightful observation, for the creation of the woman not only highlights the fact that people are created to be in relationship and community with one another, but it also emphasizes the need that men and women have of each other, their equality, and the purpose of marriage.

It needs to be emphasized that the word translated as “helper” does not carry with it any idea of “servant” or “subservience.” It is actually translated as “ally” sometimes in the Bible. Job describes himself as the “helper” of the poor; in the Psalms, God Himself is the “helper” to those who cry out to Him. That fact, along with the fact that the woman is made from the man’s side (“rib” is actually not a good translation), emphasizes that men and women are equal before the eyes of God. Furthermore, it also emphasizes that marriage is meant to more or less make each partner more whole: men and women need each other, and when a husband and wife say about each other, “He/She is my better half,” they’re affirming the truth of Genesis 2:21-25.

Okay, but you might be thinking, “If that’s the case, why does it seem that women are always placed in a subservient role to men throughout history?” And for that matter, what is the deal about the fact that they were both naked and were not ashamed? Well, we’ll have to save all that for Genesis 3. And believe me, there is a lot to cover in Genesis 3!