Adam and Eve: A Biblical Story
The story of the creation of man and his fall has remained one of the most important problems throughout the history of mankind. The plot of the Holy Scripture “Adam and Eve in the Bible” is still relevant today. After all, the issues he raises remain unresolved for many.
Adam and Eve after expulsion from Paradise (bas-relief on the wall of the Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourviere, Lyon, France)
God created man at the very end of the creation of the World. The earth, like a royal abode, was prepared and decorated in advance for one who could take care of nature and be in communion with God. The Creator created man from the dust of the earth (clay) and breathed life into him. God created man in His image, rational and free, with an immortal soul (Gen. 1:27, Gen. 2:7). By this He elevated man above all previous creation. With our physical body we belong to the visible, material world. An immortal soul - to the invisible, spiritual world. The main goal of human existence is to be in complete harmony with God.
The name of the first man is Adam, which translates as “taken from the earth.” God placed Adam in the beautiful Garden of Eden. There, animals of all kinds came together to the first man. They came to Adam as a loving shepherd, without fear, and he gave each creature a name. So Adam took power over all living things and became the ruler of the Earth, like God (Gen. 2:19-20).
Comments
- Alexolgiy Yuliev
:01/15/2019 at 17:12
Bless your Eminence, Metropolitan Benjamin. Give me, good servant of the Lord, your bishop's advice to me, a fool. I have a woman I know named Seraphima. She was baptized in honor of St. Seraphim of Sarov, whose memory we all pray in prayer today. Why was she baptized in honor of the holy elder priest, and not in honor of the saint Martyr Virgin Seraphim of Rome. God bless you for your answer, all-honorable Bishop Benjamin. Happy upcoming feast of the Epiphany.
Answer
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Creation of Eve
However, the man needed a friend and helper. Therefore, God took one of Adam’s ribs while he was sleeping and created a woman from it - Eve, the mother of all people (Genesis 2:21-23). The creation of woman from Adam's rib is interpreted both literally and allegorically. Moreover, both of these interpretations in the Orthodox consciousness do not contradict each other, but complement each other. In a figurative sense, the edge is interpreted as a facet, a side of human nature. Thus, woman was taken from Adam as another hypostasis of man. Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeev) in his book “The Sacrament of Faith” points out that man is one in his hypostases, like the consubstantial and trinitarian God.
"Eve" means "living", "giving life". However, in paradise the first woman was nameless; Adam called her “wife.” Eve received her name after the Fall and expulsion from paradise, when she gave birth to Adam’s first child. The Creator commanded man and woman to be fruitful and populate the earth. Blessed by God to be together, Adam and Eve became the first family and the ancestors of all mankind. By creating Eve from Adam, God showed us that we all come from one beginning. Therefore, we must love and take care of each other.
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Now let's see who keeps the “rejuvenating apples”, that is, plays the role of Eve, in our fairy tales.
In the collection of A.N. Afanasyev contains 8 versions of the tale “about a brave fellow, rejuvenating apples and living water”; A.N. has another version. Tolstoy (The Tale of Rejuvenating Apples and Living Water), plus several more “folk” versions. The names of the “guardian” differ in them.
This could be Elena the Beautiful or Sonya the Bogatyrka. But there are also more interesting names to compare. For example, Usonsha-Bogatyrsha or, the most interesting, Bogatyrka-Sineglazka:
“The Baba Yaga took care of everything - she fed Ivan Tsarevich, gave him something to drink and put him to bed. She sat down at the head of the bed and began to ask: “Whose dear man are you, good fellow, and where are you from?” What land are you? What father, mother's son? - I, grandmother, am from such and such a kingdom, from such and such a state, the royal son Ivan Tsarevich. I am going to distant lands, to distant lakes, to the thirtieth kingdom for living water and rejuvenating apples. “Well, my dear child, you have a long way to go: living water and rejuvenating apples are with the strong heroic maiden Sineglazka, she is my dear niece” (from Tolstoy’s collection).
What is remarkable (in my opinion) about the name Sineglazka, I will tell you a little later, but for now let’s examine “Usonsha-Bogatyrka”.
Why was woman created?
The wife was given to Adam as a companion, an assistant in the knowledge of God and improvement (Gen. 2:18), (Eccl. 4:9-10). Deacon Andrei Kuraev, in his lecture “Man and Woman in the Book of Genesis,” points out that Eve was created “to awaken in Adam a thirst for dialogue of love.” A man had to learn to love God through love for his wife.
Archpriest Andrei Tkachev in his lecture “Man in Paradise” says that when people get married, they seem to become Adam and Eve, who were blessed by God to be together in heaven. In marriage, the unity of the masculine and feminine principles that was in Adam even before their separation is restored. With mutual love, husband and wife complete each other’s existence and become one again. And in this totality of human nature, the image of God inherent in every person reaches its completion (Gen. 1:27), (Col. 3:10).
Initially, there was no evil in the world, and the earth was a paradise. Man was capable of communicating with God, and everything was in love and harmony with the Creator. Evil arose as a result of man's violation of this harmony.
Adam's Disobedience in the Bible
It would seem that everything was excellent, life was filled with joy and was in full swing. Adam communicates with the Creator; Nearby, his wife Eva helps him manage the garden.
The Bible describes an event that will affect all of humanity. First, Eve, and then Adam, disobeyed the command of the Creator, which entailed the knowledge of evil (sin). Because of disobedience, man lost the glory of God, the position he had before God.
The punishment came - expulsion from the garden, as a result of which Adam could no longer walk with God and communicate with Him as before. Problems came into a person’s life: hard work, quarrels, envy, murder, hatred, pride, exaltation, all kinds of impurity, etc. - all this is a consequence of disobedience. By reading the Bible stories, one can see how sin enslaves and corrupts generation after generation, affecting humanity to this day.
Adam lived 930 years. He fulfilled God’s word to be fruitful and multiply, but, unfortunately, he was unable to correct the mistake he had made.
A loving God has found a way to bring a person back to himself. He sent the last Adam, who paid a great price.
The Fall of Adam and Eve
God allowed Adam and Eve to eat the fruits of all the trees in the Garden of Eden. With the exception of one thing - the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. God warned the people that the consequence of breaking this commandment would be death (Gen. 2:16-17). Satan, in the form of a serpent, appeared to Eve and cunningly convinced her to try the fruits of the forbidden tree. The devil told her that by doing this, a person would not only not die, but would become equal to God. Eve succumbed to temptation and transgressed God’s commandment, after which she gave the fruit to Adam to try (Gen. 3:1-6).
All that Adam and Eve felt after their crime was shame before each other and fear of God. They began to cover their naked bodies with leaves and, when they heard the voice of the Creator, they tried to hide from him. The Almighty asked Adam and Eve accusatory questions and expected them to repent, but they began to justify themselves. Adam blamed Eve for the temptation, who, in turn, said that she was tempted by the serpent. By this stubbornness, people only worsened their falling away from God.
The serpent tricked Eve into eating the forbidden fruit.
Adam and his wife lived carefree in paradise. It was so warm and cozy there that they didn't need clothes.
There was plenty of food, and there were many large and tasty fruits on the trees. People talked with animals and birds. God loved to walk around the Garden of Eden and visited them quite often.
One day, the serpent, who was more cunning than other animals, asked the woman a question: did God allow them to eat the fruits of all the trees of paradise? She replied that they could not touch only the fruits of one tree, so as not to die.
The serpent said that the fruits of this particular tree could give knowledge, and God’s prohibition explained His fear that people would become as wise and powerful as Himself. And the Serpent said to the woman:
“You will not die, for God knows that on the day you eat from him, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like gods, knowing good and evil.”
Consequences of the Fall
The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil existed in paradise so that people, having fulfilled God’s only commandment, would show their obedience and desire for the Almighty. Thus, they would consciously renounce evil and choose good. By trusting their Creator and not accepting the devil, people would become even more like God. However, Adam and Eve listened to Satan and thereby broke their union with the Creator. In such a graceless state, Adam and Eve could no longer be in paradise; they “died” for it, as God warned. People were expelled from the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3:23).
Saint John Chrysostom in his “Sermon on the Beginning of the Holy Pentecost” says that
“Adam, without fasting, was expelled from paradise and received a command to cultivate the land that gave rise to thorns.”
Deacon Andrei Kuraev in his lecture “Man and Woman in the Book of Genesis” expresses the idea that what is happening is not so much an expulsion from God as a divorce, and “instead of a relationship of love with God comes a relationship of law.”
The sin of Adam and Eve deprived human nature of the source of Life and allowed corruption and death into it. Man was created for dominion over nature and communion with God. However, having moved away from Him and disrupted this harmony, he became a mortal being, subject to passions and illnesses.
The Monk Ephraim the Syrian in his “Interpretation of the Holy Scriptures” indicates that Adam and Eve before eating
“they knew good from experience, they only heard about evil; after eating, the opposite happened: they began to only hear about good things, but to experience bad things in practice, for God took away from them the glory with which they were invested, but sorrows that had not touched them before took possession of them.”
Saint Gregory of Nyssa in his work “On the Structure of Man” points out that sin is not a property of human nature, but a consequence of evasion from it, a distortion of the good that is innate to us.
Who is Iblis
Iblis (Satan) is one of the jinn. The Lord created them from fire. Jinns are neither human nor angelic. However, like humans, they are capable of reflection and choice between good and evil. The world of jinn existed long before the creation of Adam, and Iblis was the most righteous of them. So righteous that he held a high position among the angels.
“Every single angel fell on his face, with the exception of Iblis, who refused to be among those who fell on his face. Allah said: “O Iblis! Why are you not among those who fell on their faces?” He said: “It is not fitting for me to prostrate myself before man whom You created from dry, ringing clay obtained from modified mud.” He said, “Get out of here. From now on you are driven out and beaten. And the curse will remain upon you until the Day of Retribution” (Quran 15:30-35).
Etymology
Traditional etymology traces the name Eve (Havva) to the Hebrew hai
"life".
Modern researchers suggest a connection with the Phoenician hvt
" and the Aramaic
Khevya
meaning "snake" (or snake-like goddess)[4].
Variants of the name of the foremother Eve in ancient Russian chronicles and the Church Slavonic Bible:
- A similar name, Evga,
is found in the Ipatiev Chronicle (fol. 35 vol.) of the late 13th century and in the Laurentian Chronicle (fol. 29, 29 vol., 35 vol.) of the beginning of the 14th century. - In the Commission list of the mid-15th century of the Novgorod first chronicle of the younger edition (fol. 50, 50 vol., 59), two variants of the name Eva are already used: Evga
and
Evga
.[5] - The Ostrog Bible (1581) and 17th century iconography[6] use the spelling of the name of the foremother Eva as Evva
. - In the Elizabethan Bible (1751) and Church Slavonic texts of the 18th and 19th centuries, the spelling variant Єѵа
. - In Extracts from the Vorontsov list of the 1820s of the Novgod Chronicle (fol. 18 vol.), a modern version of the name is used - Eva
.
In a figurative sense
In anthropogenesis
In the terminology of anthropogenesis, mitochondrial Eve
is a hypothetical female individual whose mitochondrial DNA is shared by all females of the species. This does not mean that she was the only “foremother” of humanity (other women lived and contributed to the gene pool of humanity at the same time) or that our species stood out then. The Mitochondrial Eve of all modern humans lived approximately 140-280 thousand years ago.
In astronomy
The asteroid (164) Eve, discovered in 1876, is named after Eve.
Notes
- Myths of the peoples of the world, 1987-1988, Havva.
- Life 1-5
- "Introduction to Kabbalah. Ten Sefirot" (undefined)
(inaccessible link). Retrieved May 4, 2014. Archived May 3, 2014. - Eve. Myths of the peoples of the world, ed. S. A. Tokareva
- Handwritten monuments of Ancient Rus' (electronic archive)
- Markelov G.V. Book of icon samples in 2 volumes, 2006. Volume II, No. 341
- Talmud, Sotah 13a; Eruvin 53a
- Shakirzyan Ishaev. Mecca, the holy city of Muslims. A Pilgrim's Tale. Ch. 1. Magazine “Central Asian Bulletin”, 1896, No. 11, 12.
- al-A'raf 7:19
- Âdem aleyhisselâm Hindistan'da Seylan (Serendib) Adasına, Havvâ ise Cidde'ye indirildi.[1]
- Hawa - Women in Islam - Biographies - Ask Imam (undefined)
(inaccessible link). Access date: October 18, 2011. Archived October 29, 2011.
Literature
- Bible
- Handwritten monuments of Ancient Rus' (electronic archive)
- Markelov G.V. Book of icon samples in 2 volumes, 2006. Volume II, No. 341.
- V. M. Roshal."Encyclopedia of Symbols", Moscow, "Owl", 2008, p. - 610.
- K.Siliņš. “Latviešu personvārdu vārdnīca”, Riga, “Zinātne”, 1990, lpp. - 121.
Eve:
- Meanings in Wiktionary
- Quotes on Wikiquote
- Texts on Wikisource
- Media files on Wikimedia Commons
