What the @#$! is a helpmate?

Abstract

For centuries, Eve’s role as depicted in Gen 2:18, 20 has been translated in the KJV as ‘help meet,’ a translation that eventually came to be rendered ‘helpmate.’ This article provides linguistic analysis of the Hebrew words ‘ēzer k^enegdo, translated in the KJV as ‘help meet,’ as well as a brief analysis of the reception history of this Hebrew phrase that includes the intertextuality of New Testament allusions to Gen 2:18, 20 and the intersectionality of contemporary interpretations regarding women of color.