Adam: Difference between revisions

For other uses, see Adam (disambiguation).

Michelangelo's The Creation of Adam, a fresco on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

Adam (Standard Hebrew אָדָם, masculine proper noun; Arabic آدم) was the first man created by God, according to Genesis, and noted in subsequent Jewish, Christian and Islamic commentary. He is considered a prophet by the Islamic, Mormon, Mandaean and Bahá'í faiths. He is also commemorated as a patriarch in the Calendar of Saints of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod with Eve on December 19.

Hebrew Bible

The story is told in the book of Genesis, contained in the Torah and Bible, chapters 2 and 3, with some additional elements in chapters four and five.

Account of creation

Two accounts of the story of creation are told in the book of Genesis.

God created all living creatures human beings on the sixth day of Creation. He created man in his image, after his likeness, both male and female, blessed them to be "fruitful and multiply" and ordained that they should have "dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth" (Gen. 1.26-27, KJV).

God first formed Adam out of "the dust of the ground" and then "breathed into his nostrils the breath of life", causing him to "become a living soul" (Gen. 2. 7, KJV). God then placed Adam in the Garden of Eden, giving him the commandment that "Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die" (Gen. 2.16-17, KJV).

God then noted that "It is not good that the man should be alone" (Gen. 2.18, KJV). He then brought every "beast of the field and every fowl of the air" (Gen. 2.19, KJV) before Adam and had Adam name all the animals. However, among all the animals, there was not found "a helper suitable for" Adam (Gen. 2.20, NASB), so God caused "a deep sleep to fall upon Adam" and took one of his ribs, and from that rib, formed a woman (Gen. 2.21-22), subsequently named Eve.

Adam and Eve were subsequently expelled from the Garden of Eden, were ceremonially separated from God, and lost their immortality after they broke God's law about not eating of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This occurred after the serpent (understood to be Satan in many Christian traditions) told Eve that eating of the tree would result not in death, but in Adam and Eve's eyes being opened, resulting in them being "as gods, knowing good and evil" (Gen. 3.4-5). Convinced by the serpent's argument, Eve eats of the tree and has Adam do likewise (Gen. 3.6).

As a result, both immediately become aware of the fact that they are naked, and thus cover themselves with garments made of fig leaves (Gen. 3.7). Then, finding God walking in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve hide themselves from His presence (Gen. 3.8). God calls to Adam "Where art thou?" (Gen. 3.9, KJV) and Adam responds "I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself" (Gen. 3.10, KJV). When God then asks Adam if he had eaten of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, Adam responds that his wife had told him to (Gen. 3.11-12). Herein is the first sin that Adam committed.

As a result of their breaking God's law, the couple is removed from the garden (Gen. 3.23) (the Fall of Man) and both receive a curse. Adam's curse is contained in Gen. 3.17-19: "Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field: In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return" (KJV).

After they were removed from the garden, Adam was forced to work hard for his food for the first time. He and Eve had many children although only three are named in Genesis: Cain, Abel, and Seth. The Book of Jubilees, in addition, names two of his daughters: Azura, who married her brother Seth, and Awan, who married her brother Cain.

According to the Genealogies of Genesis, Adam died at the age of 930. With such numbers, calculations such as those of Archbishop Ussher would suggest that Adam would have died only about 127 years before the birth of Noah, nine generations after Adam. In other words, Adam's lifespan would have overlapped Lamech (the father of Noah) at least fifty years.

According to the book of Joshua, the City of Adam was still a recognizable place at the time that the Israelites crossed the Jordan River on entering Canaan.

He appears to an extent in both Eastern and Western Christian liturgies.

Adam in rabbinic literature

Main article: Adam in rabbinic literature

Islamic view

Main article: Islamic view of Adam

In Islam, Adam is considered the first Prophet of God and the husband of Eve (Arabic: Hawwa) who was created from Adam by the "will of God". Satan had lured Adam and Eve into disobeying God by tasting from the forbidden tree (although no reference is necessary as to what he may have tasted). This was the first act of revenge from Satan for being banished from the kingdom of heaven due to mankind. An important point to note here is that the Qur'an does not state or imply that it was Eve who tempted Adam to disobey God. They were both tempted by Satan and therefore equally guilty:

"Then began Satan to whisper suggestions to them, bringing openly before their minds all their shame that was hidden from them (before): he said: "Your Lord only forbade you this tree, lest ye should become angels or such beings as live for ever. And he swore to them both, that he was their sincere adviser. So by deceit he brought about their fall: when they tasted of the tree, their shame became manifest to them, and they began to sew together the leaves of the garden over their bodies. And their Lord called unto them: "Did I not forbid you that tree, and tell you that Satan was an avowed enemy unto you?" ^{[Quran 7:20]}

The Qu'ran also mentions that Adam was misled by deception and was in fact pardoned by God after much repentance.

"Then Adam received (some) words from his Lord, so He turned to him mercifully; surely He is Oft-returning (to mercy), the Merciful." ^{[Quran 2:37]}

Islam indicates that because Adam was the first human, as a prophet he was also the first Muslim ("one who submitted to God"), thus teaching that the "word of God" is the oldest such religion that Islam has represented.

Bahá'í view

In the Bahá'í view, Adam was the first Manifestation of God in recorded history. He is believed by Bahá'ís to have started the Adamic cycle 6000 years ago, which was culminated by Muhammad. The Biblical story of Adam and Eve, according to Bahá'í belief, is allegorical and is explained by `Abdu'l-Bahá in Some Answered Questions.

Latter Day Saint (LDS) view

Main article: Adam and Eve (LDS Church)

Latter Day Saint religion holds that Adam and Michael the archangel are the same individual. Michael the archangel fought against and cast out Satan, "that old serpent", at the conclusion of the "war in heaven" during pre-mortal existence (see Book of Revelation 12:7-9). "Michael" was born into this mortal existence as the man "Adam, the father of all, the prince of all, the ancient of days" (see Doctrine and Covenants 27:11 and 107:54). Mormons also consider Adam to be the first among all the prophets on earth.

Druze religion

In the Druze religion, Adam and Eve are seen as dualistic cosmic forces and are complementary to one another. Adam represents the universal mind and Eve, the universal soul.

Etymology

The name Adam is a masculine form related to the Hebrew word adamah meaning "ground". Related words are adom, red (or brown) and dam, blood.

Some say that the word is primarily used in the generic sense of "mankind," and not as the name of an individual. In Gen. i. its use is wholly generic. In Gen. ii. and iii. the writer weaves together the generic and the personal senses of the word. In all that pertains to the first man as the passive subject of creative and providential action the reference is exclusively generic. Indeed, it is doubtful whether "Adam" as a proper name is used at all before Gen. iv. 25 and v. 3 . Here the same usage is manifest: for in the two opening verses of chap. v. the word is used generically. It may also be observed that the writer in Gen. ii., iii. always says "the man" instead of "Adam", even when the personal reference is intended, except after a preposition.

Gen. ii. 7 explains the origin of the name thus: "God formed man of the dust of the ground." That is to say, the man was called "Adam" because he was formed from the ground (adamah). Compare Gen. iii. 19. This association of ideas is more than an explanation of the word: it is also suggestive of the primitive conception of human life in which men not only came from and returned to the earth, but actually partook of its substance. The same notion declares itself in the Latin homo and humanus, as compared with humus and the Greek χαμαί, in the German gam (in Bräutigam), and the English groom (in "bridegroom"); also in the Greek έπιχθόνιος and similar expressions.

However in the case of Adam the usage of the word as personal name appears to predate the generic usage. The name is attested in the Assyrian King List in the form Adamu showing that it was a genuine name from the early history of the Near East. The generic usage in Genesis meaning "mankind" reflects the view that Adam was the ancestor of all men.

See also

• Banu Adam
• Adam and Eve
• Adam Kadmon