Originally Posted by Notropis
I understand your example but will point out that the statements do not rule out the possibility that you made it recently just for me after you met me for the first time, especially if you say that now that you have met me and want to make one for me. That is what it says about the animals in Genesis 2, that God made the animals in an attempt to find a fit helper for man.
No, it does not say that. It says God wanted to make a helper for Adam, like unto him. The like unto him part is crucial in interpreting who God is referring to. He's referring to Eve. After saying this, God begins to relate the story of what he did next, during which he reminds the reader of what happened in the previous "chapter," i.e., "having made the beasts ...," etc., in the past tense.
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Why would he make the animals for man if man did not already exist?
He did not say he made them to be Adam's helpers. He merely recounted that he had made them as an introduction to the story about bringing them all to Adam to name, following which he made Adam's helper, like unto him (i.e., from his very rib). God tells us that Adam didn't find a helper like unto him as an explanation why it was necessary to make Eve. God was never in the dark about whether or not any of the beasts would prove an adequate helper like unto Adam.