Adam

Adam is the first human being in the biblical account — the head of the human race and the figure through whom Scripture explains the origin of humanity, work, marriage, sin, and death. His name (Hebrew adam) is bound up with the ground (adamah) from which he was taken, and it doubles as the Hebrew word for "humankind." To tell Adam's story is to tell the story of every person.

Creation in the image of God

On the sixth day of creation God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness" (Genesis 1:26). Unlike the animals, Adam was formed deliberately and personally: "the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul" (Genesis 2:7). To bear God's image is to be made for relationship with God and given dominion over creation (Genesis 1:28).

Life in Eden

God placed Adam in the garden of Eden "to dress it and to keep it" (Genesis 2:15) — meaningful work that preceded the fall. Adam named the animals (Genesis 2:19–20), exercising the dominion God had granted. Seeing that "it is not good that the man should be alone" (Genesis 2:18), God formed Eve from Adam's side, and Adam received her with joy: "This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh" (Genesis 2:23). Here Scripture grounds marriage itself (Genesis 2:24).

The Fall

God gave one prohibition: not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:17). Tempted by the serpent, Eve ate and gave to Adam, "and he did eat" (Genesis 3:6). Their eyes were opened to shame; they hid from God. When confronted, Adam blamed Eve and, implicitly, God (Genesis 3:12). The consequences were sweeping: pain, toil, broken relationships, and expulsion from the garden (Genesis 3:16–24). Yet even here God gave a promise — the seed of the woman who would crush the serpent's head (Genesis 3:15), the first announcement of the gospel.

Life outside the garden

East of Eden, Adam and Eve raised a family. Cain and Abel were born, and after Abel's murder and Cain's exile, Seth was given as a replacement (Genesis 4:25). Adam lived 930 years and "he died" (Genesis 5:5) — the refrain of Genesis 5 that proves the warning of Genesis 2:17 was no idle threat.

Adam and Christ

The New Testament makes Adam a pivotal theological figure. Paul calls him "the figure of him that was to come" (Romans 5:14) and contrasts the two: "as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive" (1 Corinthians 15:22). Where Adam's disobedience brought condemnation, Christ — the "last Adam" (1 Corinthians 15:45) — brings righteousness and life to all who believe (Romans 5:17–19). Adam's failure sets the stage for the whole story of redemption.