The Origins of Man

Then God said, Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.—Genesis 1:26; 2:7, New American Standard

Leonard Griehs

The first thousand years of man’s existence passes by in the first five chapters of Genesis. It is a ten-generation listing of firstborn sons: Adam (son of God), Seth, Enosh, Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared, Enoch, Methusaleh, Lamech and Noah. Little is recorded about most of these sons, other than their father’s age when they were born, their age when their own son was born, and their age at death. Most notable in the list is Seth listed as the firstborn son of Adam.

According to this chart, only Adam lived and died within this first thousand-year period. While much legend and speculation exist surrounding the events and people mentioned, only a few significant events are actually recorded: the creation of Adam; the "building" of woman; the fall into sin; the murder of Abel by his brother Cain; the mysterious entry of the sons of God (recorded later in chapter 6). Although few in number, each of these events would significantly alter the remaining 6000 years of man’s existence on this planet.

The Creation of Adam

It was near the end of the sixth creative day that God made man in his own image. Adam was made a human being thoroughly in harmony with God, without unrighteousness and without sin. When considering this first man in the image of God, one cannot but compare immediately "the man Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 2:5), "holy, harmless, undefiled and separate from sinners" (Hebrews 7:26), who was like the first Adam whose penalty he came into the world to pay (1 Corinthians 15:22). Adam’s creation in God’s image gave him dominion over the lower animals just as God has dominion over the entire universe. Man’s dominion, now overthrown by sin, is to be restored by this second Adam’s kingdom (Acts 3:19-21).

Genesis gives two accounts of the creation of Adam. In chapter one a general description is given to show that the creation of man and woman was the crowning feature of creation, indicated by the generic term "man." In chapter two the particulars of the creation in the Garden of Eden are given to connect man with the earth on which he was created. It is chapter two that supplies important details.

The phrase "in our image, according to our likeness" in Genesis 1:26 is an important link between Creator and created. As part of his dominion, man was given mental powers and moral qualities considerably above the creatures of earth. The mental faculties made it possible for man to increase in knowledge and achievements far beyond that of any other earthly creature. However, man is confined to the earth. Paul states that "there are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another" (1 Corinthians 15:40). Man was made with mental and moral qualities similar to his Creator but given a body that could only exist on earth.

The detailed account of Adam’s creation in Genesis 2:7 supplies verification for this idea. "And 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." God made something entirely new from the earth which he had created. The Hebrew word for "dust" is aphar, which generally means "mud" and in usage refers to extracting from the ground the fine parts of the soil as a potter would do to make clay. In fact the word "formed" here is the Hebrew yatsar, which is from Strong’s 3335, meaning to squeeze into shape, to mould into a form, as a potter.

One step yet remained. The breath of life from the Father brought activity to the lump of clay that he had fashioned out of the elements of the earth that he had made. Luke 3:38 calls Adam the son of God, yet we are told that Jesus was "the only begotten son" (John 3:16). While other men receive their life in the natural process of human procreation, Adam received a perfect life directly from God. This was the critical factor in the payment of justice when God’s only-begotten son, Jesus, would redeem Adam and the unborn race in his loins. Man’s history on earth began.

The Building of Eve

"And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him" (Genesis 2:18). We cannot be sure exactly how long Adam was alone in Eden. It is certain however, that none of the creation over which Adam had dominion was sufficient for his companionship. The creation of Eve from Adam, rather than as an entirely separate creation from him, was an important indication of God’s purpose. He divided the first perfect human nature into two parts—into a male and female creature. "So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh at that place. And the Lord God fashioned [literally: "built"] into a woman the rib which he had taken from man, and brought her to the man" (Genesis 2:21,22).

The term "help meet" is often misused to suggest that God had intended only to create a wife for Adam. Although Eve became Adam’s wife, that is not the intent of the original. The word "meet" is the Hebrew neged literally meaning "a part opposite, a counterpart." Rotherham captures this idea in his translation of verse 20:"But for man had there not been found a helper as his counterpart." Of all the living creatures that had been made by God and named by Adam, there was none that Adam could communicate with at his level. Only when God created Eve did the man find someone who could share his thoughts, his ideas and his life.

While Adam was shaped out of the elements of the earth, Eve was constructed from something that came from inside the man. That appears to be the meaning of Adam’s statement that she was "bone of my bones" and "flesh of my flesh" (Genesis 2:23). The word bone is the Hebrew etsem and when used as a pronoun means "selfsame." Adam identified the woman as someone who had been taken from "a side of him" and had been built into another human.

The Jewish Tanakh renders Genesis 2:23, "Then the man said, This one at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. This one shall be called Woman, for from man was she taken." The term "at last" signifies that Adam realized that he now had a companion equal to himself with whom he could share his life and he gave her a name to reflect that idea. The term "woman" is the Hebrew ishshah, meaning the feminine counterpart of "man." Male and female characteristics were separated to generate human life on this planet. This was intended from the beginning as noted by the description of creation in Genesis 1:27, "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."

The Fall Into Sin

"And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, 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).

"And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat" (Genesis 3:4-6).

The temptation and fall of Eve have not only been the subject of many paintings, but also fodder for speculation into the exact nature of her sin. The traditional concept of the first woman munching on an apple is almost certainly not the correct one. What is certain is that disobedience led to a disruption of the channel of life that God had provided in Eden.

God said unto them, "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and overt he fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth." God’s commission to man had been simple: be fruitful and multiply until you fill the earth; exercise dominion over the creation to keep it peaceful and in proper balance (Genesis 1:28). The plan to populate the earth in a systematic, proper method would have led to an expanded knowledge as man learned more about how God wanted him to subdue the earth.

The heavenly visitor described as the serpent proposed to Eve a different way: "When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat" (Genesis 3:6).

Throughout history trees and worship have been closely connected. The early history of Israel contains frequent admonitions against Israel going to the "groves" where Baal was being worshiped. Perhaps this stems from an association with the tree of life mentioned in Genesis with the relationship between God and man which it so greatly impacted. While Adam and Eve took the recognized path to God, they would continue to live in peace and harmony, free from the effects of death and sin.

The subsequent disobedience came from too close an association with the forbidden fruit. John speaks of the nature of this sin in 1 John 2:16, "For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but of the world." Eve was deceived into thinking that the course of action they were taking was an excusable path to gain knowledge. Her temptation came at the suggestion of the then-splendid being known as Lucifer. Her subsequent discussion with Adam about it ultimately resulted in Adam following the same course although he thoroughly understood the consequence of that action (1 Timothy 2:14).

"And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked" (Genesis. 3:7). Prior to their disobedience, Adam and Eve could meet with God and stand before him in righteousness—they had nothing to be ashamed of as they obeyed him and received his instruction. Now they felt differently—not repentance or shame, but fear. "And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day; and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the Garden" (Genesis 3:8, Leeser). Whereas they had always met and communicated with God openly in the appointed area of the garden, now they sought to escape his presence.

The punishment for their disobedience was clear. They must be removed from the presence of God and made to struggle on their own in this new world. Eventually they would give up life itself. "And unto Adam he said, 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; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; andthou shalt eat the herb of the field; in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return" (Genesis 3:17-19). Death was no longer a remote possibility but a certain reality. Expulsed from the garden, they began the long struggle which would end in Adam’s death at the age of 930 before the end of one "day" of his life. "But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day" (2 Peter 3:8).

The Murder of Abel

"And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD. And she again bare hisbrother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering. But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell." (Genesis 4:1-5) "[And the Lord said] if thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door; and unto thee is its desire, but thou canst rule over it" (Genesis 4:7, Leeser).

Although Cain was the firstborn son, the genealogy from Adam to Noah is carried on through Seth. Cain’s act of hatred and subsequent expulsion from the presence of the family evidently resulted in the omission of his posterity from the line to bring the promised redemption (Luke 3:38). He was replaced by Seth who was born shortly after Abel’s death.

Cain’s jealousy brought him to the position of hatred and envy rather than the love of his brother that should have ruled his heart. The reason for his own sacrifice being rejected by God was less important to him than the fact that his brother’s sacrifice was accepted. God’s principle of personal responsibility in obedience and disobedience had not changed with the fall of Adam. Cain should have resisted the hatred and malice boiling up inside him. God reprimanded him not because he had brought an inferior sacrifice, but because his attitude was leading him on a downward course. This same principle was exemplified in the downfall of the rich young ruler of Luke 18 who came to Jesus seeking eternal life. Jesus saw that although he claimed to have done his duty in sacrifice, he was not willing to examine his selfish motives and alter his heart attitude about what he possessed. Unless he could recognize his improper course and deal with it, he would not be able to overcome the secret sin that was in his heart.

"And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him" (Genesis. 4:8). Rotherham’s rendering indicates a premeditated thought on Cain’s part: "Let us go into the field." Cain did not heed the Lord’s word, but led Abel into the field with the intent to kill him. Rather than heed the words of God to repent and make proper sacrifice, he chose to let the sin overcome him. The Lord’s punishment was severe. Cain was exiled to become a fugitive and a vagabond, having no home. In the days when the earth was still in its infancy, that was a severe penalty indeed. Cain’s reaction showed his fear. "Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me" (Genesis 4:14). Cain knew that his penalty meant he would no longer be under the protection of his family, but now confined to the area outside of the immediate population. He must give up what he had—the support of the community of post-Edenic life. He must fend for himself in a new land east of Eden. He would be cut off from family and from the line of the one who would eventually eradicate the sin. Seth would be in the line to produce the promised seed (Luke 3:38).

The Fallen Angels

"And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose" (Genesis. 6:1,2).

The Hebrew term here for "sons of God" is beni Elohim, and is used in Job 38:7 and again in Daniel 3:25. It means angels. It is evident that sometime during the first thousand years, man was corrupted by heavenly beings that misused their power to take advantage of those they were assigned to protect. This must have happened relatively quickly following the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the garden. The "men" that began to multiply is the Hebrew adam plus ha, which can only properly be understood to mean Adam and Eve.

The heavenly messengers that God allowed to teach mankind and perhaps prevent the further decline that came with life outside the garden chose not to just deliver a message, but to actively involve themselves in a life they had never seen before. Instead of aiding sinful man these angels misused their powers to engage in sin themselves. They produced a hybrid race that was not of Adamic stock. Man’s fate was now set. God would wipe everyone off the face of the earth. Only Noah, born 1,056 years after Adam was created, would escape to begin the next thousand years.