Understanding Adam & Eve with helps from imagery

Adam and Eve

 By Jeffrey A. Bushman May 2014

One of the greatest scriptural stories ever given is about Adam and Eve.  I have been intrigued by this story for most of my life.  I will try and show where imagery is infused into their story and give what I believe to be a more complete story.

In Genesis 1: 26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

 28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, …..”  Here it talks about God creating them, not just a single man, He then gives them specific assignments or commandments.

Later however in Genesis 2 starting in verse 7 God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.  A few verses later Adam is placed in the garden of Eden to dress and keep it, and told not to partake of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. (Then in verse 21 it talks about how for Adam there was not found a help meet so he caused Adam to fall asleep and takes out one of his ribs and creates a woman.)

In Chapter 3 Eve is deceived by Satan into eating the fruit and by so doing caused the fall of man, bringing death into the world.  If we take this story the way it is written, then Eve had not been created when God commanded Adam to not eat since she was made later from Adam’s rib.  Eve seems to get a raw deal and is seen as the one responsible for all of man’s woes, when she supposedly was not even there to hear God’s command, for God was seemingly only talking to Adam.

Now I would like to go back and put it how I feel the Lord makes it known to us as His children here on the earth.

In Genesis 5:1  ”….. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;      2 Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.”  In Moses 6:9   It gives the JST of the same verse stating, ”In the image of his own body, male and female, created he them, and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created and became living souls in the land upon the footstool of God”.  President Spencer W. Kimball spoke about this verse in the January 1976 Ensign P. 71  “Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam [Mr. and Mrs. Adam, I suppose, or Brother and Sister Adam], in the day when they were created.” (Gen. 5:1–2.)

This teaches us at least two things. 1.  Both Adam and Eve were created at the same time and they were both called by the name of Adam.  2. That both the male and the female were created in the image of God.  What then is the image of God, male, female or both?  As we teach in our church we believe that in order to obtain the highest kingdom of glory we need to be married eternally in this order of the priesthood.  (D&C 131:1-4)  Once married we are commanded to become one, then as Paul teaches in 1st Corinthians 11:11 ….”that neither is the man without the woman neither the woman without the man, in the Lord”.  And as Peter states in 1 Peter 3:7  on how husbands and wives should associate …“as being heirs together of the grace of life….”  Therefore we believe that if we are to gain Eternal Life it requires a righteous woman sealed to a righteous man who have become one and will dwell with God in a family relationship as husband and wife, or as the scripture states as male and female.

How was man made in the beginning?  It states in Genesis 2:7  “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the earth, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”  How do you picture the two  Adams were made from the dust?  In the book of Ecclesisates 3:20  It states “All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.” This states that we all came from dust.  In Moses 6:59 the Lord stated, “That by reason of transgression cometh the fall, which fall bringeth death, and inasmuch as ye were born into the world by water, and blood, and the spirits, which I have made, and so become of dust a living soul, even so ye must be born again into the kingdom of heaven, of water, and of the spirit, and cleansed by blood, even the blood of my only begotten,…..”

It seems to being made from the dust of the earth simply means that they, (Adam and Eve) like us, were created through the birth process.  This seems to be born out in Luke 3:38   In the preceding verses the so called physical genealogy of Christ is given back to Adam, but doesn’t stop there, it states; ‘Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.”  Also in Moses 6:22 it states that Adam was the son of God, with whom God himself, conversed.  Also here I will give a quote or two from the brethren on this subject.

Speaking about Adam, Joseph Smith taught “Where was there ever a son without a father?  And where was there ever a father without first being a son?  When ever did a tree or anything spring into existence without a progenitor?  And everything comes in this way.  Paul says that which is earthly is in the likeness of that which is heavenly, Hence if Jesus had a father, can we not believe that He had a Father also?  I despise the idea of being scared to death at such a doctrine, for the Bible is full of it.”    Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith p. 373

The First presidency, (Joseph F. Smith, Anthon H. Lund, Charles W. Penrose) quotes approvingly Brigham Young’s teaching that father Adam—that is, our earthly father—the progenitor of the race of man . . .was not fashioned from earth like an adobe, but begotten by his Father in Heaven.  Adam is called in the Bible ‘The Son of God’ (Luke 3:38.    Messages of the 1^st Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of LDS, 6 vols

This doctrine of Adam and Eve being born seems to contradict the fact the Jesus is the only begotten son of God.  But we all believe that we are all God’s spirit children, (Hebrews 12:9) but we believe that in a mortal state Jesus is the only begotten son of God, or his only begotten in the flesh.  Adam was not mortal but immortal until after the fall when he became the first flesh upon the earth.

Going back to the biblical account of Adam and Eve, in Genesis 2:20 it tells us that after Adam named all the beasts of the field that there was not found a help meet for him.  To me this means that he was not yet married. 

Pres. Howard W. Hunter stated that help meet means equal, a full partnership. CR 94 p68  

Also Pres. Spencer W. Kimball in talking about Adam and Eve’s creation said “And I, God, created man in mine own image, in the image of mine Only Begotten created I him; male and female created I them. [The story of the rib, of course, is figurative.] January 1976 Ensign P. 71 

When the rib story is completed in the scriptures Adam and Eve are now married.  The rib story seems to be symbolic of the marriage ceremony.  Lets explore how.

Genesis chapter 2

v21 And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, andhe slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; the deep sleep can be the veil of forgetfulness placed on Adam but could also remind us that we need to forget those negative things our spouse may do that if we focus on them they could destroy our relationship.

 22 And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. Hugh Nibley taught that the word in Hebrew for rib is “tsela” and is a figure of speech, it means ‘bosom friend’ or ‘close inseparable companion’.  Eve was not made from his rib, but is his rib.  From an imagery standpoint, God as he was performing this marriage was saying that Adam was to treat her as if she was made from his own body.  She was to be bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh.  We would say they were to become one.  The rib protects the heart and Eve was to do this.  She wasn’t symbolically made from his foot to be walked on or from his head to rule over him but from his side as they were to be equals, walking side by side.  Since this verse says that God brought the woman to the man he was in charge of performing the marriage.  Since death had not entered the world at this point he would have meant their marriage to last forever, since there was no death when they were married.    In Ecclesiastes 4:14 it reads, “I know that whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever…..”  In Matt 19:5-6  Christ taught, “for this cause shall a man leave mother and father and shall cleave to his wife and they shall be one flesh.  Wherefore they are no more twain but one flesh.  Later in the same chapter verse 19 Christ gave Peter the power to bind (or seal) on earth shall be bound in heaven.  If he performed a marriage it could be bound also in heaven.  Many Jews believed in the law of eternal marriage as shown in the questions they asked Christ.

 23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.  She is to be a part of him forever. What God have joined together let not man put apart.

 24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. Here they were instructed to stay together and if they had to choose between following parents versus a wife they were to pick their spouse for they were one.  Also it always impressed me that they were to forsake their parents if necessary.  How would they know what parents were if they didn’t have any?

 25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. In this verse they are referred to as man and wife so the marriage ceremony is complete.  Their being naked I doubt refers to clothing, but to have nothing to hide because they totally exposed to each other and had no sin, which shows that they had nothing of which to be ashamed in the sight of God.  An example of this is in Exodus 32:25 when Israel made a golden calf in the wilderness while Moses was absent and he destroyed the calf upon his return and then this verse states “And when Moses saw that that the people were naked; (for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies:)”  Also for us, we need to reveal ourselves to our spouse and should have repented of past sins to allow us to come into this marriage, not ashamed by not hiding any sins that could destroy this sacred marriage relationship.

Joseph Smith taught, “that a marriage was an institution of heaven instituted in the garden of Eden and that it should be solemnized by the authority of the everlasting priesthood.”  Era v34 p704-5

The next thought has to do with them partaking of the forbidden fruit.  Back in Genesis 2:16-17

16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:

 17 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.

In the JST to verse 17 the Lord added this to verse 17 but of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it, nevertheless, thou mayest choose for thyself, for it is given unto thee; but remember that I forbid it, for in the time thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

This seems to be the only commandment that the Lord lets them choose for themselves,  but each choice has consequences

Joseph Fielding Smith said, “Now this is the way I interpret that.  The Lord said to Adam, here is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  If you want to stay here then you cannot eat of that fruit.  If you want to stay here then I forbid you to eat it.  But you may act for yourself and you may eat of it if you want to.  And if you eat it you will die.”    Fall- -Resurrection-Sacrament-Atonement, [address given at LDS Institute of Religion, At Salt Lake City, Utah 14 Jan 1961,] p. 2.

D&C 29:40-43 describes some of the consequences if they ate the fruit.  See also Abraham 5:13 to see the time of Adam’s death.

Paul taught in 1 Timothy 2:14 that Adam was not deceived but the woman was deceived when the serpent deceived her by saying death was not a consequence. And their eyes were open like God’s eyes are open to good and evil after they partook of the fruit. See Genesis 3:22

  We learn from 2 Nephi 2:25 that when Eve presented the fruit to Adam that he knew they would be separated if he did not eat. He then stated that he would partake that men might be.  This was in accord with the commandment God gave them to multiply and replenish the earth (meaning to fill the earth) something the Book of Moses said they could not do unless they partook of the forbidden fruit. This verse will be quoted at the end of this paper. 

Now at this point I want to mention that I had always been taught that God gave these two commandments that were in opposition to each other.  One could not be kept without breaking the other.  This did not sit well with me for I believe the scripture in 1 Nephi 3:7 where Nephi states, “that God gives no commandments unto the children of men save he prepares a way for them that they may accomplish the things he commands them.”  Also in 2 Nephi 2: 23 we learn that, “and they (Adam & Eve) would have had no children; wherefore they would have remained in a state of innocence, having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, forever, and had no end.”  If this verse is true they were not capable of having children and would not be under condemnation, just as little children under the age of 8 are not under condemnation for not having children.  They are incapable.  Only those married in the Lord’s way are required to have children if they are capable.  So I see this experience this way about eating the forbidden fruit.  God wanted them to eat the fruit so as to bring mortality into the world and allow for his other children to be born on this earth, allowing them to develop faith which is a great power and to gain experience in  becoming like him.  However he could not command them to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil or he would become responsible for the fall of man into a natural or carnal state, thus causing them to be cut off from his presence.  That seems to be Satan’s role.  It would also have made God responsible for all of mankind’s sins since had he directed them to become a natural person, that the scriptures call carnal, sensual and devilish.  He had to give Adam and Eve the option of choosing to eat the forbidden fruit on their own volition.  That is why the previous quote by Pres. Joseph Fielding Smith makes sense.  Adam and Eve had have available the ability to make the choice to fall, but by so doing they would allow God to bring into play the atonement of his son Jesus Christ he being the …..”Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” (Revelation 13:8) Having a Savior was part of the original plan, thus allowing us our agency.   This was part of the plan to allow us to come into the world and through the atonement we can become redeemed from our own fallen nature as we follow Christ and his law and become like God and Christ (See Matthew 5:48) making us free to choose who we would follow. (2 Nephi 2:27)

Now back to Genesis chapter 3: 7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.   When they realized their eyes were opened they knew that they were naked and felt a need to hide what they had done from the Lord.  Something that Satan tries to get all of us to do, hide your sins from God, hoping to get us not to repent.

 8 And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.

 9 And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? I am sure God knew where they were but they are given the opportunity to explain their situation.

 10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.

 11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?

 12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.  In the JST to this verse this part is added after thou gavest me and commandest that she should remain with me, she gave me of the fruit of the tree and I did eat.  Adam here is telling why he ate the fruit.  He said when you married us you said if I had to choose between my parents and my wife I should choose my wife.  She ate the fruit and would be kicked out of the garden and so I ate the fruit of the tree so I could remain with her and we could then fulfill your commandment to multiply and replenish the earth.  Here Adam also accepts full responsibility for his choice and does not blame Eve.  He says it this way, “and I did eat”

 13 And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.  Here Eve confess and tries to hide her transgression no longer.

14 And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

 15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. It is strange that here God refers to the seed of the woman and not Adam.  Eve is the mother of all living, but Christ is not of Adam but is of God, showing that Adam is not the father of all living.  We also  learn that Christ will have power over Satan for your head is the ruling part of your body but Satan can bruise his heel, Christ will suffer for all sins and will feel the effect of Satan’s power as he completes the atonement.

 16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. President Kimball said the word rule means preside. And that the word multiply in Hebrew can mean to increase thy discomfort and thy size (i.e. in the condition and process of pregnancy)  It also means to repeat over and over.

 17 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;  Marion G. Romney said, “The ground was cursed in the manner prescribed for Adam’s sake, not to his disadvantage.  Had Adam and his posterity been able to live without working, the human race would never have survived.  Idleness is pernicious.”  (CR, Oct. 1973, p. 105

 18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;

 19 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.

 20 And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.  Now that it is possible for Eve to have children Adams calls her Eve which means the mother of all living

 21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.  The footnote to this verse says garments or tunics.  From an imagery standpoint to cover them with skins in order to cover their nakedness is very impressive.  The word atonement means to cover.  Here Christ seems to make coats of skins that would cover their nakedness (sins and transgression) and make them able to communicate with God as they keep their covenants and commandments that the Lord then gives to them.  An animal had its blood shed to provide the coats of skins symbolic of how God was willing to forgive them and provide a way for them to be clean before him again. Garments are to remind us of this blessing and of our need to repent of our sins in order to remain covered by Christ’s atonement.

 22 ¶And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: in our sins or transgressions. Here the point is made that it is impossible for man to just do one little thing and then live forever in their sins.  The Lord’s mercy cannot rob justice, but does make it possible for repentance and forgiveness to take place through the atonement.

 23 Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.

 24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.  Now that they are driven out of God’s presence they can’t return, for God has placed an impenetrable barrier and entering the presence of God has to come in a different manner, meaning through Christ’s atonement.

This idea of the tree of life is an important concept to grasp.  In the book of  Alma in the Book of Mormon, Alma is teaching a group of people (Zoramites) who have been forced to be humble by other wicked people in their society.  In chapter 32 starting in verse 27 and going through 42, Alma has taught the people that they can worship God even if they don’t have a church building.

 He teaches them that if they can no more than desire to believe that it will make it possible for them to give a place for a portion of the word, which Alma then compares to a seed that can be planted in their hearts.  Then if they do not cast out seed because of unbelief and not resist the spirit of the Holy Ghost, then this seed will begin to grow and they can feel it beginning to swell within their breast.  They will then know that it is a good seed as it begins to enlighten their understanding and begins to taste delicious.  When they realize that the seed is good, and do not cast it out because of unbelief, but nourish it with great care it will get root and grow up, and bring forth fruit.  But if they choose to neglect the tree they can pluck it out of their heart and cast it out.  Now it was not because the seed, or tree was bad, but because their ground was barren. And they could never eat the fruit of the tree, which is the tree of life, but if they nourish the seed, then it will become a tree springing up unto everlasting life. 

I believe that the gospel understanding and coming to a knowledge of God happens as we develop our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  Paul taught that faith comes by the hearing of the word.  Once we have nourished the word until it has matured in our heart, we then can partake of the fruit of the tree of life, thus gaining Eternal Life.

In conclusion I wish to add something from the book of Moses in the Pearl of Great Price that shows the great mercy the Lord had on Adam and Eve as they continued to call on God in the name of the Son after they were driven out of the Garden of Eden.  This is in Moses 5:4-12 

 4 And Adam and Eve, his wife, called upon the name of the Lord, and they heard the voice of the Lord from the way toward the Garden of Eden, speaking unto them, and they saw him not; for they were shut out from his presence.

 5 And he gave unto them commandments, that they should worship the Lord their God, and should offer the firstlings of their flocks, for an offering unto the Lord. And Adam was obedient unto the commandments of the Lord.

 6 And after many days an angel of the Lord appeared unto Adam, saying: Why dost thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord? And Adam said unto him: I know not, save the Lord commanded me.

 7 And then the angel spake, saying: This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth.

 8 Wherefore, thou shalt do all that thou doest in the name of the Son, and thou shalt repent and call upon God in the name of the Son forevermore.

 9 And in that day the Holy Ghost fell upon Adam, which beareth record of the Father and the Son, saying: I am the Only Begotten of the Father from the beginning, henceforth and forever, that as thou hast fallen thou mayest be redeemed, and all mankind, even as many as will.

 10 And in that day Adam blessed God and was filled, and began to prophesy concerning all the families of the earth, saying: Blessed be the name of God, for because of my transgression my eyes are opened, and in this life I shall have joy, and again in the flesh I shall see God. This last part sounds like Job in his book in the Old Testament 19:25-27

 11 And Eve, his wife, heard all these things and was glad, saying: Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed, and never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient.

 12 And Adam and Eve blessed the name of God, and they made all things known unto their sons and their daughters.

What a great debt we owe to Adam and Eve.  But it is nothing compared with the great plan of happiness has available for his children. 

There are many more ideas and thoughts presented about Adam and Eve but this is long enough.