The creation of Eve from Adam’s rib is well known. Genesis 2:21 says, “So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh.” There are a million jokes about this. Here’s one: Adam is sitting in the Garden of Eden, talking to God. He says to God “You’ve given me life, the purpose of naming every animal, and plenty of food to eat. You’ve made me comfortable, kept me well fed, and a sense of purpose. However, I’m feeling quite lonely; is there anything you can do to fix that?” God replies, “I will give you a partner, and she will be called “Eve”. She will stand by you and support you. She will lift you up, enforce your rules, and be at your right hand whenever you ask. She will bear your children and raise them to your liking. She will feed you, clothe you, and take care of you. She will be beautiful, graceful, and warm. She will be kind, caring, thoughtful, and will always be there for you. But, it is going to cost you an arm and a leg.” Adam thinks for a second and says “…. what can I get for a rib?”
MacArthur argues that since man has both the X and Y chromosome you could make a woman from a man but not vice-versa. He writes, “Genetically therefore, it is possible to create a female from a male. It would not be possible to extract a male’s genetic code from a female, how–ever, because the female has no Y chromosome. That is perfectly harmonious with what God did here. Science, when it deals with facts rather than theories, always agrees with the biblical account.”[1] Well, that is OK, but I much prefer Chrysostom’s comment on this. He preached, “There is great force in these words, (God making Eve from Adam’s rib) surpassing all human reasoning. I mean, it is not possible to comprehend their grandeur in any other way than by viewing everything with the eyes of faith.”[2] Another interesting comment regarding the manner of God’s creating Eve is, “God created Eve in the way that He did to show that woman has equal status in creation to man and was created to complement and in some ways complete man in the integral union of marriage. Woman was created to be ‘beside’ man, not beneath or above him.”[3]
Let me just notice one other thing from this verse. It says that God “caused a deep sleep” to come upon Adam before the operation. God is the great anesthesiologist. No pain for Adam and a complete forgetfulness of the procedure itself. “So lest he (God) cause him (Adam) pain in removing it, or the loss of it cause him any distress later, he thus provided for both eventualities by making the removal painless and supplying for the loss without letting him feel anything of what had happened. So, the text says, the Lord God took the rib and fashioned it into a woman. A remarkable expression, defying our reasoning with its extraordinary boldness. After all, everything done by the Lord has this character: forming the human being from dust is no less remarkable than this.”[4]
[1] MacArthur, John. 2001. The Battle for the Beginning: The Bible on Creation and the Fall of Adam. Nashville, TN: W Pub. Group.
[2] John Chrysostom. 1986. Homilies on Genesis 1–17. Edited by Thomas P. Halton. Translated by Robert C. Hill. Vol. 74. The Fathers of the Church. Washington, DC: The Catholic University of America Press.
[3] Got Questions Ministries. 2002–2013. Got Questions? Bible Questions Answered. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.
[4] John Chrysostom. 1986. Homilies on Genesis 1–17. Edited by Thomas P. Halton. Translated by Robert C. Hill. Vol. 74. The Fathers of the Church. Washington, DC: The Catholic University of America Press.