Creation of Adam

This page concerns the various views on the creation of Adam across traditions.

See: Adam and Eve

The Creation of Adam in Genesis
Adam was created on the 6th day from clay in the Garden of Eden:


 * "Then the Lord God formed a man (Adam) from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being."


 * -Genesis Ch. 2 Vs. 7 (NIV Translation)

In this text the name "Adam" has symbolic meaning. It is very similar to the term used for "ground," in the text, which in Hebrew is the feminine "adamah," and translates literally to English as "clay-red earth. "

Adam's name represent's his origin, being made from the ground itself. The name "Adam" can be translated into "Man," or "Mankind," or "Humanity. " This interpretation of the name "Adam" allows for metaphorical readings and interpretations of the text.

The name "Adam" can also translate into the color red, with the Hebrew verb "to be red" being "adom" or "adem. " Adam's descendant "Edom" was named after a type of red-colored stew. The term for blood in Hebrew is "dam. "

The Creation of Adam in Extra-Biblical Jewish Folklore
Besides the texts found in the Hebrew Bible, people of the Jewish faith have a rich tradition of myths and legends, passed down both orally and threw extra-biblical texts, that expand on the stories found in the Hebrew Bible. Below is an excerpt from The Project Gutenberg "The Legends of the Jews" (Volume 1) by Louis Ginzberg (1998), which seeks to consolidate these legends, concerning the creation of Adam:


 * "God in His wisdom hiving resolved to create man, He asked counsel of all around Him before He proceeded to execute His purpose--an example to man, be he never so great and distinguished, not to scorn the advice of the humble and lowly.


 * First God called upon heaven and earth, then upon all other things He had created, and last upon the angels. The angels were not all of one opinion. The Angel of Love favored the creation of man, because he would be affectionate and loving; but the Angel of Truth opposed it, because he would be full of lies. And while the Angel of Justice favored it, because he would practice justice, the Angel of Peace opposed it, because he would be quarrelsome. "

Here we see that prior to creating Adam, God consulted His angels for their opinions on the creation of mankind. God's decision to go ahead with the creation of mankind proved to be a divisive one. God first sends his messenger Gabriel to gather the dust to create Adam's body, but when the earth itself protest's to this, God gather's the dust himself:


 * "When at last the assent of the angels to the creation of man was given, God said to Gabriel:
 * "Go and fetch Me dust from the four corners of the earth, and I will create man therewith."
 * Gabriel went forth to do the bidding of the Lord, but the earth drove him away, and refused to let him gather up dust from it. Gabriel remonstrated:
 * "Why, O Earth, dost thou not hearken unto the voice of the Lord, who founded thee upon the waters without props or pillars?"
 * The earth replied, and said:
 * "I am destined to become a curse, and to be cursed through man, and if God Himself does not take the dust from me, no one else shall ever do it."
 * When God heard this, He stretched out His hand, took of the dust of the ground, and created the first man therewith. 
 * Of set purpose the dust was taken from all four corners of the earth, so that if a man from the east should happen to die in the west, or a man from the west in the east, the earth should not dare refuse to receive the dead, and tell him to go whence he was taken. Wherever a man chances to die, and wheresoever he is buried, there will he return to the earth from which he sprang. Also, the dust was of various colors--red, black, white, and green--red for the blood, black for the bowels, white for the bones and veins, and green for the pale skin ."
 * Of set purpose the dust was taken from all four corners of the earth, so that if a man from the east should happen to die in the west, or a man from the west in the east, the earth should not dare refuse to receive the dead, and tell him to go whence he was taken. Wherever a man chances to die, and wheresoever he is buried, there will he return to the earth from which he sprang. Also, the dust was of various colors--red, black, white, and green--red for the blood, black for the bowels, white for the bones and veins, and green for the pale skin ."

The earth appears to be anthropomorphized- having the gift of speech- which echoes ancient Pagan stories of Father Sky and Mother Earth. This anthropomorphic earth is absent in the bible and is not canon in later Christian traditions.

Once God is finished forming Adam's body, He then gives Adam a soul:


 * "The care which God exercised in fashioning every detail of the body of man is as naught in comparison with His solicitude for the human soul. The soul of man was created on the first day, for it is the spirit of God moving upon the face of the waters. Thus, instead of being the last, man is really the first work of creation.


 * This spirit, or, to call it by its usual name, the soul of man, possesses five different powers. By means of one of them she escapes from the body every night, rises up to heaven, and fetches new life thence for man.


 * With the soul of Adam the souls of all the generations of men were created. They are stored up in a promptuary, in the seventh of the heavens, whence they are drawn as they are needed for human body after human body "

The Creation of Adam in the Quran
The story of Adam is told in bits and pieces throughout the Quran. Like in the extra-biblical Jewish sources, God consults the angels prior to creating Adam:


 * And [mention, O Muhammad], when your Lord said to the angels, "Indeed, I will make upon the earth a successive authority." They said, "Will You place upon it one who causes corruption therein and sheds blood, while we declare Your praise and sanctify You?" Allah said, "Indeed, I know that which you do not know."


 * - Quran, Surah Al-Baqarah 2:30 (Sahih International Translation)

Again, similar to what occurs in the extra-biblical Jewish sources, the angels initially protest the creation of humans, but God tells them that they are unable to comprehend His divine plan.

Like in the Book of Genesis, Adam is created from the earth in the Quran:


 * Indeed, the example of Jesus to Allah (God) is like that of Adam. He created Him from dust; then He said to him, "Be," and he was.


 * -Quran, Surah Ali 'Imran 3:59 (Sahih International Translation)