Discussions about men and women in the Bible often begin with Genesis 3, focusing on the consequences of Adam and Eve’s disobedience. Pain, toil, relational struggle, and the distortion of partnership became part of human experience after rebellion against God.
Yet these results were never God’s original plan. To understand his design for humanity, and especially the relationship between man and woman, we must turn to Genesis 1 and 2. These chapters do not give a biology lesson but reveal a theological anthropology: what it means to be human in relation to God, to one another, and to creation.
Genesis 1: Made in God’s Image
Genesis 1 concludes with God looking over all he had made and declaring it “very good.” Humanity, created male and female, was the final act of creation (Gen 1:26–31). Both were made in the image and likeness of God, entrusted with the shared mission to be fruitful, multiply, and rule over creation as God’s stewards over the earth.1 This mandate was not given to man alone but to both together, underscoring their equal dignity and responsibility as royal children of God.
In the ancient Near East, images of kings or gods were crafted to signify divine authority and presence. Statues of rulers or deities were placed in temples, public squares, or city gates as symbols of dominion and reverence.2 Genesis radically reorients this concept: humans themselves are the living “images” of God. Rather than lifeless statues, men and women are intended as walking representations of God’s benevolent rule on earth.
According to the Bible’s strict prohibition against idols, humans are the only acceptable “statues” of God. How we treat one another is, therefore, how we treat God himself.3 We hear this echoed in the words of Jesus when he said, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me … whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me” (Matt. 25:40, 45; NIV).
God’s design from the beginning was that humanity, in male and female partnership, would reflect his glory, care for creation, and embody his love. To love God is inseparable from loving and honoring those who bear his image. Genesis 2 develops this theme further by showing how humans live out this identity.
Genesis 2: Four Dimensions of Human Identity
Genesis 2 enriches Genesis 1 by giving imagery that highlights how man and woman together embody God’s purpose.4 These passages are not biology lessons but communicate theological anthropology. In other words, they seek to inform what it means to be human not as biological beings, but in relation to God and one another.
In moving from Genesis 1 to 2, attention shifts from creation of the universe as God’s cosmic temple5 to the formation and distinctiveness of humanity as God’s royal family. Four key dimensions of human identity emerge from Genesis 2: humans as spiritual beings, moral beings, priestly beings, and embodied male and female partners.
1. Spiritual Beings Breathed by God
Genesis 2:7 describes the creation of the human (adam) from the ground (adamah). Like animals, humanity is formed from the earth, yet unlike animals, humans are animated by God’s own breath of life (nishmat hayim). This divine inbreathing imparts a unique spiritual dimension. Humans are not merely biological creatures but beings created for communion with God. This sets humanity apart from all other living beings and grounds their special role in creation.
2. Moral Beings With Choice
The second identity of humanity arises from the moral boundaries God places in Eden. Genesis 2:9, 16–17 introduces the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.6 Before the command to abstain from the tree of knowledge in v. 17, Jacqueline Lapsley notes “the adam is without a moral identity, in the sense that without any prohibition no moral decision making is expected or required of the human being.”7
But with the command came the opportunity to trust God or to seize autonomy apart from him. God’s first command is generous: “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden” (Gen. 2:16, NIV). Only one prohibition is given — not to eat from the tree of sacred knowledge — the tree of the knowledge of good and evil — which would bring death by severing humanity’s relationship with God. Like cut flowers placed in water, they still look alive, but when cut from their source of life, their roots, they are dead.
This sets the pattern for human moral identity: wisdom and knowledge are not to be grasped in pride or independence but sought from God in reverence (Prov. 1:7; 9:10; Job 28:28; Ecc. 12:13–14). The fall in Genesis 3 occurs precisely when this boundary is crossed — when humanity chooses self-sufficiency over trust in God. Thus, Genesis 2 portrays humans as moral beings called to obedience and trust, with freedom defined by relationship with their Creator.
3. Priests in God’s Sanctuary
Genesis 2:15 portrays humanity’s third identity: priestly guardianship. God places the human in the garden “to serve and to protect” it. These Hebrew terms echo the priestly duties of Israel’s temple: to minister before God and guard the sanctuary from impurity (Num. 3:7–8; 8:25–26; 18:5–6; 1 Chr. 23:32; Ezek. 44:14).8 Humanity’s assignment, as man and woman, was to function as priests, preserving, protecting, and expanding sacred space beyond of the Garden.9
This priestly calling also implies the presence of potential threat. Guarding Eden meant being alert to forces that would corrupt or defile sacred space. The serpent’s intrusion in Genesis 3 confirms this. Tragically, humanity failed in this task, but the priestly vocation — to safeguard God’s presence — remains a central part of human purpose.
4. Male and Female Partners in Sacred Space
The fourth dimension of human identity concerns embodiment as male and female. Genesis 2:18 (NIV) states, “It is not good for the man to be alone.” God provides a partner, described in Hebrew as an ezer — generally translated “help, helper” (Gen. 2:18, 20). The word ezer does not imply subordination. In sixteen of twenty occurrences in the Hebrew Bible, ezer is used of God as Israel’s help, a strong ally and deliverer (e.g. Exod. 18:4; Deut. 33:7; Ps. 115:9; 121:1–2). Thus, woman is given not as an assistant but as a powerful partner and counterpart, equal in dignity and strength.
Genesis 2:21–22 further develops this by describing the creation of woman from the man’s side (tsela in Hebrew), usually translated “rib.” Reading this passage as a “clinical operation or as an attempt to explain some feature of man’s anatomy” is mistaken.10 For of the 40 times tsela occurs in the Hebrew Bible, 36 times it refers to the sides of sacred structures:
- Temple walls and entrance (1 Kgs 6:5, 8, 15 [2x], 34; Ezek. 41:5, 6 [4x], 7, 8, 9 [2x], 11, 26)
- Tabernacle sides (Exod. 26:20, 26, 27 [2x]; 36:25, 31, 32)
- Holy of Holies (1 Kgs 6:16)
- Ark of the Covenant (Exod. 25:12 [2x], 14; 26:35 [2x]; 37:3 [2x], 5)
- Altar of Incense (Exod. 30:4; 37:27)
- Altar of Burnt Offerings (Exod. 27:7; 38:7)
The sides of each of these structures were essential for their integrity. By using this architectural term, Genesis portrays man and woman together as the two sides of sacred space. If either side of these sacred structures are missing or unequal, sacred space will not function, and God’s presence will not be realized.11 Both are required to uphold God’s dwelling presence among humanity.
The imagery reveals that gender distinction is not incidental but foundational to God’s design. Man and woman are intended to serve as co-priests in God’s cosmic sanctuary, upholding and extending sacred space in cooperative partnership. Their unity is not about hierarchy but about mutual dependence, reflecting God’s presence together.
Conclusion: Recovering God’s Intent for Humanity
Genesis 1 and 2 offer a profound vision of humanity. We are earthlings infused with God’s Spirit, moral beings entrusted with choice, priests called to guard sacred space, and partners embodied as male and female, designed to reflect God’s presence together. This theological anthropology pushes against distortions that reduce gender to hierarchy or humanity to biology. Instead, it calls us back to God’s intent: men and women together carrying his image, spreading his presence, and bringing wholeness to the world.
When this vision is recovered, relationships can be healed, worship restored, and the mission of God advanced in renewed power. Genesis 2 invites us to see ourselves not merely as individuals but as sacred space, dwelling places of God’s Spirit, and as partners — male and female — created to expand his kingdom on earth.
What roles have women in the Bible played in advancing God’s story of salvation?
Redeeming Eden, by Ingrid Faro and Joyce Koo Dalrymple, stands out by highlighting the often overlooked but significant role of women in shaping redemptive history. It weaves together a cohesive narrative that demonstrates how women, despite being frequently undervalued in Ancient Near Eastern cultures, courageously initiate and advance key movements in Scripture.
This book has everything you need for a full personal or group study experience — including access to free streaming video study sessions!
Footnotes
- Catherine L. McDowell, The Image of God in the Garden of Eden: The Creation of Humankind in Genesis 2:5-3:24 in Light of the Mīs Pî, Pīt Pî, and Wpt-r Rituals of Mesopotamia … and Theology of the Hebrew Scriptures), 1st edition (Eisenbrauns, 2015). ↩︎
- W. Randall Garr, In His Own Image and Likeness: Humanity, Divinity, and Monotheism (Brill Academic Pub, 2003). ↩︎
- Daniel E. Fleming, “Religion,” in Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch (InterVarsity Press, 2002), 683. ↩︎
- G. K. Beale, The Temple and the Church’s Mission: A Biblical Theology of the Dwelling Place of God (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2004), 25. ↩︎
- Richard Davidson, “Earth’s First Sanctuary: Genesis 1–2 and Parallel Creation Accounts,” Andrews University Seminary Studies, 2015, 65. His footnote 65n.1 contains extensive references. ↩︎
- Jacqueline E. Lapsley, Whispering the Word: Hearing Women’s Stories in the Old Testament, Annotated edition (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2005), 14–18. ↩︎
- Lapsley, 14. ↩︎
- Gregory K. Beale, “Eden, the Temple, and the Church’s Mission in the New Creation,” JETS 48 (2005): 6–8. ↩︎
- John Walton, The Lost World of Adam and Eve: Genesis 2-3 and the Humans Origins Debate, (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2015), 106, 111-112. ↩︎
- Gordon John Wenham, Genesis 1-15, Volume 1, ed. David Allen Hubbard, Glenn W. Barker, and John D. W. Watts. Word Biblical Commentary 1 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic, 2014). ↩︎
- Davidson, “Earth’s First Sanctuary,” 72. ↩︎
Ingrid Faro (PhD, MDiv) is Professor of Old Testament at Northern Seminary, Lisle, IL. She previously served as Dean of Academic Affairs at Northern, Dean of Theology at the Scandinavian School of Theology, and Director of Masters Programs at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School where she also taught Hebrew and Old Testament. She is an international speaker and the author of Evil in Genesis, Demystifying Evil, co-author of Honest Answers, as well as articles, chapters, and reviews. Ingrid has two married children and four delightful young grandchildren.
