Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man.
for neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man:
for a man also was not created because of the woman, but a woman because of the man;
For also man was not created for the sake of the woman, but woman for the sake of the man.
1 Corinthians — A pastoral letter answering a long list of questions and problems — unity, ethics, worship, and the resurrection — written to a gifted but divided church.
Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread — the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.
Voices6
He sets forth the reasons why the husband has preeminence over the wife, namely: the wife was created from his rib, and he was not created for her, but she for him. For it is said: "Let us make him a helper" (Gen. 2:18). How …
Theophylact of Ohrid· Commentary on 1 Corinthians, 1107patristic
Since then he is the image of the Creator (for He, when looking on Christ His Word, who was to become man, said, "Let us make man in our own image, after our likeness" ), how can I possibly have another head but Him whose image I am?
Tertullian· Against Marcion Book V, 220patristic
Neither was the man created for the woman,....
John Gill· Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748)reformed
Neither was the man created for the woman ... - This is a simple statement of what is expressed in Genesis. The woman was made for the comfort and happiness of the man. Not to be a slave, but a help-meet; not to be the minister of his pleasures, but to be his aid and comforter in life; not to be regarded as of inferior nature and rank, but to be his friend, to divide his sorrows, and to multiply and extend his joys; yet still to be in a station subordinate to him.
Albert Barnes· Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)evangelical
"Express image," Greek, "the impress." The Divine Son is not merely "like" God, He is God of God, "being of one substance (essence) with the Father." [Nicene Creed]. woman . . . glory of . . . man--He does not say, also, "the image of the man." For the sexes differ: moreover, the woman is created in the image of God, as well as the man (Ge 1:26, 27).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, 1871reformed
Just as the Church, the bride, is made for Christ; and yet in both the natural and the spiritual creations, the bride, while made for the bridegroom, in fulfilling that end, attains her own true "glory," and brings "shame" and "dishonor" on herself by any departure from it (1Co 11:4, 6).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, 1871reformed
The walk6
Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first — the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.
Through
Genesis 2:18The LORD God also said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make for him a suitable helper.”
leads to
Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor.
He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the LORD.
A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man.
Husbands, in the same way, treat your wives with consideration as a delicate vessel, and with honor as fellow heirs of the gracious gift of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.
One day Ruth’s mother-in-law Naomi said to her, “My daughter, should I not seek a resting place for you, that it may be well with you?
Through
Genesis 2:20The man gave names to all the livestock, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found.
leads to
The LORD God also said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make for him a suitable helper.”
The whole web at once: see the Arc.
The verses this one reaches5
The LORD God also said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make for him a suitable helper.”
And the man said: “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for out of man she was taken.”
Her husband may confirm or nullify any vow or any sworn pledge to deny herself.
Nor did we seek praise from you or from anyone else, although as apostles of Christ we had authority to demand it.
The man gave names to all the livestock, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found.
