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The first thing that I am struck by in this passage is how vastly different it is from the creation story in Genesis 1, however, that is not really part of our discussion, though it brings up several interesting questions.
Adam is created and he names the animals. This is Adams's first job. I think the most important aspect about this is that, despite the Garden of Eden being considered “perfect” Adam was given work. My mother loves to talk about how “work” is a Biblical concept and this ideal life with no “work” is actually against human nature. We want work, it is just so often we hate the work we must do to provide for our families.
In regards to the relationship that humankind has amongst itself, especially in regards to the genders, this chapter has a lot to say. First of all, Adam is created alone, yet it seems to me that it was God's intention to add women to the mix all along. I say this in the context of Genesis 1, which says “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” I say this also with the realization that the vast majority of “complicated” creatures, that is, most plants and animals, have two sexes. The idea of having a single sex human race does not seem to fit with common trends in biology. However, if we assume that God intended to create a second sex, the question that follows then is that why did God create Adam first, and then later Eve?
I think the wrong answer is to say to show that women are under men, as many would think. Eve is “bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh,” she is not the weaker, less powerful, less intelligent, less important, part of humanity, she is an equal member of the newly created human race.
The correct answer is more subtle, and perhaps more brilliant. Women is part of humanity, but more important, Adam is incomplete without Eve. “So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals. But for Adam no suitable helper was found,” reads chapter two. So God creates a helper from the very same substance of Adam. The perfect model for relationship between men and women seems to be, thus, marriage, the union of these two beings created from the same substances. I find it interesting to note that such a statement reminds me of the Trinity as taught to me in Basic Christian Questions. I forget the exact definition, but I believe it was something along the lines of three separate beings of the same substance.
This story ends with the Fall and the curses that humanity receives as a result. These curses are interesting because I really believe that many people forget them and how vital they are for understanding the issues that plague not only male-female relationships in general, but especially marriages. I remember once when I heard a sermon/teaching by Landa Cope, a theologian I respect very much, she providing interesting insight into this situation using New Testament references. These verses, in as much, say that men will toil for the rest of their life, corrupting the idea of “work” as we see it before the fall, while women will be ruled by men. I think this is something that so many people do not understand about the Bible. It says, in the Bible, that women will be subservient to men, yes, but because of the Fall. The Fall, man's own sin, created this system, not God.
