I will make him a helper fit for him...
THE CONCEPT AND ORIGIN OF MARRIAGE IN GEN 2:4-25 IN LIGHT OF AMORIS LAETITIA
Keywords:
Amoris Laetitia, Family, Genesis 2:4-25, Male and Female, Marriage, Second Account of CreationAbstract
Genesis 2:4-25 (the so-called ‗Second Account of Creation‘) is well known for its deep and elaborate teaching on marriage. This explains the obvious allusion to it not only by the authors of the books of Tobit (Tob 8:5-6) and Sirach (Sir 25:24-26), but also by several New Testament authors (Mt 22:30; Mk 12:25; Lk 20:35). In its idea of marriage, Gen 2:425 depicts the creation of the first woman as geared, among others, towards resolving the ‗loneliness‘ of Adam and his need for ‗suitable helper.‘ YHWH, by taking something from Adam‘s side to create the first woman, initiates a bond between them that is deeper and stronger than filial bond — they became ‗one flesh.‘ But how exactly does Gen 2:4-25 understand marriage and its origin? What implications can one deduce from it for fostering the Christian understanding of marriage? This article, motivated by Pope Francis‘ clarion call in his ‗Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia‘ for promoting marital and filial love in the family, will explore the understanding of marriage in Gen 2:4-25 and its implications for Christian concept of marriage
References
Pope Francis, Amoris Laetitia, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation, https://w2. vatican.va/content/francesco/en/ apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_ esortazione-ap_20160319_amoris-laetitia.html (accessed 15.01.2017).
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Ellens shares this view. According to him, it was a Mesopotamian story rooted in Gilgamesh Epic and the tale of Adapa but rewritten in the Bible ―to make it a story about YHWH, the God of the Bible.‖ Harold J. Ellens, Sex in the Bible: A New Consideration, Westport: Praeger Publisher, 2006.
Raymond C. Ortlund, Jr, God‘s Unfaithful Wife: A Biblical Theology of Spiritual Adultery, in New Studies in Biblical Theology Series, Series ed. Carson D.A. Downers Grove, IL: Inter-varsity Press, 1996.
Andreas J. Kösternberger, God, Marriage, and Family: Rebuilding the Biblical Foundation, Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2004.
Steven Greenberg, Wrestling with God and Men: Homosexuality in the Jewish Tradition, Madison, Wisconsin: The University of Wisconsin Press, 2004.
Arnold Fruchtenbaum, Ariel‘s Bible Commentary: The Book of Genesis, San Antonio, TX: Ariel Ministries, 2008.
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Paul G. Hugenberger, Marriage as a Covenant: A Study of Biblical Law and Ethics Governing Marriage Developed from the Perspective of Malachi, Leiden: Brill, 1994.
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Francis Brown, Charles A. Briggs, and S.R. Driver, The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, Oxford: Clarendon, 1952.
Andreas J. Kösternberger, God, Marriage, and Family: Rebuilding the Biblical Foundation, Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2004.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 2363. See also Gaudium et spes 49. http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vatii_const_19651207_gaudium-et-spes_en.html .
Xavier Leon-Dufour, Dictionary of Biblical Theology, London: Burn & Oath, 1988.
