Lesson 4 - "Because of My Transgression My Eyes Are Open" - Part 1 the Hebrew

I believe the creation, the fall, and the atonement are the three most important parts of the plan of salvation. This is why we get them again and again, from multiple sources. None of them are complete. The garden myth is one of our founding stories that I think takes the work of a lifetime to understand.


The manual's lesson is mainly citing to Moses, but PLEASE go to a source like net.bible.org and look at translation issues. We desperately need some Hebrew here to deal with some of the issues in the Creation narrative. The KJV translators clearly embedded some of their 17th century bias into the text, perhaps particularly here. 

Just a few helpful articles to think about the Garden:

Jolene Edmunds Rockwood "Eve's Role in the Creation and the Fall to Mortality" from Women and the Power Within, (Salt Lake City:Deseret Book, 1991), p. 49-62. 

Hugh Nibley, "Patriarchy and Matriarchy" from BYU Women's Conference, 1 February 1980. 

What the KJV translates as helpmeet is what I personally consider one of the most problematic translations here that actually affects my life. 

The Hebrew expression כְּנֶגְדּוֹ (kÿnegdo) literally means “according to the opposite of him.” Translations such as “suitable [for]” (NASB, NIV), “matching,” “corresponding to” all capture the idea. (Translations that render the phrase simply “partner” [cf. NEB, NRSV], while not totally inaccurate, do not reflect the nuance of correspondence and/or suitability.) The man’s form and nature are matched by the woman’s as she reflects him and complements him. Together they correspond. In short, this prepositional phrase indicates that she has everything that God had invested in him. (This comes from the translation note at Genesis 2:16 from net.bible.org)

A further argument from an actual Hebrew scholar as to why helpmeet is a ridiculous translation and that "a power equal to man" or "a power equal to him" is much better. Hershel Shanks, ed. "Woman, A Power Equal to Man," Biblical Archeology Review, 9:1 (Jan/Feb 1983).  

All of these sources above are rather old school, but still yield some useful insights. For something a little more contemporary here is my friend Ben's helpful and much more in depth take on the lesson.