Thursday 12 February 2009

Background

The variety of animal kind cannot give the 'human being' thecompanionship he or she needs. The Hebrew word 'adam' does not mean'a man' but rather 'a human being', and it is also a play on theHebrew word for ground - 'adamah'.

Genesis chapters 2 and 3 have been used both in the past and todayas key texts for subjugating women. Yet the original Hebrew givesus a different understanding. The word often translated as man orAdam (verses7, 15, 18) is a noun thatis neither male nor female, but represents a common humanity. It isonly in verse 23 that the male 'ish' is used alongside the Hebrewword for woman, 'ishshah'.

So the two nouns then become different. Partnership does not implyidentical twins but differences which mutually complement eachother.

However, this passage, although one of the most ancient in theBible, has a contemporary ring about it. There are an increasingnumber of people in our world who live alone: some by choice, somebecause of broken relationships and some because of the increasingold age in many countries around the world, which means theyoutlive their partners for a long time.

To Ponder

What sort of companionship should the Church beoffering to those who live alone?

How do we understand 'partnership' in today'ssociety?