Albert Barnes Commentary Genesis 2:20

"And the man gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of the heavens, and to every beast of the field; but for man there was not found a help meet for him." — Genesis 2:20 (ASV)

We find, however, that there was another purpose served by this review of the animals. There was not found a helpmeet for the man—an equal, a companion, a sharer of his thoughts, his observations, his joys, his purposes, his enterprises. It was now evident, from actual survey, that none of these animals, not even the serpent, was possessed of reason, of moral and intellectual ideas, of the faculties of abstracting and naming, of the capacities of rational fellowship or worship. They might be servants for his purposes, but not helpers suitable for him.

On the other hand, God was the source of his being and the object of his reverence, but not on a par with him in needs and resources. It was therefore apparent that man, regarding an equal, was alone and yet needed an associate.

Thus, in this passage, the existence of the desire is shown and asserted. This is in keeping with the compositional method consistently followed by the sacred writer (Genesis 1:2; Genesis 2:5).