Adam and Eve

Adam and Eve
The First Humans
Languages
English	Adam and Eve
Middle English	Adam and Eve Adam and Eue
Ænglisċ(Old English)	Adam and Efe/Eve/Eue Adam and Æfe/Æve/Æue

In Abrahamic religion, Adam and Eve are the first humans. In Islam Adam is considered to be a prophet.

The Creation of Adam

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."

See: Creation of Adam

God's Commandment to Adam

God's Commandment to Adam in Genesis

God places Adam in the Garden. It appears his original purpose in the Garden was to be a gardener or a groundskeeper- looking after and tending to God's creation.

God allows Adam to eat from the many fruits growing in the Garden, but gives him a single commandment. Adam is told to not eat from the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, for if he does, he'll be doomed to die:

"And the Lord God commanded the man,

'You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.'"

-Genesis, Ch. 2, Vs. 16, 17 (NIV Translation)

God's Commandment to Adam in the Quran

Narratively, the commandment God gives to Adam in the Quran occurs much later than in Genesis. In Genesis God commands Adam not to eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil immediately after placing him in the garden. In the Quran, God gives Adam the commandment only after the creation of Eve:

And We said, "O Adam, dwell, you and your wife, in Paradise and eat therefrom in [ease and] abundance from wherever you will. But do not approach this tree, lest you be among the wrongdoers."

-Quran, Surah Al-Baqarah 2:35 (Sahih International Translation)

Adam Names the Animals

Icon of Adam naming the animals, with the creation of Adam being shown in the background.
Icon from the Church of the Nativity in Arbannasi, Bulgaria. (1681-1705)

Adam Naming the Animals in Genesis

God begins to search for a suitable helper for Adam. God brings fourth all the creatures of creation to Adam. In addition to looking for a suitable helper, Adam is tasked with naming all of the animals. In this way, God is allowing Adam to participate in His creation:

"Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals."

-Genesis, Ch. 2, Vs. 19, 20 (NIV Translation)

Adam Naming the Animals in Extra-Biblical Jewish Folklore

In Jewish extra-biblical writings and folklore the purpose of Adam naming the animals was to show the angels humanity's superior wisdom. God sets up a competition between Adam and the angels to see who can correctly name all of the animals. The angels loose to Adam, showing Adam's superiority to them:

The wisdom of Adam displayed itself to greatest advantage when he gave names to the animals. Then it appeared that God, in combating the arguments of the angels that opposed the creation of man, had spoken well, when He insisted that man would possess more wisdom than they themselves. When Adam was barely an hour old, God assembled the whole world of animals before him and the angels. The latter were called upon to name the different kinds, but they were not equal to the task. Adam, however, spoke without hesitation: "O Lord of the world! The proper name for this animal is ox, for this one horse, for this one lion, for this one camel." And so he called all in turn by name, suiting the name to the peculiarity of the animal.

After defeating the Angels in this competition, God asks Adam to name himself. He names himself Adam because he was made from the earth. This story fills out a plot hole in Genesis. In Genesis Adam only names himself Man/Husband, and never actually names himself "Adam," leaving no explanation for how he received the name he is most known by:

Then God asked him what his name was to be, and he said Adam, because he had been created out of Adamah, dust of the earth. Again, God asked him His own name, and he said: "Adonai, Lord, because Thou art Lord over all creatures"—the very name God had given unto Himself, the name by which the angels call Him, the name that will remain immutable evermore. But without the gift of the holy spirit, Adam could not have found names for all; he was in very truth a prophet, and his wisdom a prophetic quality.

In the previous text Adam is described as a prophet. This concept that Adam was the first prophet carried on into Islam.

Creation of Eve

Creation of Eve Mosaic, Cathedral of the Assumption, Monreale, Sicily, (12th-13th Century)

The Creation of Eve in Genesis

Even after naming all of the animals, no suitable helper for Adam was found. God saw that Adam was lonely, and sought to ease Adam's loneliness by causing Adam to fall into a deep sleep. While he was asleep, God fashioned a woman out of one of his ribs. Adam awoke and named the woman "Woman," which in Hebrew also means wife. By naming Woman, Adam was able to name himself, calling himself "Man," which in Hebrew also means "Husband." This moment is expressed in a poem:

"This is now bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called 'woman,'
 for she was taken out of man."

-Genesis, Ch. 2, Vs. 23 (NIV Translation)

The story of the creation of Eve from Adam is an explanation for love and marriage. The idea is that, as Adam was split apart into Adam and Eve, the two parts of an original whole long to be reunited:

"That is why a man leaves his father and mother

and is united to his wife,

and they become one flesh. A

dam and his wife were both naked, 

and they felt no shame."

-Genesis, Ch. 2, Vs. 24, 25 (NIV Translation)

See: Creation of Eve

Deception and the Loss of Innocence

"The Fall of Man" by Sir Peter Paul Rubens (1628-1629)

Adam and Eve's Deception in Genesis

Within the garden there was a talking serpent. This serpent is said to be the craftiest of all the wild animals. There is no explanation in the text for who the serpent is or why the serpent can speak, but later Jewish and Christian authors came to the consensus that the serpent was actually Satan in disguise looking to corrupt God's creation as form of revenge for being cast out of Heaven. The serpent deliberately targets Eve, possibly viewing her as the weaker target, saying to her:

“Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

-Genesis, Ch. 3, Vs. 1 (NIV Translation)

Eve replies:

“We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”

-Genesis, Ch. 3, Vs. 2 (NIV Translation)

This reply is particularly interesting because God is never shown in the text to have told Eve about the commandment against eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. It only shows God telling Adam. Additionally, there's a new detail that was not in God's original commandment "...and you must not touch it..." This has lead some scholars to believe that Adam may have been the one to have told Eve about the commandment, and that he embellished it in order to scare her from even going near it. In other commentaries, it is suggested that Eve added the addition to the commandment herself, as a sort of subconscious slip indicating her temptation towards the fruit.

The serpent counters Eve:

“You will not certainly die, for God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

-Genesis, Ch. 3, Vs. 4, 5 (NIV Translation)

The serpent seems to have insider knowledge about God's creation, which is why it is thought of as being Satan or some other evil Angel. He tells Eve a half-truth. The fruit will open her eyes, but with it will come certain death. Up to this point the wording makes it sound like one will instantaneously die if they eat the fruit. But this is not the case.

The fruit was said to be pleasing to the eye and Eve longed for wisdom. When she eats the fruit she has Adam near her. After eating the fruit she hands some to Adam and he eats of it as well despite God's commandment not to do so. After eating the fruit, their eyes were opened and they both had knowledge of good and evil, and they instantly realized they were naked. To hide their nakedness they sewed fig leaves together to create clothing. This detail has lead scholars to believe the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil was a type of fig tree, even though in Western art it is more commonly depicted as an apple tree.

Unlike in God's perfect creation, where Adam and Eve were two parts of a single whole, and felt no shame in their nakedness, we see a rift created between the man/husband and woman/wife in the story. Now that they know they are naked, they feel shame towards one another, forming a barrier of fig-leaf coverings in defense. The fig leaf coverings were likely extremely painful due to the fact that fig leaves contain a potent skin irritant. This may be symbolic of the harm and pain done by the severing of the relationship between man/husband and woman/wife.

The loss of innocence of Adam and Eve by the deception of the serpent is commonly referred to as "The Fall."

God's Curses

"Adam and Eve try to hide from the sight of God" by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld (1860)

In the next scene, God is said to be walking through the garden looking for Adam and Eve, but they both hide from God among the trees. This behavior is in stark contrast to Adam and Eve's behavior towards God before The Fall, indicating that not only has there been damage done to the relationship between Adam and Eve, but also in the relationship between Adam and Eve and God. They now fear for their live's because the punishment for eating the fruit is death. God calls out to Adam:

"Where are you?

He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”

And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”

-Genesis, Ch. 3, Vs. 9-11 (NIV Translation)

"The Rebuke of Adam and Eve" by Domenico Zampieri (1581 - 1641)

This scene has lead many theologians and scholars to ask the question: Why would an all-knowing god ask Adam questions as if he was unaware of what happened? One common interpretation is that God is giving Adam a chance to take responsibility for his actions and repent. If Adam were to pass this test, God, being merciful, may have forgiven Adam of his sins. But Adam fails this test miserably and blames Eve. He even seems to imply God could be at fault in the process of diverting blame towards Eve:

The man said,

“The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”

-Genesis, Ch. 3, Vs. 12 (NIV Translation)

Here, the damage in the relationship between man and wife, as well as God and humanity, is complete. God turns to Eve:

“What is this you have done?”

The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

-Genesis, Ch. 3, Vs. 13 (NIV Translation)

The Serpent's Curse:

Eve appears to do better than Adam by not insinuating God's responsibility in the matter, but nonetheless, she also defers blame- this time to the serpent. It is at this time that God turns to the serpent and administer's his first curse:

“Because you have done this,

“Cursed are you above all livestock
and all wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
and you will eat dust
all the days of your life...

-Genesis, Ch. 3, Vs. 14 (NIV Translation)

This first half of the curse has also perplexed many theologians and scholars. Why would God curse a serpent to crawl on his belly if that's what serpents already do? One possible interpretation is that the serpent may have had limbs up to this point, making this story a pre-scientific explanation as to why serpents don't have limbs.

Satan, who is in later text's identified as the serpent, is also said in the Book of Revelation to be able to transform into a dragon. With this in mind, the serpent in the garden may have originally been a more dragon-like creature before God's curse. The second half of God's curse is as follows:

"Madonna and Child with St. Anne" by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1605-1606). This piece depicts The Virgin Mary (Madonna), St. Anne (Mary's mother), and the young Jesus of Nazareth (Mary's son). Mary and Jesus are shown stomping on the head of a serpent.

...And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel.”

-Genesis, Ch. 3, Vs. 15 (NIV Translation)

The Jewish interpretation of the second half of the serpent's curse is a plain reading of the text. With this reading, the second half of the curse indicates that humankind, which descended from Eve, will have an adversarial relationship with snakes. Interpreting the serpent in the garden as Satan, the offspring of the serpent can be seen as Satan's demonic spiritual offspring.

Within Christianity, the second half of the serpent's curse is seen as a prophecy of the life and death of Jesus of Nazareth. The phrase "offspring (or seed) of the woman," is thought to have special significance because of the belief that Jesus was born from the Virgin Mary. Having no biological father, Jesus is the product of "the seed of the woman." The Crushing of the serpent's head is seen as Jesus' defeat of both Satan and death on the cross, while the striking of "his heel" is seen as Jesus' suffering and subsequent death on the cross.

Eve's Curse:

God then turns to Eve:

To the woman he said,

“I will make your pains in childbearing very severe;

with painful labor you will give birth to children.

Your desire will be for your husband,

and he will rule over you.”

-Genesis, Ch. 3, Vs. 15-16 (NIV Translation)

Here Eve's curse is an explanation of two things. The first part of the curse is a pre-scientific explanation for why childbirth in humans is so painful, dangerous, and even deadly compared to childbirth in animals. The latter half is an explanation of the social status of women in the ancient world. The subjugation of women throughout history can be interpreted as being a sad consequence of the fall, as opposed to God's ideal for the relations between men and women.

Adam's Curse:

Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’

“Cursed is the ground because of you;

through painful toil you will eat food from it

all the days of your life.

It will produce thorns and thistles for you,

and you will eat the plants of the field.

By the sweat of your brow

you will eat your food

until you return to the ground,

since from it you were taken;

for dust you are

and to dust you will return.”

-Genesis Ch. 3, Vs. 17-19 (NIV Translation)

This curse serves for an explanation for the existence of suffering and death in the world. Before, in the garden, Adam and Eve could eat from every fruit tree, except for the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, without any work. Now humanity must work hard for any hope of food. This curse is directed at Adam due to the traditional role men played in ancient Hebrew society, where men performed the majority of the labor.

In the second part of Adam's curse we see the creation of thorns and thistles. Life in the garden was an Ideal world where the external environment was benevolent towards humanity. Now there is a malignant element to the world that will harm humanity if it does not protect itself. The symbolism of thorns with be inverted upon itself in Christianity, when Jesus of Nazareth wears thorns, that appeared after Adam and Eve's fall, as a crown.

The final part of Adam's curse is the curse of death, where the serpent is now made to be a liar. The surprise is that Adam and Eve are not doomed to die immediately, but instead are given the chance to live a full life, a chance to redeem themselves, before death. This has been interpreted by rabbis and theologians to be an example of God's mercy, even while giving out punishments for wrongdoing.

The Renaming of Eve

The Renaming of Eve in Genesis

Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living.

-Genesis Ch. 3, Vs. 20 (NIV Translation)

Up to this point Eve's name was actually Woman/Wife, now that Eve has been cursed to bear children Adam gives her the name she is more well known as, Eve.

Eve, is itself a later Latin translation. Her name in the original Hebrew is Chavah. Chavah is closely related to the word "chayah," which means "to live" or "to give life." Traditionally, according to Jewish tradition, Chevah is said to mean "life," or "living." Therefore, the line in Genesis ch. 3, vs. 20 could be written as:

"Adam named his wife "Life," because she would become the mother of all the living.

Banishment from the Garden of Eden

The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

-Genesis Ch. 3, Vs. 21-24 (NIV Translation)

Birth of the First Children

Banished from the garden, Adam and Eve settled down, eventually having two sons, Cain and Abel and three daughters, Awan,  Azura, and Luluwa.

After Cain killed Abel, Adam and Eve exiled him and later gave birth to Seth replace Abel.

Extra-biblical Stories about Adam

This section contains stories found outside of the Hebrew and Christian bibles, and are thus either considered to be non-canon or dubiously canon.

Adam's "First Wife" Lilith:

"Lilith" by John Collier (1889)

In Jewish mysticism there arose a legend that Adam was originally married to another woman, named Lilith. This legend came out of a discrepancy in the text. In the creation story in Genesis 1 it states that on the final day that God created both man and woman:

"So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
 male and female he created them."

-Genesis, Ch. 1, Vs. 27 (NIV Translation)

In the creation story in Genesis 2 there is the story of Adam being created first, and then Eve being created out of Adam's rib. The cannon teaching in Christianity and most forms of Judaism is that Genesis 2 is simply a more detailed account of Genesis 1, which in its original Hebrew is written in a poem-like literary form. Nonetheless, some people over the centuries have interpreted the apparent discrepancy between Genesis 1 and Genesis 2 to indicate a woman other than Eve was created first, and so the legend of Lilith formed.

The earliest recordings of the Lilith story are from the Medieval period. The story states that God created Adam and Lilith at the same time on the seventh day. Trouble soon started when Lilith wanted to be the dominant partner sexually, which Adam refused. In anger Lilith uttered a forbidden name of God and left the Garden, becoming a type of demon. Adam begged God to bring her back, but when his angels tracked her down, she refused.

Lilith became known as a demon of lust and death. She was known to cause miscarriages and sudden infant death, but it was said that talismans with the names of the three angels responsible for tracking Lilith can protect people from her harm.

Below is an excerpt from The Project Gutenberg "The Legends of the Jews" (Volume 1) by Louis Ginzberg (1998) concerning Lilith:

"The Divine resolution to bestow a companion on Adam met the wishes of man, who had been overcome by a feeling of isolation when the animals came to him in pairs to be named. To banish his loneliness, Lilith was first given to Adam as wife. Like him she had been created out of the dust of the ground. But she remained with him only a short time, because she insisted upon enjoying full equality with her husband.

She derived her rights from their identical origin. With the help of the Ineffable Name, which she pronounced, Lilith flew away from Adam, and vanished in the air. Adam complained before God that the wife He had given him had deserted him, and God sent forth three angels to capture her. They found her in the Red Sea, and they sought to make her go back with the threat that, unless she went, she would lose a hundred of her demon children daily by death. But Lilith preferred this punishment to living with Adam.

She takes her revenge by injuring babes--baby boys during the first night of their life, while baby girls are exposed to her wicked designs until they are twenty days old. The only way to ward off the evil is to attach an amulet bearing the names of her three angel captors to the children, for such had been the agreement between them."

Lilith is considered non-canon by all forms of modern Christianity.