|
|
|
|
Adam
|
| |
|
| |
Adam was, according to the Book of Genesis, the first man created by God and noted in subsequent Jewish, Christian and Islamic commentary. His partner was Eve.
a class="link1" onMouseover='showByLink("m5922223",this)' onMouseout='hide("m5922223")'href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Adam_%28name%29">Adam in Biblical (as well as modern) Hebrew is sometimes used as the personal name of an individual and at other times in a generic sense meaning "mankind".
Discussion
Ask a question about 'Adam' Start a new discussion about 'Adam' Answer questions from other users |
Encyclopedia
Adam was, according to the Book of Genesis, the first man created by God and noted in subsequent Jewish, Christian and Islamic commentary. His partner was Eve.
Etymology
Adam in Biblical (as well as modern) Hebrew is sometimes used as the personal name of an individual and at other times in a generic sense meaning "mankind". In Gen. i. its use is wholly generic. In Gen. ii. and iii. the writer weaves together the generic and the personal senses of the word. In all that pertains to the first man as the passive subject of creative and providential action the reference is exclusively generic. Indeed, it is doubtful whether "Adam" as a proper name is used at all before Gen. iv. 25 and v. 3 . Here the same usage is manifest: for in the two opening verses of chap. v. the word is used generically. 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.
The usage of the word as personal name appears to predate the generic usage. Its root is not the standard Semitic root for "man" which is instead -(n)-sh but is attested as a personal name in the Assyrian King List in the form Adamu showing that it was a genuine name from the early history of the Near East . The generic usage in Genesis meaning "mankind" reflects the view that Adam was the ancestor of all men. Etymologically it is the masculine form of the word adamah meaning ground or earth and related to the words adom (red), admoni (ruddy) and dam (blood) Gen. ii. 7 explains that the man was called Adam because he was formed from the ground (adamah). Compare Gen. iii. 19.
Jewish perspective on Adam
Reconciling biblical accounts with modern science
According to the Jewish calendar, man was created in year 1, with the year 2008 AD corresponding to year 5,768/9 on the Jewish calendar (because the new year does not begin simultaneously, there is an overlap of two Jewish years for every single Gregorian year).
If Homo sapiens has been in existence for over 100,000 years according to modern science, some form of reconciliation, it is believed by some Jewish scholars, is appropriate.
One approach of reconciliation is that God implanted a soul into a hominid approximately 6,000 years ago. Although humans in the biological sense of the term have existed for over 100,000 years, humans according to the Jewish definition only began when one, Adam, received a soul. In fact, the Talmud records that there were 974 generations before the appearance by man as described by Genesis.
This explanation, however, serves to create a somewhat greater inconsistency. If only one individual was given a soul a mere 6,000 years ago, it would indicate that many of the people in the world today are not human according to the Torah definition, because it couldn't be that all of the people in the world today are descended from a single ancestor who lived less than 6,000 years ago. (The biblical flood in Noah's day may have killed all but the descendents of Adam, as Noah was). To settle this inconsistency, Rabbi Gedalyah Nadel proposes that references to "Adam" in Genesis do not always refer to the same person. Sometimes, a reference "Adam" is really to all of mankind. Maimonidies similarly understood the Six Days of Creation as describing "a conceptual hierarchy of the world, rather than a historical account of creation."
An example of this is in Genesis 5:1-2:
Although the Midrash states that this last reference to adam refers to the first person who was created in an androgynous form, the plain meaning of the verses indicates that this in indeed a reference to mankind, rather than the personal name of an individual.
In a similar vein, Gersonides makes it clear that he does not believe there was any physical entity known as the "Tree of Knowledge" or a scheming snake. Likewise, he believes that none of the conversations purported to have occurred in the Garden of Eden actually took place between actual, living beings.
Islamic view
In Islam, Adam is considered the first Prophet of God and the husband of Eve (Arabic: Hawwa) who was also created by the "will of God". Satan 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. An important point to note here is that the Qur'an states or implies that it was not Eve who tempted Adam to disobey God. They were both tempted by Satan and therefore equally guilty:
"Then began Satan to whisper suggestions to them, bringing openly before their minds all their shame that was hidden from them (before): he said: "Your Lord only forbade you this tree, lest ye should become angels or such beings as live for ever. And he swore to them both, that he was their sincere adviser. So by deceit he brought about their fall: when they tasted of the tree, their shame became manifest to them, and they began to sew together the leaves of the garden over their bodies. And their Lord called unto them: "Did I not forbid you that tree, and tell you that Satan was an avowed enemy unto you?"
The Qur'an also mentions that Adam was misled by deception and was in fact pardoned by God after much repentance.
"Then Adam received (some) words from his Lord, so He turned to him mercifully; surely He is Oft-returning (to mercy), the Merciful."
Islam indicates that because Adam was the first human, as a prophet he was also the first Muslim ("one who submitted to God"), thus teaching that the "word of God" is the oldest such religion that Islam has represented.
Bahá'í view
In the Bahá'í view, Adam was the first Manifestation of God in recorded history. He is believed by Bahá'ís to have started the Adamic cycle 6000 years ago, which has culminated with Bahá'u'lláh. The Biblical story of Adam and Eve, according to Bahá'í belief, is allegorical and is explained by `Abdu'l-Bahá in Some Answered Questions; in the Bahá'í view, in the biblical story Eve represents Adam's soul and the serpent represents attachment to the material world, and that ever since his fall, the human race has been conscious of good and evil.
Latter Day Saint (LDS) view
Latter Day Saint religion holds that Adam and Michael the archangel are the same individual. Michael the archangel fought against and cast out Satan, "that old serpent", at the conclusion of the war in heaven during pre-mortal existence (see Book of Revelation ). "Michael" was born into this mortal existence as the man "Adam, the father of all, the prince of all, the ancient of days" (see Doctrine and Covenants and ). Mormons also consider Adam to be the first among all the prophets on earth.
Druze religion
In the Druze religion, Adam and Eve are seen as dualistic cosmic forces and are complementary to one another. Adam represents the universal mind and Eve, the universal soul.
In popular culture
In addition to being a common name, Adam is often used as a name with reference to the genesis story. Examples of this in popular culture include:
- Adam (Black Cat), a sentient computer program within the 'Eden' machine which controls the remaking of the earth, in the manga Black Cat.
See also
|
| |
|
|
