Bible dictionaries
Adam
What Bible dictionaries say about “Adam”, one article after the other.
Easton’s Bible Dictionary & Webster’s 1828 Dictionary
Adam - (Easton's Bible Dictionary)
Red, a Babylonian word, the generic name for man, having the same meaning in the Hebrew and the Assyrian languages. It was the name given to the first man, whose creation, fall, and subsequent history and that of his descendants are detailed in the first book of Moses (Gen. 1:27-ch. 5). "God created man [Heb., Adam] in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."
Adam was absolutely the first man whom God created. He was formed out of the dust of the earth (and hence his name), and God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and gave him dominion over all the lower creatures (Gen. 1:26; 2:7). He was placed after his creation in the Garden of Eden, to cultivate it, and to enjoy its fruits under this one prohibition: "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."
The first recorded act of Adam was his giving names to the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, which God brought to him for this end. Thereafter the Lord caused a deep sleep to fall upon him, and while in an unconscious state took one of his ribs, and closed up his flesh again; and of this rib he made a woman, whom he presented to him when he awoke. Adam received her as his wife, and 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." He called her Eve, because she was the mother of all living.
Being induced by the tempter in the form of a serpent to eat the forbidden fruit, Eve persuaded Adam, and he also did eat. Thus man fell, and brought upon himself and his posterity all the sad consequences of his transgression. The narrative of the Fall comprehends in it the great promise of a Deliverer (Gen. 3:15), the "first gospel" message to man. They were expelled from Eden, and at the east of the garden God placed a flame, which turned every way, to prevent access to the tree of life (Gen. 3). How long they were in Paradise is matter of mere conjecture.
Shortly after their expulsion Eve brought forth her first-born, and called him Cain. Although we have the names of only three of Adam's sons, viz., Cain, Abel, and Seth, yet it is obvious that he had several sons and daughters (Gen. 5:4). He died aged 930 years.
Adam and Eve were the progenitors of the whole human race. Evidences of varied kinds are abundant in proving the unity of the human race. The investigations of science, altogether independent of historical evidence, lead to the conclusion that God "hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth" (Acts 17:26. Comp. Rom. 5:12-12; 1 Cor. 15:22-49).
Adam
Adam - (Webster's 1828 Dictionary)
AD'AM, n. In Heb., Man; primarily, the name of the human species, mankind; appropriately, the first Man, the progenitor of the human race. The word signifies form, shape, or suitable form, hence, species. It is evidently connected with Heb., to be like or equal, to form an image, to assimilate. Whence the sense of likeness, image, form, shape; Gr., a body, like. [See Man.]
Adam's apple, a species of citron [See Citron] also the prominent part of the throat.
Ad'am's needle, the popular name of the yucca, a plant of four species, cultivated in gardens. Of the roots, the Indians made a kind of bread. [See Yucca.]
Matthew George Easton, Easton’s Bible Dictionary; Noah Webster, American Dictionary of the English Language (1828)
The article in Easton + Webster 1828Smith’s Bible Dictionary
Additional entry
Man , generically, for the name Adam was not confined to the father of the human race, but like homo was applicable to woman as well as to man . (Genesis 5:2)Additional entry
(red earth), the name given in Scripture to the first man. It apparently has reference to the ground from which he was formed, which is called in Hebrew Adamah . The idea of redness of color seems to be inherent in either word. The creation of man was the work of the sixth day--the last and crowning act of creation. Adam was created (not born) a perfect man in body and spirit, but as innocent and completely inexperienced as a child. The man Adam was placed in a garden which the Lord God had planted "eastward in Eden," for the purpose of dressing it and keeping it. [EDEN] Adam was permitted to eat of the fruit of every tree in the garden but one, which was called ("the tree of the knowledge of good and evil," because it was the test of Adams obedience. By it Adam could know good and evil int he divine way, through obedience; thus knowing good by experience in resisting temptation and forming a strong and holy character, while he knew evil only by observation and inference. Or he could "know good and evil," in Satans way, be experiencing the evil and knowing good only by contrast. -ED.) The prohibition to taste the fruit of this tree was enforced by the menace of death. There was also another tree which was called "the tree of life." While Adam was in the garden of Eden, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air were brought to him to be named. After this the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon him, and took one of his ribs from him, which he fashioned into a woman and brought her to the man. At this time they were both described as being naked without the consciousness of shame. By the subtlety of the serpent the woman who was given to be with Adam was beguiled into a violation of the one command which had been imposed upon them. She took of the fruit of the forbidden tree and gave it to her husband. The propriety of its name was immediately shown in the results which followed; self-consciousness was the first-fruits of sin their eyes were opened and they knew that they were naked. Though the curse of Adams rebellion of necessity fell upon him, yet the very prohibition to eat of the tree of life after his transgression was probably a manifestation of divine mercy, because the greatest malediction of all would have been to have the gift of indestructible life super-added to a state of wretchedness and sin. The divine mercy was also shown in the promise of a deliverer given at the very promise of a deliverer given at the very time the curse was imposed, (Genesis 3:15) and opening a door of hope to Paradise, regained for him and his descendants. Adam is stated to have lived 930 years. His sons mentioned in Scripture are Cain, Abel and Seth; it is implied, however, that he had others.William Smith; revised by F. N. Peloubet and M. A. Peloubet; CrossWire SWORD module Smith 1.3
The article in SmithTranslation Words
Definition
Adam was the first person whom God created. He and his wife Eve were made in the image of God.
- God formed Adam from dirt and breathed life into him.
- Adam’s name sounds similar to the Hebrew word for “red dirt” or “ground.”
- The name “Adam” is the same as the Old Testament word for “mankind” or “human being.”
- All people are descendants of Adam and Eve.
- Adam and Eve disobeyed God. This separated them from God and caused sin and death to come into the world.
(Translation suggestions: How to Translate Names)
(See also: death, descendant, Eve, image of God, life)
Bible References
Examples from the Bible stories
- __1:9__ Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image to be like us.”
- __1:10 This man’s name was Adam. God planted a garden where Adam__ could live, and put him there to care for it.
- __1:12 Then God said, “It is not good for man to be alone.” But none of the animals could be Adam’s__ helper.
- __2:11 And God clothed Adam__ and Eve with animal skins.
- __2:12 So God sent Adam__ and Eve away from the beautiful garden.
- __49:8 When Adam__ and Eve sinned, it affected all of their descendants.
- __50:16 Because Adam__ and Eve disobeyed God and brought sin into this world, God cursed it and decided to destroy it.
Word Data
The original work by unfoldingWord is available from https://www.unfoldingword.org/utw. Bible Strong converted the Markdown and resource links to its dictionary schema and normalized Bible references.
The article in Translation Words