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{{short description|First man according to the Abrahamic creation and religions such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam}}
{{otheruses}}
{{about|the biblical figure|the given name|Adam (given name)|other uses|Adam (disambiguation)|further information|Adam and Eve}}
]'s ], a ] on the ] of the ], shows God creating Adam, with Eve in His arm. While not strictly true to the Genesis account, this is one of the most famous depictions of the creation of Adam and Eve in Western art.]]
{{pp|reason=Persistent ] as usual|small=yes}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Adam
| image = Michelangelo, Creation of Adam 03.jpg
| caption = Detail from ]'s '']'', ]
| era = ] and ]
| spouse = ]{{efn|Extra-biblical accounts cite ] as having preceded Eve as Adam's spouse.}}
| children = ], ] and ]{{efn|Extra-biblical accounts cite Adam as having had three daughters: ], ], and ].}}
| parents =
| module = {{Infobox Saint
|name = Adam
|birth_date = Day 6, 1 ]
|death_date = {{circa|930 AM}}
|feast_day = 24 December<ref name="Slaves">{{cite web |author1=The Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary |title=Saint Adam and Saint Eve (First Age of the world) |url=https://catholicism.org/saint-adam-and-saint-eve-first-age-of-the-world.html |website=Catholicism.org |access-date=22 December 2021 |language=en |date=24 December 2000}}</ref> (])
] (])
|venerated_in = ] {{small|(], ], ])}} <br />]<br />]<ref name="Hitti 1928 37">{{cite book|title=The Origins of the Druze People and Religion: With Extracts from Their Sacred Writings| first= Philip K.|last= Hitti|year= 1928| isbn= 978-1-4655-4662-3| page =37 |publisher=Library of Alexandria}}</ref><ref name="Dana 2008 17">{{cite book|title=The Druze in the Middle East: Their Faith, Leadership, Identity and Status| first= Nissim |last= Dana|year= 2008| isbn= 978-1-903900-36-9| page =17 |publisher=Michigan University press}}</ref> <br />] <br />]
|major_shrine= ], ], ]
|birth_place = ]
|death_place=
|titles = The Patriarch
|attributes=
|patronage = Gardeners and tailors
|issues=
|prayer=
|prayer_attrib=
}}
| imagesize = 250px
}}


'''Adam'''{{efn|{{Hebrew name|{{Script/Hebrew|אָדָם}}|ʾAdam|ʾĀḏām}}; ]: ܐܕܡ; {{langx|ar|آدَم|ʾĀdam}}; {{langx|el|Ἀδάμ|Adám}}; {{langx|la|Adam}}}} is the name given in ] 1–5 to the first human.{{sfn|Hendel|2000|p=18}} Adam is the first human-being aware of ], and features as such in various belief systems (including ], ], ] and ]).<ref>Chipman, Leigh NB. "Mythic Aspects of the Process of Adam's Creation in Judaism and Islam." Studia Islamica (2001): 5-25.</ref>
'''Adam''' ("Earth" or "man", ] '''אָדָם''', '''Adam'''; "flush" or "turn rosy"; "Soil" or "Light Brown", ] '''آدم''', '''Adam''') was the ] created by ], or God or ] according to the Abrahamic religious tradition. He is considered a ] by the ], ]ic, ] and ] faiths. He is also commemorated as a patriarch in the ] of the ] with ] on December 19.


According to Christianity, Adam sinned in the ] by eating from the ]. This action introduced death and sin into the world. This sinful nature infected all his descendants, and led humanity to be expelled from the Garden. Only through the ], humanity can be redeemed.
==Traditional Judeo-Christian view==
The story is told in the book of ], contained in the ] and ], chapters 2 and 3, with some additional elements in chapters four and five.


In Islam, Adam is considered '']'' (خليفة) (successor) on earth. This is understood to mean either that he is God's deputy, the initiation of a new cycle of sentient life on earth, or both.<ref>Mahmoud Ayoub ''The Qur'an and Its Interpreters, Volume 1'' SUNY Press, 1984 {{ISBN|978-0-87395-727-4}} p. 73</ref> Similar to the Biblical account, the ] has Adam placed in a garden where he sins by taking from the ], so loses his abode in the garden. When Adam repents from his sin, he is forgiven by God. This is seen as a guidance for human-life, who sin, become aware of their mistake, and repent.<ref>Stieglecker, H. (1962). Die Glaubenslehren des Islam. Deutschland: F. Schöningh</ref>
Several apocryphal books, such as the ], ] and ] also contain details of Adam's life, though these books have little to no significance with the Judeo-Christian tradition and are not regarded as ] by the vast majority of Jews and Christians.


In Gnostic belief-systems, the bodily creation of Adam is viewed in a negative light.<ref>Chipman, Leigh NB. "Mythic Aspects of the Process of Adam's Creation in Judaism and Islam." Studia Islamica (2001): 5-25.</ref> Due to the underlying demonization of matter, Gnostic cosmologies depict the body as a form of prison of Adam's soul. This soul would have been transferred by ] (wisdom) onto the ] (Demiurge) of the ], who in turn is tricked into blowing the soul into a body.
According to Genesis 1, God (]) created human beings "in our image, after our likeness," both ] and ], on the sixth day of ] 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, ]).


==Composition of the Adam narrative==
Genesis 2 records that 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 ], giving him the commandment that "Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the ], thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die" (Gen. 2.16-17, KJV).
]]]
In ], the name "Adam" is given to the first human.{{sfn|Hendel|2000|p=18}} Beyond its use as the name of the first man, the Hebrew word ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a ], individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as "mankind".{{sfn|Hendel|2000|p=18}} {{Bibleverse|Genesis|1|HE}} tells of God's creation of the world and its creatures, including the Hebrew word ''adam'', meaning humankind. In {{Bibleverse|Genesis|2|HE}} God forms "Adam", this time meaning a single male human, out of "the dust of the ground", places him in the ], and forms a woman, ], as his companion. In {{bibleverse|Genesis|3}} Adam and Eve eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge and God condemns Adam to labour on the earth for his food and to return to it on his death. {{bibleverse|Genesis|4}} deals with the birth of Adam's sons, and {{bibleverse|Genesis|5}} lists his descendants from Seth to ].


In the entire Hebrew Bible, Adam appears only in chapters 1–5 of the Book of Genesis, with the exception of a mention at the beginning of the ] where, as in Genesis, he heads the list of Israel's ancestors.{{sfn|Enns|2012|p=84}} The majority view among scholars is that the final text of Genesis dates from the ] (the 5th century BCE),{{sfn|Cosgrove|2004|p=168}} but the absence of all the other characters and incidents mentioned in ] of Genesis from the rest of the Hebrew Bible has led a sizeable minority to the conclusion that these chapters were composed much later than those that follow, possibly in the 3rd century BCE.{{sfn|Gmirkin|2006|pp=240—241}}
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 ]. However, among all the ], 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 ].


==Usage==
Adam and Eve were subsequently expelled from the Garden of Eden 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 ] (commonly understood to be ]) 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).
===Mankind—human being—male individual===
The Bible uses the word {{Script/Hebrew|אָדָם}} ('' 'adam '') in all of its senses: collectively ("mankind", {{bibleverse|Genesis|1:27}}), individually (a "man", {{bibleverse|Genesis|2:7}}), gender nonspecific ("man and woman", {{bibleverse|Genesis|5:1–2}}), and male ({{bibleverse|Genesis|2:23–24}}).{{sfn|Hendel|2000|p=18}} In Genesis 1:27 "adam" is used in the collective sense, and the interplay between the individual "Adam" and the collective "humankind" is a main literary component to the events that occur in the ], the ambiguous meanings embedded throughout the moral, sexual, and spiritual terms of the narrative reflecting the complexity of the human condition.{{sfn|Hendel|2000|p=18-19}} Genesis 2:7 is the first verse where "Adam" takes on the sense of an individual man (the first man), and the context of sex is absent; the gender distinction of "adam" is then reiterated in Genesis 5:1–2 by defining "male and female".{{sfn|Hendel|2000|p=18}}


===Connection to the earth===
As a result, both immediately become aware of the fact that they are ], and thus cover themselves with garments made of ] ] (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).
A recurring ] is the bond between Adam and the earth ('']''): ] creates Adam by molding him out of clay in the final stages of the ]. After the loss of innocence, God curses Adam and the earth as punishment for his disobedience. Adam and humanity are cursed to die and return to the earth (or ground) from which he was formed.{{sfn|Hendel|2000|p=119}} This "earthly" aspect is a component of Adam's identity, and Adam's curse of estrangement from the earth seems to describe humankind's divided nature of being earthly yet separated from nature.{{sfn|Hendel|2000|p=119}}


==In the Hebrew Bible==
As a result of their breaking God's law, the couple is removed from the garden (Gen. 3.23) (]) 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; ] also and ] shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shal eat the ] of the ]: In the ] of thy ] shalt thou eat ], till thou return unto the ]; for out of it wast thou taken: for ] thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return" (KJV).
{{Main|Genesis creation narrative}}
], 1795]]
Genesis 1 tells of God's creation of the world and its creatures, with humankind as the last of his creatures: "Male and female created He them, and blessed them, and called their name Adam&nbsp;..." ({{Bibleverse|Genesis|5:2|HE}}). God blesses mankind, commands them to "]", and gives them "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" ({{Bibleverse|Genesis|1.26–27|KJV}}).


In {{Bibleverse|Genesis|2|HE}}, God forms "Adam", this time meaning a single male human, out of "the dust of the ground" and "breathed into his nostrils the breath of life" ({{Bibleverse|Genesis|2:7|KJV}}). God then places this first man in the ], telling him that "Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the ], thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die" ({{Bibleverse|Genesis|2:16–17|KJV}}). God notes that "It is not good that the man should be alone" ({{Bibleverse|Genesis|2:18|KJV}}) and brings the animals to Adam, who gives them their names, but among all the animals there was not found a companion for him ({{Bibleverse|Genesis|2:20|NASB}}). God causes a deep sleep to fall upon Adam and forms a woman ({{Bibleverse|Genesis|2:21–22|KJV}}), and Adam awakes and greets her as his helpmate.
After they were removed from the garden, Adam was forced to work hard for his food for the first time. He and Eve had three children named in ]: ], ], and ]. The ] names two of his daughters: ], who married her brother ], and ], who married her brother ]. Both ] and ] state that Adam had other children, but those other children are unnamed.


{{bibleverse|Genesis|3}}, the account of the Fall: A ] persuades the woman to disobey God's command and eat of the tree of knowledge, which gives wisdom. Woman convinces Adam to do likewise, whereupon they become conscious of their nakedness, cover themselves, and hide from the sight of God. God questions Adam, who blames the woman. God passes judgment, first upon the serpent, condemned to go on his belly, then the woman, condemned to pain in childbirth and subordination to her husband, and finally Adam, who is condemned to labour on the earth for his food and to return to it on his death.<ref>{{harvnb|Mathews|1996|p=252}}</ref> God then expels the man and woman from the garden, lest they eat of the ] and become immortal.
According to the ], Adam died at the age of 930. With such numbers, calculations such as those of ] would suggest that Adam would have died only about 127 years before the birth of ], nine generations after Adam. In other words, Adam's lifespan would have overlapped ] (the father of ]) at least fifty years.


The ] structure of the death oracle given to Adam in {{bibleverse|Genesis|3:19}} forms a link between man's creation from "dust" ({{bibleverse|Genesis|2:7}}) to the "return" of his beginnings.<ref>{{harvnb|Mathews|1996|p=253}}</ref>
According to the book of ], the ] was still a recognizable place at the time that the ] crossed the ] on entering ].
:'''A''' you return
:::'''B''' to the ground
::::'''C''' since (''kî'' ) from it you were taken
::::'''C'''' for (''kî'' ) dust you are
:::'''B'''' and to dust
:'''A'''' you will return


{{bibleverse|Genesis|4}} deals with the birth of Adam's sons ] and the story of the first murder, followed by the birth of a third son, Seth. {{bibleverse|Genesis|5}}, the Book of the Generations of Adam, lists the descendants of Adam from Seth to ] with their ages at the birth of their first sons (except Adam himself, for whom his age at the birth of Seth, his third son, is given) and their ages at death (Adam lives 930 years, up to the 56th year of ]). The chapter notes that Adam had other sons and daughters after Seth, but does not name them.
He appears to an extent in both Eastern and Western Christian liturgies.<ref> - ] article</ref>
==Islamic view==
{{Main|Islamic view of Adam}}


==Post-Biblical Jewish traditions==
In ], Adam is considered the first ] of God and the husband of ] (Arabic: Hawwa) whom was created from Adam by the "will of God". ] 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. In the ], it is mentioned that Adam was misled by deception and was pardoned by God after much repentance. Islam indicates that because Adam was the first human, as a prophet he was also the first ] (<i>"one who submitted to God"</i>), thus teaching that the "word of God" is the oldest such religion that Islam has represented.
]]]
{{Main|Adam in rabbinic literature}}


==Bahá'í view== ===Body===
] retells a ] that God himself took dust from all four corners of the earth, and with each color (red for the blood, black for the bowels, white for the bones and veins, and green for the pale skin), created Adam.{{sfn|Ginzberg|1909|loc=vol I, chapter II}} The soul of Adam is the image of ], and as God fills the world, so the soul fills the human body: "as God sees all things, and is seen by none, so the soul sees, but cannot be seen; as God guides the world, so the soul guides the body; as God in His holiness is pure, so is the soul; and as God dwells in secret, so doth the soul."<ref>{{harvnb|Ginzberg|1909|loc=vol I, chapter II}}<br />Citation: "God had fashioned his (Adam's) soul with particular care. She is the image of God,</ref> According to Jewish literature, Adam possessed a body of light, identical to the light created by God on the first day,{{sfn|Schwartz|2006|p=130}} and the original glory of Adam can be regained through mystical contemplation of God.{{sfn|Hendel|2000|p=19}}
In the ] view, Adam was the first ] in recorded history.<ref>{{cite book |last= Taherzadeh |first= Adib |year= 1972 |title= The Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh |publisher= George Ronald |location=Oxford, UK |id= ISBN 0-85398-344-5|pages=pp. 32}}</ref> He is believed by Bahá'ís to have started the Adamic cycle 6000 years ago, which was culminated by ].<ref>Letter written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer, March 13, 1986. Published in {{cite book |first=Shoghi |last=Effendi |authorlink= Shoghi Effendi |coauthors= The Universal House of Justice |editor= Hornby, Helen (Ed.) |year= 1983 |title= Lights of Guidance: A Bahá'í Reference File |publisher= Bahá'í Publishing Trust, New Delhi, India |id= ISBN 81-85091-46-3 |url= http://bahai-library.com/?file=hornby_lights_guidance | pages = pp. 500}}</ref><ref name="rob2_352">{{cite book |last= Taherzadeh |first= Adib |year= 1977 |title= The Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh, Volume 2: Adrianople 1863-68 |publisher= George Ronald |location=Oxford, UK |id= ISBN 0-85398-071-3 |pages=pp. 352}}</ref> The Biblical story of Adam and Eve, according to Bahá'í belief, is allegorical and is explained by ] in ].<ref name="rob2_352" />


==Latter Day Saint (LDS) view== ===Adam, Lilith and Eve===
The rabbis, puzzled by fact that Genesis 1 states that God created man and woman together while Genesis 2 describes them being created separately, told that when God created Adam he also created a woman from the dust, as he had created Adam, and named her ]; but the two could not agree, for Adam wanted Lilith to lie under him, and Lilith insisted that Adam should lie under her, and so she fled from him, and Eve was created from Adam's rib.{{sfn|Schwartz|2006|p=218}} Her story was greatly developed, during the ], in the tradition of ], the ] and ]. Other rabbis explained the same verse as meaning that Adam was created with two faces, male and female, or as a single ] being, male and female joined back to back, but God saw that this made walking and conversing difficult, and so split them apart.{{sfn|Schwartz|2006|p=138}}


===Eve's fault in the Fall===
] religion holds that Adam and ] the ] are the same individual. Michael the archangel fought against and cast out ], "that old serpent," at the conclusion of the "war in heaven" during our pre-mortal exsistence (see ] 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 ] 27:11 and 107:54).
The serpent approached Eve rather than Adam because Adam had heard the word of God with his own ears, whereas Eve had only his report; Eve tasted the fruit and knew at once that she was doomed to death, and said to herself that it was better she trick Adam into eating so that he too would die, and not take another woman in her place.{{sfn|Schwartz|2006|p=434-435}} Adam ate the fruit unaware of what he was doing, and was filled with grief.{{sfn|Schwartz|2006|p=434-435}} When Adam blamed Eve after eating the forbidden fruit, God rebuked him that Adam as a man should not have obeyed his wife, for he is the head, not her.{{sfn|Ginzberg|1909|p=36-37}}


=== Adam and the winter solstice===
==Druze religion==
An ] legend found in tractate ] 8a has observations regarding Roman midwinter holidays, and the ] that Adam instituted the custom of fasting before the ] and rejoicing afterwards – an observance that devolved into ] and the ].


===Children of Adam and Eve===
In the ] religion, Adam and ] are seen as dualistic cosmic forces and are complementary to one another. Adam represents the ] and Eve, the universal soul.{{Facts|date=February 2007}}
Adam withdrew from Eve for 130 years after their expulsion from Eden, and in this time both he and Eve had sex with demons, until at length they reunited and Eve gave birth to Seth.{{sfn|Schwartz|2006|p=218}} A 2nd-century BCE ], the ], tells how Adam had a daughter, Awân, born after Cain and Abel,<ref>.</ref> and another daughter, ], born after Seth,<ref>Jubilees 4:9</ref> and they had nine other sons;<ref>Jubilees 4:10</ref> Cain married Awân and Seth married Azûrâ, thus accounting for their descendants. The '']'' and its Greek version the '']'' recount how Adam repented his sin in exile and was rewarded by being transported to the heavenly paradise, foreshadowing the destiny of all the righteous at the end of time.{{sfn|Hendel|2000|p=19}}


===Adam's death and burial===
==Etymology==
The ] attended Adam's death, together with Eve and his son Seth, still living at that time, and he was buried together with his murdered son Abel.{{sfn|Schwartz|2006|p=445}} Because they repented, God gave Adam and Eve garments of light, and similar garments will clothe the ] when he comes.{{sfn|Schwartz|2006|p=437}}


According to the ], which probably originates in first-century CE Jewish literature, the altar of the ] was the centre of the world and the gateway to God's Garden of Eden, and it was here that Adam was both created and buried.{{sfn|Ginzberg|1998|p=125-126}}
The etymology of the word "Adam" is of importance.<ref>http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=758&letter=A&search=Adam%20and%20Eve#1868</ref> The writer of Gen. ii. 7 gives his own explanation when he says: "God formed man of dust of the ground."<ref>http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=758&letter=A&search=Adam%20and%20Eve#1868</ref> That is to say, the man was called "Man" or "Adam" because he was formed from the ground (adamah).<ref>http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=758&letter=A&search=Adam%20and%20Eve#1868</ref> Compare Gen. iii. 19.<ref>http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=758&letter=A&search=Adam%20and%20Eve#1868</ref> This association of ideas is more than an explanation of the word: it is also suggestive of the primitive conception of human life.<ref>http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=758&letter=A&search=Adam%20and%20Eve#1868</ref> According to the oldest Semitic notions, all nature was instinct with life; so that men not only came from and returned to the earth, but actually partook of its substance.<ref>http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=758&letter=A&search=Adam%20and%20Eve#1868</ref> 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.<ref>http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=758&letter=A&search=Adam%20and%20Eve#1868</ref> Modern critics are the less inclined to ridicule this as a mere barbaric fancy now that the doctrine of evolution has made them familiar with the unity of nature.<ref>http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=758&letter=A&search=Adam%20and%20Eve#1868</ref> This view of the word implies that it was originally not a proper name; for names of persons (for which fanciful etymologies are often given by the sacred writers) are not made up after such a fashion.<ref>http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=758&letter=A&search=Adam%20and%20Eve#1868</ref>


===Attitude towards Adam===
A closer examination of the narrative will show that the word is primarily used in a generic sense, and not as the name of an individual.<ref>http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=758&letter=A&search=Adam%20and%20Eve#1868</ref> In Gen. i. its use is wholly generic.<ref>http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=758&letter=A&search=Adam%20and%20Eve#1868</ref> In Gen. ii. and iii. the writer weaves together the generic and the personal senses of the word.<ref>http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=758&letter=A&search=Adam%20and%20Eve#1868</ref> In all that pertains to the first man as the passive subject of creative and providential action the reference is exclusively generic.<ref>http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=758&letter=A&search=Adam%20and%20Eve#1868</ref> Indeed, it is doubtful whether "Adam" as a proper name is used at all before Gen. iv. 25 and v. 3 .<ref>http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=758&letter=A&search=Adam%20and%20Eve#1868</ref> Here the same usage is manifest: for in the two opening verses of chap. v. the word is used generically.<ref>http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=758&letter=A&search=Adam%20and%20Eve#1868</ref> 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, where, however, a vowel has probably been dropped from the text.<ref>http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=758&letter=A&search=Adam%20and%20Eve#1868</ref> Adam is not referred to in the later Old Testament books, except in the genealogy of I Chron. <ref>http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=758&letter=A&search=Adam%20and%20Eve#1868</ref>
In the 17th-century book ], the author warns not to talk negatively about Adam, and writes that those who talk positively about Adam will be blessed with a long life.<ref>Parshat Chukat</ref> A similar warning can be found in ].<ref>Zohar Chadash Parshat Beresheit 24a or in older versions 19</ref>
==Other==


===Adam and the angel Raziel===
* After his exile from the ] he is fabled to have first set foot on earth at a mountain known as ] or Al-Rohun, a mountain found in ].{{Fact|date=February 2007}}
The ] (רזיאל המלאך) (''] the Angel'') is a collection of esoteric writings, probably compiled and edited by the same hand, but originally not the work of one author, which according to tradition was revealed to Adam by the angel Raziel. The book cannot be shown to predate the 13th century, but may in parts date back to ], and like other obscure ancient texts such as the ] and '']'', it has been extant in a number of versions. Zunz ("G. V." 2d ed., p.&nbsp;176) distinguishes three main parts: (1) the Book Ha-Malbush; (2) the Great Raziel; (3) the Book of Secrets, or the Book of Noah. These three parts are still distinguishable—2b–7a, 7b–33b, 34a and b. After these follow two shorter parts entitled "Creation" and "Shi'ur Ḳomah", and after 41a come formulas for amulets and incantations.<ref>
. ''Jewish Encyclopedia'' (1906).
</ref>


==In Christianity==
* Adam's name is a reference to ] or ], but it also can be interpreted as 'the one who ]es' or 'turns ]'. This correlates with Adam's capacity for ] and/or ]. Note that the reddish clay suggests the presence of ], which is the mineral that makes ] ] and accounts for the red-faced countenance of ]. The same root word turns up in the ] as "''admoni''" in subsequent descriptions of ] and ], where the description is commonly interpreted as ']' and/or ']' (] 16-17).
{{For|the Christian doctrines|Fall of man|Original sin}}


==See also== ===Original sin===
]<ref>{{cite web| publisher = ]| url = http://www.blakearchive.org/exist/blake/archive/object.xq?objectid=but435.1.wc.01&java=no| title = The Creation of Eve: "And She Shall Be Called Woman", object 1 (Butlin 435) "The Creation of Eve: "And She Shall Be Called Woman""| editor= Morris Eaves |editor2=Robert N. Essick |editor3=Joseph Viscomi}}</ref>]]
The idea of original sin is not found in Judaism nor in Islam, and was introduced into Christianity by the ], drawing on currents in Hellenistic Jewish thought which held that Adam's sin had introduced death and sin into the world.{{sfn|Pies|2000|p=xviii}}{{sfn|Boring|2012|p=301}} Sin, for Paul, was a power to which all humans are subject, but Christ's coming held out the means by which the righteous would be restored to the Paradise from which Adam's sin had banished mankind.{{sfn|Boring|2012|p=301}}{{sfn|Hendel|2000|p=19}} He did not conceive of this ] of Adam as being biologically transmitted or that later generations were to be punished for the deeds of a remote ancestor.{{sfn|Boring|2012|p=301}} It was ] who took this step, locating sin itself in male semen: when Adam and Eve ate of the fruit they were ashamed and covered their genitals, identifying the place from which the first sin was passed on to all succeeding generations.{{sfn|Stortz|2001|p=93}} Only Jesus Christ, who was not conceived by human semen, was free of the stain passed down from Adam.{{sfn|Stortz|2001|pp=93—94}} (Augustine's idea was based on the ancient world's ideas on biology, according to which male sperm contained the entire unborn baby, the mother's womb being no more than a nurturing chamber in which it grew.){{sfn|Stortz|2001|p=94}}


==={{anchor|Adam's grave: Golgotha replaces Solomon's Temple}}Adam's grave: Golgotha replaces Solomon's Temple===
*]
<!-- This Anchor tag serves to provide a permanent target for incoming section links. Please do not move it out of the section heading, even though it disrupts edit summary generation (you can manually fix the edit summary before saving your changes). Please do not modify it, even if you modify the section title. See ] for details. (This text: ]) -->
*]
As mentioned ], the ], a Jewish writing containing material probably originating from the first century CE, places both Adam's place of creation and his burial at the altar of the Temple of Solomon, seen as the centre of the world and the gateway to the Garden of Eden.{{sfn|Ginzberg|1998|p=125-126}} The early Christian community adapted this to their own legend of ], replacing the altar with the place of Jesus's crucifixion.{{sfn|Ginzberg|1998|p=126}} According to this Christian legend, current in the time of ] (early 3rd century CE), the holy blood of Christ trickled down and restored to life the father of the human race, who then led the saints who appeared to many in Jerusalem on that day as described in Scripture.{{sfn|Hanauer|2011|pp=69—70}}
*]

==In Mandaeism==
{{further|Adam kasia|Adam pagra}}
In ], Adam is considered the founder of the religion and the first prophet. He heralds '']'' (knowledge) and the true path of enlightenment. He is viewed as the propagator of '']'' or divine truth.<ref name=BSN>{{cite web|author=Brikhah S. Nasoraia|title=Sacred Text and Esoteric Praxis in Sabian Mandaean Religion|year=2012|url=http://isamveri.org/pdfdrg/D201813/2012_I/2012_I_NASORAIAB.pdf}}</ref>{{rp|31,45}} According to the ], 2021–2022 CE in the Gregorian calendar would correspond to the Mandaean year 445391 AA (AA = after the creation of Adam).<ref name="Gelbert 2005">{{cite book|last=Gelbert|first=Carlos|title=The Mandaeans and the Jews|publisher=Living Water Books|publication-place=Edensor Park, NSW|year=2005|isbn=0-9580346-2-1|oclc=68208613}}</ref>

==In Gnosticism==
{{further|Adam Kadmon#Gnosticism}}
{{see also|Apocalypse of Adam}}
In the ancient ] text ], Adam originally appears as a primordial being born from light poured out by the ] known as forethought. Accordingly, his primordial form is called Adam of Light. But when he desired to reach the eighth ], he was unable to because of the corruption mixed with his light. Thus he creates his own realm, containing six universes and their worlds which are seven times better than the heavens of ]. All these realms exist within the region between the eighth heaven and the Chaos beneath it. But when the ] saw him, they realize the chief creator of the material world (]) had lied to them by claiming he was the only god. However, they decide to create a physical version of Adam in the image of the spiritual Adam. But ] later sends her daughter Zoe (the spiritual Eve) to give the physical Adam life before leaving the physical Eve with Adam and entering the ]. However, according to the ], a spirit descends on the physical Adam and gives him a living soul.<ref>{{cite book|author1=]|author2=]|title=The Gnostic Bible|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1SEFmwEACAAJ|publisher=]|chapter=On the Origin of the World and The Reality of the Rulers (The Hypostasis of the Archons)|date=June 30, 2009|isbn=978-1-59030-631-4 |access-date=2021-10-17}}</ref>

==In Islam==
{{Main|Adam in Islam}}
], Iran, 1294–99]]
In Islam, ] created Adam (]: '''آدم''') from a handful of earth taken from the entire world, which explains why the peoples of the world are of different skin colors.{{sfn|Wheeler|2002|pp=17—18}} According to the ], he was the first ] and the first ]. The ] states that all the ]s preached the same faith of ]. When God informed the angels that he would create a ] ({{Langx|ar|خليفة|lit=caliph|translit=khalifa}}) on Earth, the angels enquired, asking, "will You place therein that which will spread corruption and bloodshed?" God responded, "I know what you know not" (] ]), and commanded the angels to prostrate to Adam.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Surah Al-Baqarah Ayat 30 (2:30 Quran) With Tafsir |url=https://myislam.org/surah-baqarah/ayat-30/ |access-date=2024-08-07 |website=My Islam |language=en-US}}</ref>

Adam and Eve both ate from the ] ({{langx|ar|شَجَرَةُ الْخُلْد|šajara al-ḫuld}}) despite Allah's warnings against it, and both shared guilt equally, for Eve neither tempted Adam or ate before him; nor is Eve to blame for the pain of childbirth, for God never punishes one person for the sins of another.<ref>{{qref|35|18|b=y}}</ref> The ] school of Islam does not even consider that their action was a sin, for obedience and disobedience are possible only on Earth, and not in heaven where the paradise is located.{{citation needed|date=September 2020}}

According to '']'', Adam fell on ] located in central ], the tallest mountain in the world and so the closest to Heaven, and from there God sent him to ], where he repented and was forgiven.{{sfn|Wheeler|2002|p=25,30}} At ] he built the first Sanctuary (the ] – which was later rebuilt by ]) and was taught the ritual of the Hajj, and wove the first cloak for himself and the first veil and shift for Eve, and after this returned to India where he died at the age of 930, having seen the sons of the sons of his children, 1400 in all.{{sfn|Wheeler|2002|p=32,39,43}}

According to the ] sect, Adam was not the first human being on earth, but when the human race came into existence, and spread all over the world and developed the ability to receive revelation, God sent Adam to each and every branch of civilization. This opinion has also been alluded to and accepted by Islamic scholars of different sects. According to a revelation received by ], the founder of the community, the Adam mentioned in the Qur'an was born 4,598 years before Muhammad.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.alislam.org/library/links/00000179.html | title=Man Lived on Earth Even Before the Advent of Adam | publisher=Al Islam| date=2000-02-16 }}</ref>

The Muslim thinker ] offers another interpretation of Adam's significance to the Islamic religious tradition. He writes that Adam was the first enunciator of divine revelation ({{Langx|ar|ناطق|translit=nāṭiq|lit=orator}}) and Seth was his legatee ({{Langx|ar|وصي|translit=wasī|lit=inheritor, guardian}}). He argues that the descendants of Seth are ], culminating in the seventh Imam, Nuh/Noah who, in addition to holding the Imamate, would also hold the position of enunciator and prophet ({{Langx|ar|نبي|translit=nabi}}).<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Virani|first=Shafique|title=The Days of Creation in the Thought of Nasir Khusraw |url=https://www.academia.edu/37219457|journal=Nasir Khusraw: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow|date=January 2005 }}</ref>

In the Islamic traditions (]), Adam is given the name Adam-aI-Safi ({{Langx|ar|آدم ألصافي|lit=Adam, The Chosen One}}) by Allah.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.academia.edu/7170404 |title=Shaggy or Shaved? The Symbolism of Hair among Persian Qalandar Sufis |last=Ridgeon |first=Lloyd |journal=Iran and the Caucasus |date=2010 |volume=14 |issue=2 |page= 12 |doi=10.1163/157338410X12743419190142 |quote=Adam was given the honorary name of "Adam-I-Safi" meaning: The Chosen One}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/ijt/07-2_056.pdf |title=The Christ of the Quran |last=Anand |first=K.D.W. |website=biblicalstudies.org.uk |page=57 |quote=Adam was God's Chosen one "Adam-Safi"}}</ref>

== In Druze faith ==
The ] regard Adam as the first spokesman (''natiq''), who helped to transmit the foundational teachings of monotheism (''tawhid'') intended for a larger audience.{{sfn|Swayd|2009|p=3}} He is also considered an important prophet of God in Druze faith, being among the seven prophets who appeared in different periods of history.<ref name="Hitti 1928 37">{{cite book|title=The Origins of the Druze People and Religion: With Extracts from Their Sacred Writings| first= Philip K.|last= Hitti|year= 1928| isbn= 978-1-4655-4662-3| page =37 |publisher=Library of Alexandria}}</ref><ref name="Dana 2008 17">{{cite book|title=The Druze in the Middle East: Their Faith, Leadership, Identity and Status| first= Nissim |last= Dana|year= 2008| isbn= 978-1-903900-36-9| page =17 |publisher=Michigan University press}}</ref>

== In other religions and unorthodox practices ==
Some ] in the ], inspired by ]'s ] beliefs and policies encouraging it, viewed the Christian version of ] as a redemptive manifestation of "]",<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Chua |first=Amy |title=Day of Empire: How Hyperpowers Rise to Global Dominance–and Why They Fall |publisher=] |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-385-51284-8 |edition=1st |location=New York |page=71 |oclc=123079516}}</ref> and respected his ancestors, including Adam, as well.

Some ] ] and ] thought Adam was the same person as ].<ref name=":100">{{Cite book |title=World Religions: Eastern Traditions |publisher=] |editor=Willard Gurdon Oxtoby |year=2002 |isbn=0-19-541521-3 |edition=2nd |location=Don Mills, Ontario |page=434 |oclc=46661540}}</ref>

== Historicity ==
{{main|Historicity of the Bible}}
While a traditional view was that the Book of Genesis was authored by ] and has been considered historical and metaphorical, modern scholars consider the Genesis creation narrative as one of various ancient ]s.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Van Seters|first=John|chapter=The Pentateuch|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=owwhpmIVgSAC&q=The+Hebrew+Bible+today:+an+introduction+to+critical+issues|editor=Steven L. McKenzie, Matt Patrick Graham|title=The Hebrew Bible Today: An Introduction to Critical Issues|publisher=Westminster John Knox Press|year=1998|isbn=978-0-664-25652-4|page=5}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Davies|first=G.I|chapter=Introduction to the Pentateuch|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3surkLVdw3UC&q=Oxford+Bible+Commentary+Introduction+to+the+Pentateuch&pg=PA12|editor=John Barton|title=Oxford Bible Commentary|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1998|isbn=978-0-19-875500-5|page=|url=https://archive.org/details/oxfordbiblecomme0000unse/page/37}}</ref>

Analysis like the ] also suggests that the text is a result of the compilation of multiple previous traditions, explaining apparent contradictions.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Gooder|first=Paula|title=The Pentateuch: A Story of Beginnings|publisher=T&T Clark|year=2000|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=49XpvvO-Oq0C&q=The+Pentateuch+Paula+Gooder|isbn=978-0-567-08418-7|pages=12–14}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Van Seters|first=John|title=The Pentateuch: A Social-science Commentary|publisher=Continuum International Publishing Group|year=2004|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T-Vi9eK_vS0C&q=Sources+of+the+bible&pg=PA7|isbn=978-0-567-08088-2|pages=30–86}}</ref> Other stories of the same canonical book, like the ], are also understood as having been influenced by older literature, with parallels in the older '']''.<ref>{{cite book|last=Finkel|first=Irving|title=The Ark Before Noah|publisher=Hachette|location=UK|date=2014|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AGYwIoItJQIC&q=The+Ark+Before+Noah|isbn=978-1-4447-5707-1|page=88}}</ref>

== Genetical analysis ==
In biology, the ]s of humans, when traced back using the ] for the male lineage and ] for the female lineage, are commonly called the ] and ] respectively as a reference to Adam and Eve. These do not fork from a single couple at the same epoch even if the names were borrowed from the ].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Takahata|first1=N|title=Allelic genealogy and human evolution|journal=Mol. Biol. Evol.|volume=10|issue=1|pages=2–22|date=January 1993|pmid=8450756|doi=10.1093/oxfordjournals.molbev.a039995|doi-access=free}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Judaism|Christianity|Islam
}}
* Adam's grave or burial site of his skull
** ] in Hebron; according to traditional Jewish belief
** ]; according to the Jewish book, the ]
** ]; now Adam's Chapel in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem; according to Christian tradition based on the Apocalypse of Moses
** ] in Jerusalem; according to Christian tradition
** ] according to Shia tradition, after Noah buried him there following the deluge.
* ], how some classified the initial Adam
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
** ]
** ]
** ]
** ]
** ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* '']''
* ]
* ]


==Notes== ==Notes==
{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}
<references />


==References==
{{Adam to David}}
{{Prophets of Judaism}}
{{Prophets of Christianity-ot}}


===Citations===
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}


===Bibliography===
{{Prophets in the Qur'an}}
* {{Cite book
| last = Boring
| first = Eugene
| title = An Introduction to the New Testament: History, Literature, Theology
| publisher = Westminster John Knox
| year = 2012
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=leFrgkyEtusC
| isbn = 978-0-664-25592-3
}}
* {{cite book
|last = Cosgrove
|first = Charles H.
|title = The Meanings We Choose: Hermeneutical Ethics, Indeterminacy and the Conflict of Interpretations
|publisher= Bloomsbury Publishing
|date = 2004
|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=mc01Xa-UDxgC&pg=PA168
|isbn=978-0-567-06896-5
}}
* {{Cite book
| last = Enns
| first = Peter
| title = The Evolution of Adam: What the Bible Does and Doesn't Say about Human Origins
| publisher = Baker Books
| year = 2012
| url =https://books.google.com/books?id=BNxeoqoTg-YC&q=peter+enns+adam
| isbn = 978-1-58743-315-3
}}
* {{Cite book
| last = Ginzberg
| first = Louis
| title = The Legends of the Jews: From the Creation to Exodus: Notes for Volumes 1 and 2
| publisher = JHU Press
| year = 1998
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=WA8-G-OqtuUC&q=%22Adam%27s+burial-place+is+identical+with+the+place+of+the+crucifixion%22&pg=PA126
| isbn = 978-0-8018-5894-9
}}
* {{Cite book
| last = Ginzberg
| first = Louis
| year = 1909
| url = http://www.swartzentrover.com/cotor/e-books/misc/Legends/Legends%20of%20the%20Jews.pdf
| title = The Legends of the Jews
| translator = Henrietta Szold
| location = Philadelphia
| publisher = Jewish Publication Society
}}
* {{cite book
|last = Gmirkin
|first = Russell E.
|title = Berossus and Genesis, Manetho and Exodus
|year = 2006
|publisher = Bloomsbury
|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=CKuoAwAAQBAJ&q=composition+table+of+nations+genesis
|isbn = 978-0-567-13439-4
}}
* {{Cite book
|last = Hanauer
|first = J.E.
|title = Folklore of the Holy Land
|publisher = The Other Press
|year = 2011
|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=qS_JSsNlZ5cC
|isbn = 978-967-5062-56-8
}}
* {{Cite book
|last=Hendel
|first=Ronald S
|chapter=Adam
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qRtUqxkB7wkC&q=Adam
|editor=David Noel Freedman
|title=Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible
|publisher=Eerdmans
|year=2000
|isbn=978-90-5356-503-2
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Mathews
| first = K. A.
| title = Genesis 1–11:26
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Rpii9GOKOX4C&q=Mathews+Genesis
| year=1996
| publisher = ]
| isbn=978-0-8054-0101-1
}}
* {{Cite book
| last = Pies
| first = Ronald W.
| title = The Ethics of the Sages: An Interfaith Commentary on Pirkei Avot
| publisher = Jason Aronson
| year = 2000
| url = https://archive.org/details/ethicsofsagesint00rona
| url-access = registration
| isbn = 978-0-7657-6103-3
}}
* {{Cite book
| last = Schwartz
| first = Howard
|author-link=Howard Schwartz
| title = Tree of Souls: The Mythology of Judaism
| publisher = Oxford University Press
| year = 2006
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=5psRDAAAQBAJ
| isbn = 978-0-19-532713-7
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Stortz
| first = Martha Ellen
| chapter = Where or When Was Your Servant Innocent?
| editor1-last = Bunge
| editor1-first = Marcia J.
| title = The Child in Christian Thought
| publisher = Eerdmans
| year = 2001
| chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=QBrHz8gRRowC&pg=PA93
| isbn = 978-0-8028-4693-8
}}
* {{cite book
|last = Wheeler
|first = Brannon M.
|title = Prophets in the Quran: An Introduction to the Quran and Muslim Exegesis
|year = 2002
|publisher = A&C Black
|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=qIDZIep-GIQC
|isbn = 978-0-8264-4957-3
}}
*{{cite book
|first = Mari
|last = Womack
|title = Symbols and Meaning: A Concise Introduction
|year = 2005
|publisher = AltaMira Press
|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=MQi5x7_-eksC&pg=PA81
|isbn = 978-0-7591-0322-1
}}
*{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1Nq9lD5wnBMC&q=abraham+druze&pg=PA3|title=The a to Z of the Druzes|isbn=978-0-8108-6836-6|last1=Swayd|first1=Samy S.|year=2009}}


== External links ==
]
* {{Commons category-inline}}
]
* {{Wikiquote-inline}}
]

]
{{Adam and Eve|state=expanded}}
]
{{Adam to David}}
{{Prophets in the Quran}}
{{Hamartiology}}
{{Legendary progenitors}}
{{Genesis 1}}
{{Authority control}}


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Latest revision as of 22:31, 28 December 2024

First man according to the Abrahamic creation and religions such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam This article is about the biblical figure. For the given name, see Adam (given name). For other uses, see Adam (disambiguation). For further information, see Adam and Eve.

Adam
Detail from Michelangelo's The Creation of Adam, Sistine Chapel ceiling
EraEdenic and Antediluvian
SpouseEve
ChildrenCain, Abel and Seth
Adam
The Patriarch
BornDay 6, 1 AM
Garden of Eden
Diedc. 930 AM
Venerated inChristianity (Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox Churches)
Islam
Druze
Baháʼí Faith
Mandaeism
Major shrineChapel of Adam, Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem
Feast24 December (Catholic Church) Sunday of the Holy Forefathers (Eastern Orthodox Church)
PatronageGardeners and tailors

Adam is the name given in Genesis 1–5 to the first human. Adam is the first human-being aware of God, and features as such in various belief systems (including Judaism, Christianity, Gnosticism and Islam).

According to Christianity, Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This action introduced death and sin into the world. This sinful nature infected all his descendants, and led humanity to be expelled from the Garden. Only through the crucifixion of Jesus, humanity can be redeemed.

In Islam, Adam is considered Khalifa (خليفة) (successor) on earth. This is understood to mean either that he is God's deputy, the initiation of a new cycle of sentient life on earth, or both. Similar to the Biblical account, the Quran has Adam placed in a garden where he sins by taking from the Tree of Immortality, so loses his abode in the garden. When Adam repents from his sin, he is forgiven by God. This is seen as a guidance for human-life, who sin, become aware of their mistake, and repent.

In Gnostic belief-systems, the bodily creation of Adam is viewed in a negative light. Due to the underlying demonization of matter, Gnostic cosmologies depict the body as a form of prison of Adam's soul. This soul would have been transferred by Sophia (wisdom) onto the creator (Demiurge) of the material world, who in turn is tricked into blowing the soul into a body.

Composition of the Adam narrative

And Elohim Created Adam, William Blake

In Genesis, the name "Adam" is given to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, the Hebrew word adam is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as "mankind". Genesis 1 tells of God's creation of the world and its creatures, including the Hebrew word adam, meaning humankind. In Genesis 2 God forms "Adam", this time meaning a single male human, out of "the dust of the ground", places him in the Garden of Eden, and forms a woman, Eve, as his companion. In Genesis 3 Adam and Eve eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge and God condemns Adam to labour on the earth for his food and to return to it on his death. Genesis 4 deals with the birth of Adam's sons, and Genesis 5 lists his descendants from Seth to Noah.

In the entire Hebrew Bible, Adam appears only in chapters 1–5 of the Book of Genesis, with the exception of a mention at the beginning of the Books of Chronicles where, as in Genesis, he heads the list of Israel's ancestors. The majority view among scholars is that the final text of Genesis dates from the Persian period (the 5th century BCE), but the absence of all the other characters and incidents mentioned in chapters 1–11 of Genesis from the rest of the Hebrew Bible has led a sizeable minority to the conclusion that these chapters were composed much later than those that follow, possibly in the 3rd century BCE.

Usage

Mankind—human being—male individual

The Bible uses the word אָדָם‎ ( 'adam ) in all of its senses: collectively ("mankind", Genesis 1:27), individually (a "man", Genesis 2:7), gender nonspecific ("man and woman", Genesis 5:1–2), and male (Genesis 2:23–24). In Genesis 1:27 "adam" is used in the collective sense, and the interplay between the individual "Adam" and the collective "humankind" is a main literary component to the events that occur in the Garden of Eden, the ambiguous meanings embedded throughout the moral, sexual, and spiritual terms of the narrative reflecting the complexity of the human condition. Genesis 2:7 is the first verse where "Adam" takes on the sense of an individual man (the first man), and the context of sex is absent; the gender distinction of "adam" is then reiterated in Genesis 5:1–2 by defining "male and female".

Connection to the earth

A recurring literary motif is the bond between Adam and the earth (adamah): God creates Adam by molding him out of clay in the final stages of the creation narrative. After the loss of innocence, God curses Adam and the earth as punishment for his disobedience. Adam and humanity are cursed to die and return to the earth (or ground) from which he was formed. This "earthly" aspect is a component of Adam's identity, and Adam's curse of estrangement from the earth seems to describe humankind's divided nature of being earthly yet separated from nature.

In the Hebrew Bible

Main article: Genesis creation narrative
God Judging Adam, William Blake, 1795

Genesis 1 tells of God's creation of the world and its creatures, with humankind as the last of his creatures: "Male and female created He them, and blessed them, and called their name Adam ..." (Genesis 5:2). God blesses mankind, commands them to "be fruitful and multiply", and gives them "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" (Genesis 1.26–27).

In Genesis 2, God forms "Adam", this time meaning a single male human, out of "the dust of the ground" and "breathed into his nostrils the breath of life" (Genesis 2:7). God then places this first man in the Garden of Eden, telling him 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" (Genesis 2:16–17). God notes that "It is not good that the man should be alone" (Genesis 2:18) and brings the animals to Adam, who gives them their names, but among all the animals there was not found a companion for him (Genesis 2:20). God causes a deep sleep to fall upon Adam and forms a woman (Genesis 2:21–22), and Adam awakes and greets her as his helpmate.

Genesis 3, the account of the Fall: A serpent persuades the woman to disobey God's command and eat of the tree of knowledge, which gives wisdom. Woman convinces Adam to do likewise, whereupon they become conscious of their nakedness, cover themselves, and hide from the sight of God. God questions Adam, who blames the woman. God passes judgment, first upon the serpent, condemned to go on his belly, then the woman, condemned to pain in childbirth and subordination to her husband, and finally Adam, who is condemned to labour on the earth for his food and to return to it on his death. God then expels the man and woman from the garden, lest they eat of the Tree of Life and become immortal.

The chiastic structure of the death oracle given to Adam in Genesis 3:19 forms a link between man's creation from "dust" (Genesis 2:7) to the "return" of his beginnings.

A you return
B to the ground
C since ( ) from it you were taken
C' for ( ) dust you are
B' and to dust
A' you will return

Genesis 4 deals with the birth of Adam's sons Cain and Abel and the story of the first murder, followed by the birth of a third son, Seth. Genesis 5, the Book of the Generations of Adam, lists the descendants of Adam from Seth to Noah with their ages at the birth of their first sons (except Adam himself, for whom his age at the birth of Seth, his third son, is given) and their ages at death (Adam lives 930 years, up to the 56th year of Lamech, father of Noah). The chapter notes that Adam had other sons and daughters after Seth, but does not name them.

Post-Biblical Jewish traditions

Adam, Lucas Cranach the Elder
Main article: Adam in rabbinic literature

Body

Louis Ginzberg retells a midrash that God himself took dust from all four corners of the earth, and with each color (red for the blood, black for the bowels, white for the bones and veins, and green for the pale skin), created Adam. The soul of Adam is the image of God, and as God fills the world, so the soul fills the human body: "as God sees all things, and is seen by none, so the soul sees, but cannot be seen; as God guides the world, so the soul guides the body; as God in His holiness is pure, so is the soul; and as God dwells in secret, so doth the soul." According to Jewish literature, Adam possessed a body of light, identical to the light created by God on the first day, and the original glory of Adam can be regained through mystical contemplation of God.

Adam, Lilith and Eve

The rabbis, puzzled by fact that Genesis 1 states that God created man and woman together while Genesis 2 describes them being created separately, told that when God created Adam he also created a woman from the dust, as he had created Adam, and named her Lilith; but the two could not agree, for Adam wanted Lilith to lie under him, and Lilith insisted that Adam should lie under her, and so she fled from him, and Eve was created from Adam's rib. Her story was greatly developed, during the Middle Ages, in the tradition of Aggadic midrashim, the Zohar and Jewish mysticism. Other rabbis explained the same verse as meaning that Adam was created with two faces, male and female, or as a single hermaphrodite being, male and female joined back to back, but God saw that this made walking and conversing difficult, and so split them apart.

Eve's fault in the Fall

The serpent approached Eve rather than Adam because Adam had heard the word of God with his own ears, whereas Eve had only his report; Eve tasted the fruit and knew at once that she was doomed to death, and said to herself that it was better she trick Adam into eating so that he too would die, and not take another woman in her place. Adam ate the fruit unaware of what he was doing, and was filled with grief. When Adam blamed Eve after eating the forbidden fruit, God rebuked him that Adam as a man should not have obeyed his wife, for he is the head, not her.

Adam and the winter solstice

An Aggadic legend found in tractate Avodah Zarah 8a has observations regarding Roman midwinter holidays, and the talmudic hypothesis that Adam instituted the custom of fasting before the winter solstice and rejoicing afterwards – an observance that devolved into Saturnalia and the Calends.

Children of Adam and Eve

Adam withdrew from Eve for 130 years after their expulsion from Eden, and in this time both he and Eve had sex with demons, until at length they reunited and Eve gave birth to Seth. A 2nd-century BCE Jewish religious work, the Book of Jubilees, tells how Adam had a daughter, Awân, born after Cain and Abel, and another daughter, Azura, born after Seth, and they had nine other sons; Cain married Awân and Seth married Azûrâ, thus accounting for their descendants. The Life of Adam and Eve and its Greek version the Apocalypse of Moses recount how Adam repented his sin in exile and was rewarded by being transported to the heavenly paradise, foreshadowing the destiny of all the righteous at the end of time.

Adam's death and burial

The Archangel Michael attended Adam's death, together with Eve and his son Seth, still living at that time, and he was buried together with his murdered son Abel. Because they repented, God gave Adam and Eve garments of light, and similar garments will clothe the Messiah when he comes.

According to the Apocalypse of Moses, which probably originates in first-century CE Jewish literature, the altar of the Temple of Solomon was the centre of the world and the gateway to God's Garden of Eden, and it was here that Adam was both created and buried.

Attitude towards Adam

In the 17th-century book Kav ha-Yashar, the author warns not to talk negatively about Adam, and writes that those who talk positively about Adam will be blessed with a long life. A similar warning can be found in The Zohar.

Adam and the angel Raziel

The Sefer Raziel HaMalakh (רזיאל המלאך) (Raziel the Angel) is a collection of esoteric writings, probably compiled and edited by the same hand, but originally not the work of one author, which according to tradition was revealed to Adam by the angel Raziel. The book cannot be shown to predate the 13th century, but may in parts date back to Late Antiquity, and like other obscure ancient texts such as the Bahir and Sefer Yetzirah, it has been extant in a number of versions. Zunz ("G. V." 2d ed., p. 176) distinguishes three main parts: (1) the Book Ha-Malbush; (2) the Great Raziel; (3) the Book of Secrets, or the Book of Noah. These three parts are still distinguishable—2b–7a, 7b–33b, 34a and b. After these follow two shorter parts entitled "Creation" and "Shi'ur Ḳomah", and after 41a come formulas for amulets and incantations.

In Christianity

For the Christian doctrines, see Fall of man and Original sin.

Original sin

William Blake's pencil illustration of The Creation of Eve in response to the line "And She Shall Be Called Woman". The object was created c. 1803–1805 and currently is held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art

The idea of original sin is not found in Judaism nor in Islam, and was introduced into Christianity by the Apostle Paul, drawing on currents in Hellenistic Jewish thought which held that Adam's sin had introduced death and sin into the world. Sin, for Paul, was a power to which all humans are subject, but Christ's coming held out the means by which the righteous would be restored to the Paradise from which Adam's sin had banished mankind. He did not conceive of this original sin of Adam as being biologically transmitted or that later generations were to be punished for the deeds of a remote ancestor. It was Augustine who took this step, locating sin itself in male semen: when Adam and Eve ate of the fruit they were ashamed and covered their genitals, identifying the place from which the first sin was passed on to all succeeding generations. Only Jesus Christ, who was not conceived by human semen, was free of the stain passed down from Adam. (Augustine's idea was based on the ancient world's ideas on biology, according to which male sperm contained the entire unborn baby, the mother's womb being no more than a nurturing chamber in which it grew.)

Adam's grave: Golgotha replaces Solomon's Temple

As mentioned above, the Apocalypse of Moses, a Jewish writing containing material probably originating from the first century CE, places both Adam's place of creation and his burial at the altar of the Temple of Solomon, seen as the centre of the world and the gateway to the Garden of Eden. The early Christian community adapted this to their own legend of Golgotha, replacing the altar with the place of Jesus's crucifixion. According to this Christian legend, current in the time of Origen (early 3rd century CE), the holy blood of Christ trickled down and restored to life the father of the human race, who then led the saints who appeared to many in Jerusalem on that day as described in Scripture.

In Mandaeism

Further information: Adam kasia and Adam pagra

In Mandaeism, Adam is considered the founder of the religion and the first prophet. He heralds manda (knowledge) and the true path of enlightenment. He is viewed as the propagator of kushta or divine truth. According to the Mandaean calendar, 2021–2022 CE in the Gregorian calendar would correspond to the Mandaean year 445391 AA (AA = after the creation of Adam).

In Gnosticism

Further information: Adam Kadmon § Gnosticism See also: Apocalypse of Adam

In the ancient Gnostic text On the Origin of the World, Adam originally appears as a primordial being born from light poured out by the aeon known as forethought. Accordingly, his primordial form is called Adam of Light. But when he desired to reach the eighth heaven, he was unable to because of the corruption mixed with his light. Thus he creates his own realm, containing six universes and their worlds which are seven times better than the heavens of Chaos. All these realms exist within the region between the eighth heaven and the Chaos beneath it. But when the archons saw him, they realize the chief creator of the material world (Yaldabaoth) had lied to them by claiming he was the only god. However, they decide to create a physical version of Adam in the image of the spiritual Adam. But Sophia later sends her daughter Zoe (the spiritual Eve) to give the physical Adam life before leaving the physical Eve with Adam and entering the Tree of Knowledge. However, according to the Hypostasis of the Archons, a spirit descends on the physical Adam and gives him a living soul.

In Islam

Main article: Adam in Islam
Adam and Eve, Manafi al-Hayawan (The Useful Animals), Maragheh, Iran, 1294–99

In Islam, Allah created Adam (Arabic: آدم) from a handful of earth taken from the entire world, which explains why the peoples of the world are of different skin colors. According to the Islamic creation myth, he was the first prophet of Islam and the first Muslim. The Qur'an states that all the prophets preached the same faith of submission to God. When God informed the angels that he would create a vicegerent (Arabic: خليفة, romanizedkhalifa, lit.'caliph') on Earth, the angels enquired, asking, "will You place therein that which will spread corruption and bloodshed?" God responded, "I know what you know not" (Qur'an 2:30), and commanded the angels to prostrate to Adam.

Adam and Eve both ate from the Tree of Immortality (Arabic: شَجَرَةُ الْخُلْد, romanizedšajara al-ḫuld) despite Allah's warnings against it, and both shared guilt equally, for Eve neither tempted Adam or ate before him; nor is Eve to blame for the pain of childbirth, for God never punishes one person for the sins of another. The Shia school of Islam does not even consider that their action was a sin, for obedience and disobedience are possible only on Earth, and not in heaven where the paradise is located.

According to Qisas al-Anbiya, Adam fell on Adam's Peak located in central Sri Lanka, the tallest mountain in the world and so the closest to Heaven, and from there God sent him to Mecca, where he repented and was forgiven. At Mecca he built the first Sanctuary (the Kaabah – which was later rebuilt by Ibrahim) and was taught the ritual of the Hajj, and wove the first cloak for himself and the first veil and shift for Eve, and after this returned to India where he died at the age of 930, having seen the sons of the sons of his children, 1400 in all.

According to the Ahmadiyya sect, Adam was not the first human being on earth, but when the human race came into existence, and spread all over the world and developed the ability to receive revelation, God sent Adam to each and every branch of civilization. This opinion has also been alluded to and accepted by Islamic scholars of different sects. According to a revelation received by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of the community, the Adam mentioned in the Qur'an was born 4,598 years before Muhammad.

The Muslim thinker Nasir Khusraw offers another interpretation of Adam's significance to the Islamic religious tradition. He writes that Adam was the first enunciator of divine revelation (Arabic: ناطق, romanizednāṭiq, lit.'orator') and Seth was his legatee (Arabic: وصي, romanizedwasī, lit.'inheritor, guardian'). He argues that the descendants of Seth are Aimmah, culminating in the seventh Imam, Nuh/Noah who, in addition to holding the Imamate, would also hold the position of enunciator and prophet (Arabic: نبي, romanizednabi).

In the Islamic traditions (ahadith), Adam is given the name Adam-aI-Safi (Arabic: آدم ألصافي, lit.'Adam, The Chosen One') by Allah.

In Druze faith

The Druze regard Adam as the first spokesman (natiq), who helped to transmit the foundational teachings of monotheism (tawhid) intended for a larger audience. He is also considered an important prophet of God in Druze faith, being among the seven prophets who appeared in different periods of history.

In other religions and unorthodox practices

Some Taoists in the Tang dynasty, inspired by Emperor Taizong's syncretic beliefs and policies encouraging it, viewed the Christian version of Jesus as a redemptive manifestation of "the Way", and respected his ancestors, including Adam, as well.

Some Mongolian Christians and Muslims thought Adam was the same person as Gautama Buddha.

Historicity

Main article: Historicity of the Bible

While a traditional view was that the Book of Genesis was authored by Moses and has been considered historical and metaphorical, modern scholars consider the Genesis creation narrative as one of various ancient origin myths.

Analysis like the documentary hypothesis also suggests that the text is a result of the compilation of multiple previous traditions, explaining apparent contradictions. Other stories of the same canonical book, like the Genesis flood narrative, are also understood as having been influenced by older literature, with parallels in the older Epic of Gilgamesh.

Genetical analysis

In biology, the most recent common ancestors of humans, when traced back using the Y-chromosome for the male lineage and mitochondrial DNA for the female lineage, are commonly called the Y-chromosomal Adam and Mitochondrial Eve respectively as a reference to Adam and Eve. These do not fork from a single couple at the same epoch even if the names were borrowed from the Tanakh.

See also

Notes

  1. Extra-biblical accounts cite Lilith as having preceded Eve as Adam's spouse.
  2. Extra-biblical accounts cite Adam as having had three daughters: Awan, Azura, and Luluwa or Aclima.
  3. Hebrew: אָדָם‎, Modern: ʾAdam, Tiberian: ʾĀḏām; Aramaic: ܐܕܡ; Arabic: آدَم, romanizedʾĀdam; Greek: Ἀδάμ, romanizedAdám; Latin: Adam

References

Citations

  1. ^ Hitti, Philip K. (1928). The Origins of the Druze People and Religion: With Extracts from Their Sacred Writings. Library of Alexandria. p. 37. ISBN 978-1-4655-4662-3.
  2. ^ Dana, Nissim (2008). The Druze in the Middle East: Their Faith, Leadership, Identity and Status. Michigan University press. p. 17. ISBN 978-1-903900-36-9.
  3. The Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (24 December 2000). "Saint Adam and Saint Eve (First Age of the world)". Catholicism.org. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  4. ^ Hendel 2000, p. 18.
  5. Chipman, Leigh NB. "Mythic Aspects of the Process of Adam's Creation in Judaism and Islam." Studia Islamica (2001): 5-25.
  6. Mahmoud Ayoub The Qur'an and Its Interpreters, Volume 1 SUNY Press, 1984 ISBN 978-0-87395-727-4 p. 73
  7. Stieglecker, H. (1962). Die Glaubenslehren des Islam. Deutschland: F. Schöningh
  8. Chipman, Leigh NB. "Mythic Aspects of the Process of Adam's Creation in Judaism and Islam." Studia Islamica (2001): 5-25.
  9. Enns 2012, p. 84.
  10. Cosgrove 2004, p. 168.
  11. Gmirkin 2006, pp. 240–241.
  12. Hendel 2000, p. 18-19.
  13. ^ Hendel 2000, p. 119.
  14. Mathews 1996, p. 252
  15. Mathews 1996, p. 253
  16. Ginzberg 1909, vol I, chapter II.
  17. Ginzberg 1909, vol I, chapter II
    Citation: "God had fashioned his (Adam's) soul with particular care. She is the image of God,
  18. Schwartz 2006, p. 130.
  19. ^ Hendel 2000, p. 19.
  20. ^ Schwartz 2006, p. 218.
  21. Schwartz 2006, p. 138.
  22. ^ Schwartz 2006, p. 434-435.
  23. Ginzberg 1909, p. 36-37.
  24. Jubilees 4:1.
  25. Jubilees 4:9
  26. Jubilees 4:10
  27. Schwartz 2006, p. 445.
  28. Schwartz 2006, p. 437.
  29. ^ Ginzberg 1998, p. 125-126.
  30. Parshat Chukat
  31. Zohar Chadash Parshat Beresheit 24a or in older versions 19
  32. "Raziel, Book of". Jewish Encyclopedia (1906).
  33. Morris Eaves; Robert N. Essick; Joseph Viscomi (eds.). "The Creation of Eve: "And She Shall Be Called Woman", object 1 (Butlin 435) "The Creation of Eve: "And She Shall Be Called Woman""". William Blake Archive.
  34. Pies 2000, p. xviii.
  35. ^ Boring 2012, p. 301.
  36. Stortz 2001, p. 93.
  37. Stortz 2001, pp. 93–94.
  38. Stortz 2001, p. 94.
  39. Ginzberg 1998, p. 126.
  40. Hanauer 2011, pp. 69–70.
  41. Brikhah S. Nasoraia (2012). "Sacred Text and Esoteric Praxis in Sabian Mandaean Religion" (PDF).
  42. Gelbert, Carlos (2005). The Mandaeans and the Jews. Edensor Park, NSW: Living Water Books. ISBN 0-9580346-2-1. OCLC 68208613.
  43. Marvin Meyer; Willis Barnstone (June 30, 2009). "On the Origin of the World and The Reality of the Rulers (The Hypostasis of the Archons)". The Gnostic Bible. Shambhala. ISBN 978-1-59030-631-4. Retrieved 2021-10-17.
  44. Wheeler 2002, pp. 17–18.
  45. "Surah Al-Baqarah Ayat 30 (2:30 Quran) With Tafsir". My Islam. Retrieved 2024-08-07.
  46. Quran 35:18
  47. Wheeler 2002, p. 25,30.
  48. Wheeler 2002, p. 32,39,43.
  49. "Man Lived on Earth Even Before the Advent of Adam". Al Islam. 2000-02-16.
  50. Virani, Shafique (January 2005). "The Days of Creation in the Thought of Nasir Khusraw". Nasir Khusraw: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow.
  51. Ridgeon, Lloyd (2010). "Shaggy or Shaved? The Symbolism of Hair among Persian Qalandar Sufis". Iran and the Caucasus. 14 (2): 12. doi:10.1163/157338410X12743419190142. Adam was given the honorary name of "Adam-I-Safi" meaning: The Chosen One
  52. Anand, K.D.W. "The Christ of the Quran" (PDF). biblicalstudies.org.uk. p. 57. Adam was God's Chosen one "Adam-Safi"
  53. Swayd 2009, p. 3.
  54. Chua, Amy (2007). Day of Empire: How Hyperpowers Rise to Global Dominance–and Why They Fall (1st ed.). New York: Doubleday. p. 71. ISBN 978-0-385-51284-8. OCLC 123079516.
  55. Willard Gurdon Oxtoby, ed. (2002). World Religions: Eastern Traditions (2nd ed.). Don Mills, Ontario: Oxford University Press. p. 434. ISBN 0-19-541521-3. OCLC 46661540.
  56. Van Seters, John (1998). "The Pentateuch". In Steven L. McKenzie, Matt Patrick Graham (ed.). The Hebrew Bible Today: An Introduction to Critical Issues. Westminster John Knox Press. p. 5. ISBN 978-0-664-25652-4.
  57. Davies, G.I (1998). "Introduction to the Pentateuch". In John Barton (ed.). Oxford Bible Commentary. Oxford University Press. p. 37. ISBN 978-0-19-875500-5.
  58. Gooder, Paula (2000). The Pentateuch: A Story of Beginnings. T&T Clark. pp. 12–14. ISBN 978-0-567-08418-7.
  59. Van Seters, John (2004). The Pentateuch: A Social-science Commentary. Continuum International Publishing Group. pp. 30–86. ISBN 978-0-567-08088-2.
  60. Finkel, Irving (2014). The Ark Before Noah. UK: Hachette. p. 88. ISBN 978-1-4447-5707-1.
  61. Takahata, N (January 1993). "Allelic genealogy and human evolution". Mol. Biol. Evol. 10 (1): 2–22. doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.molbev.a039995. PMID 8450756.

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