What we find is surprising. If we stop after reading Genesis 1, we might think that both male and female are created at the same moment. Not so. In God’s infinite wisdom, He chooses to create in two parts. The man is created first (Genesis 2:7), then the woman (Genesis 2:21-25).
What happens in between these two creative acts on the sixth day? Three significant events:
- God places “the man” into a special garden (Genesis 2:8). Why? “To work it and keep it” (Genesis 2:15). This relates to the command that “man”—as male and female— should “subdue” the earth (Genesis 1:28). Yet it is the male who begins the task of caring for the earth. Notice what ruling and subduing the earth do not mean—they do not mean doing whatever one may wish. Those assignments mean implementing what God wants for the earth. This is accomplished by cultivation (“work it”) and care (“keep it”). Cultivation helps to bring out the inherent potential in a plant by providing the best environment for growth. Care has to do with protecting it and keeping it safe. These aspects of ruling the earth may help us to understand what God intends when He later brings ruling into human relationships.
- God speaks to the man about food from the garden. This relates to Genesis 1:29-30, where God gives to both male and female the plants as food. Yet it is the male who first hears the words, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden” (Genesis 2:16). Likewise, it is the male who first hears the strict warning,
But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die (Genesis 2:17)
- God next brings the animals for the man to name (Genesis 2:19). This relates to the fact that both male and female are to rule over “every living thing” (Genesis 1:28), which includes the right to name them. Yet the male is the first to be given this privilege. It may be of interest that God Himself gives the name “Adam” (translated as “Man”) to the human family (Genesis 5:1), whereas Adam names his wife. “The man called his wife’s name Eve” (Genesis 3:20). Elsewhere in the Bible, there is social significance in giving a name to another.
God has a reason for the man seeing and naming the animals. The man discovers that he is different from the animals, that he is in a class of his own: “For Adam there was not found a helper fit for him” (Genesis 2:20). God is preparing the man to receive and appreciate his companion.
Then the LORD God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him” (Genesis 2:18).
We may wonder, “A helper for what?” For fulfilling the role of caretaker for the special garden (Genesis 2:4-18) and ultimately of the role of governor for the whole earth (Genesis 1:24-28). In less than a day, it becomes obvious that the male should not be alone. God lets him experience loneliness and then experience the making of another creature: “a helper fit for him.”