> [!Scripture] > **21 So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. > 22 The LORD God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. > 23 The man said, "This is now bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man." > 24 For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. > 25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.** <img src="https://audio.mhbbible.com/media%3Agenesis%202%2021-25.jpg" alt="Genesis 2:21-25" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;"> > [!success] Audio Commentary > <audio controls src="https://audio.mhbbible.com/Genesis%202%2021-25.ogg"></audio> ## Brief Observations - **The creation of woman from man’s rib** — On day 6, God forms Eve from Adam’s side while he sleeps—a miracle echoing Genesis 1:27 (“male and female He created them”). This order (Adam first) establishes divine design: Eve made for Adam, not vice versa; she from him, not him from her. Paul draws leadership implications (1 Timothy 2:11–15): women submit to male authority in teaching and home, reflecting creation’s sequence and Eve’s deception. + **Biblical roles challenge modern egalitarianism** — Culture calls it chauvinistic, but God’s design calls wives to reverence husbands—leading to healthier marriages amid today’s crisis of crumbling unions and relational confusion. Man is God’s glory; woman is man’s glory (1 Corinthians 11). If man crowns creation, woman crowns man—double-refined dust, one step further from earth, conferring unique honor. - **Adam’s deep sleep: mercy and typology** — God anesthetizes Adam to spare pain, closing the flesh seamlessly—tender care even pre-sin. Post-Fall, He focuses on spiritual relief, like Christ’s sleep-like death yielding the Church (His bride) from His pierced side. Blood and water flow; a new Eve from the second Adam. + **No helper among animals** — Naming creatures revealed none suitable—highlighting humanity’s set-apart dignity. Animals can’t match our image-bearing essence. Lesson: no worldly substitute (wealth, status, power) replaces relational companionship; even kings and paupers need it. - **God builds woman as perfect counterpart** — From rib (near heart, under arm’s protection, at side for equality), Eve is “ishshah” from “ish”—woman from man, bone of bone, flesh of flesh. Not from head (to rule) or foot (to trample), but side: equal helper, facing him in unity. + **Marriage: leave, cleave, become one flesh** — God’s first institution: a man leaves parents, cleaves to wife, they unite as one—pre-Fall monogamy, no polygamy or divorce. Husbands love wives as own bodies (Ephesians 5); divorce equals self-harm. “Leaving” transforms family ties; parental consent honors this shift. - **Polygamy disintegrates the soul** — Dividing oneself among multiples weakens bonds, leading to shallow unions. God’s design: one man, one woman, profound oneness—sex seals covenant, a sacred mystery picturing Christ and Church. + **Pre-Fall nakedness: innocence without shame** — Adam and Eve unclothed, unashamed—like children, pure from sin. No elements to defend against, no status symbols needed. Solomon’s glory pales against lilies; Eden needed no adornment. - **The Fall awakens evil through self-consciousness** — Eating the fruit opens eyes to vulnerability—knowing hurt, enabling harm. Evil births from this: lies, deception, blame. Our first parents doom posterity to sin, but God foreordains redemption—Christ, spotless Lamb, second Adam, pays our debt on the cross. + **Marriage mirrors divine love** — In Eden, perfect union without shame; post-Fall, a battleground for grace. Wives submit as Church to Christ; husbands love sacrificially. Embrace God’s design for flourishing—reject cultural distortions, find oneness in Him. ## Full Commentary This final passage of chapter two reveals the creation of woman from the bone of man. This creative miracle would have happened on the sixth day, the same day Adam was placed in the garden. In the Priestly Account of creation, this was the same vent described in Genesis 1:27 which reads: >**Genesis 1:27** >27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. This next observation won’t be popular in 21st century egalitarian culture, but it really is the most honest interpretation of the text. Adam was made first and then Eve. Both Adam and Eve rebelled against God, but it was Eve to accepted discourse with the serpent and was consequently deceived. Eve originated in Adam, whereas Adam did not originate in Eve. It’s also true that Eve was made for Adam and Adam was not made for Eve. Paul points out the ramifications of these observations in his letter to Timothy when he writes: >**1 Timothy 2:8-15** >8 Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension. >9 Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments, >10 but rather by means of good works, as is proper for women making a claim to godliness. >11 A woman must quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness. >12 But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet. >13 For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve. >14 And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression. >15 But women will be preserved through the bearing of children if they continue in faith and love and sanctity with self-restraint. The dynamic of Eve’s creation means it’s only appropriate for women to be submissive to male leadership. In order for women to have healthy marriages, they must give reverence and respect to their husbands. These are not bad things. The culture has done its work to convince us this dynamic is chauvinistic, but this is in fact God’s design. As men and women have accepted the false doctrine of culture and rejected God’s design, we’ve watched marriages deteriorate at alarming rates and a mental health crisis emerge in both men and women concerning how they should treat each other. Adam was made last of all God’s _ex nihilo_ creations and he was the most excellent of all that God had made. Woman was made from the bone of this most excellent creation and so honor was conferred upon women as well. Scripture says man is the glory of God and woman is the glory of man. If man is considered the head of all creation, then woman is the crown. In this way you might argue women are more excellent than men. Man was shaped from the dust of the ground, but woman was shaped from the bone of the man. This means Adam was refined dust but Eve was double-refined dust. She was one additional step removed from the earth. Adam was in a deep sleep while God formed the woman Eve. There may be several reasons for this. One is as simple as anesthesia. Scripture says God opened the man and took one of his ribs, then closed the flesh at that place. Adam had not yet sinned, so it was only appropriate that God shield him from any kind of distress or pain. Even today we wouldn’t perform such an operation without general anesthesia. Such loving care to protect Adam from grievance is still a part of God’s character when He deals with those who have sinned. It’s just more focused on assuaging spiritual agony rather than physical torment. For instance when the Jews faced Babylonian exile, there’s no doubt this came with its share of physical pain. But God, by His grace, is able to quiet and compose the spirits of those who are repentant such that they become durable enough to outlast persecution. It’s also possible that God put Adam to sleep so as to remove any doubt that Adam had a role in designing Eve. God would not take advice or counsel from Adam concerning what Eve must be like. We can pray that God give us what is best for us according to His will, but God isn’t going to shape His movements on the basis of our own input. Adam’s sleep also shows us that he’s able to lie down peacefully while God takes up the important creative work. This is what it looks like for a person to cast all of their cares and concerns at the feet of Jesus. Adam trusted himself and his future to His Creator’s will and wisdom. One of the Hebrew names for God is Jehovah-jireh which means “the Lord will provide” or “the Lord sees to it”. This name indicates that if we graciously rest in God, God will graciously work for us and work all for good. God will provide when and whom He pleases according to His infinite wisdom and comprehensive sovereignty. Many people throughout church history have wondered why God chose to use Adam’s rib bone instead of some other part of his body. I think there’s some symbolism here which may speak into it. Had she been made from his head she might be thought to rule over him. Had she been made from his feet she might be thought to be subjugated by him. Instead she’s made from a bone at his side, which indicates equality with him. The bone comes from under his arm, so that she might be protected by him. And the bone comes from close to his heart, so that she might be loved. Adam lost a rib in the process but he gained a wife. Many times in our lives we experience difficult or sometimes tragic seasons which take away from who we are. Part of this creation story concerning Adam and Eve reveals God’s modus operandi to restore what was lost plus more. We may have to wait until we pass into glory to see this restoration, but we can be certain God will work it. Job’s story is tragic and terrifying because he’s attacked by Satan himself and loses everything as a result. At one point Job’s life is reduced to him sitting in a pile of ruinous ashes and scraping painful sores on his body with a potsherd. Despite such bleak moments of loss and agony, we know how Job’s story ends. God restores all that was lost plus even more than Job had before the attack. The symbolism with Adam’s operation goes even deeper than this. One might consider the creation of Eve as symbolic of the union between Christ and His Church. Let me explain: Eve was formed from the bone taken from Adam’s side whilst Adam was deep asleep. In the same way, Christ’s side was pierced with a spear while He was dead on the cross. Blood and water flowed from the opening, the blood by which Christ purchased His bride and water by which He purified it to Himself. Paul calls Christ the second Adam, and part of this title is pointing to the fact that their wives (Eve for Adam, the Church for Christ) were bought with their blood and broken bodies. When we consider the marriage of Adam and Eve we might think of it as the most honorable marriage to ever exist apart from the marriage of Christ and His Church. Marriage itself is an honorable institution and couples glorify God by submitting themselves to Him in holy matrimony. God’s hand is in every marriage between husband and wife, because God’s hand is sovereign over the creation of both husband and wife. The match is worked by His hand and because of this we may faithfully enter into covenant with the person God has given us. This is why Mark 10:9 is read at nearly every wedding: “What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.” But the marriage between Adam and Eve was the only marriage to be made in perfect innocence — a marriage completed before either of them had known sin.  The union between Adam and Eve also reveals their relationship to God has their Father. God brought the woman to the man, Eve didn’t choose to go there of her own accord. She wasn’t set free to do whatever she wants, she was God’s child, and so her marriage must require God’s blessing. Most of us say we want God’s best for our lives, but not as many of us are willing to submit what it takes to receive that. To receive God’s best we must humble ourselves to a dependence on His providence. We put ourselves under divine conduct so that we may walk in congruence with God’s will. When we’re selecting a husband or wife, the evaluation shouldn’t be predicated on what our flesh lusts for in the present moment. Our evaluation should call into question what attributes may be common to an individual whom God Himself would bring to us. Adam’s reception of Eve reveals His relationship with God because he accepted God’s gift with humble, thankful acknowledgment. He knew God suited Eve for him and he faithfully received God’s favor in betrothing her to him. He didn’t question God’s design or seek for something better. He knew by faith that Eve was bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh. Finally he had someone suitable to be his companion and to enter into covenant with. As part of his accepting her he gave her a name, “She shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man.” The name woman acknowledges that Eve is distinct from Adam in biological sex but indistinct in human nature. She was made from man, and she would be joined to man to form one flesh. Such a divine truth is not possible outside of biblical marriage. Verse 24 of this passage is the official institution of marriage and the settling of it into God’s law. “For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.” There are only two major ordinances of the Church which were instantiated before the Fall: the sabbath and marriage. The sabbath works for the preservation of the Church and marriage works for the preservation of humanity. The doctrine which commands man to leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife was never an instruction for geographical separation. It’s often misrepresented this way. It was simply an expression of adopting male leadership. You cannot occupy the position of being a child while also successfully occupying the position of being a husband, who must lead his own house. At some point the man must become a man in order for his marriage to succeed. The laws of nature bind us to our parents in a way that few forces can change. Good parents will have the love of their children for the rest of their lives. Divine ordinance had to be given for the man to become a man so that he might resist idolizing his parents and thus fail to flourish into the person his own family needs him to be. This is one of the reasons why it’s so important for parents to be part of the wedding ceremony. The parents are consenting to a fundamental transformation in their relationship with their child so that their child might cleave to his wife. Such a thing should not be done without parental consent, and doing it without parental consent is failing to honor your parents. Selecting a spouse is selecting the single relationship which has the most power to determine the rest of your life. This is one reason why polygamy is such a bad idea and was never appropriately considered biblical. You simply can’t divide yourself at such a deep level among multiple wives without suffering painful disintegration. Polygamous sexual behavior, whether in the context of marriage or not, ultimately weakens the bonds of marriage itself because weakening the bonds is the only method of preventing disintegration. If I can’t divide myself three different ways for three different wives — I’ll simply weaken the bonds of marriage and refuse to give myself to any of them. That’s what we inevitably do when we attempt to have a multiplicity of romantic relationships. Paul instructs husbands to love their wives as they love their own bodies. We should be equally averse to divorce as we are to self-destruction. The affection between husband and wife, when marriage is implemented properly, is such that the two become one flesh. This chapter finishes with a revelation of the purity and innocence wherein Adam and Eve began their marriage. Scripture says the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed. This innocence is analogous to that of a child, which is why a child is able to be naked without shame. Adam and Eve had no sin in them, so they had no reason to be ashamed. The analogy somewhat fails when we understand little children do in fact have sin, it’s simply that they aren’t yet aware of it. Adam and Eve lived in paradise, and so they had no need for clothing as a defense against the elements. There were no human conventions concerning social status, and so they didn’t need clothing to display as a pretense or an ornament. Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Most of all they didn’t have the knowledge of good and evil — which means they weren’t awake to their own vulnerabilities. The moment their eyes were opened they begin to realize how they themselves could be hurt — and simultaneous to this realization is the revelation of how one might hurt someone else. And that’s what it looked like for the world to fall. It was an awakening of self-consciousness such that I now know what it means to be hurt. I know what causes it. I’m now able to use that knowledge to harm others. And that’s the birth of evil in heart of humanity. It started with a simple lie told by the serpent, and then shared between Eve and her husband. Further advanced by Adam himself when he deceitfully attempts to explain his actions to God. Our first parents fell from grace and doomed all of their posterity to sin. But God, our loving, gracious, all-powerful God, knew this would happen. So he foreordained a beautiful story of redemption — not where we pay for the sins of our first parents, nor where we pay for our own sins. But where Jesus Christ, the second Adam, the spotless, sinless Lamb of God — pays for our sins by taking them upon Himself.