Characteristics of a Biblical Wife: Understanding Your Purpose

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It's said that if we don't know the purpose of a thing, it's easier to abuse it. I heard one time that "if you don't know the purpose of a child, you'll get child abuse. If you don't know the purpose of a spouse, you'll get spousal abuse."  

So what then, can we say, is the purpose of a wife? 

First, I'd like to breakdown the meaning of the word purpose. 

Noun: "the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists"

Verb: "have as one's intention or objective"

In the context of the "purpose" of a wife, we'll use the obvious choice of "noun."

So, what then, was the reason that a wife was created? Why does a wife exist according to the Bible? Is every woman created to be a wife?

To answer this question, we'd have to go back to the genesis, or the origin, of when we see the "wife." 

In the story of creation, Genesis 2:18 says, "And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him."

The term help meet is plainly defined as one who helps.

__ Selah __

Next, we see the creation being made for the purpose of helping. 

Genesis 2:22 says, "And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man."

So, it is safe to say that the LORD God Himself first saw a problem: the man that he made needed help.  To solve this problem, he CREATED woman as not only a "helper" but a "suitable help." 

RECALL - the beginning of this blog, we defined "purpose" as "the reason for which something is done or created."

So far we have that a woman was created for this purpose: to be the ONE who HELPS the man.

__Selah__

Now, let's look at what Adam does when he is presented the creation of a his help.

Genesis 2:23 says, "And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man."

It's very important that we look at what Adam names the creation. While it is the LORD who CREATES the "helper" - it was ADAM who then, NAMED the creation.  He gives her the name, "WOMAN."

The Hebrew word used here is referenced as H802, "'iššâ" - pronounced ish-shaw' - and is used 425 times to denote the word "wife."

So, then, what we see is that:

  • the Lord saw that Adam needed a helper
  • the Lord created Adam a helper
  • Adam named his helper his "wife"
Genesis 2:24-25 continues to solidfy this assignment for the creation.

Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: H802 and they shall be one flesh. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, H802 and were not ashamed.

To enhance the comprehension of this statement - let's exchange the definition of the word with the word itself. It would then read, 

Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his help: H802 and they shall be one flesh. And they were both naked, the man and his help, H802 and were not ashamed.

All of this being said: 

We see two things, (1) that woman and wife are very much synonymous terms and (2) that the woman/wife was created with and for the direct purpose to help her husband. 

__Selah__


We can conclude by way of every part of this lesson that the purpose of a woman is to be a wife, and the purpose of the wife is to be a help meet to her husband.  



Reflection Questions:

  • What is your understanding of the word "purpose" before reading this lesson? How has your understanding changed or been challenged?
  • Reflect on the Genesis story of creation and how it relates to the concept of a wife's purpose. What stood out to you from this passage?
  • How do you think the concept of a wife's purpose affects our understanding of marriage and relationships?
  • To your knowledge, how does this Biblical definition challenge society's depiction of the purpose of a woman or a wife? 
  • From this Biblical description, what then, do you think young women and women should be taught at as it relates to their purpose in life?