When the Lord God formed Adam out of the dust of the ground, He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and placed him in the Garden of Eden. God then said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him” (Genesis 2:18). What does it mean to be a “help meet,” and how can a wife fulfill this vitally important role for her husband?

It is not helpmate.

The Biblical term is often incorrectly spelled and pronounced with the word mate instead of meet. It is lamentable that our English word mate is so close in pronunciation to the word that is rendered meet in Genesis. While we often use the word mate to describe the union of animals, what God describes with meet is far more wonderful in design and purpose than a simple physical union.

It is not helpmeet.

This term is closer but still not completely accurate. The gift of God to Adam was not merely someone to “meet his needs”—whether physical, emotional, or even spiritual needs. While Eve did meet many of Adam’s needs in all of these complex ways, it is God alone Who can satisfy the ultimate need of a man.

The proper term is “a help meet for him.”

Our modern world likes abbreviations and quick slang expressions. But we serve a God Who has chosen to speak to us in precise verbal expressions. To eliminate or abbreviate His chosen words leaves us with an incomplete, abbreviated idea of the wonderful reality that God intended marriage to be.

The Lord presented to Adam all the animals that He had created. Then He tasked Adam with naming them. “And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him” (Genesis 2:19–20). The animal kingdom, however marvelous and useful, was not suited to Adam.

At this point, God then did something unique of all of His creative acts. “And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man” (Genesis 2:21–22).

Eve was, as Adam would testify, “bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh” (Genesis 21:23). She was a helper suitable for him. The Hebrew phrase implies a perfect complement. She was custom-made for Adam; Eve was the exact life companion that God provided specifically for him. God then pronounced His blessing upon marriage and said, “They shall be one flesh” (Genesis 21:24). The mystery of the one-flesh covenant is rooted in the creation of woman as perfectly suited for man.

Each of us who are married should thank God every day for blessing us with a help suitable for us, perfectly designed to be our companion for life, and specifically custom-made to complement us to become all that God intends. Too often we take this wonderful gift for granted! May God give us the grace to understand and appreciate the spouse He has given as a help meet for us.