The Hebrew phrase ezer kenegdo (עֵזֶר כְּנֶגְדּוֹ) appears in the Torah, the Hebrew Bible, in Genesis 2:18 and 20, when the Bible speaks of the creation of Eve, the wife of Adam. The words are not mentioned again. They describe the Torah’s view of the proper relationship between a man and his wife.

Verse 18 depicts God declaring, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an ezer kenegdo.” Verse 20 follows the event of Adam naming the animals and finding no suitable companion; the passage states, “for Adam there was not found an ezer kenegdo.”

Many English Bibles translate the words “help meet” or “helper suitable for him.” This translation demeans the wife’s position in the marriage; she is only a helper. The original Hebrew conveys a more profound sense of strength and equality than these translations suggest.

The Aramaic translation of the Pentateuch renders the words with the........

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