The "Suitable Helper" in Genesis 2:18

With God himself speaking, in the creation account in Genesis 2, God says it is not good for Adam to be alone and so he will make "a helper suitable for him" (NASB).

This expression is two words in the Hebrew. The first word is "ezer" which is a noun meaning "a help" or "a helper" and the other word is "neged" which is generally an adverb or a preposition meaning "in front of", "in sight of" or "opposite to". By extension from this last meaning "opposite to", in this context it means "different yet corresponding to", "different yet fitting for", or indeed "opposite yet suitable for".

The English translations of Scripture translate the words in many different ways, but they all have the same flavour. The one God created for Adam was to be a companion or helper who would be different to him yet suitable or fitting for him. Among the translations are the following (taken from English versions available on www.biblegateway.com and versions available to me on e-Sword:

• "an help meet for him" (Geneva, KJV, RV) 
• "an helper to bear him company" (Coverdale)
  
• "a help meet for him" (ASV)
• "a helper corresponding to him" (CSB)
• "a helper that is perfect for him" (CEB)
• "a companion suitable for helping him" (CJB)
• "a helper as his complement" (Concordant Literal Version)
  
• "a suitable partner for him" (CEV)
• "a suitable partner for him" (EHV)
• "a helper fit for him" (RSV, ESV)
• "a helper who is right for him" (GW)
• "a suitable companion to help him" (GNT)
• "a helper as his complement" (HCSB)
• "a helper suited to him" (LITV)
  
• "a helper suitable for him" (LSB, NASB, NIV, MKJV)
• "a helper as his counterpart" (LEB)
• "a helper suited to him" (NABRE)
• "a companion for him who corresponds to him" (NET)
• "a helper comparable to him" (NKJV)
• "a helper who is just right for him" (NLT)
• "a helper as his partner" (NRSV)
• "a partner suited to him" (REB)
• "a helper as his counterpart" (Rotherham's Emphasized Bible) 

The translations differ a little, but the meaning is obviously the same. God created the woman to be a helper, companion or partner who would be suitable for, fitting for or complementary for the man.

In these two words is a wonderful picture of the relationship between the husband and wife as far as God is concerned. 

I am so grateful to God for the blessing and gift he sent me in the form of my own wife, who is truly a helper, companion and partner suitable for me, different but complementary to me and "just right" for me.

Translation of the 'Dikaiosune' Word Group

As I have mentioned before, there is a difficulty in most English translations which tend to use two different word groups ("righteous" and "justify") to translate what is one word group in the original Greek ("dikaiosune"). This issue can lead readers in English to fail to see the connection between rightesouness and justificaiton.

A previous suggestion considered resurrecting an old English word, "rightwise", but that was never likely to be practical, I realise.

Instead, I would suggest we might base all translations around the "righteous" word group rather than the "justification" word group. This would give us the following array of terms, all related to righteousness so that the link with the single dikaiosune group in Koine Greek.

Noun – righteousness
Adjective – righteous
Adverb – righteously
Verb – to declare righteous (participle: to have declared righteous; gerund: declaring righteous) or "to be declared righteous"
Actor – the one who declares righteous
Process/Event – declaration of righteousness or declaring righteous.

This approach would result in translations such as the following (based on the ESV but with amendments as appropriate to remove the "justify" word group terminology):

Romans 3:21–28: 

(21) But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— (22) the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: (23) for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, (24) and are declared righteous by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, (25) whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show the rightesouness of God, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. (26) It was to show his rightesouness at the present time, so that he might be righteous and the One who declares righteous the person who has faith in Jesus. (27) Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. (28) For we hold that one is declared righteous by faith apart from works of the law.