Genesis 2:18

Ezer Kenegedo

And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. (Genesis 2:18, KJV)

While the KJV translates the Hebrew phrase עזר כנגדו (ezer kenegedo) as “help meet for him,” other translations provide additional translations including; “a helper fit for him” (RSV), “a helper as his partner” (NRS), “a helper comparable to him” (NKJ), and “a helper as his counterpart” (YLT). What exactly does this Hebrew phrase mean?

The first word in the phrase, עזר (ezer), is simple and means “helper.” The second word, כנגדו (kenegedo), is a little more complex. The base word is the word נגד (neged), which will be discussed shortly, with the prefix כ (k) meaning “like,” and the suffix ו (o) meaning “of him” or “his.”

The word נגד (neged) comes from the verbal root נגד (N.G.D) meaning “to be face-to-face.” This verb is always used in the causative form where it is literally translated “to make to be face-to-face.” It is always used to mean “to tell,” in the sense of causing another to “come face-to-face” to tell them something.

The noun form נגד (neged) is often used for something that is face-to-face with something else. An example can be found in Genesis 21:16, where Hagar went and sat down “opposite” her son. Even though she and her son were a distance away, they were sitting “face-to-face.”

Putting all of this together, the phrase עזר כנגדו (ezer kenegedo) literally means “a helper like his opposite.” This could mean that Eve was to be his “other half,” like him, but with the opposite attributes.

In Genesis 1:27 we read that Elohiym filled the Adam (a Hebrew word meaning “human”) with his shadow, meaning he placed a representation of himself in the man. We also read in this verse that Elohiym filled them, male and female, meaning that he placed his attributes within each; his male attributes in the man and his female attributes in the woman. We do not normally think of Elohiym as having male and female attributes, but many Bible passages reflect this idea.