Were Adam and Eve the first humans on Earth?
- Thread starter NotTheRock
- Start date
-
Welcome to Christian Forums, a Christian Forum that recognizes that all Christians are a work in progress.
You will need to register to be able to join in fellowship with Christians all over the world.
We hope to see you as a part of our community soon and God Bless!
Wick Stick
Well-Known Member
I don't think so.
I've come to believe that Adam is Edom, aka Esau... Abraham's grandson. So, not the first man.
I've come to believe that Adam is Edom, aka Esau... Abraham's grandson. So, not the first man.
Did God really say:-
Resources
Hebrew/Greek
Your Content
Genesis 1
New International Version
The Beginning
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.
6 And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” 7 So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.
9 And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.
11 Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. 12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.
14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. 16 God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.
20 And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” 21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” 23 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.
24 And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
27 So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.
31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.
Was Paul correct in saying that death came through Adam, so did animals and people who lived before Adam not die?
Resources
Hebrew/Greek
Your Content
Genesis 1
New International Version
The Beginning
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.
6 And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” 7 So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.
9 And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.
11 Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. 12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.
14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. 16 God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.
20 And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” 21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” 23 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.
24 And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
27 So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.
31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.
Was Paul correct in saying that death came through Adam, so did animals and people who lived before Adam not die?
Stumpmaster
Well-Known Member
David Lamb
Member
Why do you believe that Adam is Edom/Esau? That does not fit with what the bible says. It says that God created Adam. Esau was one of Isaac's two sons. Adam's wife was Eve. Esau had three wives, none of them called Eve:
“When Esau was forty years old, he took as wives Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite.” (Ge 26:34 NKJV)
Adam and his wife Eve started in the Garden of Eden. There is no mention of Esau having a connection with Eden. Then we have the various genealogies. For example, the earliest part of the human genealogy of Jesus mentions both Jacob (Esau's brother) and Adam:
“the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son]of Terah, the son of Nahor, the son of Serug, the son of Reu, he son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah, the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalalel, the son of Cainan, the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.” (Lu 3:34-38 NKJV)
They were the first humans, though there is a theory there was a pre-Adamic civilization. I don't know. Even if that were true, I don't think they were human like us.
Last edited:
Wick Stick
Well-Known Member
No, I think somebody (Ezra?) has edited Genesis to make it look like a history, when it's actually a collection of documents that shouldn't necessarily present a chronology.
I understand that most people can't accept that, and I'm not trying to convince anyone here. But since they asked...
Wick Stick
Well-Known Member
In some ways it doesn't. It certainly doesn't fit the chronology that Genesis presents.
In others it does. The story of a man forced out of his original habitation and into the wilderness is common to both Adam and Edom/Esau. It dovetails into details in Ezekiel and Job as well.
If you follow Biblical criticism, it fits with one of the leading theories for the interpretation of the Pentateuch - the Kenite Hypothesis.
There is a connection, but it certainly doesn't say it outright. It's geography. Actually, the verse you quoted hints at it.
Esau married two Hittites... where were the Hittites located? He later married a Hivite woman... where were the Hivites located? The answer to both those questions is 'Lebanon.' Lebanon has a strong connection to the Garden of Eden (Eze 31:16).
I don't put much stock in the genealogies. It seems to me the common teaching of the New Testament is that they aren't reliable.
There are several chapters of the book of John (6-8) whose main idea is that the correct way to determine who is a true child of Abraham is to look at behavior rather than credentials.
Paul specifically tells us not to strive over genealogies twice (1Tim 1:4, Titus 3:9). He also echoes Jesus' doctrine about Abraham's true descendants being the ones who act like Abraham, and in Romans 9 he even tells us that not everyone in Israel is truly Israelite.
There are other details as well. John the Baptist impugns the Pharisees heredity based on genealogies in Matt 3 & Luke 3. Jesus later does the same in Matt 12 & 23. There are multiple statements about "true Israelites" that hint that some aren't. And if you were to go outside the Bible and look at Judaism, we can also see that "who is a true Israelite?" was a hot topic in the 1st century. The Jews were aware that there were pretenders and fake Jews living among them. The parable of wheat and tares is aimed at the same idea.
And to bring it full circle... those fake Jews and pretenders were Edomites. King Herod was an Idumean. In the 2nd century BC, the Macabbean king John Hyrcanus converted the Edomites/Idumeans to Judaism at the point of a sword. The intermixed with the Jews so that by the 1st century it was hard to distinguish which was which. I'll give Paul the final word:
Rom 9:13 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.
It seems that Neanderthals existed. Were they considered human and in God's image? I wouldn't think so.
I think you may be correct. Perhaps Genesis 1 and Genesis 2 were thrown together? With that said, I think we can glean that it's a general story and not exactly a modern legal document, Lol. I can go with the flow while also recognizing that Genesis is NOT perfect.
Wick Stick
Well-Known Member
I would think so. The latest science shows that their intelligence was on par with other humans, and that they interacted and interbred freely. That last bit makes them technically the same species.
Taken
Well-Known Member
If Neanderthals existed and if Adam and Eve were the first humans, then Neanderthals came from Adam and Eve and/or their offspring. That seems extraordinarily unlikely.
Wick Stick
Well-Known Member
I track that, but I'm the one who doesn't think A&E were the first humans, so...
I received the following response from a Jewish woman on another site.
The short answer? Not necessarily. Adam and Eve aren’t necessarily the first humans in a biological or historical sense—they’re the first in a very particular narrative role.
Let’s start with the Hebrew:
The word “Adam” (אָדָם) isn’t originally a name. It just means “human” or “humankind.” It’s closely related to adamah (אֲדָמָה), meaning “earth” or “soil.” So when Genesis says God formed ha’adam from the dust of the adamah, it’s playing with poetry: the earthling from the earth.
Adam is more like “the archetypal human,” not necessarily a guy named Adam with a birth certificate. Same with “Eve” (Chavah)—her name comes from the root chayah (חָיָה), “to live,” because she’s the “mother of all the living.” Again, archetypal language.
Now In Genesis 1, God creates humanity:
> “Male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:27)
That sounds like a group, not two individuals.
In Genesis 2, we zoom in on a specific human, “ha’adam,” placed in Eden, a sacred space with symbolic and theological significance not necessarily the whole earth.
This has led many scholars (both Jewish and Christian) to interpret the Eden story as a symbolic or theological narrative, not a strict historical account. It’s about human consciousness, moral awakening, relationship with God, and freedom and responsibility. It’s not necessarily a play-by-play of population genetics.
Also, note that in Genesis 4, Cain fears other people will kill him after he murders Abel:
“Whoever finds me will kill me” (Gen 4:14)
Wait—who? If it’s just Mom and Dad around? And Cain gets a wife (Gen 4:17), then builds a city.
So… were Adam and Eve the first? Maybe in spiritual significance, as prototypes of covenantal humanity, but not necessarily the first Homo sapiens if we’re reading the text with honesty and literary sensitivity.
They’re the beginning of the biblical story, not necessarily the biological story.
The short answer? Not necessarily. Adam and Eve aren’t necessarily the first humans in a biological or historical sense—they’re the first in a very particular narrative role.
Let’s start with the Hebrew:
The word “Adam” (אָדָם) isn’t originally a name. It just means “human” or “humankind.” It’s closely related to adamah (אֲדָמָה), meaning “earth” or “soil.” So when Genesis says God formed ha’adam from the dust of the adamah, it’s playing with poetry: the earthling from the earth.
Adam is more like “the archetypal human,” not necessarily a guy named Adam with a birth certificate. Same with “Eve” (Chavah)—her name comes from the root chayah (חָיָה), “to live,” because she’s the “mother of all the living.” Again, archetypal language.
Now In Genesis 1, God creates humanity:
> “Male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:27)
That sounds like a group, not two individuals.
In Genesis 2, we zoom in on a specific human, “ha’adam,” placed in Eden, a sacred space with symbolic and theological significance not necessarily the whole earth.
This has led many scholars (both Jewish and Christian) to interpret the Eden story as a symbolic or theological narrative, not a strict historical account. It’s about human consciousness, moral awakening, relationship with God, and freedom and responsibility. It’s not necessarily a play-by-play of population genetics.
Also, note that in Genesis 4, Cain fears other people will kill him after he murders Abel:
“Whoever finds me will kill me” (Gen 4:14)
Wait—who? If it’s just Mom and Dad around? And Cain gets a wife (Gen 4:17), then builds a city.
So… were Adam and Eve the first? Maybe in spiritual significance, as prototypes of covenantal humanity, but not necessarily the first Homo sapiens if we’re reading the text with honesty and literary sensitivity.
They’re the beginning of the biblical story, not necessarily the biological story.
Being the beginning of the biblical story is the beginning of the biological story.
Did Jesus lie when he said that Adam was from the beginning of creation.
Was Paul wrong when he said that death came through Adams sin, was there death before Adam?
Why is the bible, in your view, unreliable?
The Gospel of Christ
Active Member
Adam represents the true 'missing link' — not in the evolutionary chain, but in the divine narrative — a singular intervention from beyond nature. He was not the product of gradual mutation, nor does he descend from the brutish lineage of Neanderthals and early hominids, whose remains speak only of instinct and survival. Adam does not fit their bones or their minds. He was the sudden manifestation of intention — formed by breath, not born of beasts — a conscious soul clothed in flesh, infused with Logos. His arrival was instantaneous, placed deliberately into history by the hand of God, bypassing every imagined evolutionary pathway that modern academies labor endlessly to construct. And that is why all their searching yields only silence — because to find him would be to acknowledge a Creator, and the Logos that defines man not as an animal, but as a son of God — a being made not just for survival, but for relationship, reason, and worship.
Aunty Jane
Well-Known Member
Israel kept strict genealogies because the Messiah had to come through the lineage of Abraham….through Isaac and Jacob to whom the promise was repeated…..and if the genealogies had been lax, proof of Messiah’s authenticity through his lineage to Abraham, could have been challenged.…but it never was. Jesus was related to Abraham through King David by both parents.
If you misunderstand the whole reason why there had to be a new way to be considered by God to be “a son of Abraham”….then you cannot understand what the failure of the fleshly Jews meant when they rejected Jesus as Messiah. Just being “sons of Abraham” accounted for nothing if they failed to obey their God.
What did John B say to the Pharisees?
Matt 3:7-10…
”When he caught sight of many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to the baptism, he said to them: “You offspring of vipers, who has warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Therefore, produce fruit that befits repentance. 9 Do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones. 10 The ax is already lying at the root of the trees. Every tree, then, that does not produce fine fruit is to be cut down and thrown into the fire.”
God could produce “children for Abraham from the stones” if he needed to…..adopting children gave them the same rights as a natural child. The “Israel of God” included both Jewish and gentile Christians. (Gal 6:16)
Through adoption, God didn’t need the disobedient Jews any more. He chose a new “Israel”.…which was his prerogative.
When natural Israel failed to produce enough disciples of Jesus, God turned to the gentiles to fill the numbers (Acts 15:14)……but it was always his intention to do that anyway. Out of regard for his servant Abraham, he gave Israel first option to become disciples of his son. Jesus preached exclusively to Jews.
The promise that God made to Abraham included a blessing for “all the nations of the earth”. (Gen 22:17-18)
This was because of his faith, not theirs.
And the ax was already at the base of the tree….if they didn’t produce the “fine fruit”, they would be cut down and disposed of….they never produced the fruit, nor have they as a nation, repented of their sin in having God’s son put to death.
Since Paul appeared on the scene and was appointed as an apostle after the death of Jesus, genealogies no longer mattered. No one neded to produce a record of their lineage to Abraham to prove that they were the Messiah, because he had already been and gone….and after the destruction of Jerusalem with all their records destroyed, no one after that event had any way to prove that they were related to Abraham anyway.
Spiritual Israel were now the “chosen ones” and nationality no longer mattered.
Similar threads
