Adam

Genesis 5:2 “He created them male and female, and He blessed them and named them Man in the day when they were created.”

Here is a good bible trivial question to ask: “What was Eve’s name before her husband Adam named her “Eve”? In this day of sensitivity and battle of the sexes, it is important to focus on God’s own evaluation of the two sexes and their respective roles in the divine plan. As Creator of both, He alone can speak authoritatively about the matter.

Genesis 1:27 “God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”

The devotional that I read this morning points out that both man and woman were created in God’s image, and thus, in the categories of salvation, rewards, and eternal fellowship with their Creator, both are surely equal.

Galatians 3:26-28 “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.  There is neither … male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

At the same time, when God created them, He named them both “Adam” (אָדָם in Hebrew) – translated into the English word “Man”. Thus, it is biblical to use the word “man” generically, when referring to (mankind) the human race in general. When the woman was formed out of Adam’s side, Adam said, “She shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man” – Genesis 2:23. Here a different Hebrew word is used for “man” (ish), and “woman” is isha. Adam also gave his new bride a personal name. “Adam called his wife’s name Eve (הִוא in Hebrew) translated into the English word “life-giver”; because she was the mother of all living” – Genesis 3:20.

There is, therefore, nothing demeaning in using the word “man” as a generic term for both men and women, for this usage is sanctioned by God Himself. Nonetheless, each individual has his or her own distinctive personal name, and God deals with each of us individually on that basis. Child of God, He knows your name.  Our obedience and faithfulness to the divinely ordained role each of us is called by Him to fill is God’s criterion by which He measures us for eternity. May the love of His children be a reflection of the love of the Father.

In Christ, Brian