Did Eve Come From Adam's Rib?

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,
Genesis 2:21–23 ESV

In short, no, Eve did not come from Adam's rib. If Adam lost a rib when Eve was created why don't men have one less rib? This has led to a misconception that men actually do have fewer ribs than women. Joshua, I've been taught since Sunday school that Eve is a rib! How can you say that?!? Every English Bible translation says it's a rib? In the spirit of Dr. Michael Heiser, "Throw out your preconceived notions and remove the filters from your eyes".

A Look At The Hebrew

For those that don't know, Hebrew doesn't have any vowels, so the word is all consonants and later the vowel indicators (little dots and dashes below the letters) were added so people could differentiate between the different words. Dr. Michael Heiser does a great analysis on the interpretation of the serpent in the Garden of Eden in this video and read the excerpt from his Unseen Realm here. To summarize, the consonants of the Hebrew word n|ch|sh could also mean: "shining one", "divining", and "snake". This gives a whole different look at how we read the story of the fall.

אַחַת֙ מִצַּלְעֹתָ֔יו

Using the information from above, let's look at this phrase normally translated as "one of his ribs". The first word is achot which most often translates to "one", but can also mean "sister".

The word translated to rib, צַּלְעֹתָ֔י or tzalotay, is where the answer lies. Searching the entire MT for this EXACT word gives us only two other results:

Exodus 30:4 - "sides"
Exodus 37:27 - "sides"

Notice neither of the exact searches are translated to ribs. We will broaden our search and look at the root. For those of you using Logos the search is:

root.h:צֵלָע.1

The only times that the lemma is translated as "rib" are in Genesis 2:21 & 2:22. No instance outside of Genesis 2:21-22 means "rib". The only other word in the MT that is translated as "rib" appears in Daniel 7:5, but that word is not the same עִלְעִ֛ין or il'in.

How should Genesis 2:21 be translated?

Historically, our world has placed a low importance on women; the United States didn't even allow women to vote until 1920! I believe this translation of rib is from historical misogyny and the misogynist translators wanted to hide the true meaning of the creation of the first woman, Eve. At a minimum it should be translated:

[He] took one side of him and gave in its place flesh (sarx).
Genesis 2:21

The flesh being spiritual fills the side that was taken from man. If what was given was spiritual then what was taken should also be spiritual. That leaves side being either the soul or the breath of life. You can read more about your flesh/sarx here.

Taking half of the breath of life from man would be odd, but taking a part of the man's soul makes sense, especially considering how different men and women are. Elohim took the feminine half of Adam's soul to create Eve. Half here is important - Eve being half of Adam's soul is much more empowering than being one of his 24 ribs.

A Deeper Look

24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
Genesis 2:24

The two shall become one.

Doesn't it make more sense that 1/2 + 1/2 = 1 instead of 1/24 + 23/24 = 1?

The two are equal parts, neither being greater than the other while still having separate roles. Eve is Adam's helper similar to how the Holy Spirit is our Helper. When God made Eve from half of Adam's soul, man is now less than God had originally intended him to be and cannot be whole until he has a helper, a wife or the Holy Spirit.

So did Eve come from Adam's rib? No.

"Genesis 2:21-23 says God took one of Adam's ribs to create Eve." "But is that what really happened? Let's take a deeper look at the Hebrew text." "'Tzalotay' most accurately translated in this context means 'one side of Adam'." "Out of the 42 occurrences of the word 'tzalotay,' Genesis 2 is the only time it is translated to 'rib.'" "If Eve came from Adam's rib, why don't men have fewer ribs than women?" "A better translation: 'God took one side of Adam and gave in its place flesh.'" "Eve was created from the feminine side of Adam's soul, not a rib." "Eve coming from half of Adam's soul means they are equal parts, each completing the other." "The two shall become one flesh. one half + one half equals one." "Eve came from the 'ruach' of Adam, making them equal but different."

Curious about the true meaning behind Genesis 2:21-23? 📖✨ Did Eve really come from Adam's rib? Dive into the original Hebrew text with me and uncover the deeper truth! 🙏 Watch now: youtube.com/shorts/qJWYT3ZnFk8

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