Word Study: "Ezer" is a helper, nothing more, nothing less.

And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him.

And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man.

Genesis 2:18-22 (NKJV).

My wife recently came across a social media posting which attempted to claim that when God first referenced woman in Genesis, the word used was "ezer", and that this word was so often used in the Bible with respect to God saving mankind, that the role and responsibility of women would change dramatically once this "new understanding" came out, that it would "change everything."

Support for this was drawn from claims by a supposed expert in translation who stated that this particular word was very difficult to translate into English, but that properly understanding its meaning would change how women would be viewed from the perspective of scripture.

Never mind how women are actually viewed by scripture, or that the view of scripture they are trying to draw a contrast with is the boringly stereotypical misogynistic paper tiger that still fuels the waning flames of Feminism today, this new understanding is important for women to understand to reclaim some of their lost honor or glory that men had stolen away through poor translation of these ancient texts.

Now, as a good rule when it comes to biblical interpretation, immediately doubt in the claims of anyone who has a "new understanding" that changes some dramatic portion of scriptural understanding. You still need to back this doubt up by going to scripture, but you do yourself no favors by genuinely entertaining the idea that someone really did figure something out that had been missed for thousands of years.

You should naturally wonder why God waited till now for the "real truth" to be known, but I digress.

This is especially so because while the New Testament is relatively newer, you have to remember that the Old Testament has portions of it which are used by other major world religions as well, and so you're not just claiming that Christians have it wrong, but all religions who point to Genesis as being a divinely authored text and yet does not come to the same conclusions.

That said, let's get into the details. "Ezer" first shows up in Genesis 2:18. In this passage, God notes that Adam is alone, and says he will make a helper, and various translations define the helper as comparable, suitable, and so forth. Before you get ahead of yourself though, note that God immediately starts creating new creatures for Adam to find a helper among, resulting in verse 20 where a suitable helper was not found among them.

Because of that, we have some pertinent context that we should discuss. First off, Adam has not sinned yet, and is not in need of any sort of moral salvation. This may seem like a silly point to make, but given the connotation that is drawn from "ezer" later, it's an important distinction to keep in mind. Secondly, when God saw that Adam was alone, the first step God took was to create more creatures, not woman, to possibly fulfill the role of "ezer".

Now, moving to verses 21 and 22, the first time God references woman specifically, and the word used is "ishshah". So while "ezer" still applies, in that God is providing a helper to Adam in response to Adam having been alone and not having found a comparable helper among the other creatures God brought forth and Adam named, the label for "woman" wasn't "ezer", but "ishshah".

"Ezer" is the role, but "ishshah" is the identifier for woman specifically, and it means "woman, wife, female."

That said, let's look at how "ezer" is used. In the Hebrew/Aramaic language, there is a smaller dictionary, so the same root word will get used in multiple places, with its specific meaning drawing from context and how the root word is modified, not necessarily from the root word itself. In this manner, a word can have multiple literal and figurative meanings that are not identified by just having the same root word.

"Ezer" is one of those words, and this makes sense when you look at the definition for it, and the many different ways this root word was used in the Old Testament. In short it means "a help, helper", and is itself derived from "azar", which means "to help, succor". There are also various versions of "ezer" used in scripture, and these different versions are part of the context which completes the identification of what that root word means within that passage.

"Ezer" specifically is only explicitly used four times in the Old Testament. The first two are in Genesis, as seen above, and here are the other two:

Then You spoke in a vision to Your holy one,
And said: “I have given help to one who is mighty;
I have exalted one chosen from the people.

Psalm 89:19 (NKJV).  For parallel translations see this: Psalm 89:19.

Now when they fall, they shall be aided with a little help; but many shall join with them by intrigue.

Daniel 11:34 (NKJV). For parallel translations see this: Daniel 11:34.

Notice how one of these is explicitly referring to God having given help, but the other is not.

When people talk about all the other times "ezer" is used, they are referencing the other "versions" of "ezer" which have the same "root", but carry a noticeably different connotation. "Ezri" is one variation, and here are the verses where that formation of the root word "ezer" was used:

But I am poor and needy;
Make haste to me, O God!
You are my help and my deliverer;
O Lord, do not delay.

Psalm 70:5 (NKJV). For parallel translations see this: Psalm 70:5.

I will lift up my eyes to the hills—
From whence comes my help?

Psalm 121:1 (NKJV). For parallel translations see this: Psalm 121:1.

My help comes from the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.

Psalm 121:2 (NKJV). For parallel translations see this:Psalm 121:2.

Can you see how there is a common theme of "help" being provided, yet the details of who is providing help, and why, is different, reflected in how the root word is rendered in the actual passage?

There is no difficulty in understanding that the word refers to "help". The challenge is that what help is provided, and who is providing it, is defined by the remainder of the passage, as well as the manifestation of the root word in that passage.

So what of the claims about what woman was helping with? What role was she fulfilling? Well, scripture already told us what God's motivation was for creating an "ezer" for Adam:

And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.”

Genesis 2:18 (NKJV).

The "problem" is that Adam is alone, that's the struggle that God needs to help Adam with, loneliness. It's not that Adam needs saving in a moral, spiritual, or even material sense, but that God did not want Adam to be alone.

There is no missing honor, no stolen pride, in that woman was created to be the companion of man, to be a helper, and if you've been following my posts on Proverbs, you know the role the wife plays in her husband's life is very important.

The "problem" we face today is with the denigration of the wife, the mother, the comparable companion that God created for Adam, through denial of what what God created her for in the first place. This lack of understanding as to the genuine importance of the role of the woman in a healthy family, and only having the widely publicized misogynistic stereotypes to draw a contrast with, has both women, and men who are trying to appeal to those women, trying to reconstruct importance and significance in the life of women, but by ignoring what God really states throughout scripture and instead putting together a Frankenstein monster based on modern proclivities.

There is no hidden value in "ezer" that men have, whether intentionally or not, tried to hide away from women, to take away from their "real value". Women do have value, but our modern deceits have us dismissing what God values for what we do based on a postmodern materialism.

Instead, we all should pursue an understanding of what God values, of the "what" and the "why", and you will discover that, despite the reason for a woman's creation being rather simplistic, God did not create her without care or intent, without distinction, without refinement, without complexity, without purpose.

God loves women, has given them serious responsibilities, and it's been in the rejection of their role, of taking on those God-given responsibilities, that misery and dissatisfaction found fertile soil to grow in and produce fruits that have led both man and woman astray yet again.