Women of the Bible

The Life of Eve

"So Jehovah God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep, and while he was sleeping, he took one of his ribs and then closed up the flesh over its place. And Jehovah God built the rib that he had taken from the man into a woman, and he brought her to the man. Then the man said: "This is at last bone of my don't, and flesh of my flesh. This one will be called woman, because from man she was taken..."
Genesis 2:21-24

This is a series dedicated to the many fascinating women written about in the Bible. How does God view women? What is their role in the family? Society? Did they have any rights in ancient societies? Were they respected? All of these questions will be answered in this series of articles. Let's start with the first woman ever created.

Interesting data about Eve:
Eve meaning 'living one' her name is related to the Hebrew verb Chaya meaning 'live'
Adam called her ishsha meaning 'female man' because she was taken from him. Eve was the last of God's creative works.

Life:
The first woman mentioned in the Bible is Eve. The scriptures tell us that Jehovah decided it was not good for Adam to continue by himself, and so made a companion for him. God created her from Adam's rib.

Genesis 2:18, 21, 22:
18 Then Jehovah God said: "It is not good for the man to continue to be alone. I am going to make a helper for him, as a complement of him." 21 So Jehovah God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep, and while he was sleeping, he took one of his ribs and then closed up the flesh over its place. 22 And Jehovah God built the rib that he had taken from the man into a woman, and he brought her to the man.

Adam was overjoyed at his new companion and composed one of the most famous passages in the Bible:
"This at last bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh..." God's formal presentation of Eve to Adam demonstrates the order of this arrangement. From that point on, the man would leave his mother and father and form a separate family with his wife (Genesis 2:24). The tone of the scriptures indicates this was a joyful event.

Eve's life in the garden of Eden was full. She assisted her husband with cultivating the beautiful home Jehovah put them in. God gave the pair the joyful task of expanding their corner of Eden globally. The second part of their God-given assignment was to produce offspring. Their children would eventually be involved in making the planet a beautiful place to live. So, Jehovah's purpose for the earth was not only that it would be a paradise, but also, that it be filled with a peaceful united global family that would praise and worship him from the heavens and earth. (See footnotes: *Genesis 1:26-28, *Job 38:5-7, *Isaiah 45:18).
So, what was the environment in Eden like? Let's get the answer from the scriptures.

Genesis 2:8-16:
8 Further, Jehovah God planted a garden in Eʹden, toward the east; and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 Thus Jehovah God made to grow out of the ground every tree that was pleasing to look at and good for food and also the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and bad. 10 Now there was a river flowing out of Eʹden to water the garden, and from there it divided into four rivers. 11 The name of the first is Piʹshon; it is the one encircling the entire land of Havʹi·lah, where there is gold. 12 The gold of that land is good. Bdellium gum and onyx stone are also there. 13 The name of the second river is Giʹhon; it is the one encircling the entire land of Cush. 14 The name of the third river is Hidʹde·kel; it is the one going to the east of As·syrʹi·a. And the fourth river is the Eu·phraʹtes.

The above verses give the reader a wealth of information. Adam and Eve had everything that made for a happy life:
1.    A creator who loved them
2.    Purpose in life
3.    An eternal life ahead of them provided they stayed loyal to their creator
4.    Plenty of nutritious food/Variety of food
5.    Health and perfect whole bodies
6.    Wealth