ADAM AND EVE, PART ONE.
“And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.”
ADAM: Dust.
The word “Adam” occurs 539 times in the Old Testament. In Genesis 1–5 the word occurs 31 times, sometimes as a proper noun and sometimes as a personal name, Adam. When the word has the definite article (ha-’Adam), it means mankind.
Opinion is divided on the earliest occurrence of Adam as a proper name, some preferring Genesis 2:20 and others Genesis 4:25. The personal name Adam appears in Genesis 5:1a, 3, 4, 5 and 1 Chronicles 1:1.
The Old Testament.
In Genesis 1 mankind is the crown of God’s creation. Mankind is granted a unique status, expressed as being made “in the image” of God, and is given dominion over the earth and its creatures, that is, made responsible for the earth.
In Genesis 2 the earth-bound state of mankind is stressed: mankind is formed of the dust of the ground, thus dispelling any idea of the divine in mankind. The Lord God blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and Adam became a “living, breathing thing,” the same phrase that is used to describe the animals in Genesis 1.
Thus Genesis 1 and 2 together present both sides of the human situation: the unique relationship to God and the vital connection to earth.
In Genesis 3 relates to the appearance of sin which consisted of the refusal of mankind to be content with being human and the desire to become divine. The Bible affirms that humans have dignity as humans; they do not have to try to become divine to find meaning.
The serpent, the woman, and the man receive their sentences, one of which is the unequal relationship of the man and the woman as the result of sin. The separation which sin causes is emphasized in the account of the eviction from Eden (Genesis 3:22-24).
Psalm 8, like Genesis 1, celebrates the exalted status of mankind in God’s sight and the dominion of mankind over God’s creation. The biblical view of the worth of humans is to be compared sharply with the other views in the ancient Near East, especially in Mesopotamia, where the human being was created to be the slave of the gods.
The tragedy of the human situation is the failure to celebrate mankind’s unique status before God and through human effort to distort the divine intention.
The New Testament.
The writer of Hebrews referred Psalm 8 to Jesus, seeing in Jesus alone the understanding of all that God intended mankind to be and the means for divine-human reconciliation. Paul twice used the contrast of Christ with Adam to clarify the achievement of Christ for mankind.
In Romans 5:12-21, Adam is referred to as the type of the One to come, although the contrast is mainly negative. “Just as sin entered the world through one man, Adam” Romans 5:12. So the act of righteousness of one man, Jesus, leads to freeing and life for all people Romans 5:18.
In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul used the Adam-Christ likeness to confirm the resurrection. “As by a man came death, so by a Man has come resurrection” 1 Corinthians 15:21. Just as the first Adam became a living being, so the last Adam became a life-giving Spirit (1 Corinthians 15:45). Whatever the origin of this typology or likeness of Adam and Jesus, for Paul.
1. Adam represented the old humanity with all its failures.
2. Jesus represented the new humanity as God intended humanity to be from the beginning. Through the sacrifice of Jesus, entrance into the new humanity is made possible.
ADAM: “red”; hence “the ground” or “dust.”
The first man and “son of God” Luke 3:38 by special creation. The name that God gave him (Genesis 5:2) is founded upon the earthly side of his being: Adam from ’adamâ, earth, the earthly element, to guard him from self-exaltation; not from the red colour of his body, since this is not a distinctive characteristic of man, but common to him and to many other creatures.
Creation
Creation.
In the first nine chapters of Genesis there appear to be three distinct histories relating more or less to the life of Adam:
1. The first (Genesis 1:1-2:3) records the creation.
2. The second (Genesis 2:4-4:26) gives an account of paradise, the original sin of man, and the immediate posterity of Adam.
3. The third (Genesis 5:1-9:29) contains mainly the history of Noah, referring to Adam and his descendants principally in relation to that patriarch.
“The Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being” Genesis 2:7.
In Eden.
God gave him dominion over all the lower creatures (Genesis 1:26), and placed him in Eden that he might nurture it and enjoy its fruits (Genesis 2:15-16). The beasts of the field and the birds of the air were brought to Adam, who examined them and gave them names. This inspection gave him an opportunity to develop his intellectual power and also led to this result, that there was not found a helper suitable for man.
Creation of Eve.
“So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh at that place. And the Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man” Genesis 2:21.
The design of God in the creation of the woman was apparent by Adam when she was brought to him by God: “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man” Genesis 2:21-23.
Thus Adam was given charge of the earth and its inhabitants and was endowed with everything required for the development of his nature and the fulfilment of his destiny.
1. In the fruit of the trees he found sustenance.
2. In the tree of life, preservation from death.
3. In the tree of knowledge, a positive law for the training of his moral nature.
In the care of the garden, exercise of his physical strength; in the animal and vegetable kingdoms, a large region for the development of his intellect; and in the woman, a suitable companion and helper. The first man was a true man, with the powers of a man and the innocence of a child.
The Fall.
But Eve, having been beguiled by the tempter to eat of the forbidden fruit, persuaded her husband to do the same. When called to judgment before God, Adam blamed his wife, who in turn blamed the tempter. God punished the tempter by filth and dread, the woman by painful travail and submission, and the man by a life of labour.
With the loss of innocence came a feeling of shame, and they sought to hide their nakedness with leaves, but were afterward taught by God to make clothing from the skins of animals.
Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden, at the eastern side of which cherubim and a sword of flame turning every way were placed. The object of these was to guard the way of the “Tree of Life,” and prevent Adam’s return to it (Genesis 3).
Later History.
It is not known how long Adam lived in Eden, and therefore we cannot determine the length of his life after the eviction. Shortly after leaving Eden, Eve gave birth to Cain (Genesis 4:1). Scripture gives the names of only three sons of Adam, Cain, Abel, and Seth, but contains a reference (Genesis 5:4) to “other sons and daughters.”
Figurative.
Paul declares that Adam was a figure of Christ, “a type of Him who was to come” (Romans 5:14); hence our Lord is sometimes called the “Second Adam.” This typical relation stands sometimes in likeness, sometimes in contrast.
In “likeness,” Adam was formed immediately by God, as was the human nature of Christ; in each the nature was holy; both were invested with dominion over the earth and its creatures (see Psalm 8). In contrast, Adam and Christ were each a central head to the whole race of mankind, but the one was the fountain of sin and death, the other of righteousness and life (Romans 5:14-19); Adam communicated a living soul to all his posterity, Christ is a “life-giving spirit” to restore life and immortality to them (1 Corinthians 15:45).
Chronology
ADAM AND EVE: (ad’ uhm uhnd eeve).
The first man and woman created by God from whom all other people are descended. They introduced sin into human experience.
Old Testament.
The Hebrew word for Eve means “life,” while the Hebrew word for Adam simply means “man.” The Hebrew word “Adam” is used in at least three different ways in the Old Testament:
1. In its most common occurrence, the word “Adam” refers to mankind in general.
2. It has this use in Genesis 1:26-27, where it includes both male and female, those who were created in the image of God.
3. It is also used in referring to a detailed man where it occurs with the Hebrew definite article (Genesis 2:24; 4:1).
New Testament.
In the New Testament, Adam is used as a proper name, clearly referring to our family parents. Jesus’ genealogy is traced back to Adam (Luke 3:38). However, the most important New Testament custom treats Jesus as a second Adam (1 Corinthians 15:45), where the word is used as a symbol.
Furthermore, Paul in a similar manner treats Adam as a type of Christ (Romans 5:14). As the first Adam brought death into the world, the “second Adam” brought life and righteousness (Romans 5:15-19).
Eve is referenced two times in the New Testament.
In 2 Corinthians 11:3, Eve’s gullibility before the serpent is presented as undesirable. In 1 Timothy 2:11-15, women are urged to be silent and subjected to man because Adam was created before Eve and because Eve was deceived into sinning.
CONCLSION:
Adam and Eve introduced sin into human experience. The first record of sinful rebellion in the Bible is found in the story of the first persons (Genesis 3:1-13). They fell victim to the serpent’s lie (Genesis 3:4). They made the choice to disbelieve and to disobey. They were not forced to disobey God but freely chose to do so.
The cost of Adam and Eve’s sin fell not merely upon them but upon the earth as well (Genesis 3:14-19). The penalty of sin had lasting influence far beyond the two individuals. Further, following their sin, Adam and Eve hid from God; God did not hide from them (Genesis 3:8-9).
Their ultimate punishment was being driven from the garden (Genesis 3:22-24). However, this was also an act of God’s mercy, for it kept humanity from living forever in a sinful state. Thus an opportunity was offered for the possibility of future redemption.
