Genesis 2:18-25 meaning

In this passage Adam names the animals. Throughout the Bible, giving names to things (people, places, etc.) is often tied to giving a blessing.

We see this later on in Genesis when Jacob demands a blessing from an Angel after wrestling with him:

"So he said to [Jacob], 'What is your name?' And he said, 'Jacob.' He said, 'Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel; for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed.' Then Jacob asked him and said, 'Please tell me your name.' But he said, 'Why is it that you ask my name?' And he blessed him there." (Genesis 32:27-29)

Naming people and things also shows authority. When parents name their children it's a way of showing that the parents have claimed them as their own and have authority over them. In the first two chapters we see this when God gave names to the day and night, to the heavens, to the earth, and to the sea. But Adam was to name the beasts and fowls. Adam noticed that God made animals in swarms (fishes) or in pairs (the birds and beasts). Man, however, was made as an individual. But God knew that he needed companionship. Of course, Adam had fellowship with God, but he was alone in the fact that there was no one like him. The woman would be made to be man's co-partner and companion. God made her to be a helper ("ezer") for Adam ("man").

This demonstrates that the woman's design and assigned role is a high and lofty calling, that is part of God's image. God is often described as a help or helper ("ezer," Hosea 13:9). Most of the time when "ezer" is used in the Old Testament, it refers to the character of God. Therefore, to demean women in their natural design is to denigrate God.

God instituted the first marriage covenant when He brought the woman to Adam. Adam named her Eve and they came together to unify the relationship and she became his wife. Together they became one flesh. In the New Testament, Paul explains this idea of marriage being a union of two people into one:

"So, husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church." (Ephesians 5:28-29)

As we see in this passage from Ephesians, Adam and Eve's relationship is an example of the relationship between Jesus and the Church. The first Adam is a symbol of the second Adam (Christ) and the way Adam is supposed to love his wife is a symbol of the love Christ has for His bride, the church.