God and Women: Ezer Helpers (Genesis, Psalms, 1 Peter, Abraham and Sarah)
- Elaine R Kelly
- 3 days ago
- 14 min read
Updated: 20 hours ago
Have you heard that God made women as men's subordinate helper?
Have you heard that God made a woman to be a strong ally, partner, protector, warrior, rescuer, and lifesaver?
What is an Ezer-Helper?
God saw that it was not good for the first human to be alone, so God decided to make an ezer kenegdo (Genesis 2:18). God divided the human into two, using one side to form an equal matching the first human. Adam and Eve were each created in the full image of God. She was flesh and bone of "adam". (Genesis 2:23). The word "adam " means "human", and only shifts to become a proper name for an individual man later (scholars debate whether this transition is at Genesis 3:17, 3:21, 4:1, or 4:25). The woman was not given a proper name until Adam called her "Eve", which means "mother of all living" (Genesis 3:20).
The Bible describes Eve as Adam's ezer-kenegdo. Both God and Eve are described as our ezer. The word ezer is often used in the Hebrew Bible to describe God as Israel's powerful helper and deliverer. The Hebrew phrase in Genesis 2:18 is ezer (help/ strength/ rescuer) and kenegdo (corresponding to/suitable counterpart).
As early as the 4th century, Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, believed that only a man possessed the full image of God, and that a woman solely helped men in procreation [1]. His view that a woman has no value outside of motherhood has permeated Christianity. Traditional Protestant commentators claim Eve is subordinate because she was created for Adam's benefit, as his helper.
The Roman Catholic position is that Eve is subordinate as a result of The Fall, and that a woman's equality will be restored in the time to come. In 1611, the King James Version translated ezer kenegdo as "help-meet", where ezer means help and kenegdo means meet, suitable, fitting, or appropriate. Over time, English readers have interpreted "help-meet" to mean "helpmate" or subordinate assistant.
The word ezer means a powerful ally, partner, protector, warrior, defender, rescuer, and lifesaver. An ezer-helper is not inferior, servant, or underling [2]. A woman is not a subordinate created to be ordered around. She is a strong warrior and ally who saves lives and fights for what is right.
Did God Intend Eve To Be Subordinate to Adam?
In the Chronicles of Narnia, C.S. Lewis describes the girls as daughters of Eve, while the boys are called sons of Adam. It obscures the fact that both women and men are descendants of Eve; both women and men are descendants of Adam. The distinction in Narnia employs the cultural assumption that taking after Adam is good; taking after Eve is bad. In popular culture,
Adam is uplifted as being authorized to rule over the earth (Genesis 1:28 actually tells both to rule over the earth).
Eve is maligned as one who is cursed with painful labour because of eating the forbidden fruit (Genesis 3:15-17 actually tells both Eve and Adam that they will have increased painful labour and toil).
Despite Lewis's take on the Adam and Eve narrative, Genesis actually honours Eve as the "mother of all living" (Genesis 3:20).
The Bible does not indicate that God designed women to be subordinate to man's rule. In Genesis 3:16, God did not command Adam to rule over Eve; there is no imperative in the Hebrew. Katharine Bushnell notes that God is prophesying, revealing the future to Eve, and warning Eve of the negative consequences if she turns towards the man:
"God spoke warningly to Eve at this time, telling her that she was inclining to turn away from Himself to her husband, and telling her that if she did so her husband would rule over her.... All the stress of teaching women's supposed obligations to man is in the "shall be", which is supplied by the translators" [3].
Traditional Christians suggest a woman is rebelling against God's designed role for her if she aims to rule. Bruce Fleming and Joy Fleming, co-founders of the Tru316 Foundation, explain that God designed and authorized women and men as co-rulers. God did not curse Eve; God cursed the Serpent for deceiving Eve, and God cursed the earth for Adam's wrongdoing. Just as God sees in Eve's heart her desire for her husband, God sees in Adam's heart his desire to rule. They explain that God is warning Eve about the rebellious man, rebelliously ruling over himself and her:
God knows the man’s heart. The man had rejected God and had chosen to take things into his own hands. He chose to reject God’s rulership in his life and furthermore to usurp God’s place by attempting to rule over the woman. Instead of a co-rulership (the verb radah in Gen 1:28) with the woman over God’s creation, which God decreed in Gen 1:26–28, the man would sinfully re-order things after his own design by ruling over (the verb mashal) her. [4]
God banished the man from the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:23). Katharine Bushnell notes that the Bible does not indicate that God expelled Eve from the Garden of Eden. She suggests that after being deceived, Eve reconciled with God, and since God washed her, she had the right to the Tree of Life (Revelation 22:14). Adam was cast out of the Garden to protect him from eating from the Tree of Life and living forever in a fallen state. However, Eve does not need to be protected from eating from the Tree of Life. Eve knew God's warning that Adam would rule her, but she chose to turn towards Adam and follow him out of Eden to be his ezer-helper [5].
"God did not send a female Christ into this world to guide woman in a female manner, by setting her a pattern of “womanliness;” He only sent a man “made of a woman,” alone, and therefore sufficiently womanly and sufficiently manly for each sex to find in Jesus Christ a perfect Pattern, for both sexes, in all the duties of life" [6].
Eve chose to be Adam's ezer kenegdo, his strength, protector, and support in the harsh world outside of Eden. She is his companion in working the soil. She is his rescuer and lifeguard, pointing him back to God.
Was Sarah Subordinate to Abraham? (1 Peter)
In first-century Jewish culture, women may have been encouraged to act like daughters of Sarah, while boys followed in Abraham's footsteps. It obscures the fact that both women and men are descendants of both Abraham and Sarah. The distinction employs a cultural assumption that taking after Abraham provides the privileges of a male heir, while taking after Sarah means accepting restrictions. The ancient cultural assumption may have been:
Abraham is uplifted as being authorized to rule. It is an honour to be a descendant of this highly admired foundational religious father. It seems to be a point of pride to be a descendant of Abraham and an heir of Abraham (John 8:33).
Sarah is maligned as one who is vain in her beauty, for lying to the Egyptians by saying she was Abraham's sister, for laughing in disbelief when God promises her children after menopause, and for abusing her slave, Hagar. While the Bible shows God blessed Sarah as the mother of nations and kings, she is not always remembered as a foundational matriarch.
Peter holds up Sarah as a model for wives, saying she respectfully called her husband her lord/master (1 Peter 3:6). Traditional interpretations suggest that Peter is telling wives to be submissive and obedient.
However, Sarah does not address her husband as lord, but laughs to herself at the idea that she might have a child after she has become old, and her lord is also old (Genesis 18:12). Far from showing Sarah as obedient, the Bible shows that God instructs Abraham to obey Sarah because Abraham's descendants will come through Sarah's ezer-help (Genesis 21:12).
Marg Mowczko notes that the word translated as lord, kyrios, is also a term of respect [7]. Mary Magdalene uses the term kyrios when she addresses a man she thought was a gardener, not her master (John 20:15). Mowczko also notes that the women in the Bible do not prove to be an example of submission; many of them take initiative and take actions that are independent or counter to their husbands'.
Peter advises all Christians to act honourably among the unbelievers and to submit to one another:
Christians, submit to human authorities (1 Peter 2:13-17)
Christians, honour everyone, love the family of believers (1 Peter 2:17)
slaves, submit to earthly masters (1 Peter 2:18-19)
Wives, submit to husbands (1 Peter 3:1)
Husbands, in the same way, honour your wives as co-heirs (1 Peter 3:7)
Peter is addressing wives of unbelieving husbands who may condemn them and expect them to worship their husbands' gods. These wives are vulnerable because they are married to husbands who do not follow Christ. Peter does not endorse the pagan hierarchical structures of slavery or household codes, but advises Christians on how to survive in these social systems. These wives of unbelievers may look to Sarah, whose husband told her to lie and marry a foreign king.
Sarah is Abraham's ezer-helper, rescuer, protector, lifesaver. You are like Sarah's descendants when you do what is good, without fear.
Abraham and Sarah, Equal Models of Faith
Abraham and Sarah are credited for both their faith and for showing their faith by their actions:
By faith Abraham, went to a place he would later receive as his inheritance' he obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. His son Isaac and grandson Jacob lived as foreigners and aliens in the land and shared God's promise to Abraham (Hebrews 11:8-9).
By faith Sarah, who was past childbearing age, believed God would be faithful to his promise, and so she received the power to conceive and bear a child. Because of her faith, the descendants of Abraham, who was so old he was as good as dead, are as innumerable as the sand by the sea shore (Hebrews 11:11-12).
Ezer-helpers in the Bible:
Abraham and Sarah, Genesis 12:1-15
Abram must leave his homeland, and he takes his wife Sarai as his ezer-helper.
God blesses Abram with the name Abraham and makes him the father of many nations, and kings will come from him (Genesis 17:6).
God blesses Sarai with the name Sarah and says, "I will bless her, and she will be the mother of nations, kings of peoples will come from her" (Genesis 17:15-16).
When they travel through a hostile land, Abram asks Sarah to be his ezer-helper, protector and lifesaver by acting as his sister.
Miriam, Exodus 2:4-8, 15:20-21, Psalm 68:11-12, Micah 6:4
Miriam is an ezer-helper and lifesaver, rescuing her brother Moses from Pharaoh and protecting him by arranging for their mother to nurse him. Miriam is a strong ally and prophet, leading a song of victory after they cross the Red Sea (Exodus 15:20-21).
Miriam is a strong ally with Moses and Aaron in delivering the people out of Egypt; she led a company of women: "The Lord gave the word, and great was the company of women who published it" (Psalm 68:11). God says that he sent Miriam as a co-leader (Micah 6:4).
Moses, Deuteronomy 33:26-29, Psalm 90:1-5
Moses blesses the tribes, and about Asher, he said that God rides across the heavens to be an ezer-helper to you, to be your protector and provide shelter and refuge. God is your strong ally and warrior, driving out your enemies so that you can live in safety. Moses says that Israel is a people saved by the Lord; God is the protector, shield, lifesaver, and ezer-helper. Moses remembers that God has been our ezer-helper, our protector, providing refuge and a safe dwelling place for generations (Psalm 90:1-5).
Samuel, 1 Samuel 7:8-13
When the Philistines threaten Israel, Samuel makes sacrifices and prays to the Lord. Then he places a stone named Eben-Ezer, which means "stone of help", saying the Lord has been our ezer-helper, getting us to his place.
David and Michal, Psalm 20:1-2, Psalm 33:20
David relies on God as his ezer-helper. He prays that God will be our ezer-helper to rescue us from distress, that the God of Jacob will protect you (20:1). The Psalm asks God to be a strong ally and warrior, giving victory to his anointed (20:6). We sing with joy as we wait in hope for the Lord, who is our ezer-helper, shield and protector (Psalm 33:20). When King Saul is ready to kill David, David's wife Michal is David's rescuer, helping him escape out a window and disguising a statue to look like David in bed, giving David time to escape. Michal is David's protector, ally, and ezer-helper.
Hebrew community, Psalm 115:9-11, Psalm 121:1-2
The Lord is called our ezer-helper, shield and protector (Psalm 115:9-11). When we look to the hills for help, our defender and rescuer is the Lord. Psalm 121 describes God as our helper: He stays awake, watching, keeping us safe, offering shade from the hot sun, keeping us from evil, and always guiding us (Psalm 121:1-2). Deborah is a prophet, judge, military leader, and protector (Judges 4-5). She is an ezer-helper who rescues the Israelites.
Abraham and Sarah's Heirs, Isaiah 51:1-6, Romans 4:1-5, 13-25
Jesus shocks his listeners when he tells them that a woman who was bent over for eighteen years is a daughter of Abraham. It was normal to view only men as the legal heirs of Abraham. Jesus breaks with patriarchy by saying God did not want to restrict the woman; it was Satan who had bound her (Luke 13:10-16). In the same way today, God does not want men to restrict women; it is Satan who imposes the bonds. Just as Jesus freed the encumbered woman, he frees us from bondage and adopts us as children of God’s promise.
Are men described as sons of Abraham, while women are daughters of Sarah? Women and men are both children of Abraham. Paul makes it clear that it is not only men who are heirs with Abraham.
"If you are part of Christ's body, you are Abraham's seed, heirs according to the promise, regardless of whether you are Jew or non-Jew, slave or free, male or female (Galatians 3:28-29).
The Mosaic Covenant was offered to all of Israel, including the foreigners living among them. It was sealed by a man's circumcision and included a woman through her father or husband. God offers the new covenant to everyone, and it is sealed by an individual's baptism. Each believer, male or female, becomes a co-heir with Christ. Women inherit the same rights as sons (Romans 8:15-17, Galatians 3:29).
If you pursue righteousness, God's will be your ezer-helper and lasting protector. If you seek righteousness, look to Abraham and Sarah; God fulfilled the promise to bless them with many descendants. God further promises that God will bring lifesaving help, a light to all nations, and God's power will bring justice to the nations (Isaiah 51:1-6).
God's promise came to Abraham and his descendants not through the law but through their faith, which is credited as righteousness (Romans 4:1-5). God's promise comes not only to those who are Abraham's offspring by the law, but also to those who are offspring by having the faith of Abraham (Romans 4:13-16). Abraham and Sarah were past the years of natural childbearing, as good as dead, but they believed that God had the power to do what he had promised. That faith is credited as righteousness (Romans 4:17-25). When we share the faith of Abraham and Sarah, it is credited to us as righteousness, and we become Abraham's heirs.
Jesus’s listeners were proud to be descendants of Abraham, yet Jesus told them they were not true children of Abraham because they were looking for an opportunity to kill him. They seem to slander Jesus for having an unknown father when they say, "We know who our father is; We are not illegitimate children.” They further insult Jesus by calling him a Samaritan and demon-possessed. They mock Jesus when he says Abraham rejoiced with Jesus. That’s when Jesus says, “Before Abraham was, I AM”. Jesus called himself by God’s name, and they picked up stones to throw at him (John 8:37-59). John says Jesus escaped from stoning by hiding himself and leaving the temple.
Perhaps you can imagine with me the women disciples lending Jesus robes to disguise himself and get out of danger. Perhaps the women were Jesus’s “ezers”; his protectors, rescuers, and lifesavers.
Freedom
As Christians, we follow Jesus and imitate him. We all have freedom, and we voluntarily yield to others in love. Love means not insisting on your own way or ruling over others. Love means mutual respect, mutual submission, and mutual kindness. No group is subordinate to another; no person is privileged due to their gender or ethnicity.
The freedom of Christians is tempered by love. And yes, this means a man's freedom is as restricted as a woman's. God gives all humans equal freedoms and responsibilities.
In 1 Corinthians, Paul asks male and female prophets to control themselves, to respect others by not interrupting, to voluntarily limit personal freedoms out of consideration for others. Paul credits women like Priscilla, Phoebe, Junia, and Lydia as his ezer-helpers, protectors, patrons, and strong allies.
In Philippians, Paul specifically warns against ruling over one another, telling his followers to do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but to value other women and men above themselves. Follow Jesus's example, who did not consider his equality with God something to use for his own advantage, but something to relinquish, becoming like a servant (Philippians 2:3-7).
In Ephesians 5, Paul tells both men and women to submit to one another. A husband is to relinquish his power and honour his wife as he honours his own body.
In Colossians 3, Paul instructs women and men to teach, admonish, and correct one another. Women and men are ezer-helpers, protecting and taking care of each other.
The writer of 1 Timothy does not ban all women for all time from teaching or leading. In fact, it encourages giving opportunities to women to learn so that they become less vulnerable to false teachings aimed at them. This letter is to a particular congregation at a specific time and place. It addresses angry men, wealthy women, and a woman who appears to be bullying her husband. Neither women nor men should domineer.
The Spirit that lands on all believers gives us power, love, and wisdom (Acts 4:31). God doesn’t want women or men to be shy about using his gifts (2 Timothy 1:3-7). Lois, Timothy's grandmother, and Eunice, Timothy's mother, are ezer-helpers leading Timothy.
In a separate article, I look at how Christ brings women life and freedom.
Conclusion: An Ezer-Helper is Strong and Brave
Just as God is our ezer-helper, a woman is a man's ezer-helper, and a man is a woman's ezer-helper. In Christ, there is no more male and female. We serve one another in love. Eve is the mother of all living, and we are all her children, interdependent on one another. We are heirs of Abraham and Sarah, who listened to each other, yielded to one another, and protected each other. Women and men are called to teach and admonish one another. We will thrive if we use our power to uplift the marginalized.
We are all called to use our freedom to serve one another, yield to one another, and to love others as much as we love our own bodies. We can depend on one another as ezer-helpers. God made women because man needed an ezer, a powerful ally, protector, rescuer, lifesaver, and helper. Women also need men who will uplift, rescue, protect, and help. Men of privilege can be like Christ, not using their power to exploit others but to open doors for others.
And both women and men can look to God, our “ezer-helper", protector, rescuer, and lifesaver. And maybe God will respond by telling us to help one another. With God's ezer-help, we can act boldly.
Elaine Ricker Kelly Author is empowering women with historical fiction about women in the Bible and early church and Christian blogs about women in leadership, church history and doctrine. Her books include:
Forgotten Followers from Broken to Bold, Book 1, A Novel (2022)
The Sword: A Fun Way to Engage in Healthy Debate on What the Bible Says About a Woman's Role (2023)
Because She Was Called from Broken to Bold, Book 2, A Novel of the Early Church (2024)
Walk with Mara on Her Healing Journey: 21 Steps to Emotional Resilience (2024)
Finding Her Voice from Broken to Bold, Book 3, Acts of Early Female Apostles: A Novel (2025)
Sources
Matthew V. Brown, "The 'Woman' of Augustine of Hippo", CBE International, October 30, 1990, https://www.cbeinternational.org/resource/woman-augustine-hippo/
TOW Project, "God Created Woman as an Ezer Kind of Helper (Genesis 2:18)", Theology of Work, Accessed Jan 31, 2024,
Katharine C. Bushnell, God's Word to Women, Lesson 16, 1921, https://godswordtowomen.org/lesson%2016.htm
Joy Fleming, "Two Ways of Translating and Interpreting Genesis 3:16a, One Older and One Newer: Does It Matter?", CBE International, November 7, 2025, https://www.cbeinternational.org/resource/two-ways-of-translating-and-interpreting-genesis-316/
Katharine C. Bushnell, God's Word to Women, Lesson 12, 1921, https://godswordtowomen.org/lesson%2012.htm
Katharine C. Bushnell, quoted by Julie Walsh, "What Katharine Bushnell Still Has to Teach Us Today", CBE International, Juanuary 31, 2020, https://www.cbeinternational.org/resource/what-katharine-bushnell-still-has-teach-us-today/
Marg Mowczko, "Submission and Respect from Wives in 1 Peter 3:1-6", Marg Mowczko, September 1, 2011, https://margmowczko.com/submission-respect-1-peter-3_1-6/
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