It’s among the most profound moments in the Bible: “So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept, God took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman, and brought her to the man” (Genesis 2:21-22 ESV).
While our translations accurately capture this moment, the original language has even more to offer. The word translated “rib” is really the word tsela (צלע). Tsela can refer to a rib, but in Hebrew, tsela means side! In fact, 16 times in the Torah alone is the word translated as “side.” Examples include those verses discussing the details of the Tabernacle, verses like Exodus 25:12: “Cast four gold rings for it and fasten them to its four feet, with two rings on one side (tsela) and two rings on the other.” Exodus 26:26: “Also make crossbars of acacia wood: five for the frames on one side (tsela) of the tabernacle.” Beyond the Torah, 2 Samuel 16:13 uses the word tsela when referring to a hillside. Job 18:12 says, “His strength is famished, and calamity is ready at his side (tsela).” The point is, tsela is more than a rib. It means side!
When tsela is translated as “side” in Genesis 2, the spiritual significance of the moment comes into view. God does more than remove a mere rib from Adam. Spiritually He splits the man in half! An entire side of him is removed! It goes beyond the rib, as it is no less than the isolation of femininity from masculinity.
Let us understand: the side which God removes from Adam is femininity; the side which remains in Adam is masculinity. Prior to their separation, masculinity and femininity (as we recognize them) are indiscernible from one another. The two intermesh in that original man. Adam contains both the essence of masculinity and the essence of femininity within himself. In a sense, Eve is part of him! As Genesis 5:2 says, “God created them male and female, and He named them Adam when they were created.” We could say that God creates Adam in a state of completion. Having both natures, Adam lacks in nothing.
Yet he is alone. Complete, but alone. There is a statement made in Genesis 2:18: “It is not good for man to be alone.” Note that it is not Adam who makes this statement. Rather, it is God’s observation. The man presumes himself to be complete. Possessing both the masculine side and the feminine side in their entirety, original Adam perceives only his own wholeness. Loneliness has yet to occur to him. But God, as always, is thinking many steps ahead.
He brings to Adam wild animals, beasts, and birds of every kind to see what Adam will name them. As Adam goes about naming them, Adam begins to notice that the creatures have counterparts––each with its own suitable helpmate. This increasingly catches Adam’s attention as the day wears on. His growing awareness amounts to man’s first look at a deeper kind of completion, a completion that occurs between two rather than within one. On that afternoon in the presence of his Creator, Adam begins to fathom a truth so vast it will ultimately answer the question of creation.
Please allow me a brief fictional story:
The small angel, like Adam, is being shown a process that goes to the heart of everything. For you and me, the picture is preserved here in Genesis 2. Brought to its most basic articulation, it happens like this: God starts with one; He splits that one into two; He then brings those two back together as one.
At the surface, this whole sequence seems unnecessary. If the goal is unity, why then a division? Doesn’t it make better sense to keep the two as one all along? Why separate when the intention is to bring back together?
The secret lies beneath the surface. There we encounter the brilliance of God’s ways. By dividing the one into two, a space is created. This space opens up room for choice. Choice introduces the ability to love. Love is the choosing to become one. If there is love, the two will then become one.
Note! By design, the resulting oneness transcends the initial oneness. How so? Because the initial oneness is a given; the second oneness is chosen! Whereas the first unity just is, the second unity is because. Choice makes all the difference! We can think about it this way: are Adam and Eve united before God splits them apart? Yes; they are one unit. Are Adam and Eve united after God splits them apart? Yes! They choose to know each other, to become one flesh. Which unity is superior? The latter unity is superior, for it is chosen by each party. Choice enriches the oneness.
The principle is sound; the pattern holds. Before creation, there is only God. He is all that exists. He is complete in every sense of the word. He lacks in nothing. Yet He is alone. Complete, but alone. He desires a level of unity that occurs between two rather than within one. He wants a counterpart––someone other than His triune Self––a feminine derived from His wholeness, a Bride in His image and likeness given the choice to love Him as He loves her. But to have the freedom to say yes, she first has to have the freedom to say no. Such choice means separation, and separation means space, so a space is created, a space we call physical creation. Still further, God will have to reach in and give her something else. Indeed, He will have to surrender a side of Himself to His Bride, a tsela that will become her.
