Adam and Eve | Story, Meaning, & Facts (2024)

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Adam and Eve

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Adam and Eve, in the Judeo-Christian and Islamic traditions, the original human couple, parents of the human race.

In the Bible there are two accounts of their creation. According to the Priestly (P) history of the 5th or 6th century bce (Genesis 1:1–2:4), God on the sixth day of Creation created all the living creatures and, “in his own image,” man both “male and female.” God then blessed the couple, told them to be “fruitful and multiply,” and gave them dominion over all other living things. According to the lengthier Yahwist (J) narrative of the 10th century bce (Genesis 2:5–7, 2:15–4:1, 4:25), God, or Yahweh, created Adam at a time when the earth was still void, forming him from the earth’s dust and breathing “into his nostrils the breath of life.” God then gave Adam the primeval Garden of Eden to tend but, on penalty of death, commanded him not to eat the fruit of the “tree of knowledge of good and evil.” Subsequently, so that Adam would not be alone, God created other animals but, finding these insufficient, put Adam to sleep, took from him a rib, and created a new companion, Eve. The two were persons of innocence until Eve yielded to the temptations of the evil serpent and Adam joined her in eating the forbidden fruit, whereupon they both recognized their nakedness and donned fig leaves as garments. Immediately God recognized their transgression and proclaimed their punishments—for the woman, pain in childbirth and subordination to man and, for the man, relegation to an accursed ground with which he must toil and sweat for his subsistence.

Their first children were Cain and Abel. Abel, the keeper of sheep, was highly regarded by God and was killed by Cain out of envy. Another son, Seth, was born to replace Abel, and the two human stems, the Cainites and the Sethites, descended from them. Adam and Eve had “other sons and daughters,” and death came to Adam at the age of 930.

The Hebrew Bible, or Christian Old Testament, does not elsewhere refer to the Adam and Eve story, except for the purely genealogical reference in I Chronicles 1:1. Allusions occur in the apocryphal books (i.e., highly regarded but noncanonical books for Jews and Protestants; deuterocanonical books for Roman Catholics and Orthodox). The story was more popular among the writers of the pseudepigrapha (i.e., noncanonical books for all traditions), which include the Life of Adam and Eve, told with much embellishment.

In the Christian New Testament, Adam is a figure of some theological importance in the Pauline writings. Paul sees Adam as a forerunner to Christ, “a type of the one who was to come” (Romans 5:12). As Adam initiated human life upon earth, so Christ initiates the new life of humanity. Because of the sin of Adam, death came upon all. Because of the righteousness of Christ, life is given to all. Thus, in Paul’s theology, it was Adam’s sin and not failure to observe the Law of Moses that made the Gentiles sinners; therefore, Jews and Gentiles alike stand in need of the grace of Christ.

In later Christian theology, the concept of original sin took hold—a sin in which humankind has been held captive since the Fall of Adam and Eve. The doctrine was based on Pauline Scripture but has not been accepted by a number of Christian sects and interpreters, especially among those Christians who consider the story of Adam and Eve less a fact and more a metaphor of the relation of God and man.

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In the Qurʾānic version of the story of Adam and Eve (related largely in surahs 2, 7, 15, 17, and 20), Allah (God) created Adam from clay but exalted him with such knowledge that the angels were commanded to prostrate themselves before him. However, Iblīs (Satan) tempted both Adam and his “wife” in the Garden to eat of the forbidden fruit. Allah then sent them down on earth, where their progeny were doomed to live as enemies, but Allah, being merciful, offered Adam and his progeny eternal guidance if they would follow only him, not Satan. According to Qurʾānic teachings, Adam’s sin was his sin alone and did not make all men sinners; Adam was responsible for his own actions, as his progeny were for theirs.

Later Islamic traditions have Adam descending from paradise to Sarandīb (Sri Lanka) and Eve descending to Jiddah in Arabia; after a separation of 200 years, they met near Mount ʿArafāt and began conceiving children. The first two sons, Qābīl and Hābīl, each had a twin sister, and each son married his brother’s sister. Qābīl subsequently killed Hābīl. Later, Shīth was born without a sister and became Adam’s favourite and his spiritual heir (wasī). Eve eventually bore 20 sets of twins, and Adam had 40,000 offspring before he died.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Adam Augustyn.

Adam and Eve | Story, Meaning, & Facts (2024)

FAQs

What are some important facts about Adam and Eve? ›

Adam and Eve were the first two people to come to earth and receive a body. They lived as husband and wife in the Garden of Eden, a paradise where they experienced no opposition and therefore had no understanding of joy or sorrow, pleasure or pain. While in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve lived in God's presence.

What is the message of the story of Adam and Eve? ›

The story of Adam and Eve is meant to teach the importance of obedience. Had Adam and Eve been obedient to God, they could have lived in paradise forever.

How many daughters did Adam have? ›

The book of Genesis mentions three of Adam and Eve's children: Cain, Abel and Seth. But geneticists, by tracing the DNA patterns found in people throughout the world, have now identified lineages descended from 10 sons of a genetic Adam and 18 daughters of Eve.

How did God create Adam? ›

According to the lengthier Yahwist (J) narrative of the 10th century bce (Genesis 2:5–7, 2:15–4:1, 4:25), God, or Yahweh, created Adam at a time when the earth was still void, forming him from the earth's dust and breathing “into his nostrils the breath of life.” God then gave Adam the primeval Garden of Eden to tend ...

Was Eve Adam's wife? ›

In the Jewish book The Alphabet of Ben-Sira, Eve is Adam's "second wife", where Lilith is his first.

What did Adam and Eve actually do? ›

Because Adam and Eve had eaten the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, the Lord sent them out of the Garden of Eden into the world. Their physical condition changed as a result of their eating the forbidden fruit. As God had promised, they became mortal.

What was Eve's purpose? ›

Her name is rich in symbolism, characterizing her archetypal role: as the first woman, Eve represents the essential life-giving maternal function of women. Archetypal maternal authority is also implied in her role as name-giver of the first human child.

How many years from Adam to Jesus? ›

So 69 weeks amount to 483 years; for, from the said year of Darius, unto the 42nd year of Augustus, in which year our Saviour Christ was born, are just and complete so many years, whereupon we reckon, that from Adam unto Christ, are 3974 years, six months, and ten days; and from the birth of Christ, unto this present ...

What is the moral lesson of the Creation Story? ›

This creation story rejoices and signifies the importance of water, light, earth, sun, plants, birds, and animals on the earth. It also shows how God created all things in different days. All these creations of God are wealth for us and we should save and protect them in every possible manner.

How many wives did Adam have? ›

Lilith and Eve - wives of Adam.

How many sons did God have? ›

Christ is the only Son of God. “Son of God” was a standard term used throughout the ancient world by leaders like Alexander the Great to establish authority over regions. His successors transferred his claim of authority to establish their own, even though his successors were not physical descendants.

How long did Adam live? ›

When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth. After Seth was born, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Adam lived 930 years, and then he died.

Where is the Garden of Eden located today? ›

The location of Eden is described in the Book of Genesis as the source of four tributaries. Various suggestions have been made for its location: at the head of the Persian Gulf, in southern Mesopotamia where the Tigris and Euphrates rivers run into the sea; and in Armenia.

How many days until Jesus resurrected? ›

But why did Jesus' resurrection take place three days after his death?

Why did God put us on earth instead of heaven? ›

He could immediately take us to heaven when we give our lives to Christ, but He doesn't. Instead, he keeps us on earth for a purpose — that we can bear fruit for Him. In the 15th chapter of John, Jesus uses the illustration of the vine and the branches to describe his relationship with his people.

What are some interesting facts about the prophet Adam? ›

Adam, the first man, became the first prophet and the first Messenger to whom Allah revealed. Prophet Adam and his wife had many children. Hawwa' (Eve) gave birth to forty sets of twins. Each womb held a son and a daughter.

What are some facts about Eve in the Bible? ›

Eve had life at her fingertips. She knew God face to face; she walked with God without fear, worry, or stress. She was innocent of the things that we think of as worldly. All she knew of the world was perfection.

What is Adam and no Eve about? ›

Title: Adam and No Eve

Synopsis: A scientist builds a space vessel using a new power source of his own design, but inadvertently ignites a conflagration which destroys all life on earth before he returns.

Why is Adam the most important? ›

Adam was the first human being and he is believed to have been the first prophet. Muslims believe he was created from clay by Allah and given the ability to think logically as well as the role of khalifah.

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