We left off on the last post with Adam naming the animals, which in some texts (like the Quran) is a testing and initiation. This idea is bolstered by restoration scripture in Moses 4:26 where it’s clear that the Lord provided this name, and also that Eve, whose name means “life or living,” is a type for all women, as the verse states that Eve is the “first of all women, which are many.”
Adam likely notices his lack of a companion, as he sees the animals have mates. Genesis 2:18 states, “And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.” We should not confuse Eve’s role here as the typical “helper.” The Hebrew word for help meet is ezer, and while it does mean “help” or “helper,” we need to consider its general context.
One example appears in the song, “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing,” one of our hymns:
“Here I raise my Ebenezer; Hither by Thy help I’m come.”
Ebenezer means “stone of help,” and was a memorial stone erected by Samuel to mark where God helped Israel to defeat the Philistines. But in this case and every other usage in the Old Testament, it is designated as God’s help. Eve is the only person, other than God Himself, to get the title of an “ezer.” Thus, this represents divine, godly help! You can see how Eve’s guidance comes into play in the Garden of Eden scene. Some Jews still carry an “Ebenezer” stone in their pockets as a reminder of the Lord’s help and guidance.
As I have studied scripture over the years, I have come to see more and more of how Eve, and womanhood in general, is a partnership with the divine. I hope to develop this further as a significant temple and gospel theme.
Another highlight of Eve’s significance in God’s plan comes with her very creation. The Lord uses a different Hebrew word for Eve’s creation compared with Adam. Adam’s creation uses the Hebrew word yatsar, meaning “to form.” But in the creation of Eve, the Hebrew word banah, meaning “to build up” is used. Banah is used to denote the building of cities, altars, and temples in other Old Testament verses. In the only scripture quoted in “The Family—A Proclamation to the World,” (Psalm 127:3), banah and its derivative ben are repeated three times to emphasize the necessity of God’s role in building the temple, building the city, and His “heritage” of children (ben) to build up the house of Israel.
Eve’s role as “mother of all living” has ties to the Tree of Life. In Latter-day Saint discussions, Asherah refers to an ancient Near Eastern mother goddess, wife of El, linked to sacred trees, whose worship was suppressed in Israel but whose symbolism appears in Book of Mormon themes like the Tree of Life, leading some LDS scholars to connect her to the concept of a Heavenly Mother, while the Bible often portrays her as an apostate idol removed by reformers.
Daniel C. Peterson connects the concept of Asherah with Nephi’s vision of the Tree of Life. After Nephi considers the meaning of the tree, he sees Mary in vision and sees her as the “mother of the Son of God, after the manner of the flesh” (1 Nephi 11:18). Peterson notes, “Asherah is also associated with biblical wisdom literature. Wisdom, a female, appears as the wife of God and represents life.” (see “Nephi and His Asherah,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies: Vol. 9: No. 2, Article 4.). Wisdom is personified as feminine in the Book of Mormon in Mosiah 8:20: “for they will not seek wisdom, neither do they desire that she should rule over them!”
Also, in the Book of Mormon, King Lamoni falls into a heavenly trance “and as he arose, he stretched forth his hand unto the woman, and said: Blessed be the name of God, and blessed art thou. For as sure as thou livest, behold, I have seen my Redeemer; and he shall come forth, and be born of a woman” (Alma 19:12-13).
Definitely, my favorite symbol of Eve’s creation is in parallel to the Savior’s atonement. Genesis 2:21-22 states, “And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.” The Septuagint uses the Greek word pleura for rib. Pleura is repeated in John 19:34, when, at the Crucifixion, one of the soldiers “pierced (Jesus’) side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.” The Greek word for side in this verse is pleura.
John has spent much of his Gospel developing the repeated themes of blood, water, and Spirit. These three elements come together in the Crucifixion of the Savior, as blood and water come out of his side (pleura) at the same His spirit leaves His body. These three elements symbolically flow from His body into the wooden cross, transforming it into a Tree of Life.
The creation of Eve, coming from a rib (pleura), symbolizes mortal life. Jesus, spilling blood, water, and spirit from His side (pleura), provides eternal life for all mankind.
