I've said it many times, and I will continue to say it, through time we have taken ancient words with simple meanings and given them some kind of religious terms and meanings that they never were meant to have. We find this in the story of the creation of man as well.
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."
Genesis 2:23
In Genesis 1 through Genesis 2:22, we see mankind called "man" and "Adam". The Hebrew word used here is ha'adam and it merely means earth. So, God called mankind earth (ha'adam). That's interesting isn't it.
What has happened is what I mentioned earlier. We've taken a simple Hebrew word and given it meaning that it never meant. This started with the translations of the Bible from Hebrew by people who really didn't have a full grasp on it and it's continued through time.
I mentioned that God called His creation "mankind" because until the separation into man and woman the word ha'adam is used for the translated word "man". What we need to understand is that God made ha'adam from the dirt, neither male nor female was listed in the original Hebrew. It’s rabbinical belief that man was made in whole male and woman, not speaking on sexual senses but their attributes. The differences between men and women that tells us we will never understand the other were present in Adam wholly.
When we turn to Genesis 2:22 we are introduced to new words that divides the differences. In this verse we are introduced to issa, pronounced Ish-a then in verse 23 we see a change from the word ha'adam for man to iys, pronounced Ish. We are told that isa was taken OUT OF iys. If issa was not taken out of iys then he would still be ha'adam.
In the following pages the Hebrew word ha'adam is highlighted in yellow, the word issa is highlighted in pink, and the word iys is highlighted in blue.
The picture of the woman (issa) is that it wasn’t good for humanity to be alone because, in order for humanity to thrive, it needs some tension. God takes out of ha’adam a part of him — a “round” — and He creates a woman. Woman is the part that’s now missing in ha'adam - man - iys - is now incomplete. Woman (issa) is that piece of him (iys) that he’s now missing. Only when male (iys) and female (issa) are together do you see humanity (ha'adam) in its fullness. This is why, immediately after this poem, we are told man and woman will become "one flesh". This is the joining of iys and issa into ha'adam.
As you continue your walk in your marriage, continue to remember and understand both man and woman was created from the same source. We are equal in the eyes of God. The wife is of NO less importance than the husband in the Kingdom of God.
Just because we see history showing us how man treated women in such a bad way, like they were less than man, this is not the original intent of God. Yes, God created man as head but the way women have been treated is due to the curse from the original sin and not a design by God. Man is stronger physically but women are usually stronger mentally as far as their drive. It's why we joke about not making a woman mad because her drive afterward is fearful to most men.
A message to the men… Just because you have strengths your wife does not it does not mean she is less than you. God removed strengths from you and gave them to her. You are meant to complement and help each other in your weaknesses. Do not ignore the wise counsel of your wife but use them as help in your decision making.
A message to the woman… We know you have mental drive that men do not, don't use it to fulfill the curse. Remember how God designed us and remember you are to help your husband. This does not mean you are less, it means he needs you. He doesn't need you to control him, he needs you to help him.