Adam was the first human being,
created by God
from the dust of the ground.
His name means “man”
or is related to the Hebrew word for “ground” (adamah).
Formed in the image of God
and placed in the garden of Eden,
he was given dominion over the earth
and a command to obey.
Through his disobedience
sin and death entered the world,
yet he also stands at the beginning of the line
that would lead to the promised Redeemer.
Adam occupies a unique place in Scripture as the head of the human race and the first covenant representative. Created good and upright, he was placed in a relationship of responsibility with God. His failure in the garden brought the curse of sin and death upon all who would descend from him. At the same time, the promise of a future offspring who would crush the serpent was given in his hearing. The New Testament presents Adam as a type of Christ — the first man through whom came condemnation, and the last Adam through whom comes justification and life.
- Adam was created directly by God, formed from the dust and given the breath of life.
- He was made in the image and likeness of God, distinguishing humanity from all other creatures.
- God gave him work to do (cultivating and keeping the garden) and a clear command not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
- His wife Eve was formed from his side, establishing the pattern for marriage.
- When tested, Adam listened to his wife rather than to God and ate the forbidden fruit.
- As a result of his sin, death entered the world, the ground was cursed, and he and Eve were expelled from the garden.
- Scripture contrasts the first Adam, who brought death, with Jesus Christ, the last Adam, who brings life.
- Creation (Genesis 1–2) – Formed by God from the dust; given life by the breath of God; placed in the garden of Eden.
- Naming of the Animals & Marriage (Genesis 2) – Names the living creatures; receives Eve as his wife.
- The Fall (Genesis 3) – With Eve, disobeys God’s command by eating the forbidden fruit; hides from God; receives the curse and the promise of a future Redeemer.
- Expulsion from Eden (Genesis 3) – Driven out of the garden; access to the tree of life is barred.
- Life Outside the Garden (Genesis 4–5) – Fathers Cain, Abel, Seth, and other sons and daughters; lives 930 years.
- Death (Genesis 5) – Dies at the age of 930, the first recorded death of the human race’s head.
- Genesis 1:26-27 – “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness… male and female he created them.”
- Genesis 2:7 – “The Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.”
- Genesis 2:16-17 – The command concerning the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
- Genesis 3:6 – Adam eats the fruit his wife gives him.
- Genesis 3:15 – The promise of the offspring who will bruise the serpent’s head.
- Genesis 3:17-19 – The curse on the ground and the sentence of returning to dust.
- Genesis 5:5 – “Thus all the days that Adam lived were 930 years, and he died.”
- Romans 5:12, 18-19 – Sin and death entered through one man; through the one man Jesus Christ comes justification and life.
- 1 Corinthians 15:22, 45 – “As in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive… The first man Adam became a living being; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.”
- Eve (wife)
- Cain (son)
- Abel (son)
- Seth (son)
- The human race (all descended from him)
- Jesus Christ (the last Adam, the second man from heaven)
Adam’s life marks both the beginning of humanity’s dignity and the entrance of its deepest tragedy. Created in God’s image for fellowship and dominion, he chose disobedience and brought sin and death upon the race. Yet even in judgment God spoke a word of hope — the promise of an offspring who would defeat the serpent. In Adam we see the source of our fallen condition; in Jesus Christ, the last Adam, we see the source of new life and the restoration of all that was lost.
Entry compiled for the JESUSaves.com Bible Glossary. Optimized for wiki.js Visual Editor.