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Adam

Adam[c] is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human.[4] Adam is the first human-being aware of God, and features as such in various belief systems (including Judaism, Gnosticism, Christianity, and Islam).[5]

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

Edenic and Antediluvian

Eve[a]

Cain, Abel and Seth[b]

Day 6, 1 AM
Garden of Eden

c. 930 AM

Christianity (Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox Churches)
Islam
Druze[1][2]
Baháʼí Faith
Mandaeism

24 December[3] (Catholic Church) Sunday of the Holy Forefathers (Eastern Orthodox Church)

Gardeners and tailors

According to Christianity, Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden by eating from the Tree of Knowledge. 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.[6] Similar to the account in the Bible, according to the Quran, Adam is placed in a Garden. Tempted by the Tree of Immortality, he sins and 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.[7]


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. From this body, Adam rises up and becomes a sentient being. However, to escape from the world of matter, he needs to attain Gnosis.[8]

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).[4] 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.[12] 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".[4]

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.[13] 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.[13]

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.[52] He is also considered an important prophet of God in Druze faith, being among the seven prophets who appeared in different periods of history.[1][2]

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",[53] and respected his ancestors, including Adam, as well.


Some Mongolian Christians and Muslims thought Adam was the same person as Gautama Buddha.[54]

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.[60]

Cave of Machpelah

Adam–God doctrine

Adam Kadmon

Adam kasia

Adam pagria

Adapa

Banu (Arabic)

Eve

List of Old Testament pseudepigrapha

Life of Adam and Eve

Mahabad (prophet)

Manu

Shiva

Paradise Lost

Table of prophets of Abrahamic religions

Y-chromosomal Adam

Boring, Eugene (2012). . Westminster John Knox. ISBN 978-0-664-25592-3.

An Introduction to the New Testament: History, Literature, Theology

Cosgrove, Charles H. (2004). . Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-0-567-06896-5.

The Meanings We Choose: Hermeneutical Ethics, Indeterminacy and the Conflict of Interpretations

Enns, Peter (2012). . Baker Books. ISBN 978-1-58743-315-3.

The Evolution of Adam: What the Bible Does and Doesn't Say about Human Origins

Ginzberg, Louis (1998). . JHU Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-5894-9.

The Legends of the Jews: From the Creation to Exodus: Notes for Volumes 1 and 2

Ginzberg, Louis (1909). (PDF). Translated by Henrietta Szold. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society.

The Legends of the Jews

Gmirkin, Russell E. (2006). . Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-0-567-13439-4.

Berossus and Genesis, Manetho and Exodus

Hanauer, J.E. (2011). . The Other Press. ISBN 978-967-5062-56-8.

Folklore of the Holy Land

Hendel, Ronald S (2000). "Adam". In David Noel Freedman (ed.). . Eerdmans. ISBN 978-90-5356-503-2.

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible

Mathews, K. A. (1996). . B&H Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-8054-0101-1.

Genesis 1–11:26

Pies, Ronald W. (2000). . Jason Aronson. ISBN 978-0-7657-6103-3.

The Ethics of the Sages: An Interfaith Commentary on Pirkei Avot

(2006). Tree of Souls: The Mythology of Judaism. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-532713-7.

Schwartz, Howard

Stortz, Martha Ellen (2001). . In Bunge, Marcia J. (ed.). The Child in Christian Thought. Eerdmans. ISBN 978-0-8028-4693-8.

"Where or When Was Your Servant Innocent?"

Wheeler, Brannon M. (2002). . A&C Black. ISBN 978-0-8264-4957-3.

Prophets in the Quran: An Introduction to the Quran and Muslim Exegesis

Womack, Mari (2005). . AltaMira Press. ISBN 978-0-7591-0322-1.

Symbols and Meaning: A Concise Introduction

Swayd, Samy S. (2009). . ISBN 978-0-8108-6836-6.

The a to Z of the Druzes

Media related to Adam (Biblical figure) at Wikimedia Commons

Quotations related to Adam at Wikiquote