Help-mates

[Solon]

I attended a lecture recently by Gary A Rendsburg, who is a seriously smart guy and an engaging speaker. Much of his work is available for free online. If you're at all interested in Jewish studies, Hebrew, or Biblical scholarship, this is a fine resource.

http://jewishstudies.rutgers.edu/faculty/grendsburg/

At the lecture, Rendsburg alluded to an idea recently put forth by noted Hebrew scholar Ze'en ben-Hayyim concerning Genesis 2.18 and the word "helpmate" (awkwardly translated as "an help meet" in the KJV).

KJV: Gen. 2.18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

According to Rendsburg, Ben-Hayyim argues that that the Hebrew word might not connote "help," and its corresponding implications of subservience, but instead is a Hebrew cognate for an Arab word meaning "virgin woman." Somehow this all becomes possible with comparative linguistics and the recognition that word roots are more vague in Hebrew because of the missing vowels. (I'm not an expert, just the messenger.) Nevertheless, it makes for an interesting idea that God created a "woman" for Adam, not (necessarily) a "helper."

This is admittedly second-hand info. When/If Ben-Hayyim's article comes out, and if it appears in English, I'll provide more information.