Marriage, relationship between man and woman.

[jedidja87]

So i am interested  what Genesis says about marriage between man and woman? What spiritually deep meanings and wisdoms you can find it from there?
What is man and woman? Do they have some specific role in it? What we can learn about how man functions and how women functions?  How does this
will look to relationships in general between men and women?

[Questor]

I always find that the first mention of anything in the Scriptures is particularly important.

Genesis 2:18 (CJB)
18 Adonai, God, said, “It isn’t good that the person should be alone. I will make for him a companion suitable for helping him.”

Genesis 2:20-25 (CJB)
20 (S: iii) So the person gave names to all the livestock, to the birds in the air and to every wild animal. But for Adam there was not found a companion suitable for helping him.
21 Then God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the person; and while he was sleeping, he took one of his ribs and closed up the place from which he took it with flesh.
22 The rib which Adonai, God, had taken from the person, he made a woman-person; and he brought her to the man-person.
23 The man-person said, “At last! This is bone from my bones and flesh from my flesh. She is to be called Woman [Hebrew: ishah], because she was taken out of Man [Hebrew: ish].”
24 This is why a man is to leave his father and mother and stick with his wife, and they are to be one flesh.
25 They were both naked, the man and his wife, and they were not ashamed.


Thus, it is clear that G-d wanted Adam to have someone that was his counterpart, just as the animals each had a mate, to form a family with, and G-d didn't wish Adam to have less. And then a statement is made about the relationship between the man and woman...that they forsake other relationships, and put the marital relationship first, after their relationship with G-d...which becomes the nature of the next problems Adam faces...his attempt to infringe on G-d's property, and Chava's role in that, under the influence of haSatan.


This is the establishment of appropriate boundaries...between G-d and man, and man and woman as well as other relationships.

[Elizabeth]

.....she took the fruit and ate, and she gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked...
Genesis 3:6-7

I am wondering if there is a subtle reference here for the power of intercession as neither of their eyes were opened until both had eaten the fruit if I understand the sequence correctly. I wonder what would have happened if Adam had refused even after she ate the apple and rebuked her. I know we can't know, but it's intriguing that it wasn't till they both ate that either one realized they were naked.

[alon]

Genesis 2:15-3:7 (ESV) 15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 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.”

Note that the command not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was given directly to Adam by God. This we see was before Chava existed:

18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” 19 Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. 20 The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. 21 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. 22 And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. 23 Then the man said,
“This at last is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called Woman, [ishah]
because she was taken out of Man.” [ish]
24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

Note too that Chava was the only creature not built from the soil, but from her mate. They were truly one. 

1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

In Hebrew the word "you" is plural in verses 3:1-5.

6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

The serpent, knowing the command was given to Adam directly by Elohim went to Chava first and enlisted her as an ally. He was able to appeal directly to her sensuality and her need to know. Women do need to connect the relationship dots, so to speak, more than men. Adams weakness was Chava. He wanted to please her. So there are two things working here: they truly were one flesh, and Adam was given the command directly. But there is another thing we must consider and that is Adam was in charge. In ch 2 vs 15 Adam was given responsibility to keep Elohim's creation, and vs 18 says Elohim was going to create for him a helper; Chava. So considering all this it makes sense they both had to eat of the fruit, and especially Adam before the curse would fall. And the serpent knew this as did Chava since they used the plural when speaking of it in vss 3:1-5. 

Numbers 30:1-2 gives the law by which a man is held to his vows. However in agreement with our Genesis account of the curse falling only after Adam participated, Num 30:3-16 gives all the circumstances by which a husband or father could nullify the vows of a woman in his care. This would further explain why it was only after Adam ate that their eyes were opened. Had Adam refused, the curse would have been nullified.

Dan C