pn (02/13/83)
>From the Los Angeles Times...
Eve, the first woman, should be described as a "power equal to" Adam
rather than a "fitting helpmate" in Genesis, according to R. David Freedman,
a biblical scholar at the University of California at Davis.
James A. Sanders of Claremont, Calif., an Old Testament specialist on the
Revised Standard Version Bible Committee, said he thought Freeman made
"a good case" in the current issue of Biblical Archaeology Review.
"It's worth considering."
The line in question is in Genesis 2:18 when God says: "It is not good
that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him"
(Revised Standard Version). The two key Hebrew words are "ezer kenegdo".
But the customary translations do not convey the real meaning, said
Freedman. The Hebrew word "ezer" is a combination of two roots, one
menaing "to rescue" or "to save" and the other "to be strong". With
time, the two roots merged into one word and so did the meaning, later
always interpreted as "to help", he said.
The other Hebrew word, "kenegdo", has given translators problems because
it appears in the Bible only once. However, Freedman said, in late
rabbinical commentaries the word means "equal", as in the saying "The
study of Torah is equal to all the other commandments."
Birger Pearson, of the University of California at Santa Barbara, noted
that such a change "wouldn't have occurred to anyone until recently,"
and only now because of the women's liberation movement.