Bible Question:
Where did Eve come from?
Bible Answer:
Eve is mentioned only four times in the Bible. She appears in Genesis 3:20 and 4:1, 2 Corinthians 11:3, and then in 1 Timothy 2:13.
Now the man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all the living. (NASB) Genesis 3:20
The first passage tells us that God created her.
Her Creation
Adam had already been created from the dust of the ground in Genesis 2:7. We are told that God helped Adam to understand that he was alone in this new world and that he needed a companion. The animals could not meet his need. So God caused him to go into a deep sleep.
So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh at that place. And the LORD God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. (NASB) Genesis 2:21-22
The Hebrew form of the English phrase “deep sleep” is TARDEMAH. It refers to an unusually deep sleep. Today we say that Adam had been put to sleep with anesthesia.
Then God performed a miracle operation. He took part of Adam’s side and made Eve. The Hebrew word which is translated as “ribs” by the KJV, NKJV, NASB, and NIV actually refers to his “side.” The same word is used in Exodus 25:12 and other places to refer to the side of something. This implies that women have an equal standing with men. It does not mean that men and women are equally capable in everything, but neither are they inferior or superior. God did not take her from his head or his feet.
Then God “fashioned” her. The Hebrew word is BANA. It literally means “built.” God built or made her, and then brought her to him. I wonder what Adam thought of her? She came from him and not from the dirt. She was designed to help him. Genesis 2:20 says that she was to be a helper. The Hebrew word AZAR means “assistance, support, or help.” God’s design for a wife is to help her husband. They are to work together and not as individuals. Husbands and wives are to be a team.
Her Name
God let Adam name her and he did.
And the man said, “This is now bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.” For this cause a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed. (NASB) Genesis 2:23-25
Adam named her ISHAH in the Hebrew, or “woman, wife” in the English. Then Adam refers to himself as “man or husband.” The Hebrew word is ISH. Therefore, a man and a women are to leave father and mother and “cleave” to one another. The Hebrew word DVK for “cleave” has the sense of “glued together.” it is also important to notice that there is nothing wrong for a husband and wife to be naked with each other. But this passage implies that males and females are not to be naked otherwise. Public nudity is shameful (Isaiah 20:4). Today many have lost their sense of shame. Open or public nudity is not God’s divine pattern.
Conclusion:
This is a wonderful reminder that God’s design for marriage is a partnership. A previous question and answer has discussed the role of husbands and wives in marriage. Together both of these give us God’s wonderful pattern for an awesome marriage.