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One Leads To Another

Friday, July 17th, 2009 | Author:

And the man called the name of his wife, Eve, because she became the mother of all living.  Genesis 3:20

Eve – Of course, we know that the name Eve is a corruption of the real text.  The man did not call her Eve.  He called her by the Hebrew name Havvah.  Why is it important to make this change in the translated text?  Because once we see what he really named her, other things come to light.  In particular, we discover Adam’s second sin.

Immediately following the punishment, Adam names his wife.  This seems innocuous enough, but it is not.  Notice that this naming pattern is a repetition of the same process Adam enacted over the animal kingdom.  In Genesis 2:19, Adam is allowed to “call” the animals according to their essential being.  The same verb qara is used in both naming occurrences.[1]  It has the same implications as well, namely, authority over.  The process of naming is the declaration of authority over the thing named.  Adam fulfills the descriptive warning of the Lord regarding the woman by putting himself above her in an artificial hierarchy of his own making.  By naming her, he elevates himself as her authority.  It has been so ever since.  Wherever the Fall dominates the relationship between men and women, men strive for authority over women.  Notice that this is a result of the Fall.  It is not part of the original design.  It is not intended in the relationship between the zakar and the ‘ezer kenegdo.  It comes into play because the man seeks revenge on the woman. 

How can we make such a strong statement?  Nahum Sarna offers an insight into Adam’s naming process that reveals a much deeper animosity. 

Hebrew havvah, which seems to be an archaic form of hayyah, could mean “living thing,” life personified.  This is how the Septuagint understood it when it rendered the name here Zoe.  The vocalization suggests an intensive form, so that “propagator of life” is also a possible meaning.  There might, in addition, be a word play involved, for Aramaic hivya means a serpent, as noted in Genesis Rabba 20:11; 22:2.  In the Sifre inscription (I.A.31), the word for serpent is actually written hvvh. [2]

The possible implication here is shocking.  If Adam chose the name havvah because of its relationship to the meaning “snake,” then we see that Adam not only asserts authority over Havvah but he also gives her a name that will forever remind her of her sin.  In other words, Adam never forgives her!  In fact, rabbinic legend suggests that after the birth of Cain and Havel (Abel), Adam left Havvah for 130 years and sought relationships among other beings.[3]  According to these rabbinic sources, this constitutes the first separation between married partners.  It is hard to imagine that there is any other ground for this legend than the animosity engendered as a result of twisting the divinely-ordered complementary relationship into a hierarchy of control. 

Imagine what would have happened if Adam had taken responsibility and forgiven his ‘ezer kenegdo?  He would have acted according to the character of God.  He would have remembered the Lord of creation as compassionate and merciful.  Would there still be sin?  Of course.  He participated in it.  But by not forgiving his wife, he perpetrates the brokenness rather than allowing healing to take place.  He starts the downward spiral with the second sin.

We cannot undo the first sin.  The door has been opened and it has taken residence in the house.  But we can undo the second sin.  We, men and husbands, can do what our father Adam did not do.  We can forgive.  We can restore the ‘ezer kenegdo by accepting our responsibility and granting her the grace she so desperately needs.

Topical Index:  Havvah, Eve, sin, forgiveness, ‘ezer kenegdo, Genesis 3:20, serpent

[1] qara is also found in Genesis 1:5, 8 and 10; Genesis 2:19, 20, 23 and Genesis 3:9

[2] Nahum Sarna, , Genesis: The JPS Torah Commentary (The Jewish Publication Society, Philadelphia: 1989), p. 29.

[3] Three references may be consulted about this legend.  Maimonides, Guide for the Perplexed, Part 1, chapter 7; Talmud Eruvim 18A and Jerusalem Talmud Peah 1:1

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The B. B. King Bible

Tuesday, April 07th, 2009 | Author:

The man named his wife Eve, because she was the mother of all living.  Genesis 3:20

Eve – We need a new bible translation.  I suggest we call it the “B. B. King Bible.”  Why?  Because “the thrill is gone.”  The relationship between Adam and “Eve” after the Fall is the epitome of B. B. King’s famous song.  Not only is the thrill gone, but “you’ll be sorry someday.”

Do you know this story?  Be careful how you answer.  Remember yesterday?  Knowing the story is absorbing its details and implications and making them a living part of your reality.  So, let’s take a look at some of the amazing depth in this part of the story.  Maybe you’ll discover that the story has a lot more to it than you thought.

First, we must notice, carefully, that Adam names his wife after the Fall.  Why is this important?  Because naming is not simply providing a descriptive term to an object.  To name something is to have power over it.  Adam names the animals as a sign of dominion over them.  God allows such naming for it is God’s intention that Adam (Man) has dominion.  But the woman does not belong in the animal kingdom.  She comes from Adam himself.  Adam is more than aware of this for he exclaims, “This one is bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh.”  At the moment of her creation, Adam knows that she is not like the rest of the creatures of the earth.  She is perfect for him because she is just like him.  Before the Fall, the woman does not carry this name.  She is described by only two words, woman (ishshah – a word that also means female and wife) and ‘ezer (the word that God uses to describe her).  There is no sign of dominion in the relationship, not even by naming.  If anything, God is the one who designates her status – ‘ezer – a status that has enormous implications for her intended role.

But something happened.  The thrill of Adam’s initial exclamation is gone.  After the Fall, Adam no longer trusts his ishshah as an ‘ezer.  In fact, God simply acknowledges that the trust relationship has been broken.  The ‘ezer will continue to desire to fulfill her role, but now dominion enters the picture.  Her ish (man, male, husband) will resist her natural proclivity and divinely-ordained function by suppressing her desire.  Just as the land resists him, he will resist her.  The thrill is gone indeed.

Now that the thrill is gone, dominion rears its ugly head.  And the first act of dominion is naming.  So, as a sign of power, inequality and resistance, Adam names her.  Adam places her beneath him.  In the broken world, such has been the case ever since.  Furthermore, Adam names her havvah.  There are two possible explanations for this unusual name.  The first is that the word itself comes from the root hayyah, the verb “to be.”  On this ground, Havvah is named for her role as the human conduit of life.  Every one born in this world must pass through her.  Every bloodline of every person every born finds its way eventually back to this woman, Havvah, the mother of all living.  So, just as Adam names the animals according to their essential character, now he names the woman according to her future essential role.  Please notice that Adam has removed her from the role of ‘ezer in this naming.  There is not a hint of her divinely-ordained role as his protector, provider, nourisher and spiritual confidant.  Now she is reduced to a birth-machine.  She is on par with the animals, good for propagation.

But there is another possibility, equally illuminating.  The Targum Genesis Rabba (20:11 and 22:2) indicates that the word of havvah is involved in a word play with the Aramaic hivya, and hivya is a word that means “snake.”  The thrill is really gone, isn’t it?  What would it be like to be named according to the biggest mistake of your life?  What would your relationship be like to your husband if he called you by a name that reminded you of your failure?  Some husbands probably do that even today.  It’s tragic.  It terrible.  But it’s part of the fallen, broken world.

The woman failed to be an ‘ezer.  Adam failed to forgive.  Both failed God.  And both “will be sorry some day.”

Topical Index: Havvah, havya, ‘ezer,  Genesis 3:20, snake, mother

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Ever Deeper

Tuesday, September 16th, 2008 | Author:

And Adam called his wife’s name Eve because she was the mother of all living.  Genesis 3:20

Eve – God doesn’t make mistakes.  So, when God chose to use the Hebrew language to reveal Himself, it wasn’t an accident.  The Hebrew language is the perfect vehicle to communicate what God wants to share about Himself and His creation.  What does this mean to us?  It means that what God says in Hebrew is usually much deeper than we initially observe.  Frank Seekins says, “Hebrew fulfills a role that no other language can” because it can be understood as both a picture language and a phonetic language.  Our contemporary translations are based on the phonetic aspect of Hebrew, not the pictographs.  Sometimes we need to look to the pictures to see what the language communicates.  That leads us to ask a question about some crucial words for “woman.”  What we find will truly amaze you.

First, there is God’s chosen word for “woman.”  It’s found in Genesis 2:18 (“I will make him a help-mate – an ‘ezer).  This is God’s word, not Adam’s.  The word consists of the consonants A-Z-R which display a picture of “first cut from a person”, “strength cut from the highest” or even “the first weapon (of defense) of the person.”  Does this sound like the role of the ‘ezer?  Remember that ‘ezer is the same word God applies to Himself in relation to Israel.  The woman is certainly the first cut from the man.  In fact, she is taken directly from him.  And the role of the ‘ezer is to protect, help, provide and nourish.  Certainly this is the biblical view of strength and defense.  What God had in mind is not subservience or patriarchal hierarchy.  His choice of ‘ezer indicates that the woman is a man’s first line of defense, an equal partner in the journey of life.  The ‘ezer is God’s gift to the husband.  She is built that way.

‘ezer isn’t the only word for woman.  There is Adam’s choice, ish-sha.  Once before we noted that the doubled consonant paints a picture of the woman as consumer and destroyer, a very powerful combination.  But there is another picture here.  This pictograph also means “what comes out of the strong consumer.”  Woman comes out of man.  The second picture makes visible what the text confirms: “She shall be called woman because she was taken out of man.”  Adam recognizes her essential equality and unique similarity is his choice of word.  He also acknowledges the dangerous bliss resident in this perfectly suited partner.

So far, so good.  God has a word picture that paints the divinely ordered role of woman.  Man has a word picture that displays her vital connection to him.  But there is still one more word.  It occurs is Genesis 3:20 when Adam finally gives his wife a proper name.  That name, as we now know, is Havvah, not Eve.  This reveals an even more interesting picture.  This picture is “what comes from the place of work.”  What does this mean?  It means that woman is the vehicle through which all “living” come – all those who work.  Thus, her name literally means “the mother (source) of all living.”  Once again the picture paints what the words say.  This is her legacy.  Since Hebrew views work and worship as one and the same, the name Havvah also means the woman brings to life all those who worship.  There is hardly a more important role in human existence.

Now don’t get concerned.  This is not some kind of worship of Woman.  It’s not pagan Mother Earth and it’s not the idolization of Mary.  It is simply the biblical recognition that God chose women to be the way that every living human being becomes a member of the working-worshipping community.  It’s not idolatry.  It’s the recognition of vital importance.  Mothers matter.

What does the Scripture tell us about a woman?  She is God’s chosen protector, provider and strength for a man.  Secondly, she is from Man, equally a partner under the Lord and perfectly matched for re-union as one.  Finally, she is the physical transporter of life for all Mankind.  These three roles are all wrapped up in one person.  They must be recognized as separate but united.  When we confuse them, when we put all the emphasis on one of the pictures and ignore the other two, we end up with terrible distortions like pagan Mother Earth worship or the contemporary idea of woman as servants of men.  The Scriptures reveal all three, intertwined.  And a cord of three strands cannot easily be broken.

If you are a woman, exult in how God made you.  If you are a man, be gloriously grateful to God.  He knew exactly what He was doing.

Topical Index:  Names

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