|
|
 Helping San Diego, California and beyond since 1997.
|
|
Click here and add this page to your favorites!
|
|
Helping San Diego, California and beyond since 1997.
|
|
Click here and add this page to your favorites!
General Information
According to the Bible, Adam was the first man. His name, which means "man" in Hebrew, is probably derived from the Hebrew word for "earth." The first three chapters of Genesis relate that God created Adam from dust, breathed life into him, and placed him in the Garden of Eden, where he lived with his wife, Eve, until they ate the forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The biblical account is similar to Egyptian and Mesopotamian accounts, in which the first man was made from clay, infused with life by a divine being, and placed in a paradise of delight.
Adam, red, a Babylonian word, the generic name for man, having the same meaning in the Hebrew and the Assyrian languages. It was the name given to the first man, whose creation, fall, and subsequent history and that of his descendants are detailed in the first book of Moses (Gen. 1:27-ch. 5). "God created man [Heb., Adam] in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them." Adam was absolutely the first man whom God created. He was formed out of the dust of the earth (and hence his name), and God breathed into this nostrils the breath of life, and gave him dominion over all the lower creatures (Gen. 1:26; 2:7).
He was placed after his creation in the Garden of Eden, to cultivate it, and to enjoy its fruits under this one prohibition: "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." The first recorded act of Adam was his giving names to the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, which God brought to him for this end. Thereafter the Lord caused a deep sleep to fall upon him, and while in an unconscious state took one of his ribs, and closed up his flesh again; and of this rib he made a woman, whom he presented to him when he awoke. Adam received her as his wife, and said, "This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man." He called her Eve, because she was the mother of all living.
Being induced by the tempter in the form of a serpent to eat the forbidden fruit, Eve persuaded Adam, and he also did eat. Thus man fell, and brought upon himself and his posterity all the sad consequences of his transgression. The narrative of the Fall comprehends in it the great promise of a Deliverer (Gen. 3:15), the "first gospel" message to man. They were expelled from Eden, and at the east of the garden God placed a flame, which turned every way, to prevent access to the tree of life (Gen. 3). How long they were in Paradise is matter of mere conjecture.
Shortly after their expulsion Eve brought forth her first-born, and called him Cain. Although we have the names of only three of Adam's sons, viz., Cain, Abel, and Seth yet it is obvious that he had several sons and daughters (Gen. 5:4). He died aged 930 years. Adams and Eve were the progenitors of the whole human race. Evidences of varied kinds are abundant in proving the unity of the human race. The investigations of science, altogether independent of historical evidence, lead to the conclusion that God "hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth" (Acts 17:26. Comp. Rom. 5:12-12; 1 Cor. 15:22-49).
(Easton Illustrated Dictionary)
Advanced Information - II
The Hebrew word transliterated "Adam" is found about 560 times in the OT. In the overwhelming majority of cases it means "man" or "mankind." This is true of some of the references at the beginning of Genesis (in the creation and Eden stories), and many scholars hold that up to Gen. 4:25 all occurrences of "Adam" should be understood to refer to "man" or "the man." But there is no doubt that the writer on occasion used the word as the proper name of the first man, and it is with this use that we are concerned. It is found outside Genesis in 1 Chr. 1:1 and possibly in other passages such as Deut. 32:8 (where "the sons of men" may be understood as "the sons of Adam"), and in some important NT passages.
The meaning of these passages is disputed. Some OT scholars regard them as primitive myth, giving early man the answers to such questions as "Why do snakes lack legs?" or "Why do men die?" Others see them as mythological, but as expressing truths of permanent validity concerned with man's origin and constitution or, as others hold, with "a fall upward." This latter view sees man as originally no more than one of the animals. At this stage he could no more sin than any other animal could. It was accordingly a significant step forward when man became aware of something he was doing as wrong. But it is highly doubtful whether the writer had in mind any such ideas. Clearly he thought of Adam and Eve as the first parents of the human race, and he is telling us of God's purpose that those into whom he had breathed "the breath of life" should live in fellowship with him. But Adam and Eve fell from their original blissful state as a result of their first sin. And that sin has continuing consequences for the whole human race. In later times the magnitude of the fall has sometimes been emphasized by affirming that Adam was originally endowed with wonderful supernatural gifts, lost when he sinned (in Sir. 49:16 Adam is honored "above every living being in the creation"; cf. the medieval stress on Adam's supernatural graces). But this is speculation.
The creation narratives tell us at least that man is related to the rest of creation (he is made "of dust from the ground," Gen. 2:7; for the beast and the birds cf. vs. 19), and that he is related also to God (he is "in the image of God," Gen. 1:27; cf. 2:7). He has "dominion" over the lower creation (Gen. 1:26, 28), and this is symbolized by his naming of the other creatures. The fall passage speaks of the seriousness of his sin and of its permanent effects. This is not a topic to which there is frequent reference in the OT, but it underlies everythin. It is a fundamental presupposition that man is a sinner, and this marks off the literature of the Hebrews from other literatures of antiquity. The solidarity of Adam with his descendants is in the background throughout the OT writings, as is the thought that there is a connection between sin and death. Whatever problems this poses for modern expositors, there can be no doubt about the fact that the OT takes a serious view of sins or that sin is seen as part of man's nature.
In the NT Adam is mentioned in Luke's genealogy (Luke 3:38) and in a similar reference in Jude, where Enoch is "the seventh from Adam" (Jude 14). Little need be said about these passages. They simply mention the name of Adam to locate him in his genealogical place. There is perhaps an implied reference to Adam but without mention of his name (Matt. 19:4-6; Mark 10:6-8). Then there are three important passages with theological import (1 Tim. 2:13-14; Rom. 5:12-21; 1 Cor. 15:22, 45).
In 1 Tim. 2:13-14 the subordinate place of woman is argued from two facts: (1) Adam was created first, and (2) Eve was deceived though Adam was not. This passage presumes that the Genesis stories tell us something of permanent significance about all men and women.
Romans 5 stresses the connection of mankind at large with Adam. It was through that one man that sin came into the world, and the consequence of his sin was death. This happened long before the law was given, so death cannot be put down to law-breaking. And even though people did not sin in the same way as Adam, they were caught in the consequences of sin: "death reigned from Adam to Moses" (Rom. 5:12-14). This brings Paul to the thought that Adam was a "type" of Christ, and he goes on to a sustained comparison of what Adam did with what Christ did. There are resemblances, mainly in that both acted representatively so that what each did has incalculable consequences for those he heads. But the differences are more significant. Adam's sin brought death and condemnation to all; it made people sinners. When law came in, that only increased the trespass. It showed up sin for what it was. The end result is disaster. By contrast Christ brought life and acquittal; such words as "free gift," "grace," and "justification" emphasize the significance of Christ's death. The end result is blessing. Paul concludes by contrasting the reign of sin in death with the reign of grace "through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
In Paul's magnificent treatment of the resurection we read: "As in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive" (1 Cor. 15:22). The thought is not unlike that in Rom. 5. Adam was the head of the race and brought death to everyone in it; Christ is the head of the new humanity and brought life to all within it. Some have argued that the two uses of "all" must refer to the same totality, the entire human race. There is no question but that this is the meaning in respect to Adam. The argument runs that similarly Christ raises all from the grave, though some are raised only for condemnation. However, "made alive" seems to mean more than "raised to face judgment." It is probably best to understand "made alive" to refer to life eternal, so that "all" will mean "all who are in Christ." All these will be made alive, just as all who are in Adam die.
A little later Paul writes, "the first man Adam became a living being'; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit" (I Cor. 15:45). Adam became "a living being" when God breathed life into him (Gen. 2:7). Physical life was all the life Adam had and all he could bequeath to his posterity. But "the last Adam" gave life in the fullest sense, eternal life. Again there is the thought that Christ cancels out the evil Adam did. But the emphasis is not negative. It is on the life Christ gives.
The scriptural use of Adam, then, stresses the solidarity of the human race, a solidarity in sin. It reminds us that the human race had a beginning and that all its history from the very first is marked by sin. But "the last Adam" has altered all that. He has replaced sin with righteousness and death with life.
L Morris
(Elwell Evangelical Dictionary)
Bibliography
C. K. Barrett, From First Adam to Last; K. Barth, Christ
and Adam; B.S. Childs, IDB, I, 42-44; W. D. Davies, Paul and Rabbinic
Judaism; J. Jeremias, TDNT, I, 141-43; A. Richardson, An Introduction
to the Theology of the NT; H. Seebass, NIDNTT, 1, 84-88; A. J. M.
Weddeburn, IBD, I, 14-16.
Ad'am, a type.
The apostle Paul speaks of Adam as "the figure of him who was to come." On this account our Lord is sometimes called the second Adam. This typical relation is described in Rom. 5:14-19.
(Easton Illustrated Dictionary)
adam
|
Sponsored Advertisements