A Relationship with God Is Not Enough: Adam Needed Eve

Translation from Shlomo Pines, Guide of the Perplexed (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1963), 1.24, with some adjustments.

As a prooftext here, Maimonides notes that right before Eve eats, she sees that (Gen 3:6): טוֹב הָעֵץ לְמַאֲכָל וְכִי תַאֲוָה־הוּא לָעֵינַיִם “The tree was good for eating and a delight to the eyes.”

Guide, 1.25

The first word עֵזֶר (ʿezer) can mean “helper,” but in this context that translation can be misleading since is often taken to imply that the man’s companion will occupy a subordinate position, which is not the point. The word can also mean “savior,” especially when God is the referent (for example, Deuteronomy 33:7, Psalms 20:3, 115:9–11, 121:1–2, 124:8). It can have a similar meaning when the referent is to a nation Israel can appeal to for assistance (Isaiah 30:5, Ezekiel 12:14, Daniel 11:34). For further discussion, see Tamara Cohn Eskenazi, ed. The Torah: A Woman’s Commentary (New York: Reform Judaism Publishing, 2008), 12; and Raanan Eichler, “Gender Equality at Creation,” TheTorah (2015). For a very different suggestion as to what the term means, see Gary Rendsburg, “Woman: Helpmate No Longer,” TheTorah (2021).

I have used the neutral expression “piece” because צֵלָע, which is usually translated “rib” could also mean “side” or “board.”

Cf. Laban’s use of this phrase Genesis 29:14 when speaking about Jacob.

The fact that the woman is of the same bone and flesh as the man is as strong a statement of gender equality as I can imagine. Male domination of women is not mentioned until after the sin has been committed (3:16), suggesting that it is a departure from the ideal situation.

‏^{בראשׁית ג.טז} ...וְאֶל־אִישֵׁךְ תְּשׁוּקָתֵךְ וְהוּא יִמְשָׁל־בָּךְ.

^{Gen 3:16} “…Yet your urge shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.”

As for the sin itself, there is nothing to indicate that the woman beguiled or seduced the man; the text simply says that she gave him the fruit and he ate it (presumably of his own free will). Nor is there anything to indicate that, as Milton imagined in Paradise Lost, the man was out working in the garden when the serpent spoke to the woman. As far as we know, they both heard what the serpent had to say.

For another discussion of this verse, see Ziony Zevit, “Does a Man Need to Leave His Parents to Cling to His Wife?” TheTorah (2016).

For more on sex in the Garden of Eden, see David P. Wright, “Holiness, Sex, and Death in the Garden of Eden,” Biblica 77 (1996), 305–329.

See Rashi’s comment on Genesis 3:1, accessed on Sefaria.

והנחש היה ערום. מָה עִנְיָן זֶה לְכָאן? הָיָה לוֹ לִסְמֹךְ וַיַּעַשׂ לְאָדָם וּלְאִשְׁתּוֹ כָּתְנוֹת עוֹר וַיַּלְבִּשֵׁם אֶלָּא לִמֶּדְךָ מֵאֵיזוֹ עֵצָה קָפַץ הַנָּחַשׁ עֲלֵיהֶם רָאָה אוֹתָם עֲרֻמִּים וְעוֹסְקִים בְּתַשְׁמִישׁ לְעֵין כֹּל וְנִתְאַוָּה לָהּ.

"And the serpent was more subtle"—What connection is there between the following narrative and the statement just made? The latter should have been followed by: “and He [the Lord God] made for Adam and his wife garments of skin and clothed them” (3:21), but Scripture informs you with what plan the serpent assailed them: he saw them naked and unashamed and he coveted her (Eve).

Accessed on Sefaria. In point of fact, some animals, e.g., geese, do mate and stay together.

Guide of the Perplexed, 3.27 and 3.54.

Although there is no evidence that Maimonides read Plato’s Symposium, there is little question that the hierarchical view of human perfection derives from the famous ascent passage (Symposium 201–212).

Guide of the Perplexed, 3.51.

ibid.

Maimonides concludes that when circumstances required Moses and the patriarchs to leave their state of isolation and deal with other people, they did so in a perfunctory manner with their limbs only. Secretly they were still focused on God.

Guide of the Perplexed, 3.52.

Plato, Symposium,189c–193d. See discussion in Malka Z. Simkovich, “The Making of Adam,” TheTorah (2013).