And Jehovah Elohim built the rib that he had taken from Man into a woman; and brought her to Man.
Adam was alone, and God acted. He took part of the man himself, made a woman, and gave her to him. Commentators read both halves — the making and the giving — as the pattern for every marriage since, and as a picture of Christ and the church.
Taken from His Side
The Hebrew word rendered "rib" is used widely in the Old Testament. One writer points out how translators handle it everywhere else:
It is worth noticing that the Hebrew word translated "rib" here is in every other case translated, no less than nineteen times, as "side."
Where God took the material from carries meaning. One writer draws a lesson from it about how the man and the woman stand toward each other:
He would give man the gift of companionship, the joy of fellowship, the exchange of affection. The end was good, and so was the way. He threw the man into a trance, as the Greek translators put it. Adam would not feel pain, yet would know perfectly what God was giving him. It was not a separate human being independent of Adam. It was not from the head nor from the feet — not an absolute equal, nor an utter inferior — but from his side. Others long ago have observed what that means: she is the object of nearest love and sustaining care, a sharer of all joy and sorrow, joined to him yet dependent on him.
Built, Not Just Made
The Hebrew verb behind "made" is "built." One writer follows that word forward:
When it comes to the way God's act of creating Eve is described, the word "built" catches our attention. It was certainly an act of creation. Yet the wording is unusual: God "built the rib into a woman." This is the first time this verb (to build) appears in the Bible. In Ephesians 2:20, 22 the word for the building of the church comes from the same root as the word used here, in the Greek translation of the Old Testament. The church is presented here as companion. But the mention that God "built" Eve is meant to confirm the truth that the builder of the church is a divine One. The Lord Himself said to Peter: "on this rock I will build my church" (Matt. 16:18).
Brought to the Man
Adam did not find her; God gave her. One writer, using the Hebrew names for God, calls that giving the founding pattern of marriage:
As Jehovah Elohim was pleased to build his rib into an Ishah (woman), so He brought her to the man. This is the highest and best form of marriage. The woman was received, as it were, from the divine hand. She came not from Elohim only, but from Him who in all His action recorded here was perfectly laying the ground for mutual duty in the relationship of marriage.
How Eve came to be still shapes marriage today. One writer treats Adam's case as the model, not the exception:
The woman was formed by divine handiwork, not from the dust of the ground as Adam had been, but out of Adam himself. Eve was the Creator's provision for Adam. The marriage of Adam is the prototype of the marriage of all his sons. In every case of true marriage, God arranges the union. Divine wisdom notices the moment when the man's loneliness is no longer good for him. He then provides a bride who is the complement of his nature, with its personal characteristics. Adam had no choice of brides; there was only the one that would suit him, and she was prepared by God especially for him.
A Picture of Christ and the Church
The pattern reaches further than marriage. One writer sets out what had to happen before the church could begin:
Scripture fully warrants us in looking at Adam and Eve as a type of Christ and the church. So the death of Christ had to be an accomplished fact before the church could be set up. Yet in the purpose of God she was looked at, and chosen in Christ, before the foundation of the world.
Yet the picture is not an exact match, and the difference is the point:
We may find a contrast to Christ in Genesis 2:22. The Lord God presented Eve to Adam; in Ephesians 5:27 Christ presents the church to Himself. Why is this? The answer is very simple — Christ is God.
Summary
- Sleep — Adam felt no pain, yet knew perfectly what God was giving. The gift came while he slept, not by his work.
- Side — the same Hebrew word is translated "side" nineteen other times. She came not from the head or the feet, but from his side.
- Built — this is the first "build" in the Bible. The same root returns for the building of the church, and the builder is divine.
- Brought — she came from God's own hand. That giving sets the pattern for every true marriage.
- Beyond — the picture stops short at one point. God presented Eve to Adam; Christ presents the church to Himself, because Christ is God.