ADAM
Adam was the first man created by God, according to Book of Genesis, and noted in
subsequent Jewish, Christian and Islamic commentary. He is considered a
prophet by the Islamic, Mormon, Mandaean and Bahá'í faiths.
Michelangelo's The Creation of Adam, a fresco on the ceiling of the Sistine
Chapel. Adam is the figure on the left.
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.
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. "Male and female created he them;
and blessed them, and called their name Adam, ... " (Genesis 5:2). "Adam" is a
general term, like "Man" and could refer to the whole of humankind. God 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. There is no
mention of Adam waking up from his sleep.
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 second sin that Adam committed.
The first being that he ate from the forbidden tree.
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 was the first man created by God, according to Book of Genesis, and noted in
subsequent Jewish, Christian and Islamic commentary. He is considered a
prophet by the Islamic, Mormon, Mandaean and Bahá'í faiths.
Michelangelo's The Creation of Adam, a fresco on the ceiling of the Sistine
Chapel. Adam is the figure on the left.
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.
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. "Male and female created he them;
and blessed them, and called their name Adam, ... " (Genesis 5:2). "Adam" is a
general term, like "Man" and could refer to the whole of humankind. God 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. There is no
mention of Adam waking up from his sleep.
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 second sin that Adam committed.
The first being that he ate from the forbidden tree.
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.