And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.
Parallel translations
- WEB Yahweh God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make him a helper comparable to him.”
- BSB The LORD God also said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make for him a suitable helper.”
- NKJV And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.”
- NASB Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.”
- NLT Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God declares it is not good for the man to be alone and resolves to make a helper. Humans are made for relationship, and God provides for that need.
Overview
For the first time something is called 'not good': the man's solitude. God announces his intention to make a 'helper comparable to him,' one who corresponds to and completes the man as a fitting partner. The term 'helper' is no mark of inferiority, for it is often used of God himself; it points to the goodness of companionship and the complementary union God designs in marriage.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Eccl 4:9–12Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.
- Prov 18:22Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD.
- 1 Pet 3:7Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.
- 1 Cor 11:7–12For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man.
- Ruth 3:1Then Naomi her mother in law said unto her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee?
- 1 Tim 2:11–13Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection.
- Gen 1:31And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
- Gen 3:12And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
- 1 Cor 7:36But if any man think that he behaveth himself uncomely toward his virgin, if she pass the flower of her age, and need so require, let him do what he will, he sinneth not: let them marry.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 2:18 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.