Adam names woman Chava – חוה – which means “one who gives life”.
Woman bears life. Despite the decree that man would no longer live forever, and despite the fact that woman caused him to be driven out of Paradise, he names her by this greatest of her tasks.
Both man and woman would now live a different life than before. Man would labor and woman would suffer to bear children. But the merit of woman, who in return for her suffering delivers the world from death, is greater than man’s.
חוה, as opposed to חיה denotes giving spiritual life. Woman gives life to the next generation so that it can continue to fulfill man’s destiny.
Beraishis 3:20
pages 114-115 (in the new Hirsch Chumash)
One Reply to “Beraishis 3K Woman, Giver of Life”
Comments are closed.