'Adam' (
Standard Hebrew 'אָדָם',
masculine proper noun;
[1][2][3]
Arabic 'آدم')
was the
first man created by God according to Jewish, Christian and Islamic traditions.
[4] He is considered a
prophet by the
Jewish,
Islamic,
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.
Several apocryphal books, such as the
Book of Jubilees,
Life of Adam and Eve and
Book of Enoch also contain details of Adam's life, though these books are not regarded as
Scripture by the vast majority of Jews and Christians.
Account of creation
Two accounts of the story of creation are told in the book of Genesis.
Historians and
academics in the fields of
linguistics and
source criticism believe that
these stories belong to the two strata of J, or Yahwist source, and the P, or
Priestly source (See
Documentary hypothesis).
According to the first account of creation (viewed by historians of source criticism as Priestly dating back to the 5th or 6th century BC),
God (or
Yahweh) 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).
The lengthier account (viewed by historians of source criticism as Yahwist dating back to the 10th century BC), records that the creation of Adam happened when the earth was still void. 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 "an help meet for" Adam (Gen. 2.20, KJV), 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 commited. Not that he ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil but, that he hearkend to the voice of his wife. see; genesis 3:17
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.
[5]
Adam in rabbinic literature
Main articles: Adam in rabbinic literature
Islamic view
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?"
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."
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.
[6] He is believed by Bahá'ís to have started the Adamic cycle 6000 years ago, which was culminated by
Muhammad.
[7][8] 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.
8
Latter Day Saint (LDS) view
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 our 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).
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.
Historicity
Etymology
The name ''Adam'' is the masculine form of the Hebrew ''adamah'' meaning "ground".
The word also carries the meaning of "man" in the sense of "mankind". Some say that the word is primarily used in this generic sense, and not as the name of an individual.
[9] 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; 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.
Other
★ After his exile from the Garden of Eden he is fabled to have first set foot on earth at a mountain known as
Adam's Peak or Al-Rohun, a mountain found in
Sri Lanka.
★ Adam's name is a reference to
red earth or
red clay, but it also can be interpreted as 'the one who
blushes' or 'turns rosy'. This correlates with Adam's capacity for
shame and/or
embarrassment. Note that the reddish clay suggests the presence of
iron oxide, which is the mineral that makes blood red and accounts for the red-faced countenance of blushing. The same root word turns up in the
Biblical Hebrew as "''admoni''" in subsequent descriptions of
Esau and
King David, where the description is commonly interpreted as 'red-haired' and/or '
ruddy' (
1 Samuel 16-17).
See also
★
Banu Adam
★
Adam and Eve
★
Adam Kadmon
Notes
1.
Brown Driver Briggs, ''Hebrew and English Lexicon'', ISBN 1-56563-206-0, p. 9.
2.
''Ibid''. 1. ''a man'' 2. ''man, mankind''.
3.
''Ibid''. From same root ''adm'' ('אדם'), ''adamah'' — ground or land.
4. "Adam and Eve." Encyclopædia Britannica.
5. Adam in Early Christian Liturgy and Literature - Catholic Encyclopedia article
6. The Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh, , Adib, Taherzadeh, George Ronald, 1972, ISBN 0-85398-344-5
7. Letter written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer, March 13, 1986. Published in Lights of Guidance: A Bahá'í Reference File, , Shoghi, Effendi, Bahá'í Publishing Trust, New Delhi, India, 1983, ISBN 81-85091-46-3
8. The Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh, Volume 2: Adrianople 1863-68, , Adib, Taherzadeh, George Ronald, 1977, ISBN 0-85398-071-3
9. http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=758&letter=A&search=Adam%20and%20Eve#1868
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