Results 1 - 3 of 3
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | love...as himself (if no self-love?) | Eph 5:33 | Morant61 | 65629 | ||
Help Meet................................ Greetings Sebkin! Allow me to answer your question first and then make some observations. 1) Who is Walter Kaiser Jr.? Dr. Kaiser is dean and vice president of education at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He has taught theology and Old Testament for more than 20 years. 2) Observations: While Dr. Kaiser is eminently qualified to speak to the meaning of a Hebrew word, obviously Scripture must be the final arbitrator. So, let's examine what Scripture has to say about the meaning of 'help meet'. The translation 'help meet' in Gen. 2:18 is based upon two Hebrew words: a) Ezer (Strong's 5828), and b) The phrase 'corresponding to'. The suggestion in your post seems to have been that this word indicates a subordinate relationship between a superior and an inferior. However, this very word is used 21 times in the Old Testament and it is frequently used of God in relation to man. For instance, Ps. 70:5 says, "But I am poor and needy: make haste unto me, O God: thou art my help and my deliverer; O LORD, make no tarrying." Are we to suppose then that God is inferior to man? Nay! The word is consistently used in the Old Testament to indicate a power or source of help greater than one's self. If it were not for the second phrase in Gen. 2:18, one could make the case that woman was superior to man! :-) Yet, the second phrase qualifies this power called Eve. She is to be 'corresponding to' Adam. Consider the context and one will see the meaning quite clearly. Why was Adam made to name the animals? Why was the creation of Eve mentioned immediately after the naming passage? Simply this: God wanted Adam to see that in all of creation there was no one or nothing else like him. What was God's verdict about this situation? God said, "It is not good". Eve was made to correct this situation. A good idiomatic translation of the phrase in Gen. 2:18 would be this: Eve was created that there might be 'someone like' Adam. So, Gen. 2:18 does not teach the inferiority of woman and the superiority of man. Rather, it teaches the kind of relationship which man and woman was meant to have. A relationship in which both find a partner who completes them. Unfortunately, sin ruined this relationship. Now, as a consequence of sin, both would seek to rule the other. Does this mean that wives are not supposed to submit to their husbands? Of course it doesn?t! But, it does mean that Biblical submission is not based upon some supposed inferiority, but rather upon the voluntary decision to become one flesh with another human being. The goal of Christian relationships is simple: each one submitting to one another and to God. Each one seeking the best for others. Wives seeking the best for their husbands while they love, submit to, and revere him. Husbands seeking the best for their wives while they love, protect, and provide for their wives. All the while, both of them loving God and submitting to Him. It is just as un-biblical for a husband to say, "Submit to me because I'm better than you" as it is for a wife to say, "I don't have to submit to anyone because I'm just as good as you"! Thus, I think the Biblical evidence very much supports Dr. Kaiser's comments. If you wish to refute them, please demonstrate where in the Old Testament this word refers to an inferior being! I hope this answers your questions my new friend! Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |
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2 | love...as himself (if no self-love?) | Eph 5:33 | Sebkin | 67085 | ||
Dear Brother Moran: As promised, I've spent two weeks in diligent study concerning this issue. My findings are that the Hebrew word ezer means simply "aid, help". And has nothing to do with power whatsover. There simply is no way of looking at this Hebrew word that would suggest that Eve was created as a greater power. The constant theme in the Bible contradicts the whole notion that Eve was created as a power for which Adam was to be subserviant. The strict interpretation and very definition of the word ezer contradicts that idea. And no more can be implied to the word ezer than can be implied to our English word "help". It is disappointing to me that men like Dr. Kaiser go outside the principles of good teaching and clear language for the purpose of their own grandizement. In thus doing they deceive others. Romans 1:22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, Thanks, Sebkin |
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3 | love...as himself (if no self-love?) | Eph 5:33 | Morant61 | 67089 | ||
Greetings Sebkin! Two quick points my friend! First of all, I'll take an eminient Hebrew scholars judgement about the meaning of the a Hebrew word. This gentleman is well established. Secondly, you wrote: "There simply is no way of looking at this Hebrew word that would suggest that Eve was created as a greater power. The constant theme in the Bible contradicts the whole notion that Eve was created as a power for which Adam was to be subserviant." This is a mis-statement of the point of my post. I never said that she was a 'greater' power, not did I say that Adam was to be subserviant to Eve. I said that she was created to be a corresponding power, an equal with whom Adam could have a relationship. The point of my post was to refute the claims being made that Eve was made inferior. The post to which I responded had made the claim that Eve was inferior to Adam, yet this word never indicates an inferior. Rather, it is usually used of God, who is a source of help because of His power, not His lack thereof! Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |
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