🔹 Back to the Beginning

“It was the woman who was deceived.”
“That’s why men lead.”
“Eve sinned first—and we’ve been paying for it ever since.”

Basically: “Thanks, Eve. Now we have cramps, curses, and credit card limits.” 🙄

If you’ve ever heard that—or quietly believed it—you’re not alone.

In many corners of the modern church, Eve is treated like the one who ruined paradise. She’s painted as weak, easily deceived, and the reason we’re all in this mess. From this lens, women become liabilities—in need of male leadership to keep them in check.

But what if that’s not what Scripture actually teaches?

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🔹 What Was Actually Said?

Let’s go back to the garden, the original design—before the fruit, before the blame, before the fallout.

In Genesis 1:27–28, we read:

So Elohiym (God) created the man in his own image, in the image of Elohiym he created him; male and female he created them. And Elohiym blessed them, and Elohiym said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion…
-Bere’shiyth [Genesis] 1:27–28, Cepher

Both male and female were created in the image of God.
Both were blessed.
Both were given dominion.

This wasn’t a one-man show with a backstage assistant. This was co-mission from day one.

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🔹 A “Helper Suitable” ?

In Genesis 2:18, God says:

And Yahuah Elohiym (The Lord God) said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help meet for him.
–Bere’shiyth (Genesis) 2:18, Cepher

Most people read “help meet” and think:

Assistant. Sidekick. Someone to cook, clean, and stay out of the way while the man handles the important stuff.

Like a divine secretary or emotional backup—there to boost him up.

As I’ve heard it put to me before “Well, she’s important, but… the man has ultimate veto power.” So basically, she has input, but never equal footing.

However, that interpretation completely misses the weight of the Hebrew language used here.

The phrase “help meet” in Hebrew is ezer kenegdo—and it’s far more powerful than most have been taught.

Here’s what’s wild:

• The word ezer (help or helper) is used 21 times throughout Scripture.
• In 16 of those cases, it refers to Yahuah (The Lord) Himself—as the strong deliverer and defender of Yashar’el (Israel). Here are just a couple examples:
  • “There is none like unto the EL (God) of Yashar’el (Israel), who rides upon the heavens in your help (ezer), and in His excellency on the sky.” Devariym (Deuteronomy) 33:26, Cepher
  • “Our soul waits for Yahuah (The Lord): He is our help (ezer) and our shield.” -Tehilliym (Psalms) 33:20, Cepher

This isn’t “helper” like someone who brings snacks to a board meeting.
This is warrior aid. Battle backup. Strength under pressure. A presence that comes in when you’re under siege and in need of rescue.

Now here’s where it gets even more fascinating.

The second part of this word picture is what we translate as “meet” or “sutible” and that is Kenegdo.

Kenegdo (כְּנֶגְדּוֹ) is a hapax legomenon—a fancy way to say a Hebrew word that only appears once in the entirety of scripture (pretty special if you ask me). That means we don’t get to cross-reference it directly with other verses—we have to dig into the root words, structure, and word-picture context to understand what it’s conveying.

• The root neged (נֶגֶד) means “in front of,” “before,” or “in the presence of.” (interesting it’s in front of, and not behind, eh?)
• It carries the idea of something facing you directly—eye to eye, counterpart, even opposition at times.
• The prefix “k’–” (as in ke-neged) means “as” or “according to.” So ke-neged means “as one who is in front of him,” or “corresponding to him.”

It’s not positional submission. It’s relational equality.

A woman created kenegdo is one who:

• Stands face-to-face, not behind or beneath.
• Corresponds, not copies—she brings balance, not redundancy.
• Strengthens by her difference, not her silence.

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Chavah (Eve) wasn’t made to follow Adam from a distance.
She was crafted to stand in equal partnership—in presence, purpose, and strength. She is the ezer kenegdo—a divine ally in humanity’s mission.

She is a man’s perfect opposition—his beneficial adversary.
She’s there to help in the truest, most Yah-like sense:
To correct when he strays.
To rescue when he falters.
To co-labor, not as a shadow—but as a mirror.

Ezer kenegdo isn’t about softness or silence. It’s about refining strength through mutual friction—the kind that forges both man and woman into something better.

It’s giving iron sharpens iron 💅🏻

Not behind. Not beneath.
Beside.

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🔹 Was She an Afterthought… or the Answer?

Another common argument is that because Adam was created first, he holds a position of authority—and Chavah (Eve), created second, is somehow secondary in importance. If that were true mosquitoes would outrank mankind—and we’d all be bowing to broccoli. The logic falls apart when we look at the broader biblical pattern:

• Animals were created before humans—yet humans were given dominion over them.
• Yoseph (Joseph) was nearly the youngest of twelve—but was raised up to rule and save his brothers.
• Daviḏ was the youngest of his family—but was Yahuah’s chosen king.
• The Levitical priesthood came after the patriarchs—but served in the Most Qodesh (Holy) places.
• The Renewed Covenant came after the first—but brought greater glory and access.

In Hebrew thought, order of appearance does not imply superiority. In fact, Scripture often highlights that what comes later is often Yahuah’s unexpected choice—confounding human expectations and displaying His glory.

Now consider this:
The entire rhythm of creation in Genesis 1 is one of building toward greater complexity, beauty, and intention—culminating not with man, but with woman.

And in Genesis 2:18, we find the very first “not good” in all of creation:

“And Yahuah Elohiym (The Lord God) said, It is not good that the man should be alone…”

Not good. (Cue the sound of every introvert whispering, “I respectfully disagree.”)

Every step before that—light, sky, land, animals, even Adam himself—is declared “good” or “very good.”

But something was missing. Not an accessory. Not an assistant.
An essential counterpart.

Chavah wasn’t an afterthought.
She was the answer to the only thing in creation that wasn’t good.

She was not made as a helper to a leader—she was made as the capstone of creation’s goodness.

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You might still be wondering:

• “But it was the woman who was deceived and that’s why we live in a fallen world…”
• “What about ‘her desire shall be for her husband, and he shall rule over her’—isn’t that part of her curse?”
• “Doesn’t Sha’ul (Paul) say she was deceived, and that’s why women shouldn’t lead?”

Those are important questions—and they’ve shaped church culture for centuries.

But what if we’ve been reading them all backwards?

In the next post, we’ll dive into what really happened in the garden, and how understanding responsibility, deception, and covenant roles changes everything.