📖 Biblical Definition
"The rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman" (Gen 2:22). The word tsela is "side" as much as "rib" — Eve came from Adam's side. At the cross, "one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water" (John 19:34). The parallel is theological: Adam slept; his side was opened; his bride came forth. Christ slept in death; His side was opened; the blood and water that cleansed His bride came forth. The Church is the Bride born from the pierced side of the second Adam.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
SIDE, n.
expand to see more
SIDE, n. [Sax. side.] The right or left portion of the body, extending from the shoulder to the hip. In Scripture, side is the location of two of the greatest theological moments: the opening of Adam's side from which Eve was built (Gen 2:22), and the piercing of the Second Adam's side on the cross from which the blood and water flowed that cleansed His Bride (John 19:34).
📖 Key Scripture
Genesis 2:22 — "And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man He made into a woman and brought her to the man."
John 19:34 — "But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water."
John 20:27 — "Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side.""
Song of Songs 2:6 — "His left hand is under my head, and his right hand embraces me!"
⚠️ Modern Corruption
The theological parallel between Adam's opened side and Christ's pierced side is one of Scripture's deepest symmetries. Modern readers rarely notice.
expand to see more
Read Gen 2 and John 19 in parallel and the symmetry strikes hard. Both Adams sleep; both sides are opened; both yield a Bride. The Church was born from the pierced side of the second Adam in the blood and water that flowed at Calvary. This is not pious imagination; it is the deep structure of biblical typology. The marriage of the Lamb in Revelation 19 closes the arc that opened in Eden.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
H6763 — tsela. G4125 — pleura.
expand to see more
H6763 — tsela (צֵלָע) — side, rib.
G4125 — pleura (πλευρά) — side; of Christ on the cross.
Usage
"Adam slept; his side opened; his bride came forth. Christ slept in death; His side opened; His Bride came forth in the blood and water."
"Thomas: "Put out your hand, and place it in my side." The scar of redemption is still there for the doubting to touch."