A Helper Fit for Him

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greenbaggins

Puritan Board Doctor
Matthew Henry's apt comments on the formation of Eve in Genesis 2:

That the woman was made of a rib out of the side of Adam; not made out of his head to rule over him, nor out of his feet to be trampled upon by him, but out of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected, and near his heart to be beloved.​
 
Matthew Henry's apt comments on the formation of Eve in Genesis 2:

That the woman was made of a rib out of the side of Adam; not made out of his head to rule over him, nor out of his feet to be trampled upon by him, but out of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected, and near his heart to be beloved.​
These days Matthew Henry would be done for plagiarism. His source is the Jewish commentator Isaac Abarbanel (1437-1508) who wrote: "Chava [Eve] was not created from Adam’s foot so that he would not consider her a lowly maidservant, nor from his head so that she would lord over him. Rather, she was created from his side so that she would be equal to him."
As a broader observation, you can usually tell the difference between Reformation commentators who were able to read Rabbinic Hebrew from those who weren't. They tend to have a much better grasp on the context and interconnectedness of the OT, which makes them better able to understand the text. Calvin is a case in point. The Rabbis won't teach you how to preach Christ from the OT, but they thought long and hard about the meaning of the Biblical text and there is still much that we can learn from them. Nowadays the easiest way to access that information is through contemporary Jewish commentators, such as Jacob Milgrom
 
Interesting. It is true, however, that some of those old rabbinic commentaries are being reprinted and/or printed in a more critical edition. The massive work of Carasik on the Pentateuch (The Commentator's Bible) is a case in point.
 
That the woman was made of a rib out of the side of Adam; not made out of his head to rule over him, nor out of his feet to be trampled upon by him, but out of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected, and near his heart to be beloved.
Rev Lane, talking of Matthew Henry's Commenary, is there a particular abridged edition you would recommend? I ask this aware that some of his fine commentary has dated scholarship.

The New Zealand Bible School I attended - one of the lecturers loved this quote. Since then I have often reflected on it.
 
Would it be appropriate to say that another reason Eve was made from Adam was so that Eve would be "in Adam", that is, he would be her federal head? He's not her first father, like he is ours, but she did come from his body. Or is that not necessary for him to have been her federal head?
 
Stephen, I do not ever recommend an abridged Henry. They usually take out all the good stuff, and he is hardly prolix to begin with. If you want something more up to date to read alongside Henry, then see my commentary recommendations.

Brandon, it is not necessary for the federal headship (after all, Christ is a federal head, too, but we did not come from his body). I think the fact that she came from Adam's rib is much more tied to the "one-fleshness" that marriage enjoys.
 
Stephen, I do not ever recommend an abridged Henry. They usually take out all the good stuff, and he is hardly prolix to begin with.
Thanks. I'll take that advice. I was introduced to his commentary as a teenager. If my memory is correct, it was the abridged edition done by Leslie Church.

If you want something more up to date to read alongside Henry, then see my commentary recommendations
Yes thanks. I have used these recommendations with great profit.
 
I believe it is a true ( literal, not allegory or poetry) picture of the bride of Christ. When Jesus was on the cross and they stabbed his side, blood and water poured out. His bride was birthed as he hung there, and we are born of water and blood (yeah, I know that is a verse whose meaning nobody agrees on).

Even as the bride of the first Adam was birthed from his side as he slept, the bride of the second was birthed from his side as he slept in death.
 
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