Genesis 2 Is woman an after thought in Gods mind?

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*18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

19 Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.

But for Adam[f] no suitable helper was found. 21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs[g] and then closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib[h] he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.*
Then Adam goes on to be very happy because he now has a partner of his own kind, which is great. 🙂

What I question is God bringing all the animals to Adam, when he knows that in order for Adam to procreate and have a family he would need one of his own kind, not any other creature.

In Genesis 1 the description tells of making man in Gods image and likeness, male and female. Genesis 2 sounds like God didn’t think about a female image and likeness, until he saw how lonely Adam was.

Why wouldn’t God have just made male and female from the ground, together, so that they then can become one and procreate. God knew how his creatures would need to unit in order to be fruitful and multiply, so why the after thought regarding woman?

Thoughts? 🙂
 
If Adam and Eve were created at exactly the same time, Adam would not have ever known loneliness. So he appreciated Eve all that much more when she came along later. It seems to me to be a good way to make it all happen!

BTW - God brought all the animals to Adam to show Adam that he was “different” than the other animals - special. Special because God personally breathed “life” into him, and he was made in God’s image and likeness (unlike other animals).
 
simpleas said:
*18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

19 Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.

But for Adam[f] no suitable helper was found. 21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs[g] and then closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib[h] he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.*
Then Adam goes on to be very happy because he now has a partner of his own kind, which is great. 🙂

What I question is God bringing all the animals to Adam, when he knows that in order for Adam to procreate and have a family he would need one of his own kind, not any other creature.

In Genesis 1 the description tells of making man in Gods image and likeness, male and female. Genesis 2 sounds like God didn’t think about a female image and likeness, until he saw how lonely Adam was.

Why wouldn’t God have just made male and female from the ground, together, so that they then can become one and procreate. God knew how his creatures would need to unit in order to be fruitful and multiply, so why the after thought regarding woman?

Thoughts? 🙂
Click to expand...
just a side thought here… I don’t think there was any procreation mentioned until after the fall, even with the animals. I’m wondering, were the animals male and female before God made woman? was it mentioned? I don’t remember any sort of mention of it, but I think I will have to look it up now.
 
The woman came from a man’s rib. Not from his feet to be walked on. Not from his head to be superior, but from his side to be equal. Under his arm to be protected, and next to his heart to be loved.
 
What I question is God bringing all the animals to Adam, when he knows that in order for Adam to procreate and have a family he would need one of his own kind, not any other creature.
Click to expand...
In Genesis 1 the description tells of making man in Gods image and likeness, male and female. Genesis 2 sounds like God didn’t think about a female image and likeness, until he saw how lonely Adam was.
Click to expand...
Why wouldn’t God have just made male and female from the ground, together, so that they then can become one and procreate. God knew how his creatures would need to unit in order to be fruitful and multiply, so why the after thought regarding woman?
Click to expand...
Did God let Adam experience lonliness? I question why God uses loniness before the “fall”. Since lonliness is a human experience free of original sin, it must be good and it must have purpose to help us serve God. Some have theorized that the separation of man and woman was to teach Adamhow to love as God loves, to long for, to hope for, and to charish the gift.
 
Giggly_Giraffe said:
Did God let Adam experience lonliness? I question why God uses loniness before the “fall”. Since lonliness is a human experience free of original sin, it must be good and it must have purpose to help us serve God. Some have theorized that the separation of man and woman was to teach Adamhow to love as God loves, to long for, to hope for, and to charish the gift.
Click to expand...
I don’t think loneliness is the right word. I believe what’s important to note from this is that God allowed Adam to understand that he was different from the animals. He has no equal among the animal kingdom, none with which he could truly relate. Then God gives him Eve, his true equal, and one which was created specifically for him. This helped accentuate the special nature of their relationship, and how it differs from Adam’s relationship from the animals.
 
We have to look at Genesis 2 in light of the whole of Scripture.

In the second creation account, there are lots of images that seem to ascribe human type thoughts and actions to God, but those aren’t meant to be taken in a strict literal sense. So, sure, someone might read that and think, “Gee, God doesn’t seem to know what He’s doing. He keeps bringing these animals to Adam before finally having an epiphany that Adam needed someone more like himself.” If that’s the way a person understands the passage, then I can see coming away thinking that woman was an “after thought.”

But that’s not the right way to understand the passage. God isn’t doing that because He needs to figure out what to do next but in order to open Adam’s eyes to what he is missing.

Of course, there is also the fact that creation accounts aren’t meant to be a scientific description of the mechanics of the origin of human life.

That said, I find it most fitting that Eve is created from a piece of Adam. To me, that illustrates far more profoundly the deep intimacy and union of the two. If they were just two parallel beings created in separate cocoons who happened to like each other, that intimate union wouldn’t seem to be on quite the same level as them literally sharing the same flesh. It would be a union of two human races rather than the fruition of one human race.
 
Woman wasn’t an after thought, but the prefiguring of the Church, according to St. Augustine.

Eve, the bride of Adam was build up of the matter coming after his side was opened.

The Church, the bride of Christ, was made from the water (baptism) and blood (eucharist) that came when his side was opened on the cross.

Peace and all good!
 
I don’t believe that the creator of the universe thinks like humans think, has afterthoughts,or makes decisions like we do.
 
ricmat said:
If Adam and Eve were created at exactly the same time, Adam would not have ever known loneliness. So he appreciated Eve all that much more when she came along later. It seems to me to be a good way to make it all happen!

BTW - God brought all the animals to Adam to show Adam that he was “different” than the other animals - special. Special because God personally breathed “life” into him, and he was made in God’s image and likeness (unlike other animals).
Click to expand...
So all was created for the male then? He needed to experience loneliness, what about Eve’s experience?
 
AnneElizabeth said:
just a side thought here… I don’t think there was any procreation mentioned until after the fall, even with the animals. I’m wondering, were the animals male and female before God made woman? was it mentioned? I don’t remember any sort of mention of it, but I think I will have to look it up now.
Click to expand...
Be fruitful and multiply was the command in Genesis 1 (procreate). Good point about the animals, if there was one of each sex then there was no point God showing adam the animals as a suitable helper. 🙂
 
Giggly_Giraffe said:
Did God let Adam experience lonliness? I question why God uses loniness before the “fall”. Since lonliness is a human experience free of original sin, it must be good and it must have purpose to help us serve God. Some have theorized that the separation of man and woman was to teach Adamhow to love as God loves, to long for, to hope for, and to charish the gift.
Click to expand...
Not sure, but it seems God created Adam as though he was the only human that would exist, until he realised Adam was lonely.
 
ProdglArchitect said:
I don’t think loneliness is the right word. I believe what’s important to note from this is that God allowed Adam to understand that he was different from the animals. He has no equal among the animal kingdom, none with which he could truly relate. Then God gives him Eve, his true equal, and one which was created specifically for him. This helped accentuate the special nature of their relationship, and how it differs from Adam’s relationship from the animals.
Click to expand...
Adam would have needed to be created for Eve also to be equal.
 
Joe_5859 said:
We have to look at Genesis 2 in light of the whole of Scripture.

In the second creation account, there are lots of images that seem to ascribe human type thoughts and actions to God, but those aren’t meant to be taken in a strict literal sense. So, sure, someone might read that and think, “Gee, God doesn’t seem to know what He’s doing. He keeps bringing these animals to Adam before finally having an epiphany that Adam needed someone more like himself.” If that’s the way a person understands the passage, then I can see coming away thinking that woman was an “after thought.”

But that’s not the right way to understand the passage. God isn’t doing that because He needs to figure out what to do next but in order to open Adam’s eyes to what he is missing.

Of course, there is also the fact that creation accounts aren’t meant to be a scientific description of the mechanics of the origin of human life.

That said, I find it most fitting that Eve is created from a piece of Adam. To me, that illustrates far more profoundly the deep intimacy and union of the two. If they were just two parallel beings created in separate cocoons who happened to like each other, that intimate union wouldn’t seem to be on quite the same level as them literally sharing the same flesh. It would be a union of two human races rather than the fruition of one human race.
Click to expand...
Again, it points toward everything needing to be for Adam to experience realise etc, that is until they fall.
What was Eve’s experience?
 
captainrick said:
I don’t believe that the creator of the universe thinks like humans think, has afterthoughts,or makes decisions like we do.
Click to expand...
I would agree, yet only humans wrote the creation story and are subject to all these tendencies.
 
ricmat said:
All was created for humankind.

What about Eve’s experience?
Click to expand...
I know you are thinking of it in a loving sort of way, that Adam would love and honor a partner that was of his own kind, which is nice and all, but I’m questioning the fact that Genesis tells of creation initially being planned for one human, which of course was a male human. God then sees this human is lonely and in complete, so after bringing all the animals, (which of course God knows will not do) he puts adam in a deep sleep and creates a partner to make him complete.

All of the story suggests it’s written by a man for men. Even the “that is why a man leaves his mother and father and is joined to his wife”

There is no description of how Eve had the breath of God breathed into her when she was created, nor any explanation on how she loved and appreciated Adam.

It just seems alittle suspect to me when I really think about it. It may not bother many people, but it seems like half a story to me.

Thanks.
 
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