Adam & Eve
Adam's Creation
Topics covered in this document:
Introduction
Adam didn't have a mother and father.
In other societies, the first people were created naturally. That's
because the other cultures simply had a goddess give birth to the first
man and woman.
But since the Hebrews didn't have a goddess, they were forced to have
their male God "construct" the first man much like a sculptor might
create a statue.
Adamah
First, a few words about the name, Adam. The Hebrew word, Adamah refers
to a reddish form of clay. [Hmm ... some Native Americans also claim to
have been created from reddish clay.]
Nouns Have Gender
As with many other languages, Hebrew nouns have a gender associated
with them.
Feminine Ending
For example, the Hebrew letter, He (looks kinda like a Greek letter
pi), at the end of a word usually means it's a feminine noun. The letter,
He, is usually transliterated in English as "ah".
Look at what happens when you remove the feminine ending from Adamah.
You're left with the name, Adam. Hey, it's almost like magic, huh? I bet
you knew that's where I was heading. Cool.
Male and Female Roots
Anyhow, that would indicate that the Hebrew word Adamah has both male
and female word roots.
This duality forces the use of the word them in Genesis
1:26-27 -- "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our
likeness ... So God created man in his own image, in the image of God
created he him; male and female created he them."
Remember, this was before Eve was formed from Adam's rib in the next
chapter of Genesis. Therefore the "female" cannot be Eve; it must be
Adam.
Was God a Woman?
If you've been paying attention, you'll also notice that Torah and
Jehovah are feminine nouns. Hmm ... was God (Jehovah) a woman? Nah,
can't be ... right? After all, ancient Hebrews had no room for female
gods.
Actually, they did worship female dieties ... but only when the
predominately male priesthood wasn't looking (see the parchments in
the Hebrew Goddess Department for
more on that subject).
Shekinah: Female Aspect of God
Jewish legends tell us that the Shekinah is the female aspect of God.
Just thought I'd throw that one in ... it's worth a bonus point on the
final exam.
Some Final Letters Change Shape
When talking about Adam, we must remember something else about Hebrew
writing. And that "something" is that some letters take on a different
shape when they appear at the end of a word.
The letter M (Hebrew Mem) is one of those letters. When the M is
not the final letter (as in Adamah), there's a little
"rib" on the letter (look closely at the illustration). However, when
the M is at the end of a word (as in Adam, after the feminine
ending has been removed), the rib is gone and the bottom of the letter
is "closed up" (as also shown in the illustration).
We see a similar thing occuring in other languages, such as German,
where the S changes shape depending on whether or not it's at the end
of a word.
Adam's Rib?
Is it possible that this grammatical rule of changing a letter's shape
is where the myth originally comes from that woman is taken from man's rib?
And that the flesh is closed up?
Did the story start out as some ancient teacher trying to explain
Hebrew syntax to his students ... only to get embellished from
there in each telling of the story?
Adam's Attributes
The statue that eventually came to life as Adam was no ordinary
statue. Once created, Adam was so handsome and perfect that he put
even the sun to shame.
Gigantic 20-Year-Old
Adam was 20 years old on the day God formed him from clay. He was
gigantic, stretching all the way between heaven and earth.
Descendants Inherit Adam's Traits
No man since has measured up to Adam's size ... though Samson
possessed his strength, Saul his neck, Absalom his hair, Asahel his
speed, Uzziah his forehead, Josiah his nostrils, Zedekiah his eyes,
and Zerubbabel his voice.
Soul is Female
God breathed life into Adam's nostrils, which placed the soul (a
female entity) inside Adam and he became a living being. Actually, all
the souls destined to live on Earth were a part of Adam's soul.
What Next?
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